Ownership and Possession in Light of Creation Belonging
The biblical understanding of ownership and possession is rooted in the doctrine of creation, asserting that God is the ultimate owner of all things because he created them [3, 12]. The book of Genesis opens by declaring, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1) [5, 6]. This foundational statement establishes God as the sole originator of the universe, bringing all things into being "out of nothing" through his free and wise will [3, 4].
The act of creation is attributed to the Godhead, encompassing the Father, the Son (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17), and the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 104:30) [3]. This creative power distinguishes Jehovah as the true God [3]. Nothing in creation exists apart from God's powerful word; his command enacted his will to create the world, demonstrating that he is not limited by creation but is its supreme ruler [7]. After each stage of creation, God declared his work "good," and after creating humanity, he declared it "very good" [8].
Because God created everything, he retains absolute proprietorship over it [12]. Psalm 24:1 states, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." This verse underscores that God's ownership extends not only to the physical world but also to all its inhabitants [12]. Humanity, created in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27), is blessed with dominion over the earth's creatures [6, 9]. However, this dominion is not absolute ownership but rather a stewardship under God's ultimate authority.
The concept of "possession" in biblical thought often carries the nuance of firm holding or belonging. For instance, the name Cain is associated with "possession" or "possessed" [1]. In a spiritual sense, believers are described as "possessing all things" (2 Corinthians 6:10), not as owners in an earthly sense, but as tenants removable at will, holding fast to what they have through God's provision [10]. This perspective suggests that even what humans "possess" is ultimately held in trust from God.
The New Testament reinforces this idea, particularly in the context of the "new self" that believers put on, which is "being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator" (Colossians 3:10) [2]. This renewal implies a realignment with God's original design and his ultimate claim over all creation, including humanity itself. The understanding that God "possessed" wisdom "in the beginning of his way" (Proverbs 8:22) further illustrates the eternal and inherent nature of God's relationship with all that exists, predating creation itself [11].
Therefore, the biblical framework establishes that all ownership ultimately resides with God as Creator. Human possession is always secondary and derivative, functioning as a form of stewardship under divine sovereignty.
Sources
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Cain — possession, or possessed”
- Colossians “Colossians 3:10 (BSB) — and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Creation — "In the beginning" God created, i.e., called into being, all things out of nothing. This creative act on the part of God was absolutely free, and for infinitely wise reasons. The cause of all things exists only in the will of God. The work of creation is attributed (1) to the Godhead (Gen. 1:1, 26); (2) to the Father (1 Cor. 8:6); (3) to the Son (John 1:3; Col. 1:16, 17); (4) to the Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13; Ps. 104:30). The fact that he is the Creator distinguishes Jehovah as the true God (Isa. 37:16; 40:12, 13; 54:5; Ps. 96:5; Jer. 10:11, 12). Th”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Creation — (The creation of all things is ascribed in the Bible to God, and is the only reasonable account of the origin of the world. The method of creation is not stated in Genesis, and as far as the account there is concerned, each part of it may be, after the first acts of creation, by evolution, or by direct act of God's will. The word create (bara) is used but three times in the first chapter of Genesis-- (1) as to the origin of matter; (2) as to the origin of life; (3) as to the origin of man's soul; and science has always failed to do any of these acts thus as”
- Genesis (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Genesis 1 (introduction): Genesis 1:1 THE CREATION OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. (Gen 1:1-2) In the beginning--a period of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of eternal ages; and so the phrase is used in Pro 8:22-23. God--the name of the Supreme Being, signifying in Hebrew, "Strong," "Mighty." It is expressive of omnipotent power; and by its use here in the plural form, is obscurely taught at the opening of the Bible, a doctrine clearly revealed in other parts of it, namely, that though God is one, there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead--Father, So”
- Genesis (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Genesis 1:1: 1:1–2:3 These verses introduce the Pentateuch (Genesis—Deuteronomy) and teach Israel that the world was created, ordered, and populated by the one true God and not by the gods of surrounding nations. • God blessed three specific things: animal life (1:22-25), human life (1:27), and the Sabbath day (2:3). This trilogy of blessings highlights the Creator’s plan: Humankind was made in God’s image to enjoy sovereign dominion over the creatures of the earth and to participate in God’s Sabbath rest. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth: This statem”
- Genesis (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Genesis 1:3: 1:3-13 In the first three days, God formed the chaos into a habitable world. 1:3 Then God said: Nothing in ch 1 is created apart from God’s powerful word (cp. Ps 33:6, 9). • “Let there be . . .” and there was: God’s command enacted his will to create the world. God is not a part of creation or limited by it; he is the supreme ruler over everything (cp. Neh 9:6).”
- Genesis (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Genesis 1:31: 1:31 The Creator declares his work good seven times in ch 1; following the creation of human beings, God declares it all very good.”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 11:7: 11:7 man is made in God’s image: See Gen 1:26-27.”
- 2 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 2 Corinthians 6:10: The "as" no longer is used to express the opinion of his adversaries, but the real state of him and his fellow laborers. making many rich--Spiritually (Co1 1:5), after the example of our Lord, who "by His poverty made many rich" (Co2 8:9). having nothing--Whatever of earthly goods we have, and these are few, we have as though we had not; as tenants removable at will, not owners (Co1 7:30). possessing all things--The Greek implies firm possession, holding fast in possession (compare Co1 3:21-22). The things both of the present and of the fu”
- Proverbs (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Proverbs 8:22: The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way,.... Not "created me", as the Targum and the Septuagint version; which version Arius following gave birth to his pernicious doctrine; who from hence concluded Christ is a creature, and was the first creature that God made, not of the same but of a like nature with himself, in some moment or period of eternity; and by whom he made all others: the Word, or Wisdom of God is never said to be created; and if as such he was created, God must have been without his Wisdom before he was created; besides, Christ, as the Word a”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 24:1: Here is, I. God's absolute propriety in this part of the creation where our lot is cast, Psa 24:1. We are not to think that the heavens, even the heavens only, are the Lord's, and the numerous and bright inhabitants of the upper world, and that this earth, being so small and inconsiderable a part of the creation, and at such a distance from the royal palace above, is neglected, and that he claims no interest in it. No, even the earth is his, and this lower world; and, though he has prepared the throne of his glory in the heavens, yet his kingdom rules over all, an”