We were CREATED to have DOMINION!

 

January 1 Bible Reading: Genesis Chapters 1-3

We were CREATED to have DOMINION!

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Gen 1:26-28)

Genesis chapter 1 describes the entire process of creation in which God spoke everything into existence. Before God began His masterpiece creation, He paused and discussed with Himself what His crowning glory would constitute that would separate from the rest of His creation. Then, God created man in His image and according to His likeness. This means that man was placed on earth as God’s representative, and that He resembles God in certain ways. Just as God is a Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), so man consists of three parts (spirit, soul, and body). As a mirror image of God, man has intellect, a moral nature, the power to communicate with others, and an emotional nature.

The above passage reveals that man was created by God to fulfill two major responsibilities:

1. Have Dominion: Man was responsibility over the earth to “subdue” it by cultivating, developing, and managing it in a way that meets human needs. Man was to care of the earth as a resource and thus bring glory to God.
2. Have Family: Man was created as male and female (v. 27) and as a family was commanded to be fruitful and multiply.

Let us understand that we have been created to rule as God as a consequence of His divine image in us (1 Cor. 6:3; 15:27, 28; James 3:7, 8). We have been given the cultural mandate to rule the creation (9:2; Heb. 2:5–9). Let us reclaim that power and authority that God has bestowed upon us in the very beginning!

"What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet." (Psalms 8:4-6)