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We have seen that man is the center of God's creation and that the human life is the highest created life. We should never forget the nine items of life mentioned in Genesis chapter one: the grass, the herbs, the trees, the fish, the birds, the cattle, the beasts, the creeping things, and man. Man is the highest created life. According to the record of Genesis 1, when God reached the point of creating man, He held a conference. This conference among the Godhead was very impressive. God said, "Let us..." This is quite meaningful. The three Persons of the Godhead were needed for the creation of man. The subsequent books of the whole Bible develop the subject of the work of the Triune God upon man. God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Then God said, "Let them." God did not say men; He said man. Man is a singular noun, but them is a plural pronoun. "Let us make man...let them..." Was there one God or many? Was there one man or many? Our God is One, but triune. Man is one, but corporate. Hallelujah! Never forget the two "lets" in Gen. 1:26. God said, "Let us" and God said, "let them." The word "us" reveals that the one God is triune; the word "them" reveals that the one man is corporate. The Triune God created a corporate man.
God said, "Let us make man in our image..and let them have dominion..." God created a corporate man to exercise His dominion (Gen. 1:26-28). The word dominion includes more than just authority. Dominion means having authority to rule and to form a kingdom. Dominion means having a kingdom as a sphere in which to exercise authority. If I have authority, but no sphere over which to rule, I have no dominion. God said, "Let man have dominion." Man was given dominion over all things. Keep the words image and dominion in mind and underline them in your Bible.
Very few Christians pay attention to the word dominion when they read Genesis 1. We need to consider the words image and dominion a little more. An image is an expression. God created man in His image with the intention that man might express Him. The invisible God desires to be expressed. He needs an expression. Dominion means kingdom, authority. Man was made in God's image to express God and was given authority to represent God and to have dominion. We are God's expression and we are God's representative. The young people especially need to lay hold of these two words with these two basic revelations: image and dominion. The purpose of God's restoration and further creation was twofold: to have a corporate man to express God and to have a corporate man to exercise His dominion.
This matter of dominion includes a sphere or a realm. There are three points related to this sphere:
Man must have dominion over the seas. The seas are the lodging place of the demons (Matt. 8:32; 12:43). Thus, the sphere of God's dominion must include the seas.
Man must have dominion over all things in the air, which is the place where Satan and his angels are (Eph. 2:2; 6:12). There are evil powers in the air with Satan as their head. Ephesians 2:2 describes Satan as the prince of the power of the air.
Man must have dominion over all things on the earth, the field of Satan's activities. Satan is very active on the earth (Luke 4:5-6). So, here in Genesis 1:26 it especially says that man may have the dominion "over all the earth." The earth has been usurped by Satan. Thus, it needs to be ruled over by man, God's representative.
Remember that the sphere of God's dominion which He committed to man includes three sections: the seas, the dwelling place of the demons; the air, the place where Satan and his angels are; the earth, the field of Satan's activities.
When the Lord Jesus was on this earth, He had to deal with Satan, fallen angels, or demons wherever He went. That was why the Lord Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves during a storm. The wind came from the fallen angels in the air and the waves came from the demons in the water. The Lord told the wind, "Stop" and the waves, "Be calm." Immediately the wind ceased and the waves were calm. The fallen angels and the demons were subdued and overruled by the Lord Jesus. If we know how to read the Bible, we will see in the four Gospels that the Lord Jesus exercised God's authority over the seas, the air, and the earth. This is the sphere of God's dominion which He committed to man.
God's dominion not only has a sphere; it also has an intention. What was God's intention in giving man dominion?
The first aspect of God's intention is to deal with His enemy, to deal with Satan typified by the creeping things (Gen. 1:26). In the Bible, the creeping things are demonic, devilish, and Satanic. In the last message, we pointed out that only four living creatures, representing all creation, are present before the throne of God — the eagle, the ox, the lion, and the man. No creeping things such as serpents or scorpions are represented before God. In the Bible, Satan is typified by the serpent (Gen. 3:1). In Revelation 12:9 Satan is called the "ancient serpent." He has become old since the time he first appeared in Genesis 3.
In God's original creation, He had only one purpose — to express Himself. Due to Satan's rebellion, God now has another purpose — to deal with His enemy. When God created man, He had both of these purposes. Therefore, He created man in His own image that man might express Him and He gave him dominion that man might deal with His enemy. Both of these things must be accomplished. We need the image of God in order to express God and we need the dominion of God in order to subdue the enemy.
We need to express God and to deal with Satan in our home life. Many times the husband comes home and immediately the wife does not express God. She expresses the serpent. The wife's face has the appearance of a subtle serpent. Many times the husband also expresses the serpent. I have learned this by experience. Sometimes, when I saw Satan expressed in the members of my family, I didn't say a word. I went to my bedroom, knelt down, and prayed, "Lord, bind the serpent." A number of times I realized that I myself was expressing the serpent. Again I ran away to pray, "O Lord, forgive me. Bind the serpent." On many occasions, the divine authority of God is not exercised. The evil power of Satan is expressed instead. Recently, I learned that many young brothers are living in the brothers' houses. However, I am fearful that even in the brothers' house there is still the possibility that Satan's image, not God's, will be expressed, that the evil power, not God's authority, will be exercised. We all must realize that today God has this double goal to accomplish — to express Himself and to deal with His enemy. It is not really your husband who loses his temper. It is the serpent. It is not really your wife who says something to provoke your temper. It is the serpent. Don't deal with the husband and don't deal with the wife. It is not their fault. We must deal with the serpent that is behind them. Exchanging words can never deal with Satan. The more we argue, the more Satan gains ground. The only way to deal with Satan is to go on our knees, pray, call on the name of Jesus, and ask Him to bind the serpent.
The second aspect of God's intention in giving man dominion is to recover the earth (Gen. 1:26-28). Man is to have dominion over the earth, to subdue it, and to conquer it. To conquer the earth means that the enemy is there already, that a war is raging. Therefore, we must fight and conquer.
The young people who are preparing to enter into marriage must realize that marriage is a battle. Many of us know this by experience. Even when we were on our honeymoon, we were on the battlefield, fighting with our husband or wife. If we did not fight outwardly, we fought inwardly. Every area of life — school life, work life, family life — is a battlefield. The enemy never sleeps. All day long he is on the alert, not only in the family life, but also in the church life. Even in the church life, Satan and all his messengers are busy. On the earth a warfare is raging. God's intention is to recover the earth.
The earth was and still is usurped by Satan. Look at today's society. Look how the enemy is still usurping the whole earth.
God wants to regain the earth. The earth has become a crucial place, a place that Satan wants to hold and a place that God wants to regain. The battle is over the earth. Whoever gains the earth is the winner. If Satan can keep the earth under his hand, he has the victory. If God can regain the earth, He will have the victory. The Lord Jesus has not returned because the earth is still so much under Satan's usurping. This is why God needs the church. The church must fight the battle to regain the earth, if not the whole earth, at least some stepping stones, some outpost for the Lord Jesus to put His feet upon. The earth is crucial.
This point has been fully proved by Psalm 8. Psalm 8 begins by saying, "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" It also ends the same way. There is no doubt that the Lord's name is excellent in the heavens, but, in a sense, the name of the Lord is not excellent on this earth. His name is not excellent among so many of the fallen people. We need to pray, "Your name be sanctified" (Matt. 6:9). Oh, the Lord's name must be sanctified on this earth. The problem is not in the heavens; the problem is here on earth.
God desires that His kingdom come to this earth and that His will be done on earth (Matt. 6:10). Now we can understand the prayer which the Lord Jesus established. He said, "Let Your name be sanctified; let Your kingdom come." Certainly this means to come from the heavens to the earth. The prayer continues, "Let Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." God's will is now being done in heaven. But on the earth there are many frustrations, hindering God's will from being done. We must pray, "Let Your name be sanctified; let Your kingdom come; let Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." We must fight to recover the earth.
At the time of the millennium, the earth will become the kingdom of God. This is revealed in Revelation 11:15. When the Lord Jesus comes to inaugurate the millennium, the whole earth will become the kingdom of God. Then the earth will be regained by God.
In eternity, God's habitation will come down from heaven to the new earth (Rev. 21:1-2). Many Christians dream of going to heaven. That is a good dream and, undoubtedly, all of us will be there. However, God desires to come down to earth. We like the heavens, but God likes the earth. We are going up, and He is coming down. Hallelujah! Let me tell you the truth: when we get to heaven, the Lord will say, "Children, let us go down. Let us go down to take over the earth." In eternity, the heavens will not be God's habitation. God's habitation will be the New Jerusalem, and the New Jerusalem will come down from the heavens to the new earth. This proves that God's desire is to possess the earth.
Satan, the usurping one, will not only be cast out of the air, but also cast out of the earth. According to Revelation 12:9, Satan will first be cast down from the air to the earth. Then Satan will be bound and cast out of the earth into the bottomless pit (Rev. 20:2-3). There will be no more spiritual smog. We will have fresh air, and the earth will be cleansed of all defilement. That will be during the millennium. At the end of the millennium, Satan will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). After the millennium, we will have eternity in which God's eternal habitation will be on the new earth. God wants the earth.
The third aspect of God's intention in giving man dominion is to bring in God's authority, to exercise God's authority over the earth. Man must exercise God's authority in order that the kingdom of God may come to earth, that the will of God may be done on earth, and that the glory of God may be manifested on earth. All of this will be on the earth. God will never be satisfied to have His kingdom only in the heavens. Neither will He be happy to have His will done only in the heavens nor to see His glory expressed only in the heavens. He wants all these things to happen on the earth. This is the responsibility of the church today. In the church we have the kingdom of God. In the church the will of God is done. In the church the glory of God is expressed. Hallelujah! We have a foretaste. Now we can see why God gave man dominion over everything in the seas, in the air, and on the earth. God's intention is to eliminate the enemy, regain the earth, and manifest His glory.
Has this been accomplished? Certainly not. Yet, God created man with this intention. Satan knows this much better than we do. The Bible tells us that immediately after the creation of man, Satan came in to damage the man whom God had created for His purpose. Man fell. However, God did not give man up. God Himself became a man. He came that He might get into man and make Himself one with man. He came to be the second man called Jesus (1 Cor. 15:47). The first man didn't fulfill God's purpose; the second man did. The first man was a corporate man, and the second man is also a corporate man. Adam was the head of the first corporate man, and Christ is the Head of the second man. God's purpose is fulfilled by the second man.
The fulfillment of God's purpose in giving man dominion started with Christ.
The preaching in the New Testament begins in a peculiar way, in a way that is contrary to our concept. It says, "Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near" (Matt. 4:17). The words "has drawn near" mean is come. When Christ came, the kingdom of God came. Christ brought in the kingdom. The little man Jesus was the kingdom of God. Many Christians think that the kingdom did not come when Jesus came. According to their concept, when the Jewish people rejected Jesus with the kingdom, the kingdom was suspended and the church age began. They think that the church is not the kingdom, that after the church age the kingdom will be established by the return of Jesus. In the Bible, there is some ground to say this and, in a sense, it is right, but just partially right. Romans 14:17 tells us that the church today is the kingdom. The church life is the kingdom. In a sense, the Jewish people rejected the kingdom. In another sense, the Lord established the kingdom by establishing the church. We can never separate the church from the kingdom. In Matthew 16:18, the Lord Jesus told Peter, "Peter, you are a stone and I will build the church upon Myself as the rock. The gates of Hades shall not prevail against this church." Immediately after this (v. 19), the Lord Jesus said, "I will give to you the keys of the kingdom." On the day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius Peter established the church by using the keys of the kingdom to open the door for both Jews and Gentiles to enter into the kingdom. Thus, when the church started, the kingdom was there. The church is the kingdom. No doubt there will be a full manifestation of the kingdom in the future. But the reality of the kingdom is here today. That is the church life.
The four gospels tell us that Jesus encountered demons wherever He went. Jesus could never tolerate demons and He immediately cast them out. In Matthew 12:28 Jesus tells us that His casting out the demons was the coming of the kingdom. That was the dominion of God. Adam had failed to bring in the kingdom, but when Jesus came He brought in the kingdom by casting out demons. To cast out demons means to bring in the kingdom of God.
Christ also gave His disciples authority over all the power of Satan. In Luke 10:19, the Lord Jesus said, "Behold I have given you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy." Both serpents and scorpions are in plural, indicating that they are many. In verse 18 of the same chapter we see Satan. In verse 20 we have the spirits, that is the demons. The "serpents" means the satanic power, and "scorpions" means the demonic power. Satan, the serpents, and the scorpions have power, but we have authority. Our authority exceeds their power. There are many powerful cars on the streets. However, the little policeman has authority. When he says, "Stop," you stop. The cars have power; the policeman has authority. Satan and his demons have power, but we are God's policemen. We must give Satan the commandment, "Stop!" When Jesus gave this authority to His disciples and they exercised it to cast out demons, they were excited. However, the Lord Jesus told them, "Don't rejoice in this. You must rejoice in something better — that your names are written in heaven." When Jesus came, the kingdom came. When Jesus cast out demons, He brought in the kingdom of God. Also, Jesus did this by and through His disciples. He gave them authority to cast out demons, and they did.
After His resurrection, Christ received all the authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). As the Lord God He had authority before His resurrection. As a man named Jesus of Nazareth, He was commissioned with all authority in heaven and on earth after His resurrection. Jesus is the real Adam. He has been committed with God's dominion.
The fulfillment of God's intention in giving man dominion involves Christ as the Head and the church, including all the saints, as the Body. The fulfillment of God's intention is not only with the Head, but also with the Body. The gates of Hades cannot prevail against the church (Matt. 16:18). The Bible does not say the gates of Hades (meaning the power of Satan) cannot prevail against the saints. They can prevail against the saints if the saints are separate or individualistic. You need to be built into the church. The Body which is built up with Christ can never be defeated by Satan. Satan can never prevail against the builded church.
The saints have been given authority to bind the enemy (Matt. 16:19; 18:18). The word in Matthew 16:19 was spoken to Peter; the word in Matthew 18:18 was spoken to every believer. The Catholic Church claims that Peter had the authority to represent Christ. They base this on Matthew 16:19. However, we must tell them that we also have Matthew 18:18. Not only has Peter been given authority to bind and loose, but we also. Every believer has been given the authority to bind and to loose. Today, the church with all the saints has the authority to bind and loose. Many times, we should not simply pray; we should bind and loose.
Romans 16:20 says, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." Paul said, "soon." I don't know how Paul felt when he said this nineteen hundred years ago. It may seem to us that a long time has passed. But, we believe, it has not been too long. Shortly, Satan will be crushed. The word crush not only means to bruise or break, but also to subdue. Satan must be under our feet. In your home life Satan must be under your feet. In your married life Satan must be under your feet. In your church life Satan must be under your feet. You have to tell him, "Satan, your position is under my feet." Here and now Satan must be under our feet.
Second Corinthians 10:3-5 and Ephesians 6:11-13 tell us that we must fight against the enemy. We not only fight, we wrestle. Wrestling is more difficult than fighting. We must wrestle with the evil powers in the air.
The overcoming saints will have authority over the nations (Rev. 2:26-27) and in the millennium they will be kings reigning with Christ over the whole earth (Rev. 20:4, 6). By that time, God will fully have His dominion on this earth. That will be the fulfillment of what God desired to have in Genesis 1.
Eventually, all the saints will reign as kings over the earth for eternity in the New Jerusalem. At that time, Satan, the evil angels in the air, and the sea with all the demons will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10, 13-14; Matt. 25:41). All the pollution will be cleared away. The air, the water, and the earth have been polluted. When eternity comes, all the pollution will disappear. Everything will be clear, and God's dominion will be there. God's authority will be exercised on the earth. In that realm and in that sphere God's image will be fully expressed and God's glory will be fully manifested. That will be the eternal kingdom, the dominion of God.
Genesis 1 is a nursery. All the seeds of the truth were sown there. We have seen that the word light was sown in Genesis 1 and developed through all the Bible until Revelation 22 where there is no need for the sun, the moon, or any lamp. God Himself is the light. Likewise, the word image first appears in Genesis 1 and is developed throughout the entire Bible until we see the New Jerusalem bearing the image of God, expressing God. In the same principle, the word dominion also needs the whole Bible to explain it. We go from the single word dominion in Genesis 1 to Revelation 22:5 where we see that all the saints will reign with God for eternity. That will be the ultimate fulfillment of God's dominion.
Man was made in God's image to express God and was given God's dominion to represent God and to deal with His enemy. Today, the church is the great part of the second man. The church's responsibility and duty is positively to express God and negatively to subdue God's enemy. This is our duty. We must bear this responsibility.
