This document discusses man being created in God's image and having dominion. It notes that Genesis 1:26 says God created man in His image to have dominion over the earth. Romans 8:28-29 say believers will be conformed to Christ's image. The document explores what it means to be created in God's image and to have dominion, noting that ultimately the church will fully express God's dominion and reign with Him forever.

1. IMAGE AND DOMINION
November 29th, 2014

2. VERSES IN GENESIS
 Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in
Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the
birds of heavens and over the cattle and over all the
earth and over every creeping thing that creeps
upon the earth.”

3. VERSES IN ROMANS
 Romans 8:28 “Because those whom He foreknew,
He also predestinated to be conformed to the
image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn
among many brothers.”
 Romans 5:17 “For if, by the offense of the one,
death reigned through the one, much more those
who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift
of righteousness will reign in life through the One,
Jesus Christ.”

4. VERSES IN REVELATION
 Rev 21: 10-11 “And he carried me away in spirit
onto a great and high mountain and showed me the
holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God, Having the glory of God. Her light was
like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as
clear as crystal.”
 Rev 22:5 “And night will be no more; and they have
no need of the light of a lamp and of the light of the
sun, for the Lord God will shine upon them; and
they will reign forever and ever.”

5. GOD’S IMAGE
 Definition- Refers to God’s inner being, which is the
expression of the inward essence of God’s
attributes
 The most prominent attributes of God are love,
light, holiness, and righteousness (See Gen 1:26
note 3)
 God’s image is Christ (2 Cor. 4:4, Col 1:15, Heb.
1:3)

6. MAN MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE
 All the other living things were created “according to
their kind”, but man was created according to God’s
kind (cf. Acts 17:28-29a)
 Man was made in God’s image
 Man’s inward virtues, created in man’s spirit, are copies
of God’s attributes and are the means for man to
express God’s attributes; this is like a glove having the
same shape as a hand
 Since man is created in God’s image, it is possible for
man to be joined to God and live together with Him in an
organic union (John 15:5, cf Gen 1:26 note 3)

7. CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF CHRIST
 To be made in the image of God is to be created in
the image of Christ, since Christ is the image of
God (cf John 1:18)
 Christ the Son, is the very embodiment of God (Col
2:9), the image of the invisible God, the expression
of the essence of God’s attributes (Col 1:15)
 Man was created according to Christ with the
intention that Christ would enter into man and be
expressed through man (Col 1:27; Phil. 1:20-21a)
 Thus, created man is a living vessel, a container to
contain Christ (Rom 9:21, 23; 2 Cor. 4:7)

8. THE IMAGE OF CHRIST
 In eternity past, Christ is the image of God (Col. 2:9)
 In Christ’s incarnation, he put on human nature and
became in the likeness of men (Phil 2:6-8)
 Through Christ’s death and resurrection, the only
begotten Son became the firstborn of many brothers
(Rom. 8:29)
 We become sons of God when we receive the God into
us as life (1 John 5:11-13)
 Through life, we will be transformed and conformed to
the image of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18, Rom 8:29)
 Eventually we will be transfigured into the likeness of
Christ’s glorious body outwardly (Phil. 3:21) that we may
be the same as Christ (1 John 3:2b) and may express
God with Him to the universe (Eph. 3:21)

9. TRANSFORMATION
 Both regeneration and transfiguration are instantaneous,
but transformation is a life long matter
 Transformation is a matter of life. To be transformed, we
need to learn to live by the divine life
 Transformation is mainly in our soul. Daily, we need our
mind to be renewed (Rom. 12:2)
 Transformation involving more unveiling. To be unveiled
is to simply turn our hearts to the Lord. Then, we can
behold and reflect Him and He infuses us with the
elements of what He is and what He has done (2 Cor
3:18 note 7)
 Transformation is from the Lord Spirit. Today, Christ is
the Spirit in our spirit. When we turn to our mingled spirit
and exercise our spirit, we receive more of who He is.

10. CONFORMATION
 The result of transformation is conformation
 It includes the changing of our inward essence and
nature, and it also includes the changing of our
outward form, that we may match the glorified
image of Christ, the God-man (Rom. 8:29 note 1)

11. THE END RESULT
 We become the same as Christ in life and nature (1
John 3:2b, 2 Pet. 1:4)
 We express God in His likeness
 We become part of the new man, which is the
church, to express God (Col. 3:10)
 We become the New Jerusalem, which is the
ultimate expression of God in eternity (Rev. 21:10-
11)
 We will be able to reign in life in this age (Rom.
5:17), and exercise His dominion in a full way in
eternity (Rev. 22:5)

12. DOMINION
 "...And let them have dominion over the fish of the
sea and over the birds of heaven and over the
cattle and over all the earth and over every
creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."
-Gen 1:26b

13. THE SPHERE OF DOMINION
 Every type of authority has a limit, or sphere, to
which it applies
 God gave man authority over the sea (where the
demons are), the air (where the fallen angels are),
and the earth (where Satan is active)
 We can see the Lord Jesus exercise this dominion
in Matthew 8:26, when He "rebuked the wind and
the seas." Furthermore, He cast out the
demons on earth.

14. TO DEAL WITH HIS ENEMY
 To deal with His enemy, which includes every
"creeping thing" in Gen 1:26.
 As the Almighty God, He will not defeat Satan, a
mere creature directly, but will use man, His further
creation, to defeat Satan.

15. TO RECOVER THE EARTH
 Gen 1:28: "And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be
fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it...“
 Psalm 8:1 "How excellent is Your name in all the earth.“
 Unfortunately, we do not see God's name being made
excellent in all the earth today, because of the unbelief and sin
of mankind, as a result of Satan's work.
 But the Lord prayed, "...Your name be sanctified." (Matt 6:9).
 Eventually, through Christ's incarnation, resurrection,
ascension and work as the Spirit, the earth will be fully gained
for God: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom
of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and
ever." (Rev 11:15)

16. TO BRING IN HIS AUTHORITY OVER ALL THE
EARTH
 "Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in
heaven, so also on earth." (Matt 6:10)

17. FULFILLMENT
 On the one hand, God has already fully
accomplished this; on the other hand, His dominion
will not be fully expressed until the end of this age

18. FULFILLMENT- CHRIST HIMSELF IS THE
REALITY OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
 In His God-man living He fully subdued the enemy,
both as a man on the earth living for God, and in
His Satan-destroying death and resurrection
 Furthermore, God has given Him all authority: "And
He subjected all things under His feet and gave
Him to be Head over all things..." (Eph 1:22)

19. FULFILLMENT- THE CHURCH WILL FULLY
EXPRESS GOD’S DOMINION
 The church as God's chosen, redeemed and
transformed people will fully express God's
dominion in eternity
 "And He subjected all things under His feet and
gave Him to be Head over all things to the church."
(Eph. 1:22)
 Christ is transmitting His authority to the church

20. FULFILLMENT- THE CHURCH WILL FULLY
EXPRESS GOD’S DOMINION
 "Now the God of peace will crush Satan under your
feet shortly." (Rom 16:20)
 "...I will build My church, and the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it. I will give to you the keys
of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you
bind on the earth shall have been bound in the
heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall
have been loosed in the heavens." (Matt 16:18b-19)
 "...And they shall reign forever and ever." (Rev
22:5)

21. EXPERIENCE
 Although the gates of Hades cannot prevail against the
church, as individual believers there can still be times
that we are defeated by God's enemy.
 However, we have the ruling One within us who has all
authority and who, as the Head of the church, is
transmitting all power and authority to us.
 We need to remain in our spirit so that we can be open
to receive this transmission, and we need to remain in
the church so that we can be in the proper position to
receive it.
 When we love the church and turn to the Lord, then in
our moment-to-moment experience we can be those
reigning in life over the enemy.