Dominion

I would like to start this post with a look at something I covered briefly in my last post, a comparison between some verses in Genesis chapter 1, and Colossians chapter 1.

“Who is the image of the invisible God,” Colossians 1:15

As we covered last time, the Who mentioned at the start of this verse is Jesus. And image refers to the traits and character. So what this verse says is that Jesus is the very nature and character of God, only in a form we can see, touch, smell, and learn from. God came down in the form of Jesus and walked with us, talked with us, left us with lessons on how to live our lives, and, most importantly of all, redeemed us! In my last post I went over some of the traits that Jesus portrayed, and I say some because I know I only scratched the surface, my writing isn’t meant to be all inclusive, only to cause a desire to dig deeper, only God’s Word truly teaches.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:” Genesis 1:26

And here is the quote from the first half of that verse in Genesis that I also quoted last time; where God is saying that He is going to make man “in our image”. This is powerful. We are made after the image of God. So yes, we are made in the image of God. Refer back to Colossians (or refer forward as the case may be) and look again at the image of God mentioned there. From the very beginning, Genesis chapter 1, we were made in Christ! God knew the very day we would fall away from him (yes, song reference, for those that know me try not to faint) and was preparing, even then for that eventuality. We belonged to Christ then, before the fall, and had His traits. Now this is where comparing these two verses starts to get really interesting, let us take a look at these two areas, include a few more verses surrounding each.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Genesis 1: 26-28

Wow, so when we were created we had control over everything on the earth? Every creature, “over all the earth”. That is amazing. We were created to lead, and to rule, under God, but over the earth. Suddenly the name “King of Kings” is more appropriate than ever before, in a way, all were given dominion here and all were kings, and He the King over us. And then sin enters the picture, we all know the story, serpent deceives Eve, Eve eats forbidden fruit, Eve gives unto Adam, Adam eats, God kicks us out of the garden and we find ourselves living in the curse, all of a sudden without that same dominion we had before, now we have to struggle and work to get results out of the earth. If the story ended here, I probably wouldn’t be writing this, but then something happens; Jesus comes. Let us look into Colossians and see what His description is.

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Colossians 1: 15-17

Well, this is getting exciting now. “firstborn of every creature”. This doesn’t mean that Christ was the first thing created by God. Biblically speaking firstborn always refers to not an order of birth, but a right. The firstborn received the largest portion of inheritance, the firstborn ruled after the father passed. Solomon, though not the firstborn son of David, is considered a firstborn in the rights that he received. You see that with Jacob and Esau as well, Jacob received the rights and blessings of firstborn, even though Esau was born first. Christ was not created, in fact He created us and we were created in Him. He is the firstborn of creation because He rules over creation. The next part of these verses goes into some examples of the things that He rules over, which is a list of, well, everything. The verses close out with a clear statement that Christ is the head of all, and the reason for our very existence. Now I said this was where it got exciting, and I know some of you are probably wondering what is so exciting about this, we all knew Jesus was God, where is the news? Where is the excitement? Whereas I do have more, I just want to assure you that this is exciting, I am thrilled with my Lord Jesus and even simple statements like this make me want to belt out praises (again, those that know me know I don’t sing well, so that would be to the detriment of all nearby). This is glorious when compared side by side with all that Christ taught. Because Christ did more than just cleanse our sins, he brought the kingdom of heaven back to us. He has returned what we lost in Eden.  If there be any doubt of this, let us take a look at some of Christ’s teachings.

I don’t want anybody panicking on me here, I am not about to get into one of those God will give you what ever you want messages. I am going to start off in Luke, chapter 11, after Christ teaches the Lord’s Prayer and the parable of the man who asked for three loaves. We start off in verse 9:

“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Luke 11: 9-13

This is powerful. If we ask we receive, if we seek, we find, if we knock, the door is opened. I realize that on the surface this might look like what I just told you I wasn’t going to do, so I encourage you too look a little farther, what does it say our heavenly Father will give us? That is right, the Holy Spirit. So wait, what does this mean? When we seek, ask, and knock. God answers, He fills us with His Spirit. The Spirit can then guide us in the ways of God, comfort us through our troubles, and truly teach us how to ask things of our Lord. You see, God doesn’t provide for us whatever we ask for before Christ. This is part of what Christ brought to us. When we surrender to Christ, live for Him, the Holy Spirit fills us with desires that are Godly, and a heart that seeks His face. It is when we ask through the Spirit that God grants us our desires, for then, the desires are truly His anyway. The real power of prayer comes not in praying for what you want, but in letting the Spirit pray for you, and accomplishing His perfect will. This is but the first step in finding what Christ brought back to us, there is more, so much more. Getting excited yet? Let’s move on.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark 16: 15-18

This is Jesus speaking to the disciples just before his ascension into heaven. When we believe and are baptized. This is critical. First we believe, our faith is a gift from God, granted by him, and then we surrender into baptism. We give up our old ways to follow Him, surrender ourselves and receive the Holy Spirit. At this point Christ describes what those who believe will look like, I don’t know about you, but that seems like a fairly powerful group of people. In the name of Christ we can do all of those things, if He but gives us the faith. The dominion that was given when man was created, and lost to the sin of Adam and Eve, has been restored through Christ. If we surrender to Christ, allow the Spirit to live within us. That dominion is given back. Through His name we regain what was lost, not of ourselves, but of Him that created us, died for us, and defeated death itself.

All praise and glory to God the Father, through our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.