JESUS IS The WAY and The TRUTH and The LIFE

In His Image

and

Likeness

October 2025

Jesus Stock photos by Vecteezy

Genesis 1:26-28

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

An Unexpected Revelation

I was reading Genesis 1:26 for the umpteenth time, when the following words suddenly leapt out of the page:

...“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule ...

The words "so that" arrested my gaze. These seemingly insignificant words were suddenly revealing a very important reason for why we were created.

The reason is stated clearly - so that we may rule - rule over the fish, the birds, and every living creature that moves along the ground.

Interestingly a mere two verses later, in verse 28, we see God re-iterating this rule again as if to confirm the point beyond doubt.

A Further Revelation: Authority

In order for anyone to rule over anything, they have to be given authority. So in telling us to rule, God would have to give us the authority to do so. How did He give us that authority? Verse 26 stated the answer:

...“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule ...

Authority comes with being created in His image and likeness!

Compare this to the rest of God's creations, such as animals, birds, sea creatures, and living creatures. Verses 21-22 state:

21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”

God blessed them in the same way He has done for man, to be fruitful and to increase in number, but He had not told them to rule - this is because they were never created in His image and likeness.

The Angels

We know that the angels were also part of God's creation. They were created to be His messengers, but they were not created in His image and likeness. It follows therefore that they do not have the authority to rule.

Satan

Satan was created as one of God's angels and was thus never given the authority to rule. In his envy and desire to become like God, he had to find a way to steal authority in order to rule.

In managing to deceive Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3), Satan gained the authority to rule over all that was given to Adam and Eve to rule over.

In failing to deceive Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13), Satan failed to gain the authority that God has over everything (the universe and beyond). Imagine if Satan had succeeded, what would have happened to us and the universe? It would have been no less than a complete and universal disaster!

Furthermore, in triumphing over Satan on the cross, Jesus was able to take back man's authority (once given to Adam and Eve) from Satan, to give it once again to man / to us (Matthew 28:18; Luke 10:19) so that we may use it in warfare against Satan and we may live the life that was intended for us by God.

All glory be to the Lord Jesus forever and ever, Amen!

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