The Second Person in Command

Man was made in the image of God and was sinless. By choice, man fell out of favor with God into sin. In God’s mercy salvation comes to every lost and sinful person freely and simply by faith in Jesus Christ who shed his blood for sin and through regeneration by the Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:26-28; 3:1-21, John 1:11-13, 1 Corinthians 12:13)

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth”

Genesis 1:26 KJV

Made in His image and likeness

After God had created the universe for His pleasure He had to put one of His creations to be in charge of everything. Since there was no one for the task, God had to create someone to take it up.

That person had to be intelligent enough to rule over all creation because the creation was splendid and intricate. He, therefore, decided to make man in His image and likeness.

This is a profound statement that needs keenness in studying and interpreting it. Before He made man, there was a consultation between the three heads of the Holy Trinity (depicted by the phrase ‘Let us’). It shows that man was a unique creation; a creation that needed consultation and planning unlike the rest.

Furthermore, He was created in the image and likeness of God, which may mean that man may physically look like God; a hypothesis yet to be proven. But what we know is―man looked like God spiritually.

He could fellowship with God and be in His presence. Man could feel God and know Him. He could have an unexplainable intimate relationship with God.

This likeness means that man was holy, uncorrupted, and righteous. He was clean and pure (Genesis 2:25) in the heart; an extension of the Father’s goodness and glory.

Man was not God, neither was he a god

However, man was not a god; neither was he God. He was just a creation given the power to be second in command after the Trinity, above the cherubs, angels, and all life, i.e., animals and plants. Creation cannot be powerful than the creator.

Authority and dominion

With all these attributes, man was the icing on the cake after creation. He had significant tasks (naming and taking care of the creation); and with them came great privileges (dominion over the creation).

Man could do absolutely what he wanted because he had a domain. He could eat from any plant he wanted; from any tree he chose to.

However, God asked him not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The fruit of this tree would cause him to know what was good and evil; the source of wickedness that man could ever have. Albeit, he was deceived by the evil one and ended up consuming the forbidden fruit.

The fall of man

Man died spiritually.

Since the devil was cast down on earth, he dwelled there, and he used the serpent, which was very subtle, to lure Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. She ate the fruit and gave some to her husband, and he ate too.

Immediately, their eyes were open and they were no longer innocent beings. They had a guilty conscience and they became naked (Genesis 3:7). They now knew evil and could no longer be like God.

Righteousness and sin cannot dwell in the same abode. They were now very close to being like God (Genesis 3:22), but they lacked power. If they lived forever, it would be a real nightmare; a phenomenon likened to a dictator who never dies. Consequently, God drove them out of the garden and guarded the tree of life so that they could not eat from it.

What now? God The Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to come down and die for our sins. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and every man has to face death spiritually because they are the seed of Adam (Romans 5:14, 1 Corinthians 15:22).

Christ came to save us from that death. It is through Him that we are reunited with the Father. There have been several futile religious ways through which man has tried to acquire a right standing with their maker since the fall. Albeit, the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) stipulates that there is only one way to The Father and that is through him. 

Man has been sacrificing animals for the covering of sin. Christ comes to be the ultimate sacrifice, and believing in the work done on the cross gives man justification (right standing with God).

Salvation by faith

Salvation from condemnation to hell comes by faith and not by works because Jesus Christ performed the works on our behalf. In Romans 10:8-11, Paul shows us that salvation is by faith.

All that a person has to do is believe in their heart and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ died and resurrected and is LORD and Savior. The Holy Spirit convicts the sinner and cleanses the sin off them, rendering them righteous.

This is the work that Christ came to do here on earth so that we can have the dominion that we lost―the relationship that was once ours, the love that we once had, and the freedom from sin.

Still a slave to sin? Do you want the dominion back? Visit our page ‘Salvation is for everyone‘ and get it back today.