Proverbs
8:27-31 – I was
there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of
the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters
would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the
foundations of the earth. Then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his
presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in
mankind.
Revelation 3:14 – “To the
angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
Job 38:6-7 – On what
were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—while
the morning stars sang
together and all the angels shouted for joy?
John 1:1,4 – In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God…In him was life, and that life was the light of
all mankind.
Colossians 1:15,18-20 – The Son is the
image of the invisible God, the
firstborn over all creation…And he is the
head of
the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything
he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all
things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Genesis 1:26,28 – 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.”… 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.”
Application:
- ·
The Greek word for “ruler” can mean first in
point of time or first in rank.
- ·
When the earth was created, the angels were
there to sing the praises of the Creator, but Job was not. He should therefore
not expect to be able to understand even lesser aspects of God’s plans for the
world and for humankind.
- ·
Humans, made in the image of God, represented
the climax of creation.
- ·
“In the beginning” was a deliberate echo to
link God’s action in behalf of the world through Jesus Christ with His first
work, the creation of the world.
- ·
Life is Christ’s gift, and He, in fact, is
“the life”.
- ·
Just as the firstborn son had certain
privileges and rights in the Biblical world, so also Christ has certain rights
in relation to all creation—priority, preeminence and sovereignty.
- ·
Christ is supreme in the church as the one on
whom it is dependent.
- ·
For Paul “fullness” meant the totality of God
with all His powers and attributes.
- ·
So when Christ died on the cross, He made
peace possible between God and humans, and He restored in principle the harmony
in the physical world, though the full realization of the latter will come only
when Christ returns.
- ·
Humans are the climax of God’s creative
activity, and God has “crowned them with glory and honor” and made them rulers
over the rest of His creation.
- ·
Humankind goes forth from the hands of the
Creator under His divine benediction—flourishing, filling the earth with their
kind, and exercising dominion over the other earthly creatures.
All Scripture verses taken from NIV
