Every Christian who studies the Bible diligently, becomes aware that God gave to man dominion after the creation. Often times when we hear of our dominion in christ, we often think and talk in terms of Genesis 1:27.
"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."
When you hear most preachers teach on our dominion in christ, this is the verse of the bible that they usually refer to, and of course the majority of Christians, out of ignorance caused by mere lack of knowledge, or ignorance caused by religious teaching, usually refer also to this verse of the Bible when speaking of our dominion in Christ. But you see, this verse does not speak of our dominion in Christ. That verse does not refer to the man in Christ. It refers to Adam, the natural man, the first adam, before the fall. But you see, now there is a new race of humanity headed by a Second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Often times we fail to realize that the dominion of the first Adam, is not the dominion of the new creation man. It's not our dominion in Christ. The dominion of the first adam is not the dominion of the church (the new creation). The dominion of the church is the dominion of Christ. The first and the last Adam could never have the same type of dominion, because the last Adam, Jesus Christ is greater than the first Adam. Surely the dominion of second Adam, which is Christ exceeds the dominion of the first Adam. The church or new creation is not of the first Adam. The Bible declares that if any man is United with Christ, that person is a new creation, the old life is gone, behold a new life has begun (2 Cor 5: 17). This new life is a gift from God. It's not something you work for or merit by your religious effort, or self-righteousness. There's nothing we do that qualifies us to receive anything from God. Everything God does for us is based on the Mercy or Grace of Jesus Christ. We can only receive from God by faith, appropriating by faith all that God in His mercy and by Grace Has accomplished for us through the finished work of Christ. So stop struggling to please God.
The new creation is not of the old creation of the first Adam. The church is of Christ and our dominion is also of Christ. The Bible tells us that the first Adam "... was made a natural living being. But the last adam is a life giving Spirit." (1 Cor 15: 45). The first Adam is of the earth, earthy: the second Adam is the Lord from heaven (vs 47). Do you see the difference? The first adam was a natural man. But the last adam, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is a spiritual man. The natural came first, then that which is spiritual came afterward (1 Cor 15:46, 47). So you see their dominion must of course be different. You see as believers in Christ we don't have to wait until we get to heaven to experience the spirit enabled life that we possess now in christ. We can experience the dominion (power and authority) right here and now in this present world.
THE DOMINION OF THE FIRST ADAM
A proper look of Genesis 1:26-28, reveals that the dominion of the first Adam was limited. It was not a restricted dominion. It was only just limited in the sense that it was up to Adam to advance his dominion beyond only the natural realm. See also what God said to Noah after the flood (Gen 9: 1-3, 7). It appears everything about that dominion was limited to the earth and the natural realm. Everything natural which God created was under Adam's dominion, including the sun, moon, and stars, etc. But Adam's dominion did not include the spiritual realm. Although Adam had the privilege of extending his dominion into the realms of the spirit, if he wanted, but he never did, he failed. He choose to keep himself limited to this natural domain. The reason for this is yet unknown to us. Had he partook of the tree of life, he could have extended his dominion into the realms of the spirit. But he allowed himself to be limited to the natural realm. It was because the first adam limited his dominion to the natural realm, this explains why he was unable to drive the devil out of the garden of Eden, and to dress and keep the garden, as God had directed (Gen 2:15). Adam, not having eaten of the tree of life could only operate from the natural realm, whereas the devil was operating from a spiritual realm which is higher than the natural realm. Had Adam and Eve eaten of the Tree of Life before their encounter with the devil, their spirits would have taken dominion over the spiritual world, as they would have through that means received Eternal Life, the very life of God. And by so doing they would never have been defeated. This is because they would have been operating from a higher spiritual dominion than the devil himself. (Read: Gen 2:7,8,15-17; 3: 22, 24).
You see, God was well aware of the encounter between Adam and Eve and Satan, but he was not to interfere, because he had to be just in His dealings with His creatures. He had already given Adam and Eve the power to take charge of things on earth and had also already given them the necessary details they needed to handle matters. God had already told them to dress the garden and keep it from intruders (Gen 2: 15). They already knew what to do. Therefore for God to be truly just, He had to allow them to exercise their own free will, without His interference. God had to allow Adam to be the one to determine his own fate of mankind.
Satan never had dominion over the natural world, but Adam transferred it to him through the fall. By so doing, Adam made Satan the god of this natural world (2 Cor 4:4). When adam fell his spirit became captive and subject to Satan. The first Adam lost his dominion to Satan, and couldn't get it back. What a tragedy!
JESUS CAME TO TAKE US BEYOND THE
DOMINION OF THE FIRST ADAM
The first Adam never had spiritual dominion. He could have obtained it, had he partook of the Tree of Life, but he never did, so he was unable to enter into spiritual dominion.
Genesis 1:28, says “... 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." Notice here that Adam's dominion was over the following; THE FISH OF THE SEA, THE FOUL OF THE AIR, EVERY LIVING THIS THAT MOVES UPON THE EARTH, and by extension the entire NATURAL REALM.
This simply implies that the first adam had dominion over the whole earth, the sun, moon, and stars, and all-natural planets, and everything in them. That's really unimaginably extremely vast. But through the fall, Adam was unable to explore his vast natural dominion, not to talk of entering into spiritual dominion. We were never told that Adam was given spiritual authority or dominion over the spirit world. A similar pronouncement was also made to Noah after Noah's flood (See Genesis 9:2). The first Adam's dominion was limited to the earth or the natural realm.
Some people teach that Jesus came to restore us to the dominion of the first Adam. This however is not true. Jesus never came to restore us to the dominion of the first Adam. Jesus came to establish a new type of dominion for us. He didn't come to restore or continue the dominion of the first Adam. Rather he came to establish a new kind of dominion for mankind, one that is far beyond the dominion of the first Adam. Through Jesus Christ, we do not only have dominion over the earth or natural realm, but we also now have dominion over the spiritual world. We now have the dominion of Deity. We have now in Christ what I would call the JEHOVARIAN DOMINION. This dominion is the dominion beyond all the heavens, the earth, under the earth, and all of the created realms. We have dominion over the world of angels, everything created whether seen or unseen, past, present or future. We have dominion over Satan and demons, we have dominion over sickness and diseases. We have dominion over the world that now is and the world that is to come. The Dominion of the new creation, that is, our dominion in Christ, has nothing to do with the dominion of the first Adam. Our dominion in Christ is far superior to the dominion of the first Adam. Our dominion in christ is established in the person, personality, and name of JESUS CHRIST. It is rooted in Him, and everything He stands for. All of this is rooted in His name - the name that is above every name, in the heavens, on earth, and under the earth. The name that is above every name that has ever been, and that is, and that would ever be.
Our dominion is not in how much we can pray, it is not in fastings or consecration, it is not in our moral uprightness, or religious formalities, or performances. It is not in Church titles. It is simply in the Name of Jesus Christ. All dominion (power and dominion) was given to Jesus Christ as a man (Matt 28:18; Philp 2:10). And it is all encapsulated in his Name. Then this name was given to us (John 14:13, 14; 16:23,24). The Name of Jesus Christ belongs to us. It's our inheritance. We do not need to seek power in anything else, as some Christians attempt to do. The power is simply in a name - the name JESUS CHRIST.
Learning to use this name according to the word of God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is the key that unlocks our dominion.
Pastor, are you saying that the first Adam's dominion was limited to the natural realm, and never included all the works of God's hands? If so, what about Psalm 8:4-8 and Hebrews 2:5-8, are those passages not referring to the dominion of the first Adam?
Yes, the first Adam's dominion was restricted to the earth and the natural realm. No where are we told that the first Adam was given dominion over everything that God created, both spiritually and physically. The first Adam was unable to enter into spiritual dominion. Both Psalm 8:4-8 and Hebrews 2:5-8, are referring to the eternal dominion that Christ through His redemptive work obtained for us, from the Father, of which the first Adam failed to enter into.
PSALM 8:4-8 and HEBREWS 2:5-9 NOT REFERRING
TO THE DOMINION OF THE FIRST ADAM
The majority of Christians, Commentaries, and Bible Scholars have said that the above Biblical passages refer to the dominion that the first Adam had before the fall. This is not true in the light of the fact that Adams's dominion before the fall was over the natural world. But the spiritual world is also part of God's creation, yet nowhere are we told that God gave Adam dominion over the spiritual world. But by eating of the Tree of Life, he could have extended his dominion into the spiritual world, in line with God's plan for him. But he failed and forfeited even his natural dominion as well.
PSALM 8:4-8 and HEBREWS 2:5-9, speak to us of the original plan of complete dominion both natural and spiritual, which God had for the first Adam, which he never was able to enter into before the fall. Therefore it became necessary for christ, the second Adam, to come and accomplish that which the first adam failed to accomplish, thereby actualizing God's dream for mankind in Christ.
These two passages Psalm 8:5-8 and Hebrews 2:5-9, do not in any way refer to the dominion which mankind had through the first Adam before the fall. That's the error most people read into those passages. On the contrary, the two passages refer to the dominion of the last Adam. They are not referring to the dominion God gave to mankind under the first Adam. It is true that God is interested in every individual. He has a personal, intimate concern for every human being because we are made in His image and likeness. No other creature is made in God's image and likeness as man is. We share with God some faculties that are not shared by any other creation of God. But this is not what Psalm 8:5-8 and Hebrews 2:5-9, are talking about.
Let's take a closer look at Psalm 8:4-8. Notice Paul quotes this same passage in Hebrews 2:5-9.
1. WHAT IS MAN THAT THOU ART MINDFUL OF HIM (vs 4)
The word man here refers to mankind. It is translated from the Hebrew word ENOWSH (Strongs) And this statement speaks of the special place that mankind occupies in God's heart and the special attention that God gave to mankind because we are the only creature bearing the image and likeness of God.
2. THE SON OF MAN. Notice that Paul in the New Testament used this same expression in Hebrews 2:6 as found in Psalm 8:4-8. This expression is not referring to the first Adam, nor is it referring to all of mankind as some have poorly imagined. You see, whenever and wherever the expression SON OF MAN is used in the New Testament, it is always in reference to Jesus Christ (Acts 7:56; Rev 1:13; 14:14). In the Gospels, "Son of Man" is a designation of Christ. It is a title He used of Himself (Matt 8:20; 9:6; Mrk 14:62; Lk 5:24; Jhn 3:14, etc). This title "Son of Man", is a Messianic title. It speaks of Jesus in His humanity, earthly work, suffering, death, resurrection, and glory, even to that of His future advent. It, therefore, stresses Christ in His manhood, which is of a unique order in comparison with all other men. Not only is Jesus, man, but He is also "Son of Man", not by being born of a human father, but, according to the Semitic usage of the expression, He partook of the characteristics (the sin nature excluded) of manhood through the Virgin birth, thereby belonging to the category of mankind (Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words; emphasis are mine).
Therefore, when Paul used the expression "Son of Man", in Hebrews 2:6, quoted from Psalm 8:4-8, he had Jesus Christ in mind as the one being referred to by that expression.
Understand this also; the expression "son of man", when used without the article, refers to "son of Adam" (Heb. ben 'adam), of any person other than Christ. For instance, this title was used exactly one hundred times of Ezekiel by Jehovah, without the article (see Ezek 2:1,6,8; 3:1,3, etc). Besides Ezekiel, it was also used of Daniel (Dan 8:17). So without the article, the expression "son of man" denotes a human being, a natural descendant of Adam.
But this title, when used of Christ always has the article (as in the New Testament), and it denotes "the second man", "the last Adam", Jesus Christ, who has become the head of the new race of mankind, who has taken universal dominion beyond that which the first Adam had.
3. THOU HAST MADE HIM A LITTLE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS: This is a poor translation because we know that Jesus Christ Himself is God, so He couldn't have been a "made" or "created" being, as the Jehovah witness erroneously postulate. The Greek word translated here as "made" is "Elattoo". This word never carries the idea of one being created lesser. Rather it carries the idea of one taking upon himself a lesser or inferior position, rank, or influence. This does not affect the individual's personality, nor change who he is. This is true of Jesus Christ as Paul tells us that "though He was God...He emptied Himself by becoming a man through the Virgin birth" (Phil 2:5-8, my emphasis).
Jesus Christ was born as a man, even though He was God Himself. In being born as a man, and being found in the fashion of men, He took upon Himself a more subordinate role than God the Father and the Holy Spirit. This agrees with Paul's statement in Philippians 2:5-8.
The Hebrew word translated "Angels" in Psalm 8:5, is ELOHIM, which should have been translated as GOD. This is what the word actually means here, not Angels. It was the translators of the Septuagint Version that translated it as Angels because they were not certain, what exactly was being referred to here, as the term Elohim in the Old Testament is used not only of the true God, but also of angels, human judges, etc, as I will explain further below. So the Septuagint translators assumed the psalmist was referring to angels, so they translated it into Greek as Aggelos.
When Paul quoted Psalm 8:4-8, in his Hebrew epistle he wrote the epistle in the Hebrew language, therefore using the same Hebrew term ELOHIM. But the translators of the Greek New Testament made the same uncertain assumption as the translators of the Septuagint, in rendering the term ELOHIM as AGGELOS, which was what they found in the Septuagint, meaning Angels, instead of translating Elohim as God.
The reason for the assumption taken by the Septuagint translators and translators of the Greek New Testament as I earlier pointed out is that; the term ELOHIM in certain instances in the Old Testament is not only used of the one true God, but is also used on few occasions to refer to angels (Psalm 97:7), false gods such as Dagon (1 Sam 5:7), Baal (1 Kgs 18:24). On other occasions, it has been used to refer to Judges or Human Rulers (Ex 22:8,9). Once, God told Moses, "See, I have made thee a God [Heb: ELOHIM] to Pharaoh (Ex 7:1).
But you see Paul and the Psalmist were not referring to mere angels, but to God Himself.
Therefore God having been born as a man, in the person of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, having become human, took a lesser role than the Father. That God became human, in the person of Jesus Christ, never meant that God ceased to exist. That's why He is God. He should be able to exist in order realms and forms, separate from Himself, and yet still exist as God. Remember, God is God, because He is limitless, and nothing is impossible to Him. Therefore, God was born into the human world, as Jesus Christ, a little lower than the Father (ELOHIM = GOD), for a while. Why? It was for the purpose of redeeming mankind, and securing for us the SUPREMACY or DOMINION which the first Adam failed to secure.
Jesus was originally God before becoming a man. And in becoming man, He never lost His Godhood. But He took upon Himself a subordinate form, in body, rank, title, and function. He had to make himself a little lower than God to enable Him be born as man, and to function as a man.
Originally man was created higher than angels in the sense that he was created in God’s image and likeness (Gen 1:26,27). God's image and likeness is higher than angels. Angels were never created in God's image and likeness. So in that sense, we are greater than angels. Secondly, man was created higher than angels, not by having spiritual dominion over them or the spiritual world, or realm, as many people think, he had no such dominion, as long as he never ate of the tree of life, but he could have obtained it had he eaten of the tree of life. Nevertheless, he was still higher than angels in the sense that he had dominion over something - the NATURAL REALM. And he could have equally obtained dominion over the spiritual world if he had eaten of the tree of life. But to the angels, God never gave dominion over anything - whether the natural world or the spiritual world. But when man fell, he messed himself up.
4. CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOUR... THOU MADEST HIM TO HAVE DOMINION OVER THE WORKS OF THY HANDS (Pslm 8:5,6).
Both expressions speak of the fact that when Jesus, the last Adam, secured our redemption through His death and resurrection, He was crowned with Glory and Honour, and was exalted to the highest position in both the spiritual and physical worlds, and as man was given dominion over every created thing, whether in the spirit world or the natural world (Philp 2:9, 10; Eph 1:19-23). This was far higher than what the first Adam had. If Jesus only came to restore us to the position, or dominion of the first Adam before the fall, then we are no better than the first Adam, and that would leave us still nowhere.
OUR DOMINION IN CHRIST
5. ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET (Pslm 8:6, Matt 22:44; 1 Cor 15:27; Eph 1:22; Heb 2:8).
Our dominion in Christ is expressed by the statement, "thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet". All things have been put under Jesus' feet, both spiritually and physically. And the Father Has given us Jesus, His first begotten son. Jesus belongs to us, and we belong to Him. But what do Jesus' feet represent? Notice that the feet is a part of the body. As a matter of truth, it is the lowest part of the body. You recall that the Church is the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12: 27). According to the Scriptures, the FEET is a symbol of WALK (Gal 2:14; Palm 40:2). The feet are used for walking. The feet are also the last part of the body touching the earth. Therefore the feet of Christ speak of the Church in her earth walk. And since it is the last part of a person touching the earth, it refers to the Church in her last days' earth walk. Just like the Psalmist (Palm 8:6), Paul declares that God has put all things under Jesus' feet, and made Him the head (meaning: one to whom all things are subordinate), for the sake of the Church. Jesus is therefore the Universal and Supreme Head of the Church, NOT THE POPE! (Eph 1:22; 4:15; 5:23; Col 1:18; 2:10, 19).
Jesus is not just the Universal and Supreme Head of the Church, all things are subject to Him. And by virtue of Him being the Head of the Church, all things have therefore been made subject to the Church. This is because Christ and His Church is one body (Eph 4:4-5). We are joined unto the LORD, we are one Spirit with Him (1 Cor 6:17). Whatever belongs to Christ belongs to His Church. We have been made joint-heirs (joint owners, one who owns something equally with another) with Christ (Rom 8:17). Christ's dominion is our dominion because we are spiritually united with Him. This dominion implies that we have power beyond the scientific realm. The scientific realm is the best of the natural man, but it's an understatement to the New Creation man. Science is of the mind or mental realm, but our dominion is beyond the mental realm. We have power beyond the natural world. In Christ, we have untapped power bigger than the universe itself. Paul tells us that Jesus Has been raised far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come (Eph 1:20-22). Then he goes on to tell us that we have been raised and made to sit together with Christ in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph 2:6). This means that in Christ, we have been raised far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come, far above principalities and powers, thrones, dominions, etc.
Spirits are subject unto us, in Jesus' Name (Luke 10:20, Amp). Angels and other spirit creatures are subject to us, the hosts of heaven are subject to us, Satan and demons are subject to us, death and life are subject to us, diseases and sicknesses are subject to us. The entire universe is subject to us.
Colossians 2:9 declares, "For in Him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily." (cf. Col 1:19). And we are in Him, and He in us (John 17:23). We are the Temple of God (1 Cor 3:16). This implies that God dwells in us. We are, in Christ, who is the embodiment of deity. We are in deity. We are deity. Sons of deity. Christ has made us in Him members of the Godhead. This is beyond speculation. It is beyond reason. It is beyond Religion. It is beyond argument. It is reality. We carry on earth the dominion of the Godhead. This is far beyond what the first Adam had before the fall. Nothing has been left outside the control of the New Creation Man. We see this reality expressed by Christ when He resurrected and ascended far beyond all the heavens (Eph 4:10). Our dominion is far above all the heavens.
At present, we are yet to see the body of Christ (the Church) manifesting or exercising the fullness of our dominion. This is because the Church is yet to mature in the knowledge of the truth. This however does not in any way mean that all things have not already been subjected to us in and through Christ. All things have indeed been legally subjected to us in Him. And as our knowledge of truth matures, through the revelation of God's Spirit in us, our natural human limitations will be consumed away by our immortality, and our humanity swallowed up by our divinity until our dominion in Christ is totally manifested in us to the Glory of the Father, Hallelujah!!!
Thanks for reading this article. Best Wishes!
At present, we are yet to see the body of Christ (the Church) manifesting or exercising the fullness of our dominion. This is because the Church is yet to mature in the knowledge of the truth. This however does not in any way mean that all things have not already been subjected to us in and through Christ. All things have indeed been legally subjected to us in Him. And as our knowledge of truth matures, through the revelation of God's Spirit in us, our natural human limitations will be consumed away by our immortality, and our humanity swallowed up by our divinity until our dominion in Christ is totally manifested in us to the Glory of the Father, Hallelujah!!!
Thanks for reading this article. Best Wishes!
Prize Chukwuka
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