Image of God 3-- Sovereignty

Often, when we have a puzzle in Scripture, it is best to go back to the text, to see if there are clues we have missed. And in the midst of the text about God’s image there is a description of humanity’s function: to rule over the animals of the earth. It seems a curious placement unless the description of the rule pertains to the idea of being made in God’s image. And if we think about it, the main characteristic of God, as given in the Hebrew Bible is that He is in charge. There is no being—god, angel, human, animal, cosmic force—that is above God. And it seems that Genesis 1 is actually all about God’s superiority over the powers that the ancient world found significant and frightening and awe-inspiring. God is above the ocean, because He divided it. God is above the sun, moon and stars and established their authority. God is above all powers, and even though there may have been others who participated in His creation, it was His command that made it happen.

Given this understanding of God, then it would make sense that if humanity is to be in God’s image, it is in the area of sovereignty. Humanity is like God in the area of having a huge realm to rule. Humanity has great authority, to determine the shape and purpose of the earth, as well as all the animals. Humanity is granted god-like powers of sovereignty.

And, in fact, Psalm 8 is a hymn to exactly that nature. “What is man that You take thought of him?... You have made him a little lower than God.” And a description of humanity’s rule over the earth is given. Even little children have power to rule, the psalmist says.

And every single human does rule. It seems, at first, that some humans rule and some do not. But that is simply over other humans. Although, most humans do rule over other humans—every parent rules over their children, every pet owner rules over their pet (although cats think it is the other way around). Yes, governments are the big rulers, but every human has an aspect of rule, a sovereignty to rule over. And, in fact, humans are different from animals in that they rule over themselves. They are responsible for their actions, and recognize themselves as responsible. And this completely natural, powerful tendency is our godlike nature. We are like God in that we are in charge of ourselves, our environment, those below us. And humanity, as a whole, is in charge of the earth as a whole.