Why was man created?

Genesis 1:26 - 28 states:


"And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His Own image; male and female created He them. 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."





Mankind was created by God with the expressed purpose of having dominion over the earth and over every living creature upon it. We were supposed to rule over the entire planet and over all the creatures in the sea, in the air, and on the land. I know that often we are taught that the purpose of our creation is to glorify God and to love Him and serve Him. These thoughts aren't necessarily in conflict with having dominion. The problems I see so often in Christian circles is that the dominion part is left out, or misapplied, or even misunderstood completely.





The primary reason for these problems is our enemy - the one we were created to replace. In his point of view, denying us the true attainment of what we have been created for suits his own ambitions. To understand his motivation, it is important for us to know what Satan was and currently is.


In the past, before the restoration of the earth and Satan's fall, Satan was the angel of God who ruled over this earth. He was beautiful, powerful, and wise. But Satan allowed himself to be caught up in his pride, and he sought to be independent from God. He rebelled against God's authority, and not only that, he sought to overthrow God as the ultimate power in the Universe. This ambition lead to his fall. The good angel Lucifer became the bad demon Satan.


Isaiah 14:12-15 states:


"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars 0f God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."





Ezekiel 28:12-17 states:


"Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou has been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day thou was created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou has walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day thou was created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee."

The evidence that Satan ruled this world can be found in the fact that after his fall, the world became chaotic and dead. This world was affected by his rebellion. God judged Satan, and as a result, what Satan had authority over became desolate.

A principle of biblical authority that is seen over and again is that an incumbent ruler stays in power until their replacement is on the scene and ready to take possession of the reigns of power (think of King Saul and King David). We are familiar with this concept in America because we follow the same principle. We elect a President in November of one year, but they don't take power until the following January. The incumbent remains in power until his successor is ready to take over.



Now, with this in your mind, what is the next thing that happens in scripture after Satan's fall and the earth becoming desolate? The restoration of the earth and the creation of mankind. What is the expressed command of God to man right after his creation? "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." God restored the earth in order to replace the rebellious Satan with a new creation- mankind. Mankind was to take Satan's place as ruler of this world.



The question is: "Did we replace Satan?" Many people point to our absolute numbers and our wholesale plundering of our natural resources as evidence of our dominance over the earth and its inhabitants. If we have dominion over this world, then why are people killed every year by earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, tidal waves, droughts, floods, etc. If we have dominion, then why don't we routinely swim unprotected with Great White Sharks, or go up and pet adult male African lions? The answer is easy. We don't have dominion over these things. Imagine for a moment trying to command a tornado to stop its destruction, or to command a bull to stop charging. It is ridiculous to think that we have taken dominion of this world or its inhabitants.



Why don't we have dominion over these things? Because we were disqualified by the fall. Satan still holds the reigns of power over this earth. We are not ready to take control. Consider two passages that support the idea that he has power of the earth:



Ephesians 2:1-2 states:



"And you (Christians) hath He (God) quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world (world system not the planet earth), according to the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:"



Ephesians 6:10-12 states:



"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities (magistrates), against powers (the power of rule or government), against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."



Mankind hasn't taken the place of rulership, because we have yet to qualify for it. So, as a result, Satan retains power over this earth. Mankind will rule this world in the future. It is one of the reasons that Christ had to become a man, live a perfect sinless life on the earth, die in our place, and be raised up the third day. Jesus has qualified to take the reigns of this world away from Satan. Now He is inviting us to join with Him, and through His power, qualify to attain a position as a ruler over this world. It is truly amazing what our Lord has done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us.