Created in the image and likeness of God makes man a unique being – it conveys to man all the attributes that differentiate him from all other creatures, and connects man directly to his Creator.

The in-breath of lives not only gave to man life, but a spirit – a spirit which is in union with the triuine God and can commune with Him.

Further, created in the “image and likeness of God,” conveyed to man virtues such as leadership, kingship, entrepreneurship, duty, and power. Also, it enabled capacities such as coherent speech, will, desire, holiness, rights, and knowledge.  

 Further still, it made man a responsible, blessed and moral being. The creation of man is the first of its kind in God’s universe.

All of these made man resemble God and qualified man for dominion and responsibility.

Now, let us examine some of these blessings individually and briefly.

Responsible Man 

The human race represented in Adam was created a responsible race. In fact, the responsibility of the human race was determined before the first man was formed and made – man is to multiply, fill the earth, and dominate the earth: 

“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, in the image of God created he him; 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” (Genesis 1:26). 

So complete and thorough was the creation of man that from the moment of his creation Adam could fulfill his first God given assignment with ease, of course, with God by his side: 

“And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof” (Genesis 2:19).  

 The naming of such an innumerable species was no cheap feat, but man, as he was designed by the Creator, was ready for duty from day one.

Further, the naming of the animals is an indication of the superiority of the human race over them; after all, to date there is no record of any animal given a name to its newly born, or having a naming ceremony.

Furthermore, it goes without argument that a task of such unimaginable magnitude cannot be accomplished by the unaided mind – nothing is impossible to the man whose will and purpose is embedded in the will and purpose of God.

Man was given the responsibility to rule the earth, and to manage the earth on behalf of God. Man is a steward of the earth, and this responsibility, even though weakened and corrupted by sin, is still in effect.

God created nature, and man developed it; God created the animals, and man named them; God created the earth and man lived in it; God created one man and out of him has come many more – there was oneness in purpose, perfection, and harmony in the beginning.

In fact, for man to be delegated the responsibility to name and care for the lower creatures of the planet earth is an honor unprecedented, and a dignity of the human race. The secret of the “power to dominate” is in our likeness and image to God.

This is what the psalmist had to say about this: 

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field” (Psalm 8:4-7). 

Technically, every man has twofold responsibility – a primary responsibility towards God, and a secondary responsibility towards fellow man, the lower creatures and nature.

Here is a summary of the twofold duty: 

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Mathew 22:37-40). 

The primary duty of man  

Man is to keep the relationship between him and God sealed – nothing is to be allowed to come in between: 

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exodus 20:3-7; cf. Ecclesiastes 12:13). 

Success for man is not measured by money, but by the rich understanding of the Creator’s will: 

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8). 

The secondary duty of man 

Concerning our secondary duty, Jesus narrated this parable to illustrate who a neighbor is and also gave us a hint on how a man must treat his or her neighbor (a neighbor is anyone outside you): 

“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, and who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said,

A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:29-37).  

The Golden Rule 

Again, the “golden rule” for all human relationship – a summary of the divine commandments safeguarding the harmony and peace within human society is as follows: 

“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Mathew 7:12; Mathew 22:39; Mark 12:14). 

Man is to love his neighbor as self for this is the law and the prophets – a duty without which no man can truly enjoy the blessings of God or be truly happy.

As human beings and descendants from one bloodline and sharing one planet, we share one common responsibility and a corporate wellbeing – what affects one, affects all.

Simply, what a man desires for oneself, he or she must desire and want the same for the neighbor: 

“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26). 

Rather than judging one another, we are commanded to think and treat each other exactly the same way we would like to be treated – we must treat others the same way we want them to treat us.

Delegated dominion, as it is given to man, does not include the subjugation of fellow man – no man is inferior to his fellow man.  Property values must not take precedence over human values.

Human rights are the rights of human beings, and our right as a human being is our equal creation in the image and likeness of God. Every man owes to his or her fellow man the responsibility of securing his or her rights, and this debt no man can bail out in life.

Your neighbor’s right is your right. We secure our own rights only when we secure the rights of others – what is a right for one is a right for all. Here is an ideal Scripture: 

“Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body” (Hebrews 13:1-3).  

We are one another’s keeper to death and beyond. Even enemies are to be treated with love, respect, kindness, and justice. Cruelty of any form and shape must not be encouraged. Remember, every man shall reap what he or she sows.

As Hillel, an ancient rabbi said, “Whatsoever is hateful to you, do not do to another.” Human abuses are tools of the devil. God is offended and would not hold him guiltless the man who needlessly harms his fellow man and treats despitefully: 

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Mathew 5:43-44). 

There cannot be any partiality or favoritism in our attitude towards one another, and neither can we exercise any preference to the rich, educated, famous, and the influential in society over and against the poor and underprivileged.

We cannot and must not act from injustice and selfishness – justice is for every man to enjoy because all men have equal worth (cf. Job 31:13-15). Selflessness and righteousness is the cure for avarice, envy, treasury, unkindness, greed, slander, theft, adultery, murder, and all other evil vices.

In truth, if we think of others the same way we would want them to think of us, there would be no room for partiality and favoritism. Besides, our duty and responsibility to subdue and dominate the earth exclude abuse of nature and the animals (Genesis 1:28).

The earth belongs to God, but it also belongs to man and the lower creatures. We are to exercise dominion over the earth and to develop its resources for common good – man is to cultivate nature for `profit: 

“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden . . . And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:8,15).  

Both man and beast depend on nature for physical needs – we all feast at the same dining table; therefore, nature must be respected, and the animals treated with kindness.

Animals are human’s friends; they are not to be killed for sports and entertainment. Again, a responsible attitude towards the environment, rainforest, mountains, rivers and all the natural habitats is profitable for both man and animals.

I tell you the truth, if not for sin, man would never have known the boundaries of his dominion over the earth. What did Jesus Christ not do? He commanded the sea and the wind and they obeyed Him.

Jesus literally walked on the sea and even gave power and authority to His disciples including us, to do the same (Mathew 14:29). Further, Moses, clothed with the power of God, parted the Red Sea for more than 1.5 million people (these includes, children men and women) to walk through on dry land.

Time and space would not allow me to speak of the ravens that brought food to hungry Elijah; Joshua, who commanded the sun to stand still and it stood still, almost a whole day; Peter whose shadow healed the sick; and the aprons from the body of the apostle Paul, which made the sick whole.

Besides, we can take a good look at the amazing things man has done through modern technology; things such as the computer, internet, telephone, motor vehicles, airplanes, and ships.

Man is able to cultivate the land in a variety of ways for profit: Make furniture, writing materials and plastics from trees, and the list of good things, which even though; it took thousands of years to accomplish them.

Today, we have nearly seven billion people living on planet earth. All these are the fulfillment of the first part of our responsibility: 

“Be fruitful and multiply and replenish or complete the earth.”  

Truly, to some extent man has lived out his blessings, but whether man has been a responsible creature is yet to be desired.  

It is shocking how irresponsible, ruthless, and contracted in spirit man has become. I do not think the indiscriminate destruction of the rain forest, unnecessary pollution of the atmosphere, the killings of animals for sports, industrialization and commercialization of war and human trafficking, just to name a few, are desirable achievements.

The root of every mistake is the selfish use of the will. Self-aggrandizement rather than doing what is right in the sight of God is self-destruction. Every man can use the gift of the will to do that, which is right or wrong, but very often we choose evil – any evil thought and act destroys the person who engages in it.

We are all responsible for the choices we make in this life and the results, whether good or bad; nevertheless, our harvest waits both here and hereafter. Life or death and; good or bad is up to each of us to decide. “Improper desire is the root of all evil.”

A responsible choice with an end goal of pleasing God and service to fellow man is life, health, and happiness; likewise, a selfish use of the will with the goal of pleasing the flesh carries with it the due recompense of failure, disappointment, and eternal punishment: 

“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Mathew 25:46). 

It is very important for every man to understand that God has not changed His position for the purpose to which He created man despite the presence of sin.

And for this one reason, every man shall stand in judgment before Him. We shall all render account to God for the life lived: 

 “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12). 

Life is God’s investment, and He expects pleasure and profit from every life without exception (Revelation 4:11).

Above all, the will of God includes the salvation of all men – God wants every man to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For why should any man die? 

“For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye” (Ezekiel 18:32). 

God desires and expects that every man shall live and not die, but for this decision, God cannot make for any man.

Every man must decide his or her own fate in the light of the revealed truth the Gospel – eternal life and everlasting punishment is up to each individual man to decide.

Thanks for reading.