Man Taking Dominion is Image of God

Genesis 1

26 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.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 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.


Many times when reading this verse, and reading or listening to commentary on it, a major part of the teaching is missed because people tend to focus on verses 26 and 28, forgetting verse 27.

Why that's extremely important is verse 27 affirms what God is saying in that part of the image of God is to take dominion. So when verse 26 says "let them have dominion...," verse 27 is reinforcing the fact that dominion is a characteristic of God that man is to bear. Verse 26 starts with God saying to one another that they'll make man in His image, and then immediately goes into dominion.
 
Speaking of verse 28, it entails the entirety of the purpose of God and dominion, taking into account getting married, having children, and raising a family; subduing the earth, which is a reference to how God views our employment and calling; and finally, it talks of us having authority or taking dominion over all lower life forms on the earth, which includes everything outside of man, which is the highest being created that walks the earth, and for those that have faith in Jesus Christ, we're over the angels as well, who exist to serve the heirs of salvation.

My point is verse 26 starts off with the image of God in man and verse 28 finishes with the same. The focus in between is dominion and what it means from God's point of view. This is the image of God being referred to, and what was being described when talking about making man in "our" likeness.

Instead of it being ancillary to man, it's included as central in the thought of God when He was about to create man.

How this verse is usually understood is, God creates man in His image, and from there man is to have dominion over everything on the earth. It should be read that man is created in the image of God, with having dominion being at the center of that image. Included of course are the characteristics of God, but having dominion is an extension of those characteristics spread across the earth.

This is what it means when we're told the glory of the Lord will fill the earth. It's not talking about a general presence of God, which has always been there from creation, it's talking about the glory of the Lord revealed in His people. That means being like Him in all aspects, with the centerpiece being that spreading across all of the earth to His glory.