The Image of God. Who Serves Who?

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his 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.

On the basis of these verses it has been said that the animals and other creatures were created on a level below Adam to serve Adam.  This statement requires explicit clarification in order that it can be understood to teach, as it ought to be understood, that humanity will be held responsible by the Creator of all creatures for their welfare, rather than being understood to teach that humanity can look on all other creatures as being given to it by the Creator as mere resources or slave beings for use in its own self-gratification.

First, it is important to realize that while Adam was made in the image of his and her Creator, it is only the Son of Adam who is said to actually be the image of the Creator.  Thus it is only by our unification with him that the Creator can actively express his image through us.  As we read:

From Hebrews 1:1-3 God...has... spoken unto us by his Son... Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person...

John 5:19 Then answered Yehoshua and said unto them, With certain truth, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do: for whatsoever things he does, these also the Son does likewise.

What things, then, do we see that the Son has done?  From these things we will know what the Father does.  We read:

From Philippians 2:5-7 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Mashiach Yehoshua:  Who...made himself of no reputation, and took the form of a servant...

Clearly, from these actions of the Son we know that the Father, the Creator of all, serves all, even graciously lowering himself to the lowest level in order to be the servant of all and to sustain the existence and life and welfare of all through his own unselfishness.

We should be careful, therefore, that we do not understand our being given dominion over all other creatures in a way that makes us proud and puffed up, as if it were a matter for us to boast about and a reason for our having a measure of disdain for our Creator's other creatures.  If we are more important to our Creator than the sparrow (Luke 12:7) it is not because the sparrow is less inherently divine than we are but because we were given free choice, so that we might take the responsibility to become the servant of the sparrow and all other creatures, as the Creator himself is the servant of all, and the sparrow and all other creatures were created to be our assistants in this work of serving the Great Servant and all his creation. 

Thus it is for us to know only that our responsibility is greater than that of the sparrow, for we are responsible for the welfare of many sparrows.  This knowledge, then, should fill us with modesty and not with pride and is the true meaning of Adam being delegated the dominion over all creatures of the earth by the Great Servant and Creator of all.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Mashiach Yehoshua...