Image and Dominion—the Heart of Genesis形像与管治权—创世记的心脏 (Day1)
Samuel Lin
Gen. 1:26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion...over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
28 And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion...
The record in the Bible has a purpose. Genesis, a book of God’s image and dominion, shows a complete picture of how human beings can be remade and transformed to express God in His image and to represent Him with His dominion. The last fourteen chapters of Genesis indicate that after Jacob had become Israel, he bore the image of God and exercised the dominion of God. The book of Genesis is complete; it ends the way it begins. It begins and ends with God’s image and dominion. In the closing chapters of Genesis, God must have been happy, and He could have said, “Now I have a man on earth expressing Me and representing Me. This man bears My image and exercises My dominion. His words are My prophecy, and his actions are the exercise of My dominion.” This is the subject of the book of Genesis. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 1182-1183)
Today’s Reading
Genesis 1:26 is a very crucial verse....Notice two significant words here—image and dominion....We must consider in what way and for what purpose man was created. The Bible says that man was made in the image of God. Nothing is higher than God. Thus, man was made in the image of the highest One. Perhaps you have never regarded yourself this highly before. Because we bear the divine image, we should have a high regard for ourselves. We are not low creatures; we were made for the purpose of expressing God and exercising His dominion. The subject of Genesis is man bearing the image of God and exercising God’s dominion over all things. We bear God’s image that we might express Him, and we have God’s dominion that we might represent Him. Therefore, we are God’s expression and representation. This is the heart of Genesis. (Life-study of Genesis, p. 1180)
For God to create man in His image means that God created man with the intention that man would become a duplicate of God;...the word image implies that man has the capacity and ability to take God into him and to contain Him. The man created in God’s image was created to be God’s container....The word likeness refers to outward form, outward fashion, outward appearance. Hence, likeness here is a matter of expression. First, man was made in God’s image to be a duplicate of God, and then man was made after God’s likeness to have the appearance of God for His expression. (Life-study of Luke, p. 486)
God created a corporate man not only to express Himself with His image but also to represent Him by exercising His dominion over all things. God’s intention in giving man dominion is (1) to subdue God’s enemy, Satan, who rebelled against God; (2) to recover the earth, which was usurped by Satan; and (3) to exercise God’s authority over the earth in order that the kingdom of God may come to the earth, the will of God may be done on the earth, and the glory of God may be manifested on the earth (Matt. 6:10, 13b). (Gen. 1:26, footnote 5)
We have seen that Jacob, God’s expression, bore the image of God. But what about God’s dominion? The book of Genesis ends with Joseph exercising dominion over the whole earth. Although Pharaoh was the king, he was merely a figurehead. The acting king was Joseph, who is a part of Jacob in the experience of life. In Jacob with Joseph we see the expression of God with the dominion of God. Never separate Joseph from Jacob. The record of the last fourteen chapters of Genesis mixes the two together. This indicates that Joseph is the reigning part of Jacob and that Jacob and Joseph should not be considered as separate persons. (Life-study of Genesis, p. 1182)
Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msg. 92; Life-study of Luke, msg. 56
晨兴喂养
创一26 神说，我们要按着我们的形像，照着我们的样式造人，使他们管理……全地、并地上所爬的一切爬物。
28 神就赐福给他们；又对他们说，要繁衍增多，遍满地面，并制伏这地，也要管理……。
圣经里的记载都有其目的。创世记这卷神形像和管治权的书，展现一幅完整的图画，说到人类如何能被重造并变化，有神的形像彰显祂，并有神的管治权代表祂。创世记末了的十四章指明，在雅各成为以色列以后，他具有神的形像，并且施行神的管治权。创世记很完整，它的结束正如它的开始—有神的形像和管治权。在创世记结束的几章里，神必定很喜乐，祂能说，“现在我在地上得着一个彰显我并代表我的人了。这人带有我的形像，并且施行我的管治权。他的话就是我的预言，他的行动就是我管治权的施行。”这就是创世记的主题（创世记生命读经，一四○八至一四○九页）。
信息选读
创世记一章二十六节是非常重要的一节……。请注意这里两个重要的辞—形像和管理。……我们必须想想，人是按着什么作法，为着什么目的造的。圣经说，人是按着神的形像造的。没有什么比神更高。因此，人是按着至高者的形像造的。也许你以前从来没有这样高估自己过。因为我们有神的形像，所以我们应当高估自己。我们不是低级的受造之物；我们受造的目的乃是为着彰显神并施行祂的管治权。创世记的主题是人具有神的形像，并且施行神的管治权管理万有。我们有神的形像，使我们能彰显祂；我们有神的管治权，使我们能代表祂。所以，我们是神的彰显和代表。这是创世记的心脏（创世记生命读经，一四○五页）。
神按着祂的形像造人，意思是为着一个目的，要人成为神的复制，而“形像”一辞含示人有度量和能力，将神接受到他里面而盛装神……。按着神的形像所造的人，乃是被造来作神的容器。……“样式”一辞指外面的形状，外面的样子，外面的显出。因此，这里的“样式”是一件彰显的事。首先，人是按着神的形像造的，好成为神的复制品；然后，人是照着神的样式造的，好有神的显出，来作神的彰显（路加福音生命读经，五六○至五六一页）。
神创造了一个团体人，不仅有祂的形像以彰显祂，也运用祂的管治权管理万有以代表祂。神给人管治权，目的是：（一）征服神的仇敌，那背叛神的撒但；（二）恢复被撒但所篡窃的地；以及（三）运用神管理地的权柄，使神的国得以临到地上，神的旨意得以行在地上，神的荣耀得以显在地上（太六10、13下）（圣经恢复本，创一26注5）。
我们已经看见雅各—神的彰显—具有神的形像。但神的管治权如何？创世记结束于约瑟掌权管理全地。虽然法老是王，但他不过是傀儡。代理的王是约瑟，他在生命的经历上是雅各的一部分。在雅各同约瑟身上，我们看见神的彰显连同神的管治权。绝不要把约瑟和雅各分开。创世记末了十四章的记载，把这两个人相提并论。这指明约瑟是雅各掌权的部分，我们不该把雅各和约瑟看为分开的人（创世记生命读经，一四○八页）。
参读：创世记生命读经，第九十二篇；路加福音生命读经，第五十六篇。
周 一
壹 创世记开始并结束于形像与管治权—一26~28：
一 创世记的主题是人具有神的形像，并且施行神的管治权管理万有—26~28节：
1 神按着祂的形像造人，意思是说，神造人有一个心意，要使人成为神的复本，神的复制，作祂团体的彰显—约十二24，罗八29，来二10，约壹三1~2。
2 神给人管治权，目的是要人施行神的权柄对付仇敌、恢复地并带进神的国；管治权与国度，乃是同义辞—创一28，太六10、13下。
3 我们受造，目的是为着彰显神并施行祂的管治权；这是创世记的心脏。
二 创世记结束于一种生命，在雅各身上有神的形像彰显神，在约瑟身上有神的管治权代表神—四八14~16，四一40~44、57：
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