Under God’s Authority - Genesis 1:20–31

Genesis was written by the great Israelite leader Moses probably around the 15th century B.C. Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, from under the terrible authority of the Egyptian pharaoh. The book of Exodus, which comes after Genesis, describes God calling Moses to confront Pharaoh with the command to let the people go, which he eventually did, but not until God had demonstrated His authority over Egypt through various plagues.

There were 10 plagues in all, one by one displaying God’s authority, one by one dismissed by Pharaoh, until God brought a plague so devastating that it could not be dismissed. Pharaoh released the Israelites, but even then he changed his mind, and again, God displayed His authority at the parting of the Red Sea.

There are many themes that run through the Scriptures: grace, law, faith, hope, love, and others. Those are all important. But another theme throughout Scripture which is just as important is “authority.” From start to finish, the Bible is a collection of books about the authority of God. Mankind is either embracing His authority or rejecting it, but never defeating it, never getting out from under it. Many would argue that today, evidence of God’s authority is nowhere to be found.

But today’s verses from Genesis 1 make the case that everything we do today displays the authority of God, our creator. We naturally think or act as though the world was made under God’s authority, but now we are the authority on most matters pertaining to our own lives.

God, however, has not relinquished any of His authority. God has not given up any authority. At best, we underestimate God’s authority in our lives, and at worst, we lose all sight of it. And in doing so, we dishonor God; we sin against Him. We go on with what we want to do, and in that way, we aren’t different from the ancient pharaoh who rebuffed God, or the Israelites, who later spurned God as well.

God could justly condemn us, but instead, He offers redemption. Through the person and work of Jesus Christ, God restores our recognition of His authority. He forgives us, He renews us, and He enables us to embrace His authority. Though we are sinners, God allows us to know the joy and peace in living under His authority. If we would know God and live according to what is true, we must recognize God’s authority on display for us.

But how does God display His authority for us? Earlier I said that everything we do today displays His authority? How so? Well, these verses 20-31 describe two key ways that God displays His authority on the earth. You can find them listed on page 6 in the WG. God displays His authority through the multiplication of His creatures and the dominion of His image bearers. So look at these together.

Last week we traced Moses’ description of the separation of land and water, and the creation of all plant life. God created environments where living creatures could exist. And in these verses we observe the creation of these creatures. Verses 20 and 21 describe how God, by His powerful word, creates those beings that live in the water or fly through the air.

One thing of particular interest here is in verse 21. It says, “God created the great sea creatures.” What is translated as “creatures” in that phrase can refer to a serpent, a crocodile or other large reptile, a dragon, even a monster. There are a few places in the OT where this phrase is used. These creatures were different from the other water beings. We don’t have additional information about them.

But we do know that the pagan nations such as Egypt had their own views about these monstrous creatures, even seeing them as deities, as gods, no doubt related to their power. The Israelites hearing this history were to understand that even monstrous, dangerous water creatures were made by the one true God. Without a doubt, monstrous creatures still roam the earth.

Ever seen “Shark Week” or “Swamp People?” Today, we have on record great white sharks and crocodiles measuring over 20 feet long. You can’t help but wonder what other kinds of creatures were created that day along with the various fish and birds. They, too, brought glory to God (verse 21 says, “God saw that it was good.”)

And notice verse 22, “God blessed them.” This is an act of God not seen yet in Genesis. What kind of blessing was it? Look at the rest of the verse. “God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” All these creatures were blessed with the ability to reproduce.

But there were parameters; there were boundaries for reproduction. They were made able to multiply “according to their own kinds.” So, the fish could not reproduce birds, or vice versa. “And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.”

The next day brought more creatures. Notice verse 24, “God said, ‘Let the earth (as opposed to the waters or the air) bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.’ And it was so.” These encapsulate the animal kingdom. The language refers broadly to all kinds of animals.

Verse 25 says that their creation pleased God as well, and they no doubt were made able to reproduce according to their kind also. Lions would produce more lions, bears produce more bears, and so on. Their creations brought glory to God as well.

Now, there’s much to say about God’s creation of humans, but I want to point first of all to verse 27 and 28: “male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” While humans are very different from the other living creatures, we are alike in this way: humans also are made to reproduce. Obviously, after our own kind. People reproduce people. Like the other creatures, humans multiply.

This is one key way that God still clearly displays His authority over His creation: through the multiplication of the creatures He has made. Genesis 1 tells us that the process, the science, the perpetuation of reproduction in the plant world, the animal world, and in our world is God’s design.It exists and continues according to His plan.

He set these things in motion. He sustains them. Do you see that in no way did God give up authority over His creatures by giving to them the ability to reproduce according to their own kind? God maintains His authority. He is the ultimate authority over the nations. Parents, God is the ultimate authority over your children; He is the ultimate authority over you. You rest there in your seat according to the command and the plan of the living God.

I’ve been asked if I believe that people exist because God has a plan, or if it’s just because men and women naturally, eventually have children. But those things are not incompatible. The multiplication of the species was the plan.

And I understand the question: does God know who will be produced? Does God have a plan for who will be born to whom? King David understood God’s plan in that way. In Psalm 139, he wrote, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Of course, we must consider how sin has affected things, and we will look at that in Genesis chapter 3.

But our ability to reproduce does not signify that we are the ultimate authority over life. God is the author of life; He is the owner of life. God did not forfeit His ownership by enabling His creatures to multiply. Psalm 100 states, “Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His.” God displays His authority today through the multiplication of His creatures, and, also, through the dominion of His image bearers. Look again at verse 26.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Humans are uniquely created in some ways that make us similar to God. This language of “image” and “likeness” was related to the formation of a sculpture. It would also be correct to translate this as “let us make man into our image.”

Richard Pratt, one of the scholars I study, points out that in the ancient world, kings who ruled large kingdoms would construct statues of themselves, images which would be placed throughout their empire to display their authority. For instance, Daniel 3 in the OT describes the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar making a statue for this purpose. Pratt says this: “The expression ‘image of God’ designated human beings as representatives of the supreme King of the universe.” We are different from the other creatures in that we represent God on the earth.

We are His image bearers. And just as our existence through human multiplication displays God’s authority, our characteristics as image bearers do so as well. Notice the rest of verse 26: “And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” In other words, let them rule over the other creatures.

Of course, God is the great Ruler; He is sovereign. But humans are superior to the other creatures and we have the ability to rule. The writer of Psalm 8 speaks to God and says, “When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him...that you care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.”

You see, whatever you and I find ourselves in charge of, including our own lives, we must realize that any authority we possess naturally falls under the authority of God. Also notice here that just as with all other creating things, humans were created instantaneously by God’s powerful word. And notice the end of verse 27: in His own image God created them “male and female.” These are the categories, and God alone designates which one You are. Their complementary nature is described later on.

Verse 28 says, “And God blessed them.” God also blessed the animals, but notice this difference: God spoke of the animals; He speaks to the humans. “God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over” the various living creatures. The rest of creation was to be brought under human will in accordance with God’s holy will. Human will was to represent divine will on the earth. Put differently, humans are merely overseers. We are managers of what God has entrusted to us. Are you all kings and queens of your castles? No, more like keepers and caretakers.

Look at what else God says to humans in verse 29. “Behold,” which signifies that what follows is a declaration of God, “I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.” John Currid, another scholar I study, points out that this conflicted with pagan religious views during the time of Moses and the Israelites. The Mesopotamians, for example, believed that humans existed to provide food for the gods.

Genesis is clear that God does not need us to provide food for Him. Rather, He provides food for His creatures. And yes, this describes a plant-based diet. Eating meat is not forbidden, but express permission is not granted until Genesis chapter 9, after the flood. The point here is that God makes provision for His royal representatives to prosper and rule the earth as we display His authority. God provided for the other creatures as well, verse 30 says.

And look finally at verse 31, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” Creation was exceedingly pleasant in the eyes of God. The complete creation brought great glory to Him. “And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

Where have you underestimated God’s authority in your life, or perhaps even lost sight of it? How do you conduct your life, overseeing what God has given you? How do you manage what is yours? How might your life look differently if you recognized God as the authority and yourself as His representative on earth?

Certainly, we all fall short of God’s declaration of what we ought to be. We naturally usurp God’s authority in our lives. But the Lord Jesus did not. He, of course, met God’s standard for humanity, therefore we can be justified by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ, whom God put forward in our place for our forgiveness by His blood, a forgiveness to be received by faith. Jesus Christ recognized God’s authority over human multiplication and dominion, and He actually expanded our understanding of it. Being God in the flesh, He had the authority to do so.

Before His return to heaven, Jesus said these words to His disciples, recorded in Matthew 28. In fact, He refers to authority, multiplication, and dominion. “Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” This is His authority over the church, over the people of God and the growing kingdom of God, His rule over the hearts of people, and over the whole world. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Go, representing God and multiplying, filling the earth with more people who recognize and submit to the authority of the one true God.

Fill the earth with followers of Jesus. Multiply yourselves and proclaim God’s dominion and authority over all things. Proclaim His authority to forgive sin and restore lives and reclaim all that is lost. Go and multiply, declaring who the Creator is -- whose image into which we have been formed -- and be His representatives as He restores that image by the power of His Spirit, as He increases His dominion over the hearts and lives of people everywhere.

You must understand: as the church grows, it is ultimately God who is demonstrating His authority by the multiplication of believers and the subduing of the hearts and minds of His people. Once again, our multiplication and dominion demonstrates God’s sovereignty.

You know, in Matthew 28, in what we call the “Great Commission,” Jesus even makes a declaration of provision that mirrors what God said in the beginning. Genesis 1:29 states, “God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.” Matthew 28:20, Jesus said, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

God is with His people, providing for us, sustaining us. Jesus assures us of this. And so we look to Him, continually. Have you turned from your sin and looked to Jesus? Do you look to Him each day? Look to Him now, and live.

Let’s bow in prayer.