In the beginning, God made man in His own likeness, and image (Gen 1:26).  Furthermore, God place man in charge of all of the works of His hands (Gen 1:26 & Ps. 8:6-8); not only so, but He COMMANDED man to have dominion over (that is ‘authority,’ or ‘rulership’ – actually, the original Hebrew is closer to ‘make subject’) the earth.

We oft sing a song about the sovereignty of God that goes like this: “He’s got the whole world in His hands…”  But actually, that is theologically inaccurate.  According to the Bible, “He’s given the whole world into YOUR hands…”

Psalm 8:4-9
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels [actually, this word ‘angels’ is not accurate: the original Hebrew in this verse is ‘elohym’ which is the word used for God, Himself in the creation account of Genesis; thus: He has made him a little lower than God] , and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

God set man in charge.

A while ago, I wrote a post on the book of Job.  In the book of Job, some very devastating things happen to an innocent man.  Throughout the book, speculation is made as to why God caused evil to befall Job.  The book is actually (to a large degree) about perspective – specifically, the natural theological perspective of man.  Specifically this: That God is in total, sovereign, control of the earth.

Yet that flies in the face of some of the scripture that we’ve just looked at.  According to the bible, MAN is in control.  Indeed, God said to Job and his three counsellors that their words were without knowledge.

Let’s consider another Psalm as proof of this: Psalm 82.

Ps 82
1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.

2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.

4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

When Jesus Christ came, He interpreted that the ‘gods’ that God is speaking to in this Psalm is man (John 10:34).  This is the Psalm in which God refers to man, as ‘gods.’  Why does He call us that?  Because of the position that He gave us: He made US sovereign over the earth.  God gave sovereignty TO US.  It is not He, but WE who are held responsible for the corruption in the world.  Let’s look at the content of the above Psalm, again.

Verses 1 & 2: God commands US to give answer for all the suffering that exists in the world.

Verses 3 & 4: God commands US to do righteousness, and justice, to save the afflicted.

Verses 5-7:  God declares that we do not know, nor understand that He has set us as the ‘gods’ of the earth – that we are ignorant of our responsibility as sovereign in the earth; the very foundations of the earth, therefore, are out of course.  If our elected government officials were derelict of duty because they had no understanding of their charge, our whole nation would run amok.  Those officials then, would seek to blame: “Who is responsible for this gross disorder?!”  Likewise, we, in our misapprehension assume that God is sovereign over etery minute detail, when in fact He tells US: ‘Do justice’

He declares that we are ignorant of our charge, and that all the foundations of the earth (our charge) are out of course.  The judgment?  We shall therefore die as men – “For dust thou art, and to dust shalt thou return.”

Verse 8:  God will eventually have to come down and take dominion in the earth FOR us.  God’s perfection is so great that though we have jolted His creation out of course, and are even to this day derelict in our responsibility to overturn the corruption and wickedness in this world that WE started – that even so, He will yet redeem the world, and inherit it from us, correcting all our failures.

People are ever asking – even more and more as the days get darker – “Why does God allow such suffering in the earth?”  But in Psalm 82, God asks US, why do WE allow such suffering in the earth?

We do not know, neither do we understand, we walk on in darkness, and because of that ALL THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH ARE OUT OF COURSE.

We have completely disrupted, and destroyed the order of God’s goodness in the world.  God is good, He is always good, and He is only good.  There is no darkness, nor blemish of unrighteousness within Him.  Everything God made is GOOD.

From God comes a wellspring of goodness, and He has given His GOOD creation as a gift into our hands (what an astoundingly good, and kind thing to do!)

According to the bible, when Adam sinned the first sin, the whole creation was subjected to the frustration of corruption, to death and decay.  Sin entered the world not through God, but through man.

That ONE sin threw the entire earth, all of God’s perfect creation, off of its courses.  How could it have done so?  Because MAN had been put in charge.  Our dominion, or rulership is the sovereignty that determines what happens in this world.  Lest we foolishly (in ignorance) blame Adam, we must remember: ‘I have said YE ARE gODS,[plural] and ALL OF YOU children of the Most High.'(v. 6)

You, and I presently are determining the courses of the earth.  If we serve and obey God, then the kingdom of God comes (we are to pray: ‘Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done IN EARTH [where we have dominion] as it is in Heaven [where He has dominion].’ (Ps 115:16)) if we serve and obey our flesh, then our reign is one of terror and darkness.  We determine by our works and prayers the course of this world.

We cannot blame God for the state of the world we live in.  If we want to be True with ourselves, neither can we blame Adam.  What have YOU done with YOUR sovereignty in the earth?  Have you used it to advance the kingdom of God, here?  Or have you used it to obey the lusts of the flesh?

Just like Adam, your sin does not affect only you.  It also affects those around you – indeed, it affects the whole of creation, because you are of the race that is in charge of it all.

3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.

4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

But, instead, like Job and his counselors, we blame God.  This happens by degrees – because we know not, neither do we understand that God has made us sovereign, and that our deeds affect the whole world: our posterity, our neighbors, our nation – so we blame God for evil that takes place that we feel we have no control over.  But God has not contributed to that evil.  We have.

Why is man deserving of hell?  Is God unjust?  No! It is because we are the ones responsible for every wickedness, every evil, and every plague that comes into the world.  Only when we submit ourselves to the goodness of God, and are utterly controlled by the Spirit, can we even begin to reverse the corruption that is in the world because of us.

God, may we understand!  May we see the True sight of our sin!

Man, then, adds to his own condemnation in that he trusts his own righteousness above the righteousness of God.  In fact, that is the sole thing that God rebuked Job for (Job 35:2 & 40:8); because Job doubted God’s goodness in the light of his own.

But God has a redemption plan – everything He does is good.  Even while we were in the midst of the cycle of sin which continues, is piled high, and causes the further corruption in the earth; God came in the flesh so that he could redeem us, and save the world from the destruction that we bring to it each time that we sin.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus – for the day is coming when He will inherit all nations.  Let us make His paths straight by submitting to His goodness, and His reign.  So shall we be able to redeem the time, for the days are evil.