The third aspect of God's intention in giving man dominion is to bring in God's authority, to exercise God's authority over the earth. Man must exercise God's authority in order that the kingdom of God may come to earth, that the will of God may be done on earth, and that the glory of God may be manifested on earth. All of this will be on the earth. God will never be satisfied to have His kingdom only in the heavens. Neither will He be happy to have His will done only in the heavens nor to see His glory expressed only in the heavens. He wants all these things to happen on the earth. This is the responsibility of the church today. In the church we have the kingdom of God. In the church the will of God is done. In the church the glory of God is expressed. Hallelujah! We have a foretaste. Now we can see why God gave man dominion over everything in the seas, in the air, and on the earth. God's intention is to eliminate the enemy, regain the earth, and manifest His glory.
Has this been accomplished? Certainly not. Yet, God created man with this intention. Satan knows this much better than we do. The Bible tells us that immediately after the creation of man, Satan came in to damage the man whom God had created for His purpose. Man fell. However, God did not give man up. God Himself became a man. He came that He might get into man and make Himself one with man. He came to be the second man called Jesus (1 Cor. 15:47). The first man didn't fulfill God's purpose; the second man did. The first man was a corporate man, and the second man is also a corporate man. Adam was the head of the first corporate man, and Christ is the Head of the second man. God's purpose is fulfilled by the second man.
The fulfillment of God's purpose in giving man dominion started with Christ.
The preaching in the New Testament begins in a peculiar way, in a way that is contrary to our concept. It says, "Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near" (Matt. 4:17). The words "has drawn near" mean is come. When Christ came, the kingdom of God came. Christ brought in the kingdom. The little man Jesus was the kingdom of God. Many Christians think that the kingdom did not come when Jesus came. According to their concept, when the Jewish people rejected Jesus with the kingdom, the kingdom was suspended and the church age began. They think that the church is not the kingdom, that after the church age the kingdom will be established by the return of Jesus. In the Bible, there is some ground to say this and, in a sense, it is right, but just partially right. Romans 14:17 tells us that the church today is the kingdom. The church life is the kingdom. In a sense, the Jewish people rejected the kingdom. In another sense, the Lord established the kingdom by establishing the church. We can never separate the church from the kingdom. In Matthew 16:18, the Lord Jesus told Peter, "Peter, you are a stone and I will build the church upon Myself as the rock. The gates of Hades shall not prevail against this church." Immediately after this (v. 19), the Lord Jesus said, "I will give to you the keys of the kingdom." On the day of Pentecost and in the house of Cornelius Peter established the church by using the keys of the kingdom to open the door for both Jews and Gentiles to enter into the kingdom. Thus, when the church started, the kingdom was there. The church is the kingdom. No doubt there will be a full manifestation of the kingdom in the future. But the reality of the kingdom is here today. That is the church life.