We begin with Abraham. This does not mean that before Abraham there was no man who expressed God. There were at least three great men—Abel, Enoch, and Noah. However, if we read their history, we find no record that they conquered the enemy or subdued anything. Until Abraham, there is no record of anyone who subdued the enemy. Abraham built an altar that he might contact God (Gen. 12:7). The more you contact God, the more you will bear God's image. The more you look at God, the more you will look like God. To build an altar for the purpose of contacting God means to become more and more transformed into the image of God. Abraham didn't build a tower. The people at Babel didn't build an altar to contact God; they built a tower to make themselves a name (Gen. 11:4). That is self-pride. Abraham, however, was called out of that environment; he built a small altar and there he contacted God. The more he contacted God, the more he looked like God. The Bible tells us that eventually God became a friend to Abraham and that Abraham was called the friend of God (James 2:23). If you read Genesis 18, you will see that God did not come to Abraham as the Creator or the Almighty God. God came to him as a friend. God and Abraham had fellowship just like two friends talking together. By that time Abraham had become more and more like God. Therefore, we are told that Abraham conquered and defeated the enemies (Gen. 14:17).
Joseph was the last person whose history was recorded in Genesis. He lived a holy and victorious life (Gen. 39:11-12). He lived a life that was very much like God. God was holy; Joseph was holy. God was victorious; Joseph was victorious. Joseph bore the image of God. He was a man who fulfilled God's intention. The story of Joseph is the story of a holy and victorious life, a life that eventually became the ruling authority. Joseph ruled over all of Egypt (Gen. 41:39-45). In Genesis chapter one we see a man made by God in His image and committed with God's dominion. In the last few chapters of Genesis, we also see a man who really expressed God, represented God, and ruled over the whole earth.
Moses was not a great politician. He was a man who contacted God. After contacting God, his face shone with the divine glory (Exo. 34:29-30). When Moses' face shone with the glory of God, he bore the image of God. Thus, Moses became a man with authority. He had authority to rule over the whole house of Israel (Heb. 3:2, 5). He also had authority to defeat the enemy (Exo. 14:30-31). He did not fight the battle with machine guns or atom bombs, but with a little rod. The little rod not only represented power; it represented authority. Moses used that rod and said to the Red Sea, "Open up the way." The waters were divided. That was authority. Moses was a man who bore God's image and represented God with divine authority.