The covenant God made with man is recorded in Genesis 1:28-29. God made man in His own image so that man would represent Him and express His glory on the earth. After God made man, He came and spoke to man. We should realize that the words God spoke were not ordinary words but extremely solemn and formal words. Therefore, the words in these two verses are a covenant that God made with man. Now we will briefly touch the main points of this covenant.
This covenant shows that God’s desire is that man would be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. First, we know that the human race has been fruitful and has multiplied and is filling the earth. This is because God has fulfilled the first covenant He made with man. Any attempt to reduce the multiplication of the human race is against this covenant of God.
Second, God wants man to subdue the earth. God gave man authority to rule over the earth. God wanted man to have dominion over the earth, to conquer the earth, and to recover the earth because Satan’s intention is to engage in rebellious activities against God on the earth. Almost all of Satan’s rebellions against God are concentrated on the earth. This point has also been fulfilled. Today, regardless of how far man has fallen, the earth is still under his ruling.
Third, God wanted man to have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. Not only did God put the earth under man’s dominion, He also put all the creatures under man’s dominion so that man would be the head of all the creatures in the sea, on the land, and in heaven. In this way man could be God’s authority on the earth, reigning for God and expressing God’s glory in all these things.
Fourth, God wanted man to take herbs and all kinds of fruit as food. Here God took care of the matter of man’s sustenance. All the food for man’s sustenance were vegetables, not meat; the food was only from plants, not animals. At this time there was not a problem with sin, so there was no need to kill animals for the shedding of blood for expiation; there was only a need for the sustenance of life.
Fifth, there was no need for man to wear clothes. Man did not have the problem of clothing. Since there was not a problem with sin in the beginning, man did not need a covering, an outward justification.
Sixth, the covenant God made with man was later fulfilled by the Lord Jesus. This covenant was made immediately after man was made, and in this covenant God did not ask man to fulfill any requirement; it only revealed God’s desire toward man. But shortly afterward, due to man’s fall, man lost his position in this covenant. It is marvelous, however, that God speaks of this covenant again in Psalm 8. God spoke of this covenant because even though the created man failed due to the fall and lost his position in the covenant, God determined that He Himself would come to be the second man. His coming to be the second man was connected with the first man. The second man was the Lord Jesus. His coming to be a man was connected with the first Adam, and in His coming He also assumed the position of the first man. The covenant God made with the first man was inherited by the second man. Therefore, in Psalm 8 God repeats this covenant with man. Hebrews 2 clearly points out to us that the man spoken of in Psalm 8 is not the first man but Christ. Christ is the second man, and the covenant God made with the first man was inherited by the second man. The Bible shows us that the first covenant God made with man eventually was applied to the Lord Jesus and was completely fulfilled in Him. In the end the Lord Jesus has become the Head of creation to rule over the earth as God’s authority for the expression of His glory.
The previous covenant was a covenant God made with man; at that time Adam had not fallen. After Adam fell, God came and made a second covenant with him. At the time of Genesis 3:8-21, man was deceived by Satan and followed him. Adam was unrighteous toward God and fearful of Him, so he turned from the presence of God and hid himself in a secret place, afraid to see God. In these circumstances God came to seek him, and once He found him, God made a covenant with man.
Even though this biblical record contains only a few words, God’s speaking was very solemn and formal. The words He spoke were guaranteed by God’s faithfulness; therefore, they should be considered as the words of a covenant with man. We will consider the main points.
The spiritual significance of this word is that Satan’s move is limited to the earth. Satan brought God’s curse upon himself because of his deception of man, and so the sphere of his activity is limited to the earth. Satan’s activity in the universe cannot go beyond the earth.
The spiritual meaning of this word is that Satan’s food is the man who has been made of dust. Whenever man lives by the created life, he is earthy and is Satan’s food. If man lives by the divine life, however, he avoids being devoured by Satan.