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ADAM 25
`He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all
principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world (age),
but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be Head over all things
to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all' (Eph. 1:20-23).
With this rapid glance at the relationship between this `dominion' and `Mystery', let us turn back now to
1 Corinthians 15, to see one further application of the passage:
`Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall
have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His
feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For He hath put all things under His feet. But when He
saith all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him. And
when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all
things under Him, that God may be all in all' (24-28).
This goal of the ages is the fulfilment of the pledge shadowed forth in the creation of Adam.
We must now return to Genesis 1:26, in order to investigate what is actually implied by the word `dominion'.
There are various possible alternatives that are not used in this passage. The word used here is not baal, `to have
dominion as lord and proprietor' (Isa. 26:13), nor mashal, `to reign as a governor, or a superior' (Judges 14:4), nor
shalat `to rule' (Psa. 119:133), but radah, `to tread down, to subdue'. The following are three passages in which this
particular word occurs:
`They that hate you shall reign over you' (Lev. 26:17).
`With force and with cruelty have ye ruled' (Ezek. 34:4).
`Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies' (Psa. 110:2).
These references indicate something of the nature of this particular type of dominion, and particularly the
passage from Psalm 110, which is Messianic and speaks of the Day of the Lord. The Psalm goes on to speak of the
Lord `striking through kings', `filling places with dead bodies' and `wounding the heads over many countries' (Psa.
110:5,6). This conception of dominion is carried over into Genesis 1:28 where we read:
`Replenish the earth, and subdue it'.
The word `subdue' is a translation of the Hebrew cabash, and its significance may be gathered from the fact that
its substantival form means a `footstool' (2 Chron. 9:18). In Nehemiah 5:5 it is rendered `to bring into bondage';
and it is the word used by the King when he exclaims of Haman, `Will he force the Queen?' (Est. 7:8). The word is
also used of the conquest of Canaan under Joshua (Josh. 18:1), a subjugation whose rigour there is no need to quote
chapter and verse to prove.
The LXX translates the word `subdue' by kata kurieuo, meaning `to rule imperiously', `to lord it over', `to get
the mastery'. Its occurrences in the New Testament will give further light on its meaning:
`Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them' (Matt. 20:25, see also Mark 10:42).
`The man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them' (Acts
19:16).
`Neither as being lords over God's heritage' (1 Pet. 5:3).
The creation of Adam, his very name, and the dominion given to him, all foreshadowed the subduing of all
enemies beneath the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. An enemy is most certainly in view in Genesis 1:26-28, and in
chapter 3 he is revealed - `that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan' (Rev. 12:9).
We are greatly tempted to explore further into the many vital themes that the name Adam opens up to us but
must keep before us the limits set by the word `dispensational'. The nature of the soul, the question of inherent
immortality, the problem of evil, the relationship of Adam to sin and death, belong to the realm of doctrine, and we
dare not begin to examine these important themes without loading our pages so heavily as to bring the work to a
stop. These themes are given an exposition in The Berean Expositor and the Index of the bound volumes should be