Dominion Covenant: Genesis
Gary North1. Transcendence/immanence
2. Authority/hierarchy
3. Ethics/dominion
4. Judgment/sanctions
5. Inheritance/continuity
The covenant establishes the judicial basis of the personal relationship between God and man. There can be no relationship between God and man apart from a covenant. This is why Genesis 1:26-28 is truly a covenant: it establishes the basis of the relationship between God and man. God the sovereign Creator (point one) creates man to serve as His representative over the creation (point two), commanding mankind to be fruitful and multiply (point five) and exercise dominion (point three). Man is actually defined by God in terms of this dominion covenant, or what is sometimes called the cultural mandate. This covenant governs all four God-mandated human governments: individual, family, church, and civil.