When God created Man, He had a PURPOSE for doing so. He did not just make man, so that man could live upon the earth. No, He had a specific reason for making man. He didn't just make man to enjoy the garden of Eden, rather He created man for His PURPOSE. He said "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." We can see from this verse, that man was created in a specific form, that is God created Him is His own Image, "in the image of God he created him".
God did this so that man would be able to fulfill His special PURPOSE for Him. God has a plan! This is why man was created in the IMAGE OF GOD.
After this God blessed them, and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have DOMINION over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
You will notice that we capitalized the words, IMAGE & DOMINION. This is because, these words began to show us God's plan for man. As we look at these verses, and these words, we see that God had two major things in mind, when He created Man, i.e. IMAGE and DOMINION!
IMAGE and DOMINION, how we wish these two words were in the hearts of all believers, how important they are to God! To understand these words, is to understand God's purpose for us, and why we exist at all!
Now let's consider what these words mean, and how they relate to God's PURPOSE.
Romans 8:29..... "Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers."
Here we can see that God's destiny for His children is to conform them to the Image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers "like Him", (Romans 8:29). This is what believers are predestinated to. To be conformed to the IMAGE of His Son. The original making into His IMAGE, was for the purpose, of the final conforming into His Son's IMAGE. He actually does this by working His Son into us. Eventually God will have conformed us, by this process, and then He will be able to EXPRESS Himself through man, in eternity!
But as God expresses Himself through man, He desires to exercise His authority as God! Hence we come to the matter of dominion. DOMINION is rule and authority. God is going to exercise His rule and authority, over the earth, in a perfect way, in the future. But He is going to do this through man, who has been conformed into His Image. Look at the following verse.
"and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; AND THEY SHALL REIGN FOREVER AND EVER!" (Revelation 22:4,5)
Here we can see, that in the New Jerusalem, God's children will have His name on their foreheads. God's name is God. On His childrens foreheads will be this name. This shows that we will utterly belong to God, and that we have His Image. We will be like Him, (1 John 3:2). Because He has "conformed" us, He will be able to exercise His Dominion over and through us. Hence we will actually REIGN FOREVER AND EVER! In this way God will be able to fully EXPRESS HIMSELF, through eternity!