And the Lord said, I will make man in my image, after my likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. Gen 1:26 The 'us' and 'our' pronouns were written into the translations because of the implications of Elohim possibly being more than one God.     We know this is error because of Deu 6:4 The correct rendering is 'I will make man in my image, after my likeness'.      Jesus is the Truth about Creator God.     The Word tells us that He is Creator Joh 1:10 and that He is the express image of the Father, the Holy Spirit - His Spirit.     Heb 1:3 Man was created to be like the Lord in His image to share in dominion with Him over the universe.      Man's part of the universe is the earth to which the Lord gave Adam dominion.     Adam was in relationship with the Lord and was expected to refer to the Lord for whatever wisdom he needed to rule the earth.      Adam's sin caused two things: 1) Adam's spirit was corrupted into a Sin Nature thus losing fellowship with the Lord.      2) Adam relinquished dominion over the earth to Satan.

And the Lord took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Gen 2:15 Our Lord created us to work.     Since we are in His image we have His innate tendencies.     Yes, in the fall they were corrupted, but in the New Birth they are restored to us.      Man was created to create.

And the Lord said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a worthy mate for him. Gen 2:18 Our Lord wants us    → to be happy    → to enjoy the relationship with our spouse,    → to share life experiences with them.

And out of the ground the Lord formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. Gen 2:19 Our Lord wants us to be thoughtful and creative.     He wants us to enforce order.

And they heard the voice of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord amongst the trees of the garden. Gen 3:8 The implication is that it was not unusual for the Lord to spend time in the garden fellowshippong with Adan and Eve.

And the Lord blessed them, and the Lord said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. Gen 1:28 Producing Children is priority 1 with our Lord.      Exercising the authority He has given us to improve the world is priority 2.

So we see clearly that we were created to explore, tend and enjoy creation.   

But there was original sin.   

Sin resulted in the spiritual death of all mankind.   The implication of this is that our godly instincts became just a shadow of what they were before the fall.   

Flash forward 4000 years to the coming of Christ Jesus - God in flesh.   

Through the sacrifice of Christ's own body and shedding of His own blood we were redeemed and given Eternal Life through faith in Him.   

This Eternal Life is His own Holy Spirit who dwells in us.   In our becoming One with Him we are restored to our original purposes as seen above.   

However, Christ instituted some new responsibilities for us.   
   → preach the Gospel
   → heal the sick
   → set the captive free.   

Did these new responsibilities preclude the ones from creation?   

Some would say yes, but there is no scripture that implies this.   

Rather, the purposes of our original creation have been augmented by the New Covenant expectations.   

We use terms like New Birth, New Creature, New Spirit being and Newness Of Life.   

It is important for us to understand that our Lord always brings us forward and up.   

As our Heavenly Father He wants us to grow in Grace and knowledge of Him so that we experience Abundant Life.   

He wants us to function not only as His mist glorious creation, but He wants us to be like Him.   

That is obviously an infinite progression which we can never attain though it is offered lovingly by Him.   

The best that Adam and Eve ever were is exceeded by who we are In Christ Jesus.   

We are to be living testimonies of Christ Jesus even as we live our lives as creators, parents and workers.   

The ministry of the Gospel by which men are saved should be an integral part of every believer's life.   

Yes, there will be people dedicated to the ministry but they will be dependent on the rank and file believer for their support.   

If all believers were dedicated to the ministry there would be no one to support them.   

Such a situation would completely ignore the original purposes of our Lord for us.   

If you are called to be a full-time minister of Christ, do the work He has for you.   

If you are not called to full-time ministry you should continue to pursue the original purposes of mankind in fellowship with the Holy Spirit and the Word.   

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be rich. 2Co 8:9 Christ existed eternally with the Father but stepped down from that glory and riches to become the sacrifice for sin.     We are heirs of the Lord's glory and riches through Christ Jesus.      Don't think that the riches are only laid up for us in heaven.     Rather, take a look at the Old Testament where there was virtually no mention of heaven with emphasis on the blessings that the Lord gave to His people in the Promised Land.      Jesus said seek first the Kingdom Of God and His righteousness and 'all these things' will be added to you.     'All these things' are the blessings that this Physical Realm offers.