For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have
been created by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).
This Scripture makes it clear that we were created by the Son and for the Son. This is carried a little further in Romans 8:29:
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren.
By this we must ask one of the ultimate questions: Would Jesus have come to the earth if there had not been a Fall? I think so, because as glorious as the redemption of the cross is, the Lord made it clear that He came to do more than just redeem the earth—He came to begin a new creation, which we become a part of after our redemption. Consider Ephesians 1:3-4:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him, in love.
We were known by the Lord before the foundation of the world, and He was crucified before the foundation of the world. The Lord knew the end from the beginning, and He knew that man would fall and require redemption. But there was also a higher purpose for man in God=s heart before He created him. He obviously had the new creation in His heart as well as the redemption of the former one.
This new creation was the intention for man to ascend from the natural realm to the heavenly nature. Man was to be the bridge between the natural creation and the heavenly, or spiritual, realm. Through the Holy Spirit we have this treasure in earthly vessels, but we are called to take on the nature of the spiritual realm. When we are born again by the Spirit we actually become a new species. We walk the earth, but by the Spirit we can now dwell in the heavenly places with Christ.
Even if there had not been a transgression, it was always the Lord's intention for man to partake of a heavenly calling and be united with Him in a special way through His Son. When we are born we are just beginning life; when we are born again we are just beginning the process of spiritual maturity. Our goal is to be like the Lord, and do the works that He did. He was the first born of many brethren. He came to redeem us, but also to show us how to live in the new creation nature. That nature has authority over the things that were the result of the fall, such as sickness, and the host of hell that has inhabited the earth through the gate of hell opened by the fall.
Again, this is in no way to belittle the glory of the redemption that we have through the cross, as it will always be the centerpiece of our very comprehension of the glory and nature of God. The cross is the only door through which we may enter the purposes of God. However, we must also realize that our purpose is more than just being forgiven of our sins, as great as that may be, or even to be returned to our intended state before the fall, as glorious as that may be. Redemption is a gift of unfathomable value, but we must press on to the attaining of our ultimate purpose—to walk in the nature of the new creation. When we do, we will be walking as Jesus walked, which is the calling of every Christian.