“the hidden person of the heart” (1 Pet. 3:4, NKJV)
We are discussing the unfolding revelation of the garden of Eden and what exactly happened with the fall, linking it to the concepts of soul and spirit.
The paradise narrative is a parable or a typology, where certain elements are supported by a symbolic basis to render them more universally applicable, and to make certain philosophical or abstract concepts more practically understandable to readers throughout the ages. But different from for instance the allegory, not every element in a story has a symbolic equivalent. This primal narrative is of great importance, as it explains the true state of affairs here on earth; it teaches man about his being; and clearly spells out what brings about “the vain glory of life” (1 Joh. 2:16, ASV). It is the blueprint of man’s experience on earth, and his calling or purpose in God.
If we refer to the story of creation as a parable, which was the style of narration favoured by Jesus, it does not mean that it is purely fictional. The word parable already indicates what the rhetorical strategy is here – it is a parallel narrative. (The prefix para means “by the side of”.) Thus the parable features a plot, but also a parallel line – a new idea, concept or meaning that needs to be understood. The natural and external correspond, in principle, with the spiritual and the internal – the one runs parallel to the other. Remember that the Bible is not primarily the documenting of a single historical story or biography. It is written with the primary goal of conveying the nuances of God and of spiritual realities, and it does so by drawing from various genres, not just the epic.
Seen in this light, we should remember that we earlier pointed out that the two pertinent trees in the garden of Eden were clearly not physical trees, but rather had respective symbolic values. From an earlier teaching it is clear that the tree of life is not Jesus, and also does not represent the kingdom of God, both possibilities we assumed were true.
Each of the main characters in the Bible represent an aspect of human nature, character, humanity or calling, which any other (contemporary) person would be able to identify with, whether good or bad. Some Biblical figures, like for instance Moses, Elijah and Paul were indeed real historical figures, but as “wondrous sign[s]” (Zech. 3:8) or examples (1 Cor. 10:6 & 11; 1 Thess. 1:7) they represent guises with which we can identify, and whose lives we can learn from. Other Biblical characters, like for instance Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31), or the great whore of Revelation (Rev. 17:2), are pure fiction, and never physically lived, but they also serve as role models that God uses in and through Scripture, “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16), often in a very illustrative manner. “I’m going to use these historical events as an illustration,” Paul notes in Gal. 4:24 (GW).
Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden represent the entire humanity, from the first to the last men born on earth, in what 1 Cor. 15:45 calls the first Adam. What happened to them also happened to you and I. What he and she was, we are. Their experiences are our experiences. Their unfolding life path is absolutely also the path you and I are walking. The parable concerns the beginning, the innocence, the guilt, the salvation, and the perfection (2 Cor. 13:9) of each of us. Adam and Even represent man in all ways – who we are, why we are what we are, from complete innocence to salvation and our restoration after the Image of God (2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15).
There is no revelation of the Scriptures through either the prophets or the apostles, “holy men, driven by the Holy Spirit, who spoke of God (2 Pet. 1:21), who are not already found, in seed form, in the book of Genesis! God’s total plan of the ages is here already woven in through types, tropes, parables or allegories, indeed “a vision [that] refers to many days yet to come” (Dan. 10:14).
The garden of Eden was never a physical place that existed in the Middle-East – it is a state of being. It is a higher consciousness and state of existence which we ourselves experience in this fallen reality. Man is the garden (or, in more specific terms, his heart is the garden), but he was also in the garden. Interestingly enough the Bible thus speaks of a garden in the garden (Gen. 2:8)!
We pointed out that the tree of life pertinently stood in the CENTRE of the garden. The Centre points to the heart, the most central position. In relation to this we find the other tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which can also be in the centre, depending on the choices made by the man-prototype. We realise there is actually only one tree, but in the fallen man one needs to discern which tree is in the centre of the heart.
All the conditions that Man had to face in Eden are clearly also the conditions that Man needs to deal with in his heart. The original man, with his characteristic nature, abilities and potential is what we find in the garden of Eden. The external conditions of Man’s paradise environment correspond exactly with man’s “inner man” (Rom. 7:22).
In Gene Edwards’s remarkable book, The Beginning (Chronicles of Heaven), he tries to imagine, and explain, what happened when God planted the garden of Eden for man, before time. God was between heaven and earth and we can almost imagine Him using his creative hands to have earth, which is suspended over nothing (Job. 26:7) intersect with the eternal spiritual realm of the heavens, almost like two large circles moving one over the other. The exquisite space where heaven and earth intimately became one He called the garden of Eden. This mysterious space was not heaven, nor earth – it had no equivalent. One could comfortably call it the kingdom of God, or in our tabernacle terminology, the third dimension. The closest comparison we could think of in terms of the nature of this new creation, is the resurrected body of Jesus. He could be seen, but was at the same time completely spiritual (and thus also invisible to others). His countenance reminded one of how He used to look, including the wounds in his hands and side (John 25 & 27), but He clearly had a transfigured body, not bound to time or space. If you take the glory of the spiritual realm of the heavens and the glory of the earth, their intimate intersection is more glorious than both!
In the story of creation Eden clearly becomes a metaphor for the heart.
The history of Solomon contributes much to the understanding of this symbolic setup, and we will point this out later in our argument. In 1 Kings 3:9 he prays, “Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil.” Here the word understanding can, according to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible be understood as: “A careful hearing of someone or something as well as responding appropriately in obedience or action.” Strong considers it as the ability “to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience)”. In David’s last prayer in 1 Chr. 29:17-19, when he abdicates to Solomon, it is interesting how often he refers to the condition of the heart: “I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You. O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You. And give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the temple for which I have made provision.”
When Scripture speaks of the heart, we know that it is not referring to the actual organ within one’s body that pumps blood. But across the ages a lot of debate rages regarding the the symbolic meaning of the heart. It starts to seem more and more clear, from the rest of Scriptures, that the heart is not only the most important centre of man, but also the symbolic space in which man’s complete functioning resides. A very important key to this is found in 1 Pet. 3:4, where the apostle uses this very insightful phrase: “the hidden person of the heart”. The way in which heart is qualified here, in terms of being hidden, points to something “inwardly” (KJV), as it is for instance pointed out beautifully in Rom. 2:28-29: “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit …”
One could also metaphorise the heart with the kingdom of God, which is a collective concept, but which is also, according to Jesus’s words, within you (“the kingdom of God is within you” – Luke 17:21).
To make this mental shift, it is necessary to realise that the New Testament is more dependent on the book of Genesis than on all the other books of the Old Testament. There are at least 164 passages in the New Testament that are directly quoted from this first book of the Bible, or to which reference is made by Jesus and the apostles. The references are mainly used to explain God’s plan of salvation, and what the foundation of His kingdom is. In fact, the full understanding of God’s goal with everything (Eph. 1:10) is completely and utterly dependent on the understanding that Genesis provides around the beginnings (the plural is important – see for instance Heb. 1:10, ASV). More on this later.
In 2 Cor. 4:6 Paul for instance uses a reference from Gen. 1:3 and verses 14-15 to draw an immensely important parallel that also happens to be very insightful for our current conversation: “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” [Take note of “the knowledge of the glory”. What is its opposite? We’ll return to this later.]
But before we get to this, first make this mental association – man’s heart symbolises paradise, the kingdom of God in which He reigns. Within it are two trees, the tree of life, which we can equate with man’s spiritual dimension, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which we can equate with man’s soul dimension. Actually, in our pre-fallen state, originally in the East where the garden of Eden was, there was only one integrated tree rooted in God.
The only verse in the Bible where the terms soul, spirit and heart are found together, is Heb. 4:12: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Here we find a pertinent reference to the separation between soul and spirit that needs to be removed (making a division even of the soul and the spirit” – BBE), a separation that clearly should NOT be there!
- Selah: Explain the symbolism of the garden of Eden to someone.
- Read: 115-123.
- Memorise: 115:16 – “The heaven, eventhe heavens, are the Lord’s; but the earth He has given to the children of men.” (What a wonderfully affirmative Scripture this is!).
- For a more in-depth understanding: Read Gene Edwards’s The Beginning (Chronicles of Heaven).
