Becoming Whole - A 7 Day DevotionalMuestra

 The Garden of Eden as a Temple

Drawing on numerous passages from the Old and New Testaments, recent biblical scholarship has demonstrated that the garden of Eden functioned like a temple. The center of the garden was analogous to the Holy of Holies in Israel’s temple. As such, it was an “enchanted” place, a place both natural yet saturated with the supernatural, a place where God dwelt, a place filled with His presence, and a place from which He ruled. God was so present in this place, so present in this material world, that Adam and Eve could actually hear God as He “was walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Gen. 3:8).

In this light, the garden of Eden was far more than just a place where Adam and Eve watered plants and cared for animals. It was a temple-garden in which the first humans served as priests and kings. As priests, they were to protect the “temple” from any corruption and lead others into worship of the one true God. As kings, they were to promote the welfare of others and the rest of creation by ruling as God’s vice-regents, His assistant rulers. As priest-kings, then, humans were to lovingly serve God, others, and the rest of creation. Finally, they were to see themselves as participants within the matrix of worship and love, and so a healthy view of “self” was also part of the original design.

Living in a temple 24/7 implies that worship wasn’t confined to one hour per week. On the contrary, all of life—working, playing, resting, eating, and so on—was lived before the face of God, so all of life was to be an act of worshiping Him. The first task given to Adam and Eve, the so-called “cultural mandate” of Genesis 1:28, was actually the first “Great Commission”—a command to extend the temple and the worship of God throughout the entire world:

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Gen. 1:28). 

That human beings’ work would have expanded the garden-temple, the very dwelling place of God, so that His intimate presence would have been felt throughout the whole earth is an amazing truth to ponder. As a result of this expansion, all of creation—including human beings and the cultures we create—would have lived in God’s presence as an act of worship to Him. When we got out of bed in the morning to make a cup of coffee, we would have done so as an act of worship in the very presence of God Almighty!

It’s important to note that a river flowed from Eden outward to the surrounding world. This river gave life to many trees, including the Tree of Life, which was located in the middle of the garden (Gen. 2:8–14). This is not the last time in Scripture that we shall see the Tree of Life and a river in the place where God dwells.

So, what does this have to do with poverty alleviation? Everything. You see, being priest-kings who live in God’s dwelling place and extend His presence wasn’t just something in the past, something for Adam and Eve. Yes, the fall happened, which we will explore in the next chapter. But the grand drama of God’s story doesn’t end with the fall. The goal of God’s story of change for all people—including the annoying panhandler, the little girl sold into the brothel,  and even the brothel owner himself—is to restore us as priest-kings, image bearers who extend God’s presence throughout the whole earth. Living, worshiping, and working in a temple wasn’t just something in the past for human beings; it’s our future.

Back to the Future

When Jesus comes again, we won’t live in “heaven,” at least not the current one. Indeed, the current “heaven” is the experience of believers after we die (see Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:6–8; Phil. 1:21–23; 1 Thes. 4:14; Rev. 6:10). When Christians die we will be with God, but the ultimate Christian hope is the resurrection of the dead. When Christ returns, our bodies will be resurrected and reunited with our souls, and we will once again live as fully integrated persons—bodies and souls—in a renewed creation (1 Cor. 15:12–50; Rev. 21:1). The Christian hope has never ultimately been the immortality of the disembodied soul but rather the resurrection of the body. 

And what will this new creation be like? It will consist of a new heaven and a new earth that, unlike the current heaven and earth, will no longer be separated from one another (see Eph. 1:9–10; Rev. 21:1–5). 

We often fail to acknowledge this astounding truth: God’s dwelling place will be with His people again! We are created to dwell with God, and in the new creation we will be fully restored to His presence. And because God is there, everything else is right again as well: there is no more pain, sickness, hunger, or sin. But the key to all this flourishing is that God once again dwells with His people and His creation. This is humanity’s past, and it is redeemed humanity’s future.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. How does this picture of heaven as “Eden restored” differ from the “harp-playing ghost forever”?  
2. At the Resurrection, our bodies will be reunited with our souls and we will be a new creation. How does this give value to our physical bodies? 
3. How does knowing humanity’s future influence the goal of poverty alleviation?  

You have reached the end of the “Becoming Whole 7 Day Devotional.”  To learn more about the book, visit becomingwholebook.com.