In some ways, this verse expresses the pinnacle of human existence, the most beautiful, joyous state we have ever experienced: people at their purest and most loving living in a state of love and wisdom given them by the Lord.

This happened thousands of years ago, before the beginning of recorded history, in what the Writings call the Most Ancient Church, represented here by "man." A garden represents the intellect and Eden represents love, so the man in the Garden of Eden represents people pure of heart in a state of love to the Lord and the wisdom that comes from that love.

It's interesting that the man is to "dress" the garden ("serve" would be a more literal translation) and "keep" it. "Serving" in the Bible generally represents a more external spiritual state serving a more exalted one. "Keeping" means expressing higher spiritual things through lower ones, including external forms of worship. It seems, then, that the people of the Most Ancient Church were to serve the love in the garden and express the wisdom coming from that love.

The Writings also say directly that this means the love and the wisdom were not their own, but were from the Lord, and that they knew it to be true.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 122, 123, 124)

4524. Now because every single thing that exists in the world and in the natural system comes into being, and is constantly coming into being - that is, is kept in being - from something prior to itself, it follows that it comes into being and is kept in being from a world above the natural system, which is called the spiritual world. And because there must be a continuous connection with that spiritual world in order that every single thing may be kept in being, or constantly come into being, it follows that the purer or more interior things present within the natural order, and consequently within the human being, spring from that world, and that purer or more interior things are forms such as are able to receive influx. But because there can be only one source of life, as in the natural system there is only one source of light and warmth, it is clear that every trace of life originates in the Lord, who is the Primary Source of life. This being so, every single thing which exists in the spiritual world corresponds to Him, and so therefore does every single thing within man, for man is a tiny spiritual world in miniature form. Consequently the spiritual man is also an image of the Lord.