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.

(Mga Sanggunian: Arcana Coelestia 122, 123, 124)

124. The fact that wisdom, intelligence, reason, and knowledge are not man's but the Lord's is quite clear from what the Lord Himself taught, for example in Matthew, when the Lord compares Himself to a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and let it out to tenants, Matthew 21:33. In John,

The Spirit of truth will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak. He will glorify Me, for He will receive from what is Mine and declare it to you. John 16:13-14.

Also in the same gospel,

Man cannot receive anything unless it is given him from heaven. John 3:27.

Anyone who has been granted knowledge of merely a few of heaven's arcana knows that this is true.