THE GARDEN CITY

The Garden City

Are gardens and cities opposites? Or may a city be grown in a garden? The Bible begins with a garden and ends with a garden-city (Gen. 2&3; Rev. 21&22). Thus, it would seem, that horticulture leads to city-culture. In the beginning the Creator created man and put him in the garden of Eden to dress and keep it (Gen. 2:15). The word ‘dress’ has to do with cultivation and the word ‘keep’ with guarding or policing. Therefore God has mandated us to cultivate His creation while we, at the same time, ‘police’ it. This ‘Cultural Mandate’ given to man by God in Genesis 1:26-28 was renewed to the four men and four women, i.e., the remnant of humanity that came out of Noah’s ark with all the birds and land animals after the global flood (Gen. 9:1-7). Therefore the Cultural Mandate remains today.

Culture has to do with whatever man puts his hand to. By definition, anything touched by man has been cultivated by man. To be sure, all culture has been tainted by sin since Adam, man’s covenant representative, rebelled against our God and Creator. Thus a culture of decay and death also entered creation (Gen. 3; Rom. 8:20). However, the arts and sciences, language, food, drink, dress, music, agriculture, architecture, trade, politics etc., are all lawful cultural activities.  And, like pre-Fall man, the Christian (i.e., the once fallen but now regenerated man) engages in these cultural developments with a view to glorifying the triune God. Thus the Christian is engaged in building the city of God.

A city is not the opposite of a garden: it is a garden taken to its logical conclusion! Cities are fully cultivated gardens, for cities are centres of concentrated cultural activity. Indeed cities themselves are cultural monuments. ‘Paradise,’ as in the Garden of Eden, means ‘a walled orchard, park.’ Does New York City have a park in its midst, or does Central Park have a city running round it? Surely the park and the city are one, but like the city, and like the Garden of Eden, it needs to be policed! Remember, Adam was given the task of guarding the Garden of Eden as well as cultivating it. Therefore man’s task on earth is to protect that which he is cultivating to the greater glory of God.

As the physical labour of man before the Fall was a spiritual work, so is all cultural activity of the Christian today. The first Adam was a gardener. However, God sent a new Man into the world to dress and keep the garden of God. He is the last Adam, the God-man, Jesus Christ. Indeed, on the morning of His resurrection, seeing but not immediately recognizing Him, Mary Magdalene, thought He was the gardener (John 20:15). After He had ascended on High, He poured out His Spirit, who is at this very moment engaging the nations in building the City of God. The work is a spiritual work with solid physical foundations.

The Apostle John, in a vision saw this physical city, this presently being completed cultural centre of the cosmos: “And the city had no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light shall the nations walk; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it, and its gates shall never be shut by day – and there shall be no night there; they shall bring into it the glory and the honour of the nations.” Revelation 21:23-26 RSV.

This City of God has a park, even the Garden of Eden, in its midst. John goes on to say: “And he showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of [the city’s] street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Revelation 22:1-2. 

The only way into this city is through its gate, Jesus Christ. The gate to Paradise is still open. Join us! Bring with you the things you are cultivating.