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Chris Free wrote:

Hi, guys —

  • Was Jesus walking in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned?

Chris Free

  { Was Jesus walking in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned? }

Eric replied:

Chris,

"Jesus" typically refers to the Incarnate Word of God, so I'd hesitate to say that "Jesus" walked in the garden. Scripture doesn't address whether it was the Father or the Son who walked in the garden. The language suggests the Father (who often is simply referred to as "God"), but on the other hand, many Church Fathers saw "Christophanies" (manifestations of the Son of God) in Old Testament events like this, and it would be appropriate for the Son of God, who later came to earth and was made known to men, to manifest himself likewise in the Garden of Eden.

There is also the principle that whenever one person of the Holy Trinity acts, all three cooperate in the act but, I'd argue that it might be taking this too far to suggest that the Son of God definitively "walked" in the garden with Adam and Eve solely in virtue of this, as employing such a principle might lead to the heresy of Patripassionism, i.e., the idea that the Father suffered on the Cross.

Eric

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