When Adam and Eve were created, all of human nature existed in them, and none of it existed anywhere else (Anselm). We are 'in Adam' in the sense that Adam and Eve are the source code for our own bodies; they are the blue print for the rest of humanity (Augustine/Crisp). Adam's sin changed him and Eve. It made them know sin, but without the benefit of wisdom or maturity (Irenaeus). As a result, they became stunted in their person, altered from their original design (Irenaeus). Coffee spilled on the blueprint (Crisp).
Here, original guilt refers to our state of condemnation: more a 'state of things' than a punitive function (Augustine). It is metaphor for an existential reality of strife and separation to which we are resigned until the savior comes. All humanity is born outside Eden, born in the wild. All are therefore born in exile - suffering the consequences of their ancestors, whether they ate the fruit or not. All other humans have been born into the world into this sadly altered state, knowing sin, but not knowing themselves or God, and having been expelled from Eden, not having the resources innately to right the ship.
But the good news is God has also left Eden or, rather, has brought it with him. God has come into the wild. Jesus enters the human race in order to change the blue-print - for "what is unassumed is unhealed" (Gregory). He, the new Adam, submits to God in the garden where Adam failed (Irenaeus). He goes the distance, enters and dies in our exile. Then he walks anew in the cool of the first day of the week as the new gardener. He is correcting the course of humanity. He gives the Spirit to those in allegiance to him so that they, too, can receive the breath of new life (Reeves).
There's a sense Jesus is Eden, the place where reconciliation with God exists (Torrance), and also Adam, the person who reigns on our behalf and reigns with us (Wright).
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