IN THE BEGINNING
GENESIS PART 1 – ANTEDILUVIAN HISTORY
THE DOCTRINE OF REDEMPTION
GENESIS 3:15
INTRODUCTION
- Any good author knows the end of the story before he begins writing the beginning of it. It makes it easier to fill in the details of the storyline if you know where everything is supposed to end up. What is included in the story is determined by whether or not it makes progress towards the ultimate ending. The same is true for a public speaker writing a speech or a preacher writing a sermon. If you don’t know where you are going you will have a difficult time getting there. The main point of a speech or message dictates what information is included. And we could really apply this to just about every area of life. When you want to build something, you lay out the plans first. The blueprints point the way to the final product. You know what you are building before you pick up the hammer. It is almost always beneficial to plan the ending of something before you start it.
- Now, while God in many ways is not to be compared to an earthly storyteller, or speaker, or architect; he is similar in this way: the end was planned from the beginning. God knew what the ultimate goal for this universe was before he created it. He tells us many times in his word what this goal was. And perhaps one of the clearest places is in Ephesians 1:3-10: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
- When God set out to create the universe this was the plan: that he would call a people known and loved by him from eternity to himself, that he would adopt them as sons and daughters as they were predestined to be; that to the praise of his glorious grace he would redeem them from their sinful depravity, and that through all of this the entire creation (both spiritual and physical), the heavens and the earth would see the glory of Jesus Christ. Redemption was the plan before sin ever stuck its ugly head into the picture. And the glory of God seen in the redemption of man is the great purpose of this universe.
- What do we mean by the word redemption? It is not a complicated concept. To redeem means to buy or purchase something; especially to pay a ransom for the deliverance of someone or something. In the biblical era, to redeem a slave meant that someone purchased a slave’s freedom for a specific price. So when the word redemption is applied in a spiritual sense, in a Christian context, to sinful mankind it refers to Jesus Christ giving his life as a ransom for our freedom. Jesus Christ bought us out of sin and purchased eternal life for believers on the cross.
- And as we have mentioned, that was the plan from the very beginning. The cross was not a back up plan. For us football fans, it was not an audible. God had predetermined that this was how he was going to reveal his glory to his creation. So it’s no surprise then that when Adam and Eve fall into sin as a result of giving in to the temptation of the serpent, God immediately announces the solution to problem.
- This is not a case of God being a quick thinker or a fast problem solver. This is a display of his eternality, his omniscience, his sovereignty, and the eternal purpose of his will. Of course I am speaking of Genesis 3:15. Here is what God says to the serpent in the midst of his proclamation of judgment to him:
[READ GENESIS 3:15]
- This verse has been called the Protoevangelium. That is simply a compound of two Greek words, proto meaning “first” and euangelion meaning “gospel” or “good news”. So this is the first glimpse of the gospel in Scripture. And it is fitting that the first hint of redemption comes before the account of the fall into sin is even complete.
- Now as we seek to understand what this verse is saying, as well as its implications, let’s start by looking at that important word offspring.
THE OFFSPRING OF THE WOMAN ULTIMATELY REFERS TO JESUS CHRIST
- The word that is rendered offspring in the ESV literally means seed. It can refer to literal seed (as in planting seed), the offspring of an animal, the specific son, daughter, or descendant of a person, or the multiple descendants of a person. And this word is one of the most important words in the book of Genesis. Let’s trace its importance; and we’ll start right here with the judgment on the serpent.
- The punishment is given to Satan, but it is given in the hearing of Adam and Eve. They both would have heard this statement by God to the devil. What would Eve have made of this proclamation? Well, she obviously did not have all of the further revelation we have available to us. She would not have known that the declaration referred to a man named Jesus who would live at least 4000 years later (depending upon the chronology you are using). She would not have known even what later Old Testament prophets knew about this promise. What she knew was that a descendant of hers would bruise the head of the serpent. Somehow, in some way, someone from her offspring would deliver a decisive blow to the enemy.
- As we following Moses’ uses of this word, we will see that anticipation for this was high. In chapter 4 of Genesis Adam and Eve have their first children: Cain and Abel. And it seems as if Eve is expecting one of these sons to be the seed she heard about from God. We see this in her response to what happens between these two brothers. You know the story, Cain kills Abel. Now the seed promise is threatened in Eve’s mind. Abel cannot possible be the one to bruise the serpent’s head because he is dead; and Cain is banished by God.
- Then she and Adam have another son and they name him Seth. The name in Hebrew means “appointed, compensation, or replacement”. In 4:25 Eve says this: God has appointed for me another offspring [here is the word seed] instead of Abel, for Cain killed him. With Cain being rejected and Abel dead, the hope for the fulfillment of God’s promised seed was dim, but now with the birth of Seth her hope is renewed. She once again has a seed or offspring from God.
- The next time we see this word referring to human offspring is in chapter 9 when God promises Noah and his offspring to never again flood the whole earth. Then it appears in the most important context in the Old Testament: in the story of Abraham.
- Several times in Gen. 12-24 God promises to bless Abraham’s seed. God makes a covenant with Abraham and promises to make his descendants into a great nation and bless the whole world through this nation. From chapter 12 through the rest of the book that promise begins to unfold.
- Now Abraham came from the line of Shem, who in turn came from Noah; and Noah came from Adam. It’s important that we make that connection. Because Abraham’s seed is an extension of Eve’s seed. And in the New Testament, Paul makes a crucial argument about Abraham’s seed. In Gal. 3:16 Paul says this about the promise of God to Abraham: Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.
- Let’s make sure we understand what Paul is saying. He means that the primary offspring of Abraham to which God’s promise applied was Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus Christ that all of the nations of the earth will be blessed, as the promise in Genesis stated. So while there are secondary applications of the promise to Abraham and his other offspring, the primary focus is on one specific seed: Jesus Christ. He is the seed of Abraham, and by lineage also the seed of Eve the woman.
- So it makes sense that God speaks the way he does way back in Gen. 3:15. He uses a personal pronoun: he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Eve didn’t know exactly who he was going to be; but through the complete revelation of Scripture, we know that he refers to Jesus. The promise of God made to Eve and later to Abraham finds its fulfillment in Christ.
- But not only does God foretell of Jesus’ coming and human existence here; he gives the first hint as to what it is that Eve’s seed (who is Jesus) is going to do. He says two things. We are going to flip the order. God says that Satan will bruise the offspring’s heel.
THE BRUISING OF THE OFFSPRING’S HEEL REFERS TO CHRIST’S SUFFERING
- As time went on from this day in the garden, the understanding of what God had promised here grew. More and more details about this promised seed were filled in by later biblical writers and prophets. The expectation of an anointed deliverer or Messiah grew with time. This expectation lasted into the time of Jesus, but most people were expecting a physical deliverance from oppression. If however, they would have paid more attention to the prophets they would have known what their coming deliverer was really going to do: he was going to suffer for their sins.
- We tend to do the same thing today that Israel did then. We look to God for physical, temporal things only. We want him to fix our cars, our houses, and our jobs. We want peace, comfort, and happiness on this earth. We want him to cater to our worldly desires. And while God, in his grace, may choose to do those things, his primary concern for us is spiritual. He wants to deal with our sin. The same thing was true in the Old Testament as Jesus’ coming approached. That was what the promise was really about. And the closer we get to the New Testament, the clearer that becomes.
- There are two passages that I want to highlight for you. These are probably the most well known on this subject. In one passage David is writing about himself and his own struggles. Then Jesus and the gospel writers apply those things to his life in the New Testament. In the other passage the prophet Isaiah is making clear predictions about what the coming Messiah was going to accomplish for his people.
- The first text is Psalm 22. This is King David writing. In this psalm David writes things like this: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?...All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;...I am poured out like water, and all of my bones are out of joint...a company of evildoers encircles me...they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Many of those images and references are picked up by the New Testament writers and applied to Christ. In fact, Jesus actually quotes that first line as he cries out on the cross: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
- By using David’s words and experiences the gospel writers and setting Jesus up as the ultimate sufferer. If David endured pain and suffering as the king of Israel; how much more did Jesus endure as the King of all kings who suffered for the sins of his people?
- And while that text is most certainly interesting. This one in Isaiah is crystal clear. In Isaiah 52:13- 53:13 the prophet is describing God’s servant. The servant was one who was to come deliver Israel. The servant and the anticipated Messiah are one and the same. Here is what Isaiah says about the Messiah: Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted...his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance...he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;...surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
- That is the picture that Isaiah paints of God’s suffering servant; the deliverer of Israel who would come from Abraham and in turn, Eve. And the New Testament fills in the rest, doesn’t it? How would the seed of the woman suffer a “bruised heel”? In what way would Isaiah’s suffering servant be wounded for our transgressions? It involved a cross and three nails.
- But that’s only half of what God says to the serpent. The serpent would bruise the offspring’s heel. But the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head. And:
THE BRUISING OF THE SERPENT’S HEAD REFERS TO SATAN’S ULTIMATE DEFEAT
- Notice that while the bruising of the heel is to be done to the offspring and not the woman, the bruising of the head is to be done to the serpent directly; not his offspring. God is proclaiming Satan’s defeat before the story of history really even gets going. At the right time, the offspring of the woman would defeat Satan decisively. And that’s exactly what Jesus did in his death and resurrection. Ironically enough, the way in which Satan bruised Christ’s heel and caused him to suffer is the same way in which Christ crushed the head of Satan.
- In Galatians 4:4-5 Paul writes just that: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
- He writes in Colossians 2:13-15: And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
- At the cross Satan was dealt his death blow. Jesus publicly and triumphantly shamed his enemy by vanquishing his power once and for all. The victory is already won, and we await consummation of that victory when Jesus returns. Paul closes his letter to the Romans in 16:20 by saying this: The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. And in the book of Revelation Satan, all of his demons, as well as all unbelievers are cast into the lake of fire forever. God wins...and he knew he would win even in the midst of the tragic fall of humanity into sin.
- So I want to close with this application. I want to address:
GOD’S GLORY IN YOUR REDEMPTION
- If what we have said thus far in our look at Genesis is true; and God created the universe to put himself on display and to be worshiped by his creation – especially mankind made in his image; but mankind destroyed that fellowship by disobeying God’s command, and so all men and women are born in broken fellowship with God because of their total depravity; then what we have discussed today is one of the most important issues we will ever face.
- God planned this redemption story, and you and I will be a part of it in one way or the other. Either we will continue in our sin and reject God’s plan of redemption and suffer the eternal consequences; or we will cast ourselves at the mercy of Jesus who paid the penalty for all who will believe and crushed the head of the serpent. That’s the first thing we must decide. What side of the redemption story are we going to be on?
- Then if we have made the decision to follow after Christ, as I know a lot of us (if not all of us) have, we must put all of our energy and effort into making sure that we live lives worthy of our calling. And we must answer this question: Is the fact that God crushed the head of Satan through Christ on my behalf evident in my life? Or do I look like one who is still defeated; wallowing in the sins and difficulties that the enemy would desire to keep me trapped in?
- Does this promise mean anything to you? I hope it does. I hope you recognize what this declaration in Genesis 3:15 points to. It points to the Savior, who bought us back out of the sinful depravity we fell into in Adam. As the text in Ephesians 1:7 says: In him [in Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. Let’s pray for the grace to live like we’ve been redeemed.
