Introduction:
In today’s message we are continuing to take a look at the fullness of God’s amazing love for us. He created us to be in relationship with Him. And He has great plans for you, me, and all of us. Even that we, as the people of God, those of us who have turned to Him and put our faith in His Son Jesus Christ…
“…that we would be called children of God…” (1st John 3:1)
And the first part of our passage from last week confirms for us that the devil is our enemy: “…I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed;” (Genesis 3:15) He pursued Adam and Eve and coaxed them into sinning against God. The devil is the enemy of all people, even those who have not turned to God, they just don’t know it yet. And he is the enemy of God’s people throughout all of history, and we see this in the conflict that is always present in us between good and evil, temptation, between doing what is good and what is wrong. We also see this in the real and continual resistance from the forces of evil against the people of God in the external world we live in.
But God, in His grace, mercy, compassion, and love for people, saw to it that the devil is a defeated enemy. This brings us to the second part of our passage, Genesis 3:15, today. Please turn there in your Bibles and read with me…
Body:
I. (God provided a way for ultimate victory over our enemy the devil through the person and work of Jesus Christ) 3:15b. “He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.””
A. At this point in the garden…
1. I believe that Adam and Eve sensed God’s grace and a glimmer of hope.
2. I think the devil sensed something about his impending doom.
3. But I can imagine that only God knew the full impact of what He was handing down.
B. (The devil is a defeated enemy.)
1. In the context of what is being said in this passage, both times the word “bruise” is used here it means something different.
a. In the first case it means crush, or to deliver a fatal blow.
b. In the second case, it means something closer to bruise or bite.
c. The original reading sounds more like this: He will crush your head, And you will bruise his heal.
What’s happening here is this…
2. While God is issuing sentence to satan, in the garden, He is revealing His plan to redeem a fallen people.
a. A relationship battered and broken, a people duped into rebelling against their God, incarcerated in the bondage of sin and its results, mended, freed, and brought back into relationship with Him.
b. This victory will be the result of a struggle where someone who is an offspring of the woman will deliver a fatal blow that will defeat satan and his work.
3. This points directly to the person and work of Jesus Christ, who would strike the fatal blow to the head of satan.
a. This is the first time in God’s word that the person of Jesus Christ and the work that He would accomplish is mentioned.
(1) It was up to Jesus to destroy the works of the devil.
(2) In 1st John 3:8, the Bible says: “...The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”
While Christ would deliver the fatal blow to satan’s head,
4. In the midst of the struggle, the devil would bruise His heal.
a. This points directly to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
b. And to the suffering that He would endure for us on the cross.
C. (Christ’s work on the cross defeated our enemy and gave us ultimate victory.)
1. The blow that Jesus was to administer to satan’s head was carried out on the cross.
a. This provided the ultimate defeat of satan, his work, and his followers.
b. This provided ultimate victory for the people of God, that’s us, over satan, and over our bondage to sin and its results, paid our debt, and made it possible for us to come back into relationship with God.
c. Take your Bibles and turn with me to the New Testament to the book of Colossians chapter two verses thirteen through fifteen (Colossians 2: 13-15.) This is going to explain to us how Christ’s work on the cross provided victory.
“13 When you (All of us…) were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh (Remember we are guilty of sin, and the wages of sin is death…),
He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions (Our sins were forgiven, and a way was made…),
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us (We could not pay the debt.);
and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Jesus paid for it… Jesus paid the price…).
15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities (Satan, the evil rulers and principalities, the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms…),
He (God the Father…) made a public display of them (Them being satan, the rulers, principalities, spiritual forces of wickedness…),
having triumphed over them through Him (Victory realized through the person and work of His Son Jesus Christ…).”
Here’s the key.
2. Victory for us was provided, confirmed, and guaranteed at the cross.
a. Through the person and work of God’s Son Jesus Christ.
b. The Lord of glory.
c. The unique one of His kind – fully God and fully man.
d. The One who came according to Scripture – Genesis 3: 15.
e. The ultimate Seed of the woman.
f. The King of kings and Lord of lords.
g. The Alpha and the Omega.
h. The beginning and the end.
i. Come Lord Jesus.
It even goes beyond this. Christ’s work on the cross and this victory and final defeat of satan will be completely completed in Revelation chapter 20 when the devil is thrown into the lake of fire and tormented forever – where he belongs.
I raised the question last week and today: How much does God love us? And how has He shown His love for us? We can see the answer played out in what He has done for us…
II. God knew that all this was going to happen.
A. He knew when He created people that we would be tempted into sin.
1. That we would fall into temptation and rebel against Him.
2. He knew that this would all but break off our relationship with Him.
3. And that the entire human race would be plunged into bondage to sin and its results – death and separation from Him.
4. He could have ended it all right there.
5. He could have started over – there were only two people at the time.
B. Having created people and having them turn on Him, and knowing what it was going to take to bring them back, instead of putting the project back on the shelf and moving on, or just cancelling the whole thing, He decided to see it through.
1. God loves us so much that, instead of starting over, He engineered a rescue plan.
a. A plan that would take thousands of years to carry out.
b. A plan that would involve sacrificing His own Son on a cross here on Earth.
c. The only plan that could completely wash away our sins, cancel our debt, make us whole, and provide a way to bring us back together with Him. In relationship with Him. Where we belong.
2. All the heartache, all the hassle, all the complications, all the trouble.
a. Instead of blotting us out and moving on.
b. He set out to save us and bring us back.
Our God and Father truly went all the way for each of us. (Take Home Truth)
Conclusion:
God really loves us.
It’s been a long time since Adam and Eve. Some say 10,000 years, others add up the generations in the Old Testament and to where we are now and say it’s been 6,000 years. I’m not really sure how long it’s been. But I do know it’s been a long time. The world keeps turning. And time goes on. God keeps loving us. And, He is going to keep on loving us. God is faithful to His gracious promises…
Listen to these words from Jesus, as He prays to the Father on our behalf in John 17:22-24 “…The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am…”
God loves us. God gave every one of us the opportunity to live a life in His purpose and plan and blessing here, and to go to heaven with Him for all eternity when our life here is done. And God is going to keep on loving us then too…
“The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)
Invitation for believers…
As a believer, you need to seek God today more than ever before, because you need Him now more than ever before. The world is really a crazy place sometimes. Pray to God every day – whenever you can during the day, throughout your day. Praise Him in your prayers. Ask Him for things (make requests), we’re supposed to do that, He is the one who blesses – so ask Him for blessing, seek His guidance, and listen to Him. Pray for others too. And wash yourself with the Word and do what the Bible says, holding His commandments and precepts close to do them. Come up with a plan that will guide you in your daily Bible reading. And look around you, the believers here are the ones that need your friendship, love, and encouragement. So love one another.
Invitation…
As we have seen in the message last week and today, God has gone to great lengths to make sure that you don’t have to perish in eternity. That you could be saved from your sins, saved from yourself and the mistakes that you make, and saved for a purpose that God has been planning for you for your entire life. If you have not yet made that decision to turn to God, I want to give you that chance right now.
• There is one true God, and He loves you.
• Like all people, you naturally sin, and are separated from God. The Bible says: “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:12) The first two people ever created were coaxed into sinning, and now we all do the same.
• The Good News is that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take care of the problem. Jesus came according to Scripture, and as we looked at in detail today, He was crucified on a cross to pay the price for your sins. The Bible says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
• Turning to God and believing in and following His Son Jesus Christ is the key to having your sins forgiven, to get right with God, and living the kind of life that God intended for you to live.
“…Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved…” (Romans 10:13)
Prayer:
Please bow your heads and close your eyes for a moment. If you want to make this decision right now, then in the quietness of your heart, turn your thoughts to God…
And pray with me…
“Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner, I turn from doing things only my own way, and I turn to You. I believe that You sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, that He went to the cross and died for my sins, and that You raised Him to life. I put my faith in Him today for the forgiveness of my sins and for my salvation, and I want to follow Him as the Lord of my life. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.”
