Genesis 3:15 is the first gospel and Christmas text in the Bible. It traces back to the dawn of time and the outbreak of human sin, a time of catastrophic sorrow as Adam and Eve sinned and brought on humanity untold grief, guilt, and pain. By all appearances, in that moment Satan had won. This cosmic Benedict Arnold appeared to have successfully mutinied against heaven and had taken the human race with him. He'd gotten Adam and Eve to sin and it looked like all they could do was hang their heads in shame and it would seem, despair.
But in Genesis 3:15 God speaks to Satan and gives a promise that spelled the Devil's doom, and at the same time would sustain believers' hopes for millennia--all the way up to and beyond the moment when it was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. The promise is called in theology: "The Proto-Evangelium": the first gospel. It is first announcement of the good news of a Savior to be born.
God tells Satan that his seed--all who follow Satan and are his spiritual offspring--would attack the seed of the woman. Satan would never stop fighting God and humans. Satan would attack the woman's offspring so fiercely that he would succeed in "bruising" or crushing His heel, speaking of a near crippling wound against Eve's seed. A child born to woman would experience a severe wound that would appear to spell ultimate defeat.
But in the end the Child would bruise or crush Satan's head! Here is a promise that a Child would be born that would experience apparent defeat only to turn around and gain ultimate triumph. Does that sound familiar? It should.
Thousands of years later in "the fullness of time" (Galatians 4:4) a Child was born to a woman; one who would redeem His people from Satan's grasp and hell's dominion. This Child would appear to be defeated on a cross, but then triumph through the empty tomb. Satan would crush His heel, but He would crush Satan's head. He came to destroy the devil and death, and that's exactly what He did (Hebrews 2:14, 15).
Ladies and gentlemen, as we enter this Christmas season may we do so realizing that in the first Christmas event, God was fulfilling a promise made from the dawn of time; a promise announcing that a Savior would come, who would first suffer, and then triumph. Let us be amazed at a prophecy fulfilled. Let us even more so, be full of wonder and love at a Savior revealed. From before the dawn of time God has loved His people--you and me--and has promised to redeem us from sin and Satan. Let us stand in awe of such love as this.
Tim Shorey
And then ultimately, it all comes full circle....Rev 21
ReplyDeleteThen I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
What a Savior.
My thoughts.....
JR
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ReplyDeleteThanks Tim for showing us the unity and harmony of the Bible story! Thx for letting us see that the gospel is God's eternal purpose! It was not a second thought or plan. The gospel is the divine thread that weaves and holds all the Scriptures together! As John also noted...it all comes full circle in the end!
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing is it not? The gospel is no afterthought; it's been God's plan from the beginning of time for bringing sinners into relationship with Himself.
ReplyDeleteThank you Tim. This first reflection is a good start-- a going back to the beginning. Human history can seem so short when reduced to this kind of gospel outline: Creation, the rebellion, the fall of man, the incarnation of God, the redemption of man, the ultimate victory of the Lamb, and the great wedding feast to come!
ReplyDeleteThe Christmas story is the focal point for all of history-- without that holy child in the manger, absolutely nothing makes sense. There would BE NO history without the incarnation, because God would have quit in the Garden of Eden.
But as you point out-- the story was eternally in the mind of God, and all played out over several thousand years for us. Amazing story.
Honestly, how does an unbeliever make any sense, or derive any meaning from human history?
Thanks for starting me in the right direction. I want to focus on the Main Thing this Christmas. I think it will make all the rest the more enjoyable-- the tree, the music, the gifts, the family, the fireplace-- Only when we sense that all these trappings are secondary, will they yield the full joy of Christmas!