THE FIRST WORDS OF GRACE

GENESIS 3 THE FIRST WORDS OF GRACE. Gen.3:15. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” God has spoken in grace. Sin had come in; innocence was gone and man was a guilty creature before God. The one command He gave had been deliberately broken. “Adam by transgression fell.” Like so many today, trying to earn eternal life by doing God’s will, fails because it ignores salvation by grace alone. Free will inserts itself into that which is forbidden, even if there is only one prohibition. Even when we fail and “come short of the glory of God,” the Lord God still speaks to us in mercy and grace. Sin has offended His holiness, and we offend Him with our ingratitude. It seems almost impossible to think that Satan’s lie was trusted rather than God’s truth. We look at that in others and find it hard to believe until we stop to consider ourselves and realize we are as guilty as Adam and Eve. By nature, we are drawn by our own free will to that which is forbidden, but God is full of mercy, goodness, and grace, and is willing to still speak to us – “The Lord God said.” He is not willing that any should perish. He wants every sinner to repent of their sin and put their faith in Him. God spoke in grace to the guilty God has taken steps to save us from the consequences of our sinful choices. We have taken steps to perish because of our sins, and yet He wants to save us. Divine love has no limits. Even to those who choose sin, He still comes in love with a desire to recover them and have them in His kingdom. When we are careless, He is caring. When we are helpless to do anything, He does it all. When we deserve nothing, God gives everything – even His only begotten Son. Grace brought Christ from heaven, and on our behalf, calls to heaven and says, “They are Mine!” God provides grace through the seed of the woman The Redeemer came from God through the seed of the woman. Man had no part in providing a provision to meet his own need. Even though our Lord Jesus Christ was truly a man, He was a unique Man who was born in the same way we are, yet without sin. He is one of our kind but without a sinful nature. He had flesh and bones as we do, but completely apart from the taint or fruit of human sin and guilt. The Infinite, Almighty, Creator was born of the sinless seed of the woman as an act of infinite grace, that He might bring us back to God. God presents salvation by grace through the seed of the woman

Christ was born in humble circumstances to offer salvation to all, no matter who they are, what they have done, and what their present circumstances in life are.
Joy was in heaven and brought to earth at the birth of the seed of the woman.

Jesus was a man in man’s nature at the same time as remaining the Mighty God in the nature of God. He became a man to redeem us. He remained God to justify us. That is the wonder of all wonders!
The extent of our debt to mercy and grace is beyond measure, but what a delight it is to our Lord Jesus when grateful hearts open wide to receive Him. The praise, worship, and honor we are able to give Him, delight His heart, and make the travail of His soul, satisfying to Him.
Abraham rejoiced to look ahead to when the seed of the woman would come and fulfill God’s promises to him. John the Baptist, before he was even born, could not retain his emotion when the seed of the woman came near him. Wise men from far away were filled with joy when they saw the seed of the woman as a child.
Our peace, happiness, and freedom from the consequences of our sins, depends on the seed of the woman. God’s justice and truth laid claim on our souls, but the seed of the woman gave His life for us, paying the ransom price.
In righteousness, He obeyed all God demanded, and He fulfilled all God’s law required. His righteousness is now our righteousness.
In faith we came to Him, and still do. We cling to Him, rest in Him, and never doubt Him nor His compassion and love for us.
The flame of love and faith makes our heads, hearts, and knees bow in gratitude. We gratefully thank God for sending the seed of the woman in the fullness of time. He revealed to our souls the value, uniqueness, and necessity of the seed of the woman.

THE FIRST DEATH The serpent’s head bruised. Gen.3:15 When we look at this world full of sin, we are saddened and even when we look within ourselves, we wonder at how evil got such rule over human beings. The devil is “the serpent,” Rev.12:9; 20:2.

He obtained his power by deception and continues to deceive people today in the same way he deceived Adam and Eve. People make jokes about the devil as if he is unreal, and he promotes that deception. In that way, he gives evidence that deception works when the Gospel is proclaimed because people under his power reject God’s truth.
His nature is evil. He is the prince of this world [Jn.12:31]. His sway is felt in every part of the world. People are chained by him in many different ways, and some people even choose to serve him [Jn.8:44].
He is the god of this world [2 Cor.4:4]. His temples are attractive places of fame, pleasure, religion, and money. The cup of pleasure and the cup of error are drained in his temples.
He is a leader of legions. Demons and people follow him and they are always looking for places that are empty, swept, and garnished. He starts with little children who are born with a sinful nature. They are inclined toward sin even in their innocence and respond to his deception easily and early in life. Whoever and whatever he sees, he goes after to bring down.
He is a spirit [Eph.2:2]. He plants seeds of evil in the mind. He seeks access to the heart. He dulls the senses and often closes common sense to that which is righteous in order to defile thoughts with every evil imagination. He entered Judas. He filled the heart of Ananias and Saphira, and he still seeks to do his nefarious work today.
He is strong and crafty. His web may not even be thought of until his victim is caught. He used tried and proven tools and materials of deception and craft to snare Gehazi’s weakness. He knew Hezekiah’s fame was starting to go to his head and knew a servant girl’s simple comment would make Peter willing to deny his Lord.

The Almighty One will bruise his head

Our Lord has all wisdom which is far greater than “the wiles of the devil.”
Our Lord took captive the one who had captured us; the slave-owner became a slave; the conqueror was conquered by the Mighty Conqueror, Deliverer, Savior, and Redeemer.
Our Lord gives deliverance, redemption, and salvation to those who stand under the banner of His mighty victory over sin, death, and hell.
Our Lord has the supreme power in the universe which is over the power of the devil.

The First Death – Abel

Abel was a sinner who was hated by Satan. He was exposed to the wiles of the devil in the same way his parents and brother were.
Abel trusted in the promised seed of the woman for escape from Satan, and Satan could not hold him.
Abel’s early death by the hand of his murdering brother, Cain, landed him in the kingdom of God, not in the kingdom of hell.
Abel’s faith in God’s word and in God Himself, responded to his own sense of need by bringing to God an appropriate sacrifice.

The Conqueror came as a Man

Satan knew Him and had heard God declare His pleasure in His Son
Satan tried to defeat Him by testing Him for the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, but each test failed, harmless before the word of the Lord.
Satan was held down by the chains of His holiness, “The Seed of the woman… shall bruise thy head…”
Satan tried several times to defeat the Lord Jesus Christ before He went to the cross.
When the Seed of the woman bowed His head and dismissed His spirit, the victory over sin and Satan was won.
Death itself could not keep Jesus in the grave. He rose in triumph from among the dead! The Conqueror conquered all His foes and bruised forever the head of the devil.
Believers in our Lord Jesus Christ can conquer by resisting the devil and he will flee, and by drawing near to God and He will draw near to us.
In the word of God, we read of those who fought and won over the opposition of Satan and those he used. Stephen, Paul, Peter, and others were “more than conquerors through Him that loved them.”
Down through the centuries since the church began, the faith of faithful martyrs and faithful laborers has remained strong as they went, by the power of God, to “preach deliverance to the captives” in many parts of the world.
“The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly [Rom.16:20].” The enemy is dashed in pieces by the One who overthrows those who rise up against Him and His own people.

COVERING FOR THE GUILTY. Gen.3:21. “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made them coats (tunics) of skin and clothed them.” There is only One Access to God

From Abel to John the Baptist, Old Testament believers rejoiced in the hope that was yet to come. They all looked by faith to the same Object of their faith.

The Patriarchs and the Apostles believed in the same Person. The first group rejoiced by faith as they looked forward to the Promised One, and the second group rejoiced as by sight they looked on the Promise fulfilled.
Every person traveling through this life, and who will rest in the promised blessing of eternal life now and forever, travel the same road of faith, guided by the same compass of truth through the word of God, through the bestowing of faith by God’s grace, to the same destination. “Where Jesus is, ‘tis heaven there.”

The Lord Jesus Christ is the One Way

Adam and Eve were still in the Garden of Eden when their sin was exposed and their innocence was lost. But it was also in the garden that the first death occurred. It was the death of an innocent animal for guilty sinners. They were conscious of their shame. They tried to hide themselves personally and physically from God.
God in mercy came to their relief. He knew what they had done and He knew what was needed to maintain justice and still be able to communicate with people who put their faith in Him. No longer could they look upon Him because of the consequences of sin, but by faith, they could put their trust in Him and act upon God’s word.
God Himself supplied their need. He made the coats of skin to cloth them as the result of the death of an innocent substitute. These were not made from plant life but from a lifeless animal whose blood was shed.
“Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission.” “It pleased the Lord” to have a life given by one who was sinless, to preserve the life of the guilty.
The blood was shed, and the sacrifice was made as an offering for sin. That scene would have been indelibly impressed on Adam and Eve so that they would pass on to their sons the need for a sacrifice for sin and how to offer it.
The simplicity of the act of substitution is easily understood. The profoundness of the length and breadth of that truth is far greater. That truth is the key to heaven as we look ahead, and the nurturing of our souls here. This is expressed in the simplicity of the Gospel. “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and He was buried and rose again the third day, according to the scriptures.”
God’s eye was on the innocent victim, and when the sinners were clothed in the skin of the innocent, He could look again at those who were covered with those skins that had no blemish.
Their righteousness was lost, but the sinlessness of the substitute was imputed to them. The righteousness of the Righteous One, our Lord Jesus Christ, has been passed on to us. He is “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and now we are named, “The Lord our righteousness.”
A man as pure as God, as holy as God is holy, as perfect as God is perfect, as sinless as God is sinless, has taken our place before the searching eye of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Only Substitute

The eyes of the Holy God were always on the Perfect Substitute for sinful mankind.
There was never an absence of love in Him, in any thought, in any word He said or deed He did. He endured all trials without fault. He experienced all temptations without ever sinning. The path He walked was full of danger and it was slippery, but He never stumbled nor slipped. He was attacked on every side by every possible means, but never failed nor fell.
He lived before God as a Perfect man among men. He stood before God in full, unfailing, unbroken obedience. He had a work designated for Him to do, and He accomplished that work. He finished it to the smallest detail.

All that He did here on earth glorified God, and it was for our – “for our sake, our peace to make!” He planned His own work, He carried it out completely, and then He gives it to every exposed sinner who will flee to Him in faith. It is there they will find hope and shelter in Christ.
He offers “The Righteousness of God,” to everyone, and when a person puts faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that becomes theirs personally. This offer is “unto all, and upon all that believe.”
He was made to be sin for us, He who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. We are made, in Christ, the righteousness of God.
Adam’s innocence was lost, but a robe of innocence was put on him provided by the death of another. That was physical and human. We have a divine covering that can never be soiled or lost. Adam’s skin coat has long gone to dust. Our robe of righteousness is unfading and not subject to decay or loss.
The garment of salvation God provides is available to all. Ask, and you receive. Seek with earnest faith and it is right there to be found. Christ’s worthiness is there for our unworthiness; His sinlessness for our sinfulness; His purity for our impurity; His sincerity for our guile; His truth for our falseness; His love for our hate; His righteousness for our unrighteousness.
2Tim.4:8. “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.”

1. Temptation. 3:1-6

The tempter: God does not tempt people to sin. Satan fell into sin before he was in the garden [Isa.14:12-17; Ez.28:11-19]. He took the guise of a serpent. He is a liar and a deceiver. In Gen.4 he is a liar that murders [Jn.8:44]. He must be avoided and resisted.
The target: Eve's mind [2Cor.11:1-3; 1Tim.2:9-15]. He deceived her. Man's mind is part of our being in God's image. Satan attacked God by attacking the human mind.
The tactic: Satan tries to get the mind to doubt God's Word. He questions God's Word; denies God's Word; substitutes His own lies. When we question God's goodness and doubt His love, we play into Satan's hands, "You will be like God."
The tragedy: Eve gave place to the devil [Ep.4:27] instead of resisting. She omitted "freely" and added "touch it;" "you shall surely die" became "lest you die." the lust of the flesh ("good for food"); the lust of the eyes ("pleasant to the eyes"); the pride of life ("desirable to make one wise") [1Jn.2:15]

2. Condemnation 7-19

Internal v.7-14: loss of innocence and a sense of guilt, fear, and shame; self- defense and blame - the internal effects of sin
External, v.14-19: the serpent crawled in the dust. The woman had pain in childbirth. The man exchanged the paradise of Eden for the wilderness and would find thorns and sweat in his labor.
Eternal, v.15: The seed of the woman would defeat Satan and his seed. Satan will oppose the family of God and God Himself. He will ultimately be cast into hell. The conflict between God's seed and Satan's seed is the story of the OT. The NT is the record of the birth of Christ and His victory over Satan through the work of the cross.

3. Salvation 20-24

The coats of skin are the first picture of the shedding of blood as the atonement of sin
The offering of an innocent life for the guilty person
The leaves could not cover sin and shame. Works do not make us accepted by God.
Garments in the Bible, are often pictures of salvation: the prodigal son, etc.
God showed grace by driving them out of the garden, otherwise they would have lived forever in their sinful state. God showed His grace and mercy to the whole human race this way.
The death of Christ didn't just put us back where Adam was when he sinned. It has given us a place where we will live with Him forever.

3. The Beginning of Human Sin, 3:1-7. Without the privilege of choice, humans would have been prisoners, and obeying God would not be a joy in any way. Sin – what it is:

Rebellion, De.9:7
Thought of foolishness, Pr.24:9
Not of faith, Rom.14:23
Knowing to do good and not doing it, Jas.4:17
Transgression of the law, 1Jn.3:4
All unrighteousness, 1Jn.5:17 Origins of sin:
Act of disobedience, Gen.3:6-7; Rom.5:12
From within, Mat.15:19
The devil, Jn.8:44; 1Jn.3:8 Characteristics of sin:
Causes reproach, Pr.14:34
Abomination, Pr.15:9
Filthiness, Pr.30:12
As scarlet (obvious to others), Is.1:18
Separates from God, Is.59:2
Defiling, Is.59:3
Hateful, Jer.44:9
Unfruitful, Ep.5:11
Deceitful, Heb.3:13
Hardens, Heb.3:15
Emphasizes man’s work, Heb.6:1; Heb.9:14
Lusting results in wrong-doing, Jas.1:15 Downward steps:
Doubt, v.1
Distortion, v.3
Denial, v.4
Disobedience, v.6

The Appeal: [1Jn.2:16]

Lust of the flesh – “good for food.”
Lust of the eye – “pleasant to the eyes.”
Pride of life – “desired to make one wise.” The Results of Adam’s eating of the tree
He disobeyed the law he had received (before Eve was formed)
He became a sinner
He fell victim to a far lesser opponent than Eve
Showed that Eve had only done what he would have done
Condoned her action Adam tried to
Hide himself, v.8 [Rev.5:15-16; 20:11]
Excuse himself, v.12 [Rom.1:20-21; 2:1]
Clothe himself, v.7 [v.21] Effects of sin
Upward: challenged God’s authority
Inward: Spiritual – alienated from God; death Moral – conscience within Physical – down-grading diet which led to death and decay
Downward: animals and vegetables cursed Animals became aggressive Vegetables became noxious; thorny; out of control Earth yielded its fruit reluctantly
Forward: all mankind fell under the doom of death

4. The Beginning of the Revelation of Redemption, 3:8-24