The First Gospel Promise
I enjoy learning about history. I’m sure many of you do as well! Some of my favorite periods of history include: ancient Greece, ancient Rome, early Church, the Reformation, the Revolutionary War, and World War 2. It’s always fascinating to look back and gain greater perspective on these things.
In the next few weeks, leading up to Christmas, I’m looking forward to walking through some of the Biblical history that pre-dated the birth of the Messiah. The promise of the Messiah was given all the way back in the garden of Eden, immediately after the fall. When we read the account of Genesis 3, we often take vital truths from the story such as, the serpent tempted the woman, the woman (and the man) ate of the fruit, they recognized their nakedness, and they were banished from the garden. All of these parts of the story are foundational to our understanding of life and death, of sin and the condition of our broken world. And yet, there’s a verse that’s easy to breeze past. It’s perhaps the most important verse in the story. The LORD God said to the serpent in verse 15,
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
This is the protoevangelium, the first gospel! We can’t dismiss how significant this verse is. God promises that a descendant from the woman would come to destroy the work of the snake. In other words, God immediately promised to undo what had just been done. He was going to fix it through this descendant of the woman.
This promise is the lens through which the rest of the Bible should be read. Who is this one who will crush the serpent’s head? Throughout the Old Testament, God continues to clarify the promise. As we look back on History, we’ll see the prophecies that He was to be a descendant in the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David. It was foretold that He would be a king, he would be born in Bethlehem.
Salvation history is fascinating! What an incredible God we serve. Our God told us right from the start that He would deal with the tragedy of sin, death and the fall. And so, He has in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His Son. This is the best historical account. This is the story of how God has intervened in human history as a Savior to all who believe!
In Christ,
Pastor Alex
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