Lesson 19
Introduction
Satan’s thought that it would be all over for
mankind once they had sinned, but God had a solution to the problem. Satan did
not count on God’s love and mercy for fallen man.
The
Protoevangelium
The prefix ‘proto’ means ‘first’, and
‘evangelium’ means ‘good news.’ It is a term that explains Genesis 3:15
… “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed
and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This
is the first verse in the Bible that foretells the coming of the Messiah
(Saviour and Redeemer) Jesus Christ. Notice that God reveals the Good News
before He tells Adam and Eve about the judgement on their sin. Remember, God is
directing this information to Satan. From that moment his death warrant is
signed.
The bruising
of the heel is speaking of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross.
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath
He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and
took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross; and having spoiled
principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them
in it” (Colossians 2:13-15). The sacrifice of Christ would defeat and destroy
the devil and those who follow him. This in turn would be the means of salvation
for Adam’s offspring. Satan has sought to hinder mankind from believing in and
accepting God’s only means of salvation.
The
Covering
“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God
make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). Adam and Eve had tried
to cover their sinfulness, but only God can provide true atonement. An innocent
party had to die for the guilty. Animals (lambs?) were slain and their blood
spilt so that they could be covered. Note ‘skins’ meaning that the atonement
was for both of them individually. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood:
and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls:
for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11).
We can clearly see that this is what the blood of Jesus Christ did for us.
The
Lost
“And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is
become as one of Us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand,
and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: therefore the
LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence
he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden
of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way
of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:22-24).
Being cast
out of the garden does not sound like good news, but it was! There are several
reasons why this happened:
Conclusion
The opening verse of this study reveals
information about One who would come to save us from sin. In Luke 19:10 the Lord
Jesus declares, “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was
lost.” Those who hold to a naturalistic worldview have no answer to the
question ‘Why is there death, sorrow, sickness and suffering in the world?’
They try to fix the problem through politics, religion, money, education and
blaming others. As Bible-believing Christians we have the answer, and that
answer is salvation through Jesus Christ. These things are a result of sin.
God allows the consequences of sin to remain so that mankind can fully
realise that it is lost without Him.