‌The First Promise of the Gospel

After the first sin by Adam and Eve, God pronounced sentence on them in accordance with the penalty he prescribed if they disobeyed his command, “in the day that you eat of it (the fruit of the tree of knowledge) you shall surely die.”

God first pronounced sentence on the serpent which came to symbolise sin, and in doing so gave the first promise of deliverance for mankind from sin and death.

“I will put enmity between thee and the woman” (Genesis 3:14–15)

God now addressed the serpent. There is no doubt from the language used in verse 14 that God was speaking to one of His animal creation.

“I will put enmity” God instituted this enmity between His ways and the ways of sin (Romans 8:7; James 4:4).

“between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed” The serpent was the father of that sinful way of thinking that dominates those who allow their natural feelings to develop into one or more of those three “lusts” or sinful desires. Thus both John the Baptist and Jesus speak of those religious leaders in their day as “a generation of vipers”, because they walked in the ways of sin and wickedness (Matthew 3:7; 12:34; 23:33; cp John 8:44).

“Her seed”, that is, the seed of the woman, points to the Lord Jesus Christ who, though born of a woman, was the Son of God (Luke 1:33–35). He always did the will of his Father, never giving in to the will of the flesh: “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42; John 5:30). In his death he finally “condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3), destroying that mortal nature that he inherited from Adam—the nature that gives rise to sin in us but which never led to sin in him.

“it shall bruise thy head” Other translations use “he”, thus pointing forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord dealt a fatal blow to the thinking of sin when in death he “destroyed that which had the power of death” in his own nature (Hebrews 2:14).

“thou shalt bruise his heel” In the mortal combat that was fought against “sin” by the Lord Jesus Christ, he was victorious and destroyed the power of sin, but in doing so he was wounded “in the heel” in that he died. The bruise, however, was only of a temporary nature for God raised him from the dead, never to die again (Acts 2:24; Romans 6:9).

Jesus Christ Explains This Incident

Jesus states that through the serpent’s lie it became both the father of lies and a murderer (John 8:44). He uses the word “devil” to define the spirit that motivated the serpent. The word for “devil” (Greek diabolos) is also translated “slanderers” (1 Timothy 3:11), and “false accusers” (2 Timothy 3:3; Titus 2:3). The word diabolos is used to personify that natural tendency to sin which can mis-represent and oppose God’s ways.

A simple example of this is seen in the following quotation that speaks of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ in overcoming sin. “He [Christ] also himself likewise took part of the same [‘flesh and blood’ nature that is common to all mankind]; that through death he might destroy that which has the power of death [sin has this power, Romans 6:23; 5:12], that is, the devil [Greek diabolos]” (Hebrews 2:14). Thus Jesus, who shared the same sin-prone nature as all men, was tempted in all points as we are (Hebrews 4:15), yet he overcame these temptations in his life and finally destroyed them in his death upon the cross. The word “devil” is used to describe that sin-power as it is seen in individual, religious and political opposition to God’s ways.

The Beginning of Mortality

“Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19)

As we know, man was made from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7), and now God sentenced him to return to the dust. Because of sin man was sentenced to mortality or a dying state. All mankind has inherited this mortality that came by sin (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21). God was right in sentencing sinful man to death, yet in His mercy He then set forth a plan of redemption for sin-stricken man. The skins for covering Adam and Eve’s nakedness were a type, or way of foreshadowing the covering that God requires for sin. It involved the death of an animal and the shedding of blood.

The Effect of Adam’s Sin

The apostle Paul very clearly sets out the effects of Adam’s sin upon himself and all mankind when he states, “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). There was a physiological change in their nature after God’s sentence. They had been created “very good” and were neither mortal nor immortal. They were capable of death but not subject to death until God pronounced the sentence of mortality upon them.

Adam, through his sin, not only brought the sentence of mortality or death upon himself, but that mortality has passed through to all his descendants. God did not create an inclination to sin in Adam and Eve but these inclinations became a natural part of their being after their sin and this was passed on to all his descendants. These “deceitful lusts” (Ephesians 4:22), which are not of God (1 John 2:15–16), have inevitably led all his descendants - except the Lord Jesus Christ - to sin against God.

This proneness or natural inclination to sin inherited from Adam, which is so strong within every one of us, has been described in the following manner:

• “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin” (James 1:14–15).

• Jesus states: “That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts...”. He then lists some of those sinful ways that men follow, concluding with these words: “All these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:20–23).

• Paul declares: “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not” (Romans 7:15–20).

This strong desire to satisfy our sinful lusts is part of our nature, and had its roots in the first sin of Adam. It has been passed down to all his descendants and has led all to sin, thereby justifying God’s sentence of mortality upon mankind. This sinful influence in our nature can rightly be termed a ‘diabolical power’ for in the New Testament the Greek word diabolos, often rendered “devil”, has been used to personify or indicate these “deceitful lusts” that can develop within us. In His mercy God provided His Son who, though bearing the same sin-prone nature in common with us all, overcame these temptations and always did the will of God. Through his perfect obedience of faith, which culminated in his death upon the cross, Jesus overcame and destroyed that nature in himself, and thus provided a way of escape from sin for all those who believe and obey him (Hebrews 2:14; 4:15; Acts 2:24; Romans 6:8–11).

The Bible Definition of Death

The Bible is very specific in defining the state of the dead. Following are some of those statements regarding death:

• In death there is no remembrance of God nor thanksgiving to Him (Psalm 6:5)

• The dead do not praise God (Psalm 115:17)

• The dead do not know anything (Ecclesiastes 9:5–6)

• At the day of death their thoughts perish (Psalm 146:3–4)

• Death is likened to the unconscious state of sleep (1 Corinthians 15:20, 51–54)

• The sleep of death for some will be interrupted by the return of Christ and a resurrection to life (Daniel 12:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17).

The First Sacrifice for Sin

“The Lord God made coats of skins, and clothed them”(Genesis 3:21)

Adam and Eve had made themselves a covering of fig leaves to hide their nakedness. However, human inventiveness cannot cover sin against God. God Himself must provide a covering for sin. It is a fundamental principle that man must first acknowledge the righteousness of God in sentencing sinners to death before he can receive His mercy and have his sins forgiven. God determined that “shedding of blood” would be the basis upon which forgiveness of sins would be offered to man (Hebrews 9:22). The slaying of an animal by shedding its blood was to ensure that man understood the deadly consequences of his sins and the need to turn away from them.

Therefore an animal was slain and God clothed Adam and Eve with skins as a sign that He would provide a covering for their sin. This animal pointed forward to the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was “the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29; Revelation 13:8). By baptism into Christ a person identifies with the death of Christ (Romans 6:3–9), and “puts on Christ”. In this he acknowledges that death is rightly the consequence of sin. Because in symbol he “dies with Christ” in the of baptism, he can look forward to sharing in Christ’s victory over sin and death. He has his sins covered or forgiven through him (Galatians 3:27; Colossians 3:9–10).

The Way of the Tree of Life

“Lest he put forth his hand, and take of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever” (Genesis 3:22)

Adam had been sentenced to mortality. He was now a dying creature. All mankind has inherited this mortality which came by sin (Romans 5:12). The tree of life was there in the garden and Adam could have been tempted to grasp at immortality by eating its fruit. They had never eaten the fruit of the tree of life and would become immortal as soon as they did. Foreseeing this possibility, God expelled them from the Garden of Eden, and placed Cherubim there “to keep the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24). Cherubim are symbolic of God’s salvation from sin and death through the Lord Jesus Christ. They are used elsewhere in the Bible in the worship of Israel and prophecies.

This “way of the tree of life” has been kept or preserved ever since. Those who are obedient to God’s commands will be granted immortality at Christ’s return; they will “have the right to the tree of life” (Revelation 2:7; 22:14). Immortality is God’s gift which will only be granted to those who acknowledge their sinfulness and seek forgiveness for their sins through baptism into the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who faithfully do this and continue to follow the example of Christ will be rewarded with immortality at his return to the earth (1 Corinthians 15:22–23, 50-55).

Adapted from “The Exploring the Bible Course” by David Evans