The First Gospel
Introduction
When hearing the word “epic”, what comes to mind? The word has come to mean some different things in our time. It has been used to name businesses, describe certain events or places and has even become a pop culture slang word for anything that is considered awesome. However, the historic definition of this noun is: “A long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures.” A classic example of an epic are the works of the Greek poet Homer, the Iliad and Odyssey.
To think of the title of our message today, “The first Gospel”, could lead us to think of this word epic to describe the most heroic story in all of history. Perhaps even a gripping title of “First Gospel, The Epic”. We have already seen in the past weeks that clearly, the main character in the Creation account and on into Genesis 3 is God himself. The hero of the Gospel epic will be God himself, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Being privileged to be looking at all of this from a vantage point beyond the cross, grave and ascension of the Lord Jesus, we know “the rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would have said it. Our challenge in the text today is to consider how the message of the first Gospel carries forward through the rest of Scripture and hence to us while at the same time considering the passage from the standpoint of the participants. How did the first message of the Gospel rest in their ears? How did they respond? We are going to examine this from the standpoint of three important aspects of the epic, or grand story of the Gospel. So, if you would turn with me in your Bibles to Genesis 3:15.
The Grand Story of Victory – In a God of Conflict
Consider the scene and circumstances as we enter our text in verse 15. In the immediate aftermath of their disobedience and rebellion, the man and woman are experiencing a whole host of previously unknown thoughts and emotions. They have just witnessed God announce and inflict stunning judgement upon the serpent in V. 14. We can shudder with them as they stand, exposed and uncertain, awaiting the punishment suited to their disobedience against what God had told them.
But, in continuing to speak to the serpent, God says: “I will put enmity between you and the woman.” What does enmity mean? Intense hostility. At the individual level, murderous (as in Num 35), at the national level, war (as in Ezek 25). A life and death struggle between combatants. So, we can understand that, but it leads to a question. Why would God create conflict?
It is clear from the text that God is the author of this conflict. But to think about God creating enmity may seem odd and even uncomfortable to us at first. One may ask how God could be the author of enmity in any form. But everything that God creates or does is good. God is good. Moreover, he tells us that he does all things for his own glory. In order to help us understand the aspects of this enmity and how it will play out going forward from this text, let’s review some key information
Who is Satan? Although the text is speaking of the serpent, we understand from other Scripture that this is Satan, somehow indwelling and speaking through the serpent. The Bible tells us that he is a fallen angel whose original sin consisted of trying to replace God as supreme being in the universe. In this, he was unsuccessful and cast out of heaven along with some other angels who followed in his treachery. Lately, he appears on earth in God’s “very good” creation to try and do among mankind what he failed to do previously. What did he have in mind? First, lure mankind away from worship of God alone and second, to win their allegiance and worship of him. Sadly, he succeeded in his first objective. But he failed in the second. Why? Because God is not absent in his creation. He appears on the scene of the crime. Like a father showing up to confront the playground bully, God steps in. And God declares war on Satan.
To whom did God speak in v. 15? To Satan. The new thing was not Satan’s enmity (hatred) of the woman. He had hated her from the beginning. Even when pretending to be her friend in tempting her. The new thing was to be the woman’s (and Adam’s and all their true offspring’s) hatred of Satan. This hostile relationship was created by God to contrast the coming battle between good and evil. And it was to show that God would not abandon mankind to the hatred of Satan. This is where we see God standing up for and protecting those He created in his image. This is a gracious blessing! Could the man and woman have understood this? We’ll see soon that they understood enough.
But let’s think about this created enmity in the context of the subsequent unfolding of history and the Gospel. We most often think of the blessing found in the coming of Jesus Christ, and we should rightly do so and thank God for that. But we should not neglect to thank him for a corresponding hatred of sin, sorrow over the ways of sin, and increasing misery when we find ourselves following a sinful path. Sadly, while not liking the consequences, we too often like and get comfortable with sin. But God is too gracious to allow this to happen. Here in v. 15, God creates conflict that will make sin miserable and sets up this enmity between us and Satan to modify the hold of sin, making it possible to hear God’s loving voice, even in sin’s misery. In creating enmity here in Genesis 3:15, God made it clear that he would not abandon mankind in the battle over sin.
Another aspect to this enmity established by God was that it would not be exclusively between the woman and Satan, that is – merely on a personal or individual level. It would go much further as God continues in v. 15: “between your seed and her seed”. What does this mean? Immediately, in the ears of the man and woman, there was promise of a future….more on that in a moment. But for us, consider with me three aspects to this concept of “seed”, which may be contrasted in pairs: Two lines of humanity, two combatants and two victories.
So, Genesis 3:15 is a powerful opening statement in the grand story of victory in a God of conflict. But this is only the beginning.
The Grand Story of Hope – by Faith in God’s Word
Verse 20 follows the authoritative confrontation of Satan in vs. 14-15. God reveals in vs. 16-19 the physical consequences to be experienced for their disobedience and rebellion. Let’s step into the scene, placing ourselves alongside our first parents as they have heard the Word of God. How did they hear it? How did they respond? How would you respond to this pronouncement? Perhaps we could take a moment in reflection of how we tend to respond today upon experiencing the consequences of our sin. How does that often sound in our minds and on our lips? Do we blame God, or others? Do we fail to submit and find forgiveness in repentance? Do we instead try to avoid God? Initially, these are all the things our first parents did earlier in this episode. Perhaps we can find hope of a better example in examining their response to these consequences. For rather than a sinful response, what we see by a close examination of v. 20 is a focus on hope that rises from one thing only – faith in God’s spoken Word. What is faith?
Hebrews 11:1-2, 6 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.” 3-5 review the faith of Genesis, creation, Abel, Enoch, and concludes in v. 6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” The story from the beginning has been one of believing in what cannot be seen, starting with God himself. But God has revealed himself by his Word, and that is what mankind is to believe. In Genisis 2:16, God revealed himself by his Word to Adam “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Paul establishes this in Romans 10:17: “So then faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of God.”
And so, God proceeds to show this loving grace.
The Grand Story of Redemption – In a God of Grace and Mercy
V. 21 – “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife tunics/garments of skins and clothed them.” This simple statement is loaded with meaning. We have a more complete picture in looking back, but again, consider yourself standing with them; knowing what they know, not knowing what they don’t know. Let’s consider the question, "What is the price of sin?"
Other than new feelings of guilt and shame, they had heard of, but not yet witnessed or experienced any of the physical consequences of their sin. They heard hope, and acted by faith, but were now to be introduced to the significant consequences of sin by witnessing the nature and character of their Creator in a remarkable way. If they had thought that their sin was dealt with by merely by the mechanical aspects of God’s judicial actions, they quickly found that payment (atonement) for sin involved an extreme expenditure of feeling. They had hastily tried to deal with their guilt by grabbing what could be seen and procured with little to no effort or feeling. It would not hurt a plant to have its leaves removed. The leaves with which they covered themselves were, in their minds, the quick, mechanical fix to their problem. But the text implies that God took the life of an animal to provide garments for them. Blood was shed. Imagine their shock as they likely witnessed this heretofore unknown taking of life. They witnessed the first sacrifice. And it was for them. From what we understand of the pre-fall creation, there was no fear between man and animal. Now, suddenly, an innocent creature they knew and cared for was executed. But the animal was not the guilty one. They were.
Suddenly, it would have dawned on them that it was they who deserved death but did not receive it. Instead, an innocent animal took their place. Blood was shed and death occurred, but not theirs. They could see through this that they did not receive what they justly deserved at the hand of God. God demonstrated his mercy in the sacrifice of an innocent substitute. The Bible record would go on to show this mercy repeatedly, through offering of a blood sacrifice as evidence of faith. Abel did so in Genesis 4:3-5, Noah in 8:20, Abraham in 12:7. Hebrews 9:22 tells us that “without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.” By implication from v. 15, God also promised that it would not always be an animal. It would be a man. A descendant of the woman. We are reminded of this in Romans 5:8 that “God demonstrates his own love for us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Peter echoed that in I Peter 3:18 – “For Christ also suffered once for sin, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…”
Lastly, the text tells us that God “clothed them”. This phrase indicates three things. First, it was a provision of God. The act of replacing their effort in the plant leaves with the skin of a sacrifice was prescribed by God. He did it. Secondly, they had to accept this gracious gift. By faith. It implied that their effort to atone for their own sin would not work. Not now, not ever. They had to submit in the acceptance of a prescription and provision which was not theirs. And in accepting the clothing, it implied that they could now stand in the presence of their God once again. Forgiven. Without shame. With no guilt. Because by their acceptance of his provision, God had graciously lavished upon them a declaration of righteousness. They were redeemed. Forgiven. They were justified. They were now clothed in God’s righteousness, not their own. Paul expressed this beautifully of himself in Philippians 3:9 – “and be found in him (Christ), not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith..”
Conclusion
Adam and Eve would go on to live long lives on this earth. They would experience and witness every part of what God told them in this scene. They would learn more of God’s character and attributes in every unfolding event. The biblical record indicates an ongoing faith in what God revealed to them and their godly line of descendants. Adam died shortly before the flood and was presumably aware of God’s impending judgement. Perhaps he wondered yet trusted in how God would fulfill the promise of Genesis 3:15 made nearly a millennium before. The writer of Hebrews sums up the lives of many of these heroes of faith in 11:39-40 – “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” That “better” thing was the perfect, complete and final sacrifice of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Think of the millions of people who lived before the Gospel was fully revealed in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. To have a right relationship with God, they had to live by faith in what God had revealed to them by his Word. It is no different for us today. But we have the blessing of God’s complete revelation right in our hands. The complete Bible. We know the rest of the story.
Perhaps the beginning of this grand epic story is new to you. Perhaps you have heard it before, but now sense its magnitude in a new way. It is a story written by the God of love especially for you. Would you receive his grace, mercy and forgiveness of your sins today? I would plead with you to look to the Lamb of Glory, the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
For those who have taken this first step of faith by accepting God’s complete final payment for sin. Let’s consider this: How could I ever struggle with living a life of faith in what God has revealed? And yet, we so often do. What is the solution? How do we live a life of increasing faith? Our text offers some direct advice. First, we must see and hear God’s Word. Faith will not come any other way. It will not come through the words of others, in whatever form. Faith comes from God’s Word. Are you hearing the Word of God continually? Regularly? Consistently? Daily? Do you ever skip a day’s worth of eating, sleeping or breathing? God’s Word is abundantly available to us. How do we take that for granted?
Secondly, how much do we think of, and respond to the sin in our lives? Yes, my life. Not the lives of those around me. Not the sin that soaks the world in which I live. My sin. How do I see the tremendous price required of my “smallest” disobedience and rebellion against my God? When sinning, do I see that precious Lamb slain before my eyes? As the innocent substitute for me? In my place? “Every evil thought, every evil deed, crowning your blood-stained brow.” Says the “The Power of the Cross.” Finally, one author put it this way, “We will have a hard time understanding the Gospel and delighting in its glory without a profound understanding of the depth and depravity of sin from which we have been saved.”
Victory. Hope. Redemption. In our Great God. Thanks be to God for revealing to us the grand story of the first Gospel here in Genesis 3. May we accept God’s Word with faith, store it in our hearts and practice it in our lives.
Discussion Questions
When hearing the word “epic”, what comes to mind? The word has come to mean some different things in our time. It has been used to name businesses, describe certain events or places and has even become a pop culture slang word for anything that is considered awesome. However, the historic definition of this noun is: “A long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures.” A classic example of an epic are the works of the Greek poet Homer, the Iliad and Odyssey.
To think of the title of our message today, “The first Gospel”, could lead us to think of this word epic to describe the most heroic story in all of history. Perhaps even a gripping title of “First Gospel, The Epic”. We have already seen in the past weeks that clearly, the main character in the Creation account and on into Genesis 3 is God himself. The hero of the Gospel epic will be God himself, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Being privileged to be looking at all of this from a vantage point beyond the cross, grave and ascension of the Lord Jesus, we know “the rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would have said it. Our challenge in the text today is to consider how the message of the first Gospel carries forward through the rest of Scripture and hence to us while at the same time considering the passage from the standpoint of the participants. How did the first message of the Gospel rest in their ears? How did they respond? We are going to examine this from the standpoint of three important aspects of the epic, or grand story of the Gospel. So, if you would turn with me in your Bibles to Genesis 3:15.
The Grand Story of Victory – In a God of Conflict
Consider the scene and circumstances as we enter our text in verse 15. In the immediate aftermath of their disobedience and rebellion, the man and woman are experiencing a whole host of previously unknown thoughts and emotions. They have just witnessed God announce and inflict stunning judgement upon the serpent in V. 14. We can shudder with them as they stand, exposed and uncertain, awaiting the punishment suited to their disobedience against what God had told them.
But, in continuing to speak to the serpent, God says: “I will put enmity between you and the woman.” What does enmity mean? Intense hostility. At the individual level, murderous (as in Num 35), at the national level, war (as in Ezek 25). A life and death struggle between combatants. So, we can understand that, but it leads to a question. Why would God create conflict?
It is clear from the text that God is the author of this conflict. But to think about God creating enmity may seem odd and even uncomfortable to us at first. One may ask how God could be the author of enmity in any form. But everything that God creates or does is good. God is good. Moreover, he tells us that he does all things for his own glory. In order to help us understand the aspects of this enmity and how it will play out going forward from this text, let’s review some key information
Who is Satan? Although the text is speaking of the serpent, we understand from other Scripture that this is Satan, somehow indwelling and speaking through the serpent. The Bible tells us that he is a fallen angel whose original sin consisted of trying to replace God as supreme being in the universe. In this, he was unsuccessful and cast out of heaven along with some other angels who followed in his treachery. Lately, he appears on earth in God’s “very good” creation to try and do among mankind what he failed to do previously. What did he have in mind? First, lure mankind away from worship of God alone and second, to win their allegiance and worship of him. Sadly, he succeeded in his first objective. But he failed in the second. Why? Because God is not absent in his creation. He appears on the scene of the crime. Like a father showing up to confront the playground bully, God steps in. And God declares war on Satan.
To whom did God speak in v. 15? To Satan. The new thing was not Satan’s enmity (hatred) of the woman. He had hated her from the beginning. Even when pretending to be her friend in tempting her. The new thing was to be the woman’s (and Adam’s and all their true offspring’s) hatred of Satan. This hostile relationship was created by God to contrast the coming battle between good and evil. And it was to show that God would not abandon mankind to the hatred of Satan. This is where we see God standing up for and protecting those He created in his image. This is a gracious blessing! Could the man and woman have understood this? We’ll see soon that they understood enough.
But let’s think about this created enmity in the context of the subsequent unfolding of history and the Gospel. We most often think of the blessing found in the coming of Jesus Christ, and we should rightly do so and thank God for that. But we should not neglect to thank him for a corresponding hatred of sin, sorrow over the ways of sin, and increasing misery when we find ourselves following a sinful path. Sadly, while not liking the consequences, we too often like and get comfortable with sin. But God is too gracious to allow this to happen. Here in v. 15, God creates conflict that will make sin miserable and sets up this enmity between us and Satan to modify the hold of sin, making it possible to hear God’s loving voice, even in sin’s misery. In creating enmity here in Genesis 3:15, God made it clear that he would not abandon mankind in the battle over sin.
Another aspect to this enmity established by God was that it would not be exclusively between the woman and Satan, that is – merely on a personal or individual level. It would go much further as God continues in v. 15: “between your seed and her seed”. What does this mean? Immediately, in the ears of the man and woman, there was promise of a future….more on that in a moment. But for us, consider with me three aspects to this concept of “seed”, which may be contrasted in pairs: Two lines of humanity, two combatants and two victories.
- Two lines of humanity. To whom does Seed (offspring) of Satan and the woman refer? Is it between human beings and demons? Possible, but unlikely. Satan does not really have offspring. Contrary to cartoon caricature, he is not able to create little devils. His fallen angel followers are not increasing in number. On the other side, we know now that the reference to the seed of the woman will ultimately lead us to one specific descendant, Jesus Christ, who will defeat Satan. So, the direction of the wording leads us from general to specific, from plural to singular. This phrase then, most likely refers to the godly human descendants of mankind, influenced by God himself, and the ungodly human descendants of mankind, influenced by Satan. We see this enmity erupt very soon. Genesis 4:8: “Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.” This story takes another sad turn in 4:16 “Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” As chap 4 concludes, it is then said of A & E’s son, “To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.” As the story of mankind continues to unfold in Scripture, we see this enmity grow between the godly line of Seth and the ungodly line of Cain. Following the flood, it revived again between Ham and his brothers, the sons of Noah in Genesis 9. It moved from individual to ethnic conflict, as through the Abrahamic covenant, God established the godly line in the nation of Israel. They were opposed throughout the OT record by ungodly nations such as: Egypt, Canaan, Assyria and Babylon. In the NT Jesus identified this enmity as false religion, embodied by the religious leaders in Israel. His exchange with them in John 8:39ff is particularly revealing, “They answered him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did…You are doing the works your father did. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning…”. The Apostles went on to identify the enmity as false teachers who would pervert the gospel. Paul warns the elders in Ephesus of “fierce wolves will come in among you” in Acts 20:28-30. In I John 3:7-8, believers are warned to “let no one deceive you” about the enmity between those who seek righteousness and “whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.”
- Two combatants: Christ vs. Satan. The enmity between the Lord Jesus and Satan is recorded for us vividly throughout the Scriptures. From the unfolding prophecy beginning in this text, more details revealed through the prophets of the OT, to the NT record. The hatred which Satan expressed up to Christ’s advent becomes incredibly intensified during his life on earth. But as John concludes in I John 3:8, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” This enmity assures us, not only of hope, but also of victory, as verse 15 concludes with “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This climactic seed of the woman was bruised but crushed Satan and his power. As Jesus hung on the cross, Satan was celebrating his triumph in battle with the Son of God. However, he failed to realize the full weight of the Atonement accomplished by the crucifixion came down on him, and he had to realize that all this time, far from successfully battling against almighty God, he had actually been carrying out the purposes of the all-wise God. Satan’s only true power came from the character of God that declares that sin must be punished. What Satan could not see is how God could be both just and the justifier of the ungodly (Rom 3:26). He didn’t see how Jesus would take the place of sinners, bearing their punishment and breaking his power in the process.
- Two victories. Although victory has been won for us by the Lord Jesus, there is another victory to be won by those who follow Jesus. It is the victory of our sanctification. Victory in sanctification is gained as we submit to God’s Word and walk closely with our Savior, fighting the enmity with sin by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul referred to this in Rom 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” John referred to it in Rev 12:11: “They overcame him (the accuser of our brothers) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
So, Genesis 3:15 is a powerful opening statement in the grand story of victory in a God of conflict. But this is only the beginning.
The Grand Story of Hope – by Faith in God’s Word
Verse 20 follows the authoritative confrontation of Satan in vs. 14-15. God reveals in vs. 16-19 the physical consequences to be experienced for their disobedience and rebellion. Let’s step into the scene, placing ourselves alongside our first parents as they have heard the Word of God. How did they hear it? How did they respond? How would you respond to this pronouncement? Perhaps we could take a moment in reflection of how we tend to respond today upon experiencing the consequences of our sin. How does that often sound in our minds and on our lips? Do we blame God, or others? Do we fail to submit and find forgiveness in repentance? Do we instead try to avoid God? Initially, these are all the things our first parents did earlier in this episode. Perhaps we can find hope of a better example in examining their response to these consequences. For rather than a sinful response, what we see by a close examination of v. 20 is a focus on hope that rises from one thing only – faith in God’s spoken Word. What is faith?
Hebrews 11:1-2, 6 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.” 3-5 review the faith of Genesis, creation, Abel, Enoch, and concludes in v. 6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” The story from the beginning has been one of believing in what cannot be seen, starting with God himself. But God has revealed himself by his Word, and that is what mankind is to believe. In Genisis 2:16, God revealed himself by his Word to Adam “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Paul establishes this in Romans 10:17: “So then faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of God.”
- Faith is believing in what God has revealed. His primary source of revelation is in his Word. Let’s step back into our text. Gen 3:20 – “The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” What is the connection to faith here? We have seen from our previous study of Genesis 1-2 that God had created man to have dominion of and rule over the creation. He created woman out of man as a suitable helper, establishing them both with important and complimentary roles in carrying out this work. Sadly, Adam then failed in his headship role by following in his wife’s disobedience and not protecting her in opposing Satan’s temptation. We have just seen the horrible results. Yet, having heard God’s Word, Adam finds hope. Hope because God confronts and opposes Satan. Hope because God promises descendants, not destruction. Hope because, though presently mysterious and not clear, God promises that someone of their descendants will crush the now hated tempter. Hope, because although the promised future struggles and ultimate physical death were yet unknown, life would continue.
- So, Adam, believing both what God had previously and presently revealed, acts in faith. How does he do so? It is demonstrated by submitting to and obeying God’s Word. His submission involves repentance, which is not merely emotional, but volitional. He changes his mind to align with God Word. The text implies this in that he reclaims his God given role of headship and leadership by giving his wife a name. And not just any name. Up to this point, she bore his name of man (although identified separately as woman because she was taken out of him). The name Adam “ish” means “the man”. Woman is not a name but “ishshah” or “out of man”. So now, this unique name of Eve, given to her in love and support by her husband reflects Adam’s hope and faith in God which is expressed in its meaning, “mother of all the living”. Eve sounds like the Hebrew for “life-giver” and resembles the word for “living”. For her part, the text implies that Eve submits to Adam’s headship by accepting this name and believing with him in what God had said. She shows hope and faith in the naming of their first son, Cain, meaning “I have gotten a man”, also translated as “could this be the one?” – expressing faith that God would crush the tempter. Although she had shown weakness in temptation, Adam loves her and honors her by identifying the important role of woman in the future of mankind.
- What is the result of Adam and Eve’s obedience born out of faith in God’s Word? God gives grace. An abundance of grace. Even amid failure, hard accountability and devastating consequences, God is present and gracious. He gave them what they did not deserve. It wasn’t for their own glory, but his. He is the main character, not them. He is the one with the ultimate solution for their willful disobedience. The situation is not out of God’s control. They could not understand it then, and we still struggle to understand it now, but in, through and out of this, God shines forth as all that is good in this epic story, in the contrasting of good and evil.
And so, God proceeds to show this loving grace.
The Grand Story of Redemption – In a God of Grace and Mercy
V. 21 – “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife tunics/garments of skins and clothed them.” This simple statement is loaded with meaning. We have a more complete picture in looking back, but again, consider yourself standing with them; knowing what they know, not knowing what they don’t know. Let’s consider the question, "What is the price of sin?"
Other than new feelings of guilt and shame, they had heard of, but not yet witnessed or experienced any of the physical consequences of their sin. They heard hope, and acted by faith, but were now to be introduced to the significant consequences of sin by witnessing the nature and character of their Creator in a remarkable way. If they had thought that their sin was dealt with by merely by the mechanical aspects of God’s judicial actions, they quickly found that payment (atonement) for sin involved an extreme expenditure of feeling. They had hastily tried to deal with their guilt by grabbing what could be seen and procured with little to no effort or feeling. It would not hurt a plant to have its leaves removed. The leaves with which they covered themselves were, in their minds, the quick, mechanical fix to their problem. But the text implies that God took the life of an animal to provide garments for them. Blood was shed. Imagine their shock as they likely witnessed this heretofore unknown taking of life. They witnessed the first sacrifice. And it was for them. From what we understand of the pre-fall creation, there was no fear between man and animal. Now, suddenly, an innocent creature they knew and cared for was executed. But the animal was not the guilty one. They were.
Suddenly, it would have dawned on them that it was they who deserved death but did not receive it. Instead, an innocent animal took their place. Blood was shed and death occurred, but not theirs. They could see through this that they did not receive what they justly deserved at the hand of God. God demonstrated his mercy in the sacrifice of an innocent substitute. The Bible record would go on to show this mercy repeatedly, through offering of a blood sacrifice as evidence of faith. Abel did so in Genesis 4:3-5, Noah in 8:20, Abraham in 12:7. Hebrews 9:22 tells us that “without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.” By implication from v. 15, God also promised that it would not always be an animal. It would be a man. A descendant of the woman. We are reminded of this in Romans 5:8 that “God demonstrates his own love for us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Peter echoed that in I Peter 3:18 – “For Christ also suffered once for sin, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…”
Lastly, the text tells us that God “clothed them”. This phrase indicates three things. First, it was a provision of God. The act of replacing their effort in the plant leaves with the skin of a sacrifice was prescribed by God. He did it. Secondly, they had to accept this gracious gift. By faith. It implied that their effort to atone for their own sin would not work. Not now, not ever. They had to submit in the acceptance of a prescription and provision which was not theirs. And in accepting the clothing, it implied that they could now stand in the presence of their God once again. Forgiven. Without shame. With no guilt. Because by their acceptance of his provision, God had graciously lavished upon them a declaration of righteousness. They were redeemed. Forgiven. They were justified. They were now clothed in God’s righteousness, not their own. Paul expressed this beautifully of himself in Philippians 3:9 – “and be found in him (Christ), not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith..”
Conclusion
Adam and Eve would go on to live long lives on this earth. They would experience and witness every part of what God told them in this scene. They would learn more of God’s character and attributes in every unfolding event. The biblical record indicates an ongoing faith in what God revealed to them and their godly line of descendants. Adam died shortly before the flood and was presumably aware of God’s impending judgement. Perhaps he wondered yet trusted in how God would fulfill the promise of Genesis 3:15 made nearly a millennium before. The writer of Hebrews sums up the lives of many of these heroes of faith in 11:39-40 – “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” That “better” thing was the perfect, complete and final sacrifice of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Think of the millions of people who lived before the Gospel was fully revealed in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. To have a right relationship with God, they had to live by faith in what God had revealed to them by his Word. It is no different for us today. But we have the blessing of God’s complete revelation right in our hands. The complete Bible. We know the rest of the story.
Perhaps the beginning of this grand epic story is new to you. Perhaps you have heard it before, but now sense its magnitude in a new way. It is a story written by the God of love especially for you. Would you receive his grace, mercy and forgiveness of your sins today? I would plead with you to look to the Lamb of Glory, the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
For those who have taken this first step of faith by accepting God’s complete final payment for sin. Let’s consider this: How could I ever struggle with living a life of faith in what God has revealed? And yet, we so often do. What is the solution? How do we live a life of increasing faith? Our text offers some direct advice. First, we must see and hear God’s Word. Faith will not come any other way. It will not come through the words of others, in whatever form. Faith comes from God’s Word. Are you hearing the Word of God continually? Regularly? Consistently? Daily? Do you ever skip a day’s worth of eating, sleeping or breathing? God’s Word is abundantly available to us. How do we take that for granted?
Secondly, how much do we think of, and respond to the sin in our lives? Yes, my life. Not the lives of those around me. Not the sin that soaks the world in which I live. My sin. How do I see the tremendous price required of my “smallest” disobedience and rebellion against my God? When sinning, do I see that precious Lamb slain before my eyes? As the innocent substitute for me? In my place? “Every evil thought, every evil deed, crowning your blood-stained brow.” Says the “The Power of the Cross.” Finally, one author put it this way, “We will have a hard time understanding the Gospel and delighting in its glory without a profound understanding of the depth and depravity of sin from which we have been saved.”
Victory. Hope. Redemption. In our Great God. Thanks be to God for revealing to us the grand story of the first Gospel here in Genesis 3. May we accept God’s Word with faith, store it in our hearts and practice it in our lives.
Discussion Questions
- What makes a story epic?
- Why does it seem to us that “the good guys” don’t initiate conflict?
- What are some good reason to initiate conflict? What is the true battle? Who are the combatants and what are the stakes?
- How does this battle help us to rightly align our thinking about our lives?
- How should these realities about the true battle inform our actions? How should we live in light of them?
- How should God’s people carry themselves and engage in this battle?
- Personal Reflection:
- How engaged am I in the battle over sin in my life?
- Does the intensity of this battle help me to more clearly see and love the beauty of the Gospel?
- Am I truly living in what God has revealed by faith alone?
- In what ways am I still attempting to clothe myself in righteousness apart from God’s gracious provision?
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The First Two Woes of RevelationThe Blessing of WorkThe Four GospelsThe Book of ActsAnother Dramatic IntermissionThe Blessing of MarriageThe Making of a Godly Man, Family, Church & CommunityThe Two WitnessesPaul's Letters & TravelsThe Tragic Entrance of SinAnnouncing the Seventh TrumpetThe Jerusalem Council and The Epistle of GalatiansThe Sad Effects of Sin
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