Portraits of Christ in the Old Testament - The First Promise

So tonight we'll start a series that might take years to finish based on how often I am back on Wednesday nights, but I'll tell you what I've been looking forward to it for quite a few weeks. I'm calling the series Portraits of Christ in the Old Testament. Portraits of Christ in the Old Testament. And I settled on that series title because the Old Testament doesn't merely lead up to Jesus in some vague, distant, shadowy kind of way. That's not what's happening at all.

The Old Testament gives us portraits of Him, promises of Him, patterns that prepare us for Him, persons and sacrifices and events and prophecies, all of it carefully designed by the hand of God and the mind of God to help us recognize Him when He finally comes or came. Sometimes that portrait is a person, sometimes it's a lamb, sometimes it's a king, sometimes it's a sacrifice, a promise, but all of it, every last thread of it is moving somewhere. All of it is leading somewhere. All of it is leading to Christ.

Puritan John Owen said promises, prophecies, predictions concerning His person, His coming, His office, His kingdom and His glory in them all runs through all the writings of the Old Testament. Spurgeon kind of famously said Christ is in every page of the Old Testament. And remember when the resurrected Christ spoke with the men on the road through Emmaus in Luke 24, verse 27 says this, "Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He," that's Christ, "interpreted to them the things concerning Himself in all the scriptures." So that's what we're going to endeavor to do with this series, beginning with Moses, who is the human author of the book of Genesis, because there's no better place to begin this series than in really no other place than Genesis chapter 3 in verse 15.

So if you've got your Bible, I hope you do, turn to Genesis chapter 3. We're going to park on one verse tonight, just one verse, but it's a verse that contains the seed of the entire gospel and it's found in Genesis 3 verse 15. You know the story of Genesis 3. The serpent slithers into the garden, twists God's word and tempts Eve. She eats, she gives it to Adam, he eats, and just like that, paradise is shattered. And when God confronts them with their sin, then comes the blame game. Adam blames the woman, sneaks a little jab in at God, the woman whom you gave to be with me. Eve blames the serpent, nobody owns it.

Then God pronounces judgment and He turns to the serpent first. Let's read it together. I'm in the LSB. God speaking to the serpent in verse 15, quote, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." This verse has often been called the protoevangelium. I know that's a fancy word. Don't let it intimidate you. It's just two words smashed together. Proto means first and evangelium means gospel.

So the protoevangelium is the first gospel, the first announcement of good news in the Bible, the very first time in the entire Bible that God tells the fallen human race that a deliverer is coming. The first ray of redemptive light breaking through the darkness of human sin and divine judgment. Spurgeon said of this verse, and I love this, he called Genesis 3.15 the first gospel sermon ever preached. And then he said this about that sermon, "There lie within it, as an oak lies within an acorn, all the great truths which make up the gospel of Christ." Did you hear that? All the great truths which make up the gospel.

Every doctrine, every promise, every hope we cling to, packed into one verse in the way that an entire massive oak tree is packed into one itty-bitty acorn. That's what we're looking at tonight. That's Genesis 3.15. But before we dig in, we need to say something very carefully right up front because this matters theologically. It matters quite a bit actually. And here it is. While the gospel is first revealed here, it's not first conceived here. Do you hear the difference? Let me say it another way. Genesis 3.15 is the first announcement of the gospel to man, but it's not the first conception of the gospel in the mind of God.

Because when Adam sinned, God was not caught off guard. He wasn't surprised. He wasn't up in heaven ringing his hand saying, "Oh no, I didn't see that coming. What am I going to do now?" He wasn't scrambling. He wasn't forced into some kind of divine improvisation. Redemption was not an emergency response to unforeseen circumstances. The cross was not plan B. Christ was not the backup plan. No, sir. The gospel was first revealed in Eden, but it was determined in eternity past.

It was in the heart of God before Adam ever drew a breath, before there was even air for him to breathe, before there was ground for him to lie on, before the dust from which he was made even existed. Redemption was not God's reaction to the fall. It was his eternal purpose before the world began. And scripture says that plainly. Listen to this. Just listen to how clearly the Bible says this. Ephesians 1, 4, and 5. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world and "predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself," before the foundation of the world. 2 Timothy 1, 9.

Grace was "given to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity." Not from Eden, from all eternity. 1 Peter 1, 2. Excuse me. 1 Peter 1, 20. Christ himself was "foreknown before the foundation of the world." And then Acts 2, 23. This is Peter preaching at Pentecost, and he says the cross came by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. The predetermined plan of God. Not an improvised plan. Not an emergency plan. Not a contingency plan. A plan determined before time began. So when God speaks hope into the ruins of Eden, he's not reacting. He's revealing. He's unveiling in time what he had already purposed in the Trinity past.

And that makes this verse all the more glorious to me. Because the very first gospel word spoken into human history is founded upon and rests upon the eternal unshakable counsel of Almighty God. So tonight I want us to see Christ here. Right here in this first promise. By the way, there's the title of the message. Portraits of Christ in the Old Testament, the first promise. Portraits of Christ in the Old Testament, the first promise. And I want us to notice three things. Number one, the conflict God declares. Number two, the wound the serpent inflicts. And number three, the victory the seed secures. The conflict, the wound, and the victory.

That's where we're headed. So number one, the conflict God declares. Now if you'll recall, everything in Genesis one and two is good. Very good. The language of Genesis one is almost musical. And God saw that it was good. God saw that it was good. God saw that it was very good. It was ordered. It was pure. It was full of life and peace and unbroken communion with God. Then as we saw or mentioned, the serpent enters in chapter three and everything changes. He lies. He tempts. He contradicts the word of God. He slanders the character of God. He says to Eve in Genesis three, four, you surely will not die.

That's a direct contradiction to what God said. And then in verse five, God knows that in the day you eat from it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God. Do you see what he's doing? He's not just lying about the fruit. He's lying about God. He's saying God is holding out on you. He's not good. He's not generous. He's keeping you from something you deserve. That's what the enemy always does, by the way. He's still doing it. Every temptation you face, every single one has at its root a lie about the character of God. God isn't really good. God isn't really enough. God's way isn't really the best way or the only way.

You deserve better. You deserve more. And Adam and Eve bought the lie. They rebelled against the Lord. They took what was forbidden. And the moment they did, sin entered the world in all its misery. Shame entered. Fear entered. Alienation entered. Death entered. The curse entered. And notice what happens next because it happens immediately. In Genesis three, seven, their eyes were open and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. Fig leaves. That's the first act of human religion right there. Man trying to cover his own shame. Man trying to fix what he broke.

Man trying to make himself presentable to God by his own pathetic puny efforts. And it doesn't work. It has never worked and it never will work. Every religion on the planet except biblical Christianity is fig leaves. Man trying to sew something together to cover his guilt. But here's the beauty of what's about to happen. God doesn't leave them in their fig leaves. By the end of chapter three in verse 21, God himself makes garments of skin and clothes them. And you can't get a skin without a death, which means the first sacrifice in the Bible happens right here. Right here in the garden. A death occurs so that sinners can be covered.

You tell me that's not a portrait of Christ. But that's actually a later one. Thinking again about Adam and Eve sin. I saw this over and over in my years of law enforcement. One decision. One moment of rebellion. One moment of selfishness. And a whole life comes apart. I watched marriages, careers, families, all of it unraveled by one sinful choice. It didn't occur to me back then, but that's Genesis three. That's exactly what happened in the garden. One choice and everything fell apart with a quickness. And then God shows up.

But God, as Ephesians two four says in Genesis three eight, they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and Eve hid. They hid from God, which tells you everything about what sin does. It makes you run from the very one who can help you when we give in to sin. Do we run to the Lord or do we like Adam and Eve hide from him or try to at least too often we begin forsaking the fellowship of the church because it makes us uncomfortable when we should invite that discomfort because it can help us find our way to repentance and restoration. But God comes looking for Adam and Eve. God pursues.

God calls out where are you? Not because he didn't know, but because he wanted them to face what they'd done. And when God begins to pronounce judgment, he turns to the serpent and he says, in essence, there will now be war. Look at it. Genesis three fifteen. I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. That's the first thing I want you to see tonight. God himself declares the conflict. The war is not accidental or incidental. It's not random. It's not merely social or political or psychological. This is spiritual conflict announced by God himself. There will be enmity between the serpent and the woman.

There will be enmity between the serpent seed, his offspring, his followers and her seed. And church pay close attention to that word seed. Notice it's singular because it stretches forward. It points beyond Eve. It points beyond Cain, beyond Abel, beyond Seth, beyond Noah, beyond Abraham, beyond David. It moves through the whole storyline of redemption generation after generation until it lands at long last in the fullness of time on one ultimate seed, one promise deliverer. And Paul confirms this in Galatians 3 16. He says, the promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed.

Quote, he does not say and to seeds as referring to many, but rather to one and to your seed. That is Christ. So if there's any doubt, Paul removed it. So from Genesis 3 15 forward, from this verse forward, the entire Bible is asking and answering one question in a thousand different ways. Who is the seed? Who is the one God promised from the very beginning? Who is the one who will undo the serpent's work? Who will reverse the curse? Who will conquer the enemy? Who is the one through whom God will save his people? And the answer, of course, is Christ. But don't miss this next piece. This is important.

When God declares enmity, that itself is mercy. You see that there? Because left to ourselves, left to our fallen, dead in sin nature, we would not naturally be at enmity with the serpent. We'd be in league with him. We'd be on his side. That's what total depravity means. Fallen man does not naturally resist Satan. Fallen man follows Satan, believes Satan's lies, loves Satan's darkness, walks willingly in Satan's deception. Jesus said it plainly in John 8 44. You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.

Ephesians 2 1 to 3, "We were dead and in trespasses and sins, walking according to the prince of the power of the air." 1 John 5 19, "The whole world lies in the power of the evil one." So when God says, "I will put enmity," when he says, "I will put enmity," he's already announcing grace. He is saying, "I'm going to do something sovereign, something you cannot do for yourself. I'm going to break the alliance between you and the evil one." He is saying, "In effect, I will not leave the whole human race in peaceful surrender to the enemy. I will create a holy hostility. I will separate. I will redeem.

I will set apart a people for myself and through the seed of the woman, I will bring this war to its appointed end." And by the way, if you're a Christian tonight, that explains something about your own life. Have you ever wondered why you hate your sin? You ever wondered why even when you give in to temptation something inside you recoils afterward? Why you feel that ache of conviction? Why you can't just sin and be comfortable with it the way you were able to do before you were born again? That's enmity. God put that there. That holy discomfort, that war inside you is evidence of grace. It's somewhat of a proof that you belong to the seed.

Follow man is at peace with sin. Redeemed man is at war with it. And the difference is God's sovereign work in your heart. Do you see that? I hope that's an encouragement to you. And folks, that's why the history of the world looks the way it does. That's why Cain rose up against Abel in Genesis 4. 1 John 3, 12 says Cain was of the evil one. That's why the righteous are always hated by the wicked as Christ says in John 15. That's why the line of promise is constantly under threat. That's why Pharaoh tries to destroy the Hebrew sons in Exodus 1. That's why Athaliah attempts to wipe out the royal line in 2 Kings 11.

That's why Haman plots to annihilate the Jews in Esther chapter 3. And it's why Herod slaughters the infants in Bethlehem in Matthew 2. The serpent is always at war with the promised seed and all that pertains to him. But because the conflict is declared by God, the outcome is never, not for one second, in doubt. This is not a story of two equal powers locked in uncertainty. Some cosmic tug of war where God wins a little and the devil wins a little. No, that's called dualism and it's not in the Bible. This is the story of a doomed enemy raging against the unstoppable purposes of Almighty God and even unwittingly advancing the purposes of God.

In fact, Martin Luther called the devil God's devil. He's on a leash. The Bible says he walks around like a roaring lion. He's a pretender, but Christ, he is a lion. In fact, he's the lion, the lion of Judah. Satan is a defeated foe. Do you see that? Number two, the wound the serpent inflicts. The wound the serpent inflicts. The second thing we see is that the conflict declared by God will involve real suffering, not theoretical suffering, not symbolic suffering, real agonizing, costly suffering. Look at the text again, Genesis 3.15. God says the serpent will bruise the heel of the coming seed.

The Hebrew word rendered bruise here is shoof, rhymes with roof like a roof over your head, shoof. And it carries the idea of striking or bruising or crushing. It's not a light scrape. This is not a paper cut. But the real force of the verse is not in the verb, it's in the contrast between landing zones. The same verb, shoof, is used in both halves of the verse, but the target is different and the target makes all the difference. A blow to your heel is painful. It's costly, real, potentially crippling, but a blow to your head is decisive, incapacitating, potentially fatal.

When Carly Ann, our youngest daughter, was about 10 years old, I think, she was playing in the woods, barefooted, and she was bitten by what we later determined to be most likely a juvenile copperhead snake. There was only one puncture wound and the ER doctor figured she must have stepped on it right behind its head and it was only able to turn enough to get her with one fang. We took her to the hospital and a few hours later her foot and lower leg were swollen and black and blue, but thankfully and expectively, she fully recovered.

But what if she'd have been wearing heavy boots and drove one of them suckers violently onto that little snake's head? That snake would have been no more. It would have been an ex-snake. Same verb, different outcome. It's like the difference between a fender bender in the Walmart parking lot and a head-on collision at 100 miles an hour. One ruins your afternoon, the other is final. So the bruising of the heel mentioned here is no superficial wound. The deliverer will not conquer without cost.

It's just not a fatal or final wound, but because there is a cost, that means, now listen carefully, from the opening pages of the Bible, God is already preparing us for a suffering redeemer. Not merely a reigning king, not merely a conquering redeemer, not merely a powerful victor who swoops in untouched, but one who suffers. The very act of winning, in the very act of winning the victory. It's astonishing. It's stunning. The Jews never got over that, never could comprehend that. But as we see from scriptures exactly what happened. The Lord Jesus came as the promised seed. He was born of a woman. He entered into our world in true humanity.

The Bible says He was tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin, according to Hebrews 4.15. He came to do what Adam failed to do, as Paul says in Romans 8.5. He came to obey where Adam disobeyed. He came as the true and better Adam, or the last Adam as described in 1 Corinthians 15.45. And in the course of that mission, he suffered. He was hated. He was opposed. He was slandered. He was rejected by his own people. John 1.11 says he came to what was his own, and those who were his own did not receive him. He was betrayed by one of his own disciples for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a common slave.

He was abandoned by the rest of them. Peter denied even knowing him. He was mocked. He was scourged. He was crowned with thorns. He was spit on. He was nailed to a Roman cross and lifted up between two criminals. The serpent bruised his heel. In church you need to understand the physical suffering of the cross was horrific. Crucifixion was the most painful form of execution the Roman Empire could devise. The word excruciating literally comes from the Latin word for out of the cross. They had to invent a new word for that kind of pain.

The sufferings of Christ were unspeakably deep, but not just physically, because he bore not only the cruelty of wicked men, but the judgment of a holy God against sin. Isaiah 53 verses 5 and 6, "He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our peace fell upon him, and by his wounds we're healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray.

Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him." 2 Corinthians 5.21, "He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him." 1 Peter 2.24, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that having died to sins, we might live to righteousness. By his wounds you were healed." And he drank the cup.

In Gethsemane, in Matthew 26.39, he prayed, "My father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but as you will." Then in verse 42, "My father, if this cannot pass away until I drink it, unless I drink it, your will be done." And when Peter drew his sword to stop the arrest in John 18.11, Jesus said, "The cup which the father has given me, shall I not drink it?" That cup is the cup of divine wrath. It's the cup of God's holy fury against sin. And Jesus drank it, drank it, all of it to the very dregs for us.

That's why Paul can proclaim in Romans 8.1, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Why? Because he drank every drop and there's none left. So the wound Christ suffered was real, but it was not ultimate. Painful, but not decisive. Terrible, but not terminal. He suffered, yes, but he's not defeated. At the cross, it appeared that hell had won. It appeared that darkness had triumphed. It appeared that the enemy had finally silenced the Son of God, but that's not what was happening.

Because at the exact moment the serpent seemed to strike most deeply, Christ was accomplishing the very victory for which he had come. So the cross is the fulfillment of Genesis 3.15. The bruising of the heel is not the failure of the promise. It's a part of promise. It was always part of the plan. God told us that the coming one would win, but he would win through suffering. And church, if that's true of the master, why should we imagine that the servants get carried to glory on a softer road?

Jesus said it himself in John 1520, "If they persecuted me, they'll also persecute you." John 1633, "In the world you have tribulation, not you might, you have it." Acts 1422, "Through many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of God." Philippians 1.29, "For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake." It has been granted. That's grace language. Suffering for Christ is a gift. The cross comes before the crown. Finally, number three, the victory the seed secures. The victory the seed secures. Now we come to a great note of triumph.

Yes, the serpent is going to bruise the heel of the seed, but the seed of the woman will bruise, will crush the serpent's head. Like we said, a bruised heel is painful. A crushed head is, a bruised heel is painful. A crushed head is destruction. From the first pages of the Bible, God is announcing the total complete irreversible destruction of the serpent through the victory of the coming Redeemer. And the rest of scripture expands that promise in glorious detail. Yes, Satan is real. His power is real. His malice is real. His deception is real. And he's active. Don't ever doubt that. But his doom is just as real.

1 John 3.8 says, "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil." Now there's a purpose statement for you. Christ came on a mission. In Matthew 12, 28, 29, he's the one who binds the strong man and plunders his house. In John 12, 31, "Now the ruler of this world will be cast out." And listen to Colossians 2.15, "When he had disarmed the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through the cross." I love that. He didn't just defeat them. He put them on public display like a conquered army paraded through the streets, disarmed, hands tied behind their backs.

Hebrews 2.14 says, "Christ came that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil." And in verse 15 says he did that to free people held captive by the fear of death. That phrase "render powerless" in verse 14 there is the Greek word "katargeo." It means to nullify, to make ineffective, to strip of authority and power. Now listen carefully. Christ has not yet cast Satan in the lake of fire. That final act is still future. It's coming.

See Revelation 20 verse 10, "But through his death and resurrection, he has decisively broken the devil's tyranny over every soul that belongs to him." That is Christ. Every soul that he purchased on the cross. The power of death, broken. The fear of death, conquered. The sting of death removed. Satan is a defeated enemy walking on borrowed time. And then, this is beautiful, in Romans 1620, Paul picks up the language of Genesis 3.15 and applies it to the church. Now he uses Greek words "sintribo" which means to crush, to shatter, to break in pieces. And he says the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet talking to the church.

You see what Paul's doing there? He's reaching all the way back to Genesis 3.15, I believe, using New Testament language, ringing right back to the first promise in Eden. And he's telling the church in Rome, he's telling us that we share in the victory as the bride of Christ. So when Jesus died and rose again, he's not merely setting an example. He's not merely providing some abstract moral lesson. He's crushing the serpent's head. He's breaking the tyranny of sin. He's overthrowing the power of death. He's disarming the accuser. He's securing the salvation of his people. He is accomplishing the victory promised way back in Genesis chapter 3.

In the resurrection, oh the resurrection is the public declaration, the divine receipt, the father's stamp of approval that the victory is utter and complete. The serpent struck, the heel was bruised, the sun suffered, the tomb was sealed, but then he rose. And when he rose, heaven declared and hell trembled that the serpent's defeat was certain, irreversible, and final. Now yes, the outworking of that victory unfolds in stages. Satan still rages. Evil still operates. The battle continues in history. We feel it. We see it. We live in it. But the decisive blow has already been struck. The outcome is settled because of Christ.

So what does that mean to us? It means that believers fight from a position of victory that's already been secured. You see that? That's a big deal. That changes how you live your Monday morning or your Thursday morning since we're here on Wednesday night. We don't fight hoping we'll win. We fight knowing he already has. This is why the church need not tremble as though the final result were up in the air. This is why you can go to work tomorrow in a world that's falling apart and have peace. Not because the world is fine. It's not fine, but because the king is on his throne.

This is why we can bury our believing loved ones with grief but not despair. This is why we can face cancer, job loss, broken relationships, and an uncertain future and still say with Paul in Romans 8 37 in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us. Not because we're strong. Because he is. Not because we won the battle. Because he did. The serpent is crushed. The victory is won and nothing in all creation, nothing can undo that. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The first promise in Genesis 3 15 is not merely about victory in the abstract.

It's not just theology on a white board. It's about our victory in Christ because the one who crushed the serpent did so as the representative of his people. He didn't come merely to display power. He came to save sinners, right? He came for ruined atoms and ruined eaves. He came for the guilty. He came for the ashamed. He came for those hiding among the trees afraid to face God trying to cover their shame with something they stitched together with their own hands. And he came for those who even hate him. He came for those who believe lies, chosen sin, and brought misery upon themselves and others. That's everybody in this room. That's me.

That's you. So when we read Genesis 3 15, we're not merely reading the first promise of a far-off cosmic victory. We're reading the first promise of a savior for sinners. And if you are in Christ tonight, that promise belongs to you. It's your promise, sealed by his blood. God told you in Genesis 3 15 Christ was coming for you. And if you're here tonight, you're not in Christ or if you're not sure where you stand, then hear this. The same gospel that was first whispered in the Eden is being offered to you right now. Tonight. The seed has already come. The serpent has already been crushed.

And the way to God, the way to life, the way out of the guilt and the shame and the hiding is through Jesus Christ alone. Spurgeon put it so well, speaking again of this verse, he said, "This is the first gospel sermon that was ever delivered upon the surface of the earth. It was a memorable discourse indeed with Jehovah himself for the preacher and the whole human race and the prince of darkness for the audience. It must be worthy of our heartiest attention.

Jehovah himself for the preacher, the whole human race and the devil for the audience and the message of Savior's coming." So here in Genesis chapter 3 in the ruins of Eden with sin fresh, shame fresh, fear fresh, judgment fresh and the curse beginning to unfold, God speaks mercy. And the first gospel note is heard. The first portrait of Christ is painted. And from that moment on, the whole Bible leans forward toward Christ. Every sacrifice on every altar leaning forward. Every lamb slain on every Passover leaning forward.

Every prophet who pointed ahead and said, "Someone's coming leaning forward." Every king who sat on David's throne and foreshadowed a greater king leaning forward. Every priest who stood between God and man leaning forward. Abel's lamb leans forward. Abraham's ram on Mount Moriah leans forward. The blood on the door post in Egypt leans forward. The serpent on the pole in the wilderness leans forward. And the kinsman redeemer in the book of Ruth leans forward and on and on. All of it leaning forward toward the seed. And that's what this series is about.

So over the next several messages that I have the privilege to deliver here on Wednesday nights, maybe even on some Sundays, we're going to walk through the Old Testament and see these portraits one by one. We're going to watch the picture get clearer and clearer until finally in the fullness of time the seed arrives. Tonight church we know in fact and in experience what Adam and Eve could only know and promise. The seed has come. The serpent has been crushed. The redeemer has won. And the gospel first revealed in Eden still announces hope to sinners today. Because the God who promised a Savior has given that Savior. Let's pray.