THE FIRST PROMISE OF CHRIST

Following the sin of Adam and Eve, God made the first promise of the coming Savior. To the serpent, God said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). The prophet Isaiah predicted who this seed of woman would be. “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isa 7:14).

We know from the New Testament that Jesus was born of virgin named Mary (Matt. 1:16; Luke 1:26–38; 2:5–19). This was the fulfillment of God’s promise to Satan in the garden in Genesis 3:15. Immediately after the sin of Adam and Eve, a promise of humanity’s salvation from sin was made. This plan would culminate in the work of Christ, although much had to be done in preparation for Christ to come.

God’s work throughout the Old Testament should be viewed as preparatory for the time and ministry of Christ. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Gal. 4:4). Jesus was “the seed of woman” and he came to crush the serpent, just as Genesis 3:15 predicted.

Satan bruising Jesus’ heel was a reference to Christ’s death on the cross, while the reference to Christ bruising the head of Satan was a reference to Christ’s resurrection, the salvation of mankind, and the complete defeat of the devil. In other words, the death of Christ was orchestrated by Satan, but compared to the death blow which Jesus delivered by his resurrection, it was like a heel wound compared to a head wound.

The Bible makes it clear that it was through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead that Satan and his forces were defeated. “And having defeated principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:15). Christ has worked for us an astounding victory over the forces of evil.

The curse of sin and the penalty of the law—death—was against us. God redeemed us from the Father’s judgment by his death, and from Satan’s power by his resurrection. Not only did he defeat the powers of darkness, but he made an open show of them, to the heavenly host and the earthly family. Through the word of the gospel, the whole world can know that Jesus has conquered Satan.

Dewayne Dunaway