AUGUST 12, 2023 – the first promise

READ: Rev. 20:1-3, 7-10

And I will put enmity between you and the woman… – Gen. 3:15

It may seem like a completely lost cause when humanity falls into sin. After all, they deserve death, both in time and for eternity. And God is just, He cannot overlook sin (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 4). It was not just a minor slip-up, but a deliberate rebellion against the holy God and a treacherous defection to God’s adversary.

Man cannot offer anything in response to his crime, he cannot make amends with God because he has become sinful and can no longer do anything good. He is not only guilty but also powerless to pay for his guilt. However, before God pronounces the punishments upon man and woman during their lives, His saving gospel is already proclaimed here in paradise!

That gospel entails enmity with the serpent, Satan; struggle. God Himself declares that enmity, but not between God and man. Instead, He rescues His people from the clutches of the dragon. Thus, God shows compassion for His wayward children.

No, there was no initial repentance from Adam, followed by God’s mercy. God, from His side, intervenes mercifully and saves! He establishes His covenant of grace with man to rescue him from the hand of the adversary.

The struggle that comes with it is an ongoing battle, for Satan will fight back. However, victory belongs to God when He deploys the Offspring of the woman, His Son, Christ, to crush the head of Satan. At the same time, the heel of Christ will be bruised. This happens when Christ overcomes Satan through His death on the cross and completely disables him at His second coming.

God’s children also need to follow Christ in His struggle, in His strength, and with the armor that God provides (Eph.  6:10ff). The good fight of faith can be very difficult, but it offers unparalleled rewards of grace in Christ (1 Tim. 6:12a).

Do you recognize that God’s grace is undeserved for us as well?

Singing: Ps. 51:5