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morning everyone welcome to Free Grace Baptist Church for the worship this morning special welcome to visitors amongst us a couple of announcements before we get started Ed uh the evening service of course will be at 5:00 here again there's no Wednesday night bible study for the next three Wednesdays December 20th 27th and the 3rd of January we'll resume on the 10th of January and then next Sunday is a baptismal service for Rebecca Hall that'll be in the morning service and more good news Charelle Neils has also applied for uh baptism and membership and that the date of that baptism will be announced in the coming weeks so we rejoice in that for our call to worship turn to Psalm 132 in your Bibles Psalm 132 Psalm 132 a song of a sense Lord remember David and all his afflictions how he swore to the Lord and vowed to the mighty one of Jacob surely I will not go into the Chamber of my house or or go up to the comfort of my bed I will not give sleep to my eyes or Slumber to my eyelids until I find a place for the Lord a dwelling place for the mighty one of Jacob behold we heard of it in ephra we found it in the fields of the woods let us go into his Tabernacle let us worship at his foot stol arise O Lord to your resting place you and the Ark of your strength let your priests be clothed with righteousness and let your Saints shout for Joy for your servant David's sake do not turn away the face of your anointed the Lord has sworn in truth to David he will not turn from it I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body if your sons will keep my Covenant and my testimony which I shall teach them their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever more for the Lord has chosen Zion he has desired it for his Dwelling Place this is my resting place forever here I will dwell for I have desired it I will abundantly bless her provision I will satisfy her poor with bread I will also clothe her priests with salvation and her Saints shall shout aloud for Joy there I will make the Horn of David grow I will prepare a lamp for my anointed his enemies I will clothe with shame but upon himself his crown shall flourish amen for our first hymn this morning please turn in your Salter Himel to Psalm 72a as in Alpha 72a we're going to sing the first four stanzas oh God your judgments give the king please stand with me 72a God Jud the king son right with might shall your people your GL of rightness shall to all the because of rightous their bless shall for children bless break Ines those to the of may be like the r that falls and show all the land in his and his be Pro the river shall [Music] toes bring him gifts and [Music] the BR for All Nation shall may be seated let us turn to our Lord in prayer gracious Heavenly Father we thank you for this glorious day this day of great privilege that we have to come into your house as your people to gather together and to worship together we thank you for the the joy and the blessing of corporate worship we thank you that you have ordained this day for your worship and for the the good of your people and for the rest of our souls and I pray oh God that your spirit would be present in our midst today as we Rejoice together and as we sing your Praises we pray oh God that you would be pleased with the worship of our lips Lord we pray that you would be pleased to cleanse us from all sin and unrighteousness we know that we still transgress your law and it Grieves our hearts but we ask that you would forgive us that you would cleanse us and that you would make us presentable in your sight we thank you for the righteousness of Christ that has been granted to us we thank you that you have taken our sins from us and you have placed them as far away as the East is from the West you've buried them in the depths of the ocean and we thank you for that reality Lord we pray that you would be present in our midst today and that you would cause our worship to ascend before your throne and be pleasing in your sight we thank you for the good work that you are doing in our midst we thank you for the evidence of it in the recent baptisms and the baptisms still to come in the few uh next few weeks we thank you for the work that you have done in Rebecca's heart and in shelle's heart we thank you oh God that we will see this this visual visual presentation this uh symbol of what you have done in the waters of baptism Lord we pray that you would your blessing would rest upon these and you would continue to build this church we thank you that you are building your church all across this nation we pray for the other churches in this city of chillak where the gospel is being preached this morning bless those Ministers of the Gospel cause them to preach with authority and with power and conviction Lord we pray for other churches across this land and in particular the churches that we have close fellowship with at our church plants or uh within our association we pray that you would bless the workout in Suri bless Pastor Kirkpatrick as he preaches this morning encourage that congregation continue to build them up in their Most Holy Faith we pray that you would do the same in Armstrong strong this morning bless Pastor malar as he preaches continue to add to that church and continue to ground them in in the faith and in unity and we pray for the congregation that will that has already met out in Dryden Ontario we pray that you'd continue to bless them continue to encourage that group and I pray oh Lord that you would add to their numbers and that they would not too in the not too distant future be able to constitute as a as a local church there Lord we pray that you would work all AC across this world where the church is going forward even in difficult circumstances and in areas where your people are being persecuted we pray that you'd have mercy upon them and Lord we do pray for this group in uh Myanmar that you'd be gracious to them to the to the uh orphans and the the people that are gathered there that live in that Orange Grove be gracious to to Peter help him and his workers as they continue to navigate difficult circumstances there encourage them watch over and protect them we pray for your own name's sake continue with us as we worship this morning we pray we pray that you'd continue to grant us this Freedom we pray that you would um cause the magistrates of this country to do what is right in your sight and we ask this in Jesus name amen amen for our next hymn please turn with me to hymn number 294 294 based on uh the prophecy of Zechariah the father of John the Baptist when his mouth was opened and he spoke again on the day of John's baptism this prophecy 294 the song of [Music] Zechariah of Isel he has come to set us free and the Sal he hased his toe for in the Pro he has God has in to save us from the hatred of oury pro our father to be we will to to release us from [Music] our us his holy you my will be his all by God to [Music] his isend heart and by him our for his great Mercy like a shin the oface and you may be seated please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 15 for our morning scripture reading Matthew 15 we will read from verse 1 through verse 20 this morning Matthew 15 beginning in verse 1 then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus saying saying why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread he answered and said to them why do you also transgress the Commandment of God because of your tradition for God commanded saying honor your father and your mother and he who curses father or mother let him be put to death but you say whoever says to his father or mother whatever profit you might have received from me as a gift to God then he need not honor his father or mother thus you have made the Commandment of God of no effect by your tradition Hypocrites well did Isaiah prophesy about you saying these people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me and in vain they worship me teaching as doctrines the Commandments of men when he had called the multitude to himself he said to them hear and understand not what goes into the mouth defiles a man but what comes out of the mouth this defiles a man then his disciples came and said to him do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying but he answered and said every plant which my heavenly father has not planted will be uprooted let them alone they are blind leaders of the Blind and if the blind leads the blind both will fall into a ditch then Peter answered and said to him explain this Parable to us so Jesus said are you also still without understanding do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated but those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart and they defile a man for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts murders adulteries fornications thefts false Witnesses blasphemies these are the things which defile a man but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man amen for our last hymn we'll turn to number 300 come the long expected Jesus hymn 300 please stand with me again as we [Music] sing Jesus to set my our and [Music] US rest in strength andol oh of all the Earth th [Music] is to to see from [Music] all my to for the h the angels singing of to him your PR the [Music] Lord to to to taste our sad GL to the his he brings us gladness rede shees with with C is the ever in Christ was born [Music] the for my to for to re us forever ever my all [Music] our all PR [Music] glor will you can turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Genesis Genesis chapter 3 Genesis chapter 3 we're going to consider the promise of the Messiah the first promise what men have called the Proto or first Evangel the promise of God's blessing in and through our Lord Jesus Christ that's specifically in verse 15 but we'll look at the latter half in its entirety but I do want to read beginning in chapter 3 at verse one just so we get the flow of the narrative so beginning in Genesis 3 at verse one now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made and he said to the woman has God indeed said You shall not eat of every tree of the garden and the woman said to the serpent we may eat the fruit of the Trees of the garden but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God has said You shall not eat it nor shall you touch it lest you die then the serpent said to the woman you will not surely die for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be open and you will be like God knowing good and evil so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise she took of its fruit and ate she also gave to her husband with her and he ate then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings and they heard the sound of the Lord God Walking In The Garden in the cool of the day and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God Among the Trees of the garden then the Lord God Called to Adam and said to him where are you so he said I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself and he said who told you that you were naked have you eaten from the Tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat then the man said the woman whom you gave to be with me she gave me of the tree and I ate and the Lord God said to the woman what is this you have done the woman said the serpent deceived me and I ate so the Lord God said to the serpent because you have done this you are cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field on your belly you shall go and you shall eat dust all the days of your life and I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel to the woman he said I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception in pain you shall bring forth children your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you then to Adam he said because you have heeded the voice of your wife and have eaten from the Tree of which I commanded you saying you shall not eat of it curse it is the ground for your sake in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat the herb of the field in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken for dust you are and to dust you shall return and Adam called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them then the Lord God said behold the man has become like one of us to know good and evil and now lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken so he drove out the man and he placed cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life amen well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you for the for the scriptures of both the Old and the New Testaments we see the relationship the Old Testament promises the coming of the Messiah and we see that Revelation in the New Covenant in the fullness of the time God sent forth his son born of a woman and born under the law to redeem those under the law we see all those New Covenant Promises of God or all those old Covenant promises are of God are are yay and amen in our Lord Jesus Christ even down to Genesis 3 and: 15 we thank you that you've undertaken to save us from our sins we thank you that the way that it happened was in a most glorious way the the word became flesh and dwelt Among Us may this encourage us and may it build us up and may it be the case today that Sinners would hear of Christ who's altogether lovely Chief among 10,000 and by Grace they would believe on him and have everlasting life do forgive us Now guide us by your Holy Spirit and we pray in Jesus name amen well as I said our Focus will be on verses 14 to 24 but prior to that you know the account you've probably heard it on many occasions both preached and you've read it you've read it privately you've read it hopefully in family worship and there are wonderful things in the latter half and the wonderful things speak to the issues concerning the former half so essentially what you have in verses 1 to5 you have the temptation to sin you have the devil under the power of the Devil Himself or the serpent rather under the power of the Devil Himself come and tempt Eve Eve obviously takes the fruit she hands it to Adam and thus in Adam all die after that you see the fall into sin in verse 6 to7 and then the Reckoning with God in verses 8-13 when God asks questions it's not as if he's on a search for knowledge God is as it were putting them on the hot seat it is the case that he wants to interrogate them and wants to show the fact that they have rebelled against him they have sinned against him and there must indeed be a reckoning well it's a reckoning that they themselves cannot fix it is a problem that they themselves cannot repair it is a situation of enmity now at one time they communed with God in the cool of the garden and now they're running from God they are fearful they are afraid they don't want to face him they don't want to face the consequences of their Rebellion so if the narrative stopped there it would be all bad news man sinned against God we in Adam died and as a result there's no hope for any of us but see God is able God undertakes God initiates and God puts into place this Plan of Redemption and it focuses upon that seed of Genesis 3 and verse 15 which the later Redemptive history will underscore for us is our Lord Jesus Christ so that's the main emphasis that I want to draw out this morning but as we consider the remainder of the passage verses 14 to 24 we'll do so under two concerns first the consequences of the fall in verses 14-9 and then secondly the Hope beyond the fall in verses 20 to 24 I will argue that Adam and Eve though they sinned against God and rebelled against God they were saved by God we see that specifically in the latter part of this particular chapter but let's pick up first with the consequences of the fall and there's consequences for the serpent there's consequences for the woman and there's consequences for the man so first of all notice the consequences for the serpent in verses 14 and 15 so the Lord God said to the serpent because you have done this you are cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field on your belly you shall go and you shall eat dust all the days of your life again there is a lack of interrogation now he's not asking questions he's not investigating he's not wanting Adam and Eve to come clean he is now condemning he is now cursing but in the goodness and in the wisdom and in the glory of God in the midst of the curse there is promise of blessing in the midst of this condemnation there is the promise of redemption but in terms of the particular snake or the serpent that is utilized with reference to this notice the curse specifically you are cursed more than all cattle and then the nature of that curse is drawn out there in verse 14 and more than every beast of the field on your belly you shall go and you shall eat dust all the days of your life some suggest that prior to this serpents or snakes may have had legs and it's in this instance that God takes their legs away I don't think that's what's happening I'll quote a man by the name of Michael RL neck he says when God proclaimed that the serpent would crawl on its belly it does not mean that serpents previously had legs rather and this is very important to get crawling would now forever be understood as a sign of defeat in other words it's the lowliest one it's the most hated one it's the most despised one now I know there are odd people out there that like to keep snakes as pets but you need to remember in light of Genesis 3:15 or 14 that might not necessarily be the best idea just kidding you can keep your snakes but God's point is simply this when he comes to bring judgment upon this vessel this vehicle that brought the Temptation it is a total uh uh Devastation the later proph prophets pick up on this language for instance in Micah 7 at verse 16 it says the Nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might they shall put their hand over their mouth their ears shall be deaf they shall lick the dust like a serpent they shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth they shall be afraid of the Lord Our God and shall fear because of you who is a God Like You pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his Heritage he does not retain his anger forever because he Delights in Mercy that God who Delights in Mercy nevertheless DS out consequences for sin rebellion and transgression but then notice as we move on he goes to the power behind the serpent it's not just the snake it's not just the serpent that's not ultimately the issue it's the devil that animates the serpent it's the devil that utilizes the snake to engage in this temptation so he addresses the devil specifically here in verse 15 this is something common you see this in the New Testament specifically in the Book of Revelation we often talk about the beasts of Revelation in Revelation chapter 13 there's a beast from the sea and a beast from the land we need to understand that it's not this political or religious power that has Authority in and of themselves it's the dragon who's spoken of in Revelation 12 and there in Revelation chap 12 what the Apostle is highlighting is that when Herod wanted to destroy the innocent when aalia wanted to destroy the the heir to the throne when the Devil Himself wanted to stop the the Ascension of our blessed savior to the right hand of God most high it was the devil it was that Dragon it was that Serpent of old and so now we see God's word to the devil and in this is the Proto Evangel in this is the first announcement of the Gospel so the Lord's curse moves from the serpent to the evil power that animated it that's what verse 15 indicates notice what what it says and I will put enmity between you and the woman there's going to be a god rought enmity between the righteous and the wicked that's essentially what that means you look around at the world today and you can see that it's pretty clear pretty marked it's pretty obvious there's righteous people and there's unrighteous people now the righteous people aren't righteous in and of themselves it's because God in His Grace has imputed to us the faith uh uh the righteousness of Jesus Christ which we receive by faith alone and on the heels of that we seek or pursue to do those things that are pleasing to God those who do not have that righteousness those who are still dead in their trespasses and sins live like that they engage in wretchedness they engage in lawlessness and transgression and iniquity so God understands God impos this particular enmity that obtains between the righteous and the wicked notice that this is going to continue I will put en enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed it's going to run parallel it's always going to be the righteous and the Wicked on this side of the day of judgment now that's the beauty of the Eternal State when God ushers in that Eternal State when we're in the presence of the Lamb there'll be no more unrighteousness you see that in Revelation 21:8 all the Godless all the wicked all the Lawless and rebel Sinners are cast out into the lake of fire with the Beast and the false prophet but until that time Brethren we're not going to see Paradise on Earth until that time we're not going to have a Utopia until that time we still preach the gospel we have great optimism in the effect of the Gospel we believe that Jesus Christ is building a wheat field and that there are tears present to be sure but there will be terrs to the very end so we're not going to be able to see some sort of a glorified State on this side of of Heaven there's going to be this enmity there's going to be these two camps there's going to be the seed of the woman and there's going to be these wretches that that despise the seed and they despise the people of God and that brings us to consider the corporate identification of the seed and then the individual identification notice again verse 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed now seed typically has two meanings one Collective there's a whole bunch of people under that identification of SE seed but in scripture as well we have a a a singular or a particular application now in terms of the collective you'll see see right on the heels of this event in Genesis 4 this take place in Genesis CH 4 what do you have you have a clear demarcation between Cain and Abel as you go further in the narrative you have the The Godly line of Seth and the The Wretched line of the canites you go throughout Redemptive history and you have the Covenant people of God and then all of the all of the ites on the outside that are not the Covenant people of God you move into the New Covenant what do you have you have the Lord Jesus Christ build his church but you have unbelieving Israel and you have the Roman Empire trying to exterminate that so there is the collective element with reference to the seed so when it says there's enmity that enmity affects us that enmity will be real that enmity does uh help us to understand statements like Paul in 2 Timothy 3:12 all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution notice what Jesus says in John's gospel in chapter 15 if the world hates you just know they hated me first the servant isn't greater than the master if they despise the master they're certainly going to despise the servants there is this separation there is this distinction it is God wrought there's the collective element but I think the emphasis here falls upon the seed as an individual the seed as a particular the seed of the woman notice again in verse 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed he the seed shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel so the individual identification of the seed is made clear by Paul in Galatians 3 now it's again very important that you kind of keep this mindset as you read subsequent to Genesis chter 3 because when you get to say the Patriarchs Abraham Isaac and Jacob what's God's promise to those men God's promise is that in your seed all the nations of the Earth shall be blessed in your seed there will be great benefit to people from every tribe tongue people and Nation have you ever reflected or pondered on that well who's that seed it's not Abraham that we owe our Salvation to it's not Isaac it's it's not Jacob no it's the Seed of Abraham Isaac and Jacob well listen to Paul's interpretation of that idea or concept of seed in its individual sense Galatians 3:16 not to Abraham and his seed were the promises made uh uh he said uh he does not say and to seeds as of many but as of one and to your seed who is Christ so he highlights or he underscores or he gives us that reality that it's the seed of Jesus uh the Seed of Abraham that is the Redeemer now as we look at this verse verse 15 there's four observations concerning the SE seed here that I want to bring out first and we'll just call the seed here the Redeemer because we know this is Jesus hopefully we're already tracking at that point first the Redeemer would be a man born of a woman right very obvious I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and notice her seed now this hints at least it's not a full engagement of the doctrine of the Virgin birth but the fact that it only mentions the woman helps us to better understand the Virgin birth When we arrive in Matthew and Luke's gospel but with reference to that the Redeemer or deliverer that man was taught to expect would be a man would be one like himself would have all of his essential properties would have all of his common infirmities and yet without sin he would be a man a champion the one that would indeed save his people from their sins a second observation is that the Redeemer would accomplish Victory through suffering there's a bit of a comparativeness going on notice and between your seed and her seed he the seed shall bruise your head that's a death blow right if I were I'm not going to say that take my my foot and crush it onto your head it wouldn't be a sign of love and affection it wouldn't be a token of my kindness the the fact that we we have this foot of the Redeemer crushing the head of the serpent or of the devil indicates that it's a death blow it indicates that he is delegitimizing him it is an evidence that he is crushing him and that is the particular emphasis but then notice comparatively and you devil shall bruise his heel in other words when he goes about this particular task of crushing the head of the devil he will receive some sort of a wound and it will be on his heel so there is suffering involved in the Proto Evangel with reference to the man that would be born of a woman but I would suggest thirdly that death is envisaged in this particular passage so this bruising of the heel not only means that he suffers he's a man of Sorrows and he's acquainted with grief it not only means he suffers when they flog him or Scourge him or when they bury a crown of thorns into his head but I think it also involves death and again Michael rlck makes the observation since in the context the tempter has taken the form of a serpent it is likely that the tempter's blow would be equated with a Serpent's bite right makes sense and in the case of this animal the Hebrew generally uses it to speak of a venomous and lethal snake most likely therefore the text is speaking of two comparable death blows the future Redeemer will strike the head of the temper uh tempter and thereby kill it and at the same time the tempter will strike the heel of the Redeemer and kill him so the man born of woman will accomplish total Victory through his own suffering and through his own death you see why people have called this the Proto Evangel the first announcement of the gospel because that's essentially what the gospel is Christ the son of God comes into this world takes on our Humanity lives a life of perfect obedience to his father's law suffers dies is buried and is raised again the third day he does that for us men and for our salvation and he does that to destroy the works of the devil and that brings us to the fourth observation with reference to this skull crushing seed of the woman the Redeemer would accomplish total Victory absolutely positively total Victory you can turn to John's gospel a passage that we have seen not too long ago John's gospel where he highlights the work relative to the devil and his accomplishment as the seed of the woman in crushing that serpent notice in John 12 specifically at verse 30 this voice did not come because of me but for your sake now is the Judgment of this world now the ruler of this world will be cast out notice that Jesus connects this to his first coming he connects it to his death on the cross verse 32 and I if I am lifted up from the earth will draw a men to myself turn over to the book of Colossians Colossians chapter 1 just to see Christ's total Victory his triumph over the devil and the reason why I bring this out is one for the encouragement of the people of God greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world Romans 8 if God is for us who can be against us even the Devil Himself is excluded from the opposition of the believer in that particular statement but for the unbeliever we're not going to mince words here you walk according to the prince of the power of the air who now works in the sons of Disobedience and you may fear well I I can't ever be Vindicated I can't ever be saved I can't ever be redeemed I can't ever be helped I'm I'm consigned to live a life of sin and misery and and drudgery all the rest of my life no Christ the lord has crushed the head of the devil Christ the lord has dealt definitively with man's sin Christ the lord empowers his people to overcome the world in other words casting faith upon the savior means total Victory not total victory in the sense that you're going to get a better job a better life better cars and better houses but total victory in that what Paul says in Romans 51 will be true of you therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God or Romans 8 chapter uh chapter 8 verse one there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus so don't think for a moment well I I just can't I I will not be saved he's not power powerful enough to defeat the Devil in my life oh he's absolutely most positively powerful enough to defeat the Devil in your life look at Colossians 1 at verse 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of his love in whom we have Redemption notice the the instrumentality here through his blood the Forgiveness of sins see Christ Life Death Resurrection are absolutely crucial to not only Vanquish the devil but to save us from our sins look at Colossians 2 at verse1 15 having disarmed principalities and Powers he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them in it and then turn over to First John John gives the purpose or one of the purposes for which Jesus came into the world 1 John chapter 3 specifically notice in verse 8 he who sins is of the devil for the devil has sinned from the beginning for this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil Whoever has been born of God does not sin for his seed remains in him and he cannot sin because he has been born of God and then drop down just a couple of verses I like to think that John thinking in terms of creation thinking in terms of Cain and Abel thinking in terms of the animating power of the devil says what he says in verse 8 as a result of that notice the appeal to the Genesis narrative look at verse 11 for this is the message that you would have heard uh that you heard from the beginning that we should love one another not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother and why did he murder him because his Works were evil and his brothers righteous so Genesis is in the mind of the Apostle we see it evidently there but we also see it evidently in verse 8 why does the the seed of the woman come so that through his own suffering and through his own death he might take that foot of glory and crush the head of the devil and then notice in Hebrews chapter 2 one more passage Hebrews chapter 2 I usually like to go in canonical order I or at least the Chron order that we find in our new testament I I jump ship there notice in Hebrews chapter 2 specifically at verse 14 in as much then as the children have partaken of Flesh and Blood he himself likewise sh and the same you see what undergirds the entirety of the New Covenant teaching on our lord Jesus he would be a man born of a woman in the beginning was the word the word was with God and the Word was God and the word became flesh and dwelt Among Us notice in as much then as the children had partaken of Flesh and Blood he himself likewise shared in the same flesh and blood that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death that is the devil and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage for indeed he does not give Aid to angelss but he does give Aid to the Seed of Abraham therefore in all things he had to be made like his Brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest let's not forget that I've stressed his Triumph I've stressed his victory I've stressed that foot crushing the head of the devil but let us stress his Mercy his kindness his willingness his Joy at this he doesn't save like a a miserable leftist he saves to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto him or all who draw nigh to God through him this is what he's about do you do you want to know what it is for the savior to save a sinner well it's like a Shepherd who had you know a bunch of sheep and one of them runs off and he leaves the mass and he goes after the one and when he finds the one he puts it on his shoulders and goes home rejoicing the sav your saves like a woman who loses one coin out of the 10 and she moves all of her furniture and she sweeps the floor and she looks for it she finds it what does she do when she finds that coin she rejoices and how about that prodigal son that man who says to his father in essence you're better off to meet dead than alive I mean he's asking for his share of The Inheritance while the father's alive I mean imagine that kids are not kids adults your kids come to you get I want my share of The Inheritance what does that say you're you're better off to me dead than alive so the father gives him that share of The Inheritance what happens to him does he go out and traffic in righteousness and godliness and holy no no no he plunges himself into the depths of depravity he gets to the point where he's sitting around pigs coveting their food now Brethren if you've seen pig slop that's not a a happy picture so what happens to the kid he doesn't get saved there he comes to himself in a mercenary sense I I know what I'll do I'll I'll go back and I'll cast myself upon the mercy of my father and perhaps he'll H hire me as a day laborer I'll get three Hots in a c that's all I'm after but it was when he was a long way off that the father runs to him the father falls on him the father kisses him the father father orders the the slaying of the fatted calf for him the father puts a robe on him the father puts a ring on him it's the father who saves him he doesn't save himself in the pig pant and then come back to God no it's God who seeks and saves that which was lost so when it comes to this reality that you're a sinner and God is angry with the wicked every day understand that God has provided atonement in his son the Lord Jesus that there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared so notice again in verse 17 therefore in all things he had to be made like his Brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people for in that he himself has suffered being tempted he is able to Aid those who are tempted so going back to Genesis chter 3 four observations on Genesis 3:15 the Redeemer would be a man born of a woman the Redeemer would accomplish Victory through suffering the Redeemer would accomplish Victory through death the Redeemer would accomplish total Victory now before we move on I always feel it's necessary to sort of underscore this point as we move move through the rest of the Old Testament you ever noticed how many of the enemies of God and his people suffer crushing head wounds it it just happens no it happens typically it happens as a free prefigurement what the Old Testament authors are doing and what the old Covenant people are doing is furthering the ball down the field we've got this Genesis 3:15 promise and for you people living at the time of the judges don't forget it remember during the time of the judges how does jail dispatch cicar with a tent Peg to the Head how are those Godless orb and Zeb dealt with same head wounds the woman and ABC who throws that stone off of the tower boy that was fortunate it found its way into his Godless head no this is the people of God being reminded of the promise of God in typical fashion such that when we get to the New Covenant and Jesus goes to the place of the skull golgatha to render judgment upon the Devil we see all the promises of God are yay and amen in him and what about David at the valley of ala as he takes on uh that Goliath again a fatal head wound now I know the Godless would say well the Bible seems you know obsessed with these you know bloody gory details no the Bible's obsessed with the glory of Jesus Christ the skull crushing seed of the woman who would do what Adam and Eve could not do who would do what you and I could not do notice in the passage at the first part we didn't have a lot of time to to unpack the the first half of the chapter but notice what's instinctive in man I just preached this recently from Proverbs 28:13 what's instinctive in man well let's even bring it you know more close to home what's instinctive to children they do something wrong is it their first instinct to come to you Mommy Daddy please forgive me for I have sinned no now you might be out there child I'm not picking on you but but but usually it's flight usually it's fleeing usually it's hiding usually it's covering little brother take the heat for the cookies that are missing in the jar little brother tell mom you haven't seen me all morning so Adam and Eve try to cover their sin don't they they make the the Loy cloths when we get to the text on atonement they don't just need a girdle they need a tunic they don't just need a partial covering the entirety of man is in said the entirety of man is redeemed again necessitates that the man uh uh born of a woman must assume our Humanity or he doesn't redeem us us the Instinct the Temptation the tendency the prevalency of man in sin is to try to cover their sin so they do that very thing now God will come and cover their sin again in a typical fashion to prefigure and point forward to the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world see you see when we come to passages like these we see that it's not the case that there's some celebratory you know aspect among the people of God that Revels in gory head wounds no the Bible's about the glory of the one who wounded by death the devil and his minions now drop down to the consequences for the woman we're not going to spend a lot of time here or on the man just because there's a lot of things going on here I don't want to keep you through your lunch but notice as far as the narrative up to this point there have been two benefits conferred upon Womanhood one of those is marriage and the other is procreation procreation is spoken to in Genesis 1: 26-28 isn't it amazing this push to engage in depopulation everything you see here you you you got God's intended order he made man he made man to govern or lead his household he made Eve to help him do that and made them both to exercise dominion over the creatures that's the first part or or or what we find in Genesis chapter 2 we get to Genesis chapter 3 and it's completely inverted you've got now the serpent talking to the woman who then gives the fruit to her man in other words there's an inversion right God made Cosmos and ever since Sinners have been trying to Institute chaos that's what makes Sinners happy chaos and so this inversion is seen even in the in the cultural mandate of Genesis 1: 26- 28 is it a curse to have children is it a blight on Humanity to to spawn no it's a blessing it's a good thing it is celebratory it is a gift from God most high so in Genesis chapter 1: 26- 28 Eve learns one of her purposes well she didn't Adam instructed her that she was going to have children Genesis 2 18- 24 we have the benefit of of marriage again the world continually tries to invert that marriage is a good thing so what do we have now High divorce rates what do we have now sexual perversion what do we have now adultery what do we have now fornication what do we have now the whole the whole craze with sodomy and homosexuality it's like God made something for good and we take it and we invert it God gives us Cosmos and we manufacture chaos it is an indictment Upon Us brethren we haven't arrived we're not you know in some sort of a Liber ated State now when when we mutilate little children in the name of gender transition that is not God's intention for creation so there is this inversion so the benefits of marriage and motherhood notice however that in a post-fall world it's not going to be without its challenges in a post-fall world there are going to be difficulties and this is why he addresses the woman in verse 16 to the woman he said I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception in pain you shall bring forth children your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you one man says the sentences on the man and woman take the form of a disruption of their appointed roles I'd argue that when it says there your desire shall be for your husband I don't think that's a positive comment you're going to want to make him waffles you're going to want to rub his feet you're going to want to get him his favorite Bevy you're going to want to do all I don't think that's what it means you're going to want to Dethrone him you're going to want to say I Am Woman hear me roar you're going to want to usurp God's created order not that the created order not that the institution of male headship comes post fall Adam was the head at creation Adam didn't stop being the head post fall what there is in the language of wenom there is a disruption of their appointed Falls those who connect male headship to the fall uh uh error they they fall from Biblical ex aesus this is the way God intended it the husband is the head of the wife if you doubt that may I encourage you to come back tonight in Ephesians chapter 5 as we work our way through husbands loving your wives the Apostle appeal appeals to Redemptive category just as Christ also loved the church and then he appeals to creational category the the woman is or the man is one flesh with the woman so it's not that there's this you know uh uh after the fall now now you are subjugated under his feet no no no it's a disruption of the issue so relative to childbirth in pain you shall bring forth children relative to marriage your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you John sale Hammer says what the woman once was to do as a blessing be a marriage partner and have children had become tainted by the curse in those moments of life's greatest blessing marriage and children the woman would sense most clearly the painful consequences of her Rebellion from God he's right it's not that the the the categories of headship and and submission are instituted postf fall that's bad theology that's bad exe Jesus and it reflects humanism and all the sorts of confusion that we see out in the world today the Bible says that the husband is the head of the wife that shouldn't make anybody blush that shouldn't make us as Christians say well I I am sorry to have to suggest this no the husband is the head of the wife and the wife is to be submissive to her own husband as to the Lord that's biblical that's theological that's accurate now notice the consequences for the man God specifies a reason here notice then he said to Adam or then to Adam he said because you have heeded the voice of your wife now Brethren if your wife is telling you to turn left because where you're going is left don't say well you know Adam got in trouble because he heeded the voice of his wife I'm going to turn right that's not what's in view here they were prohibited from eating from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil that's the focus that's the target that's the issue because you have heeded the voice of your wife in opening this can of rebellion against the Majesty on high because you have listened to the voice of your wife and did what she commanded what does that underscore to us there's not supposed to be anything between God's word and us when it comes to obedience well you know my husband doesn't like that my wife does does God say it as God commanded and may I extend that to the Civil State they don't have the right to usurp the authority of God most high and command us contrary to the word of God we must obey God rather than men apply it in an ecclesiastical setting the imposition of feast days the imposition of man-made religion what is the people of God supposed to do they're supposed to resist that kind of tyranny and they're supposed to understand that it's the voice of God that they respond to that's a good lesson for all of us practically so notice the nature of the curse because you have heeded the voice of your wife and have eaten from the Tree of which I I commanded you saying you shall not eat of it notice the specific consequences in verses 18 and 19 the Perpetual difficulty for labor you know I've wondered this was it not hard to labor prior to the fall did you not sweat prior to the fall I I can't answer all those questions I you know I think about that with a woman prior to the fall child birth just seems by definition that it would be a tough go but again God says there are consequences affected or affecting these situations in a post-fall world and so as far as Adam is concerned he is supposed to tend the garden prior to the fall he's not supposed to do so first and foremost as a farmer he's supposed to do so first and foremost as a priest he's supposed to extend the garden Sanctuary multiply image bearers to Encompass the entirety of the earth so that God would be glorified in that but but with reference to the postf fall ramifications it's going to be hard it's going to be a struggle you're not going to want to get up early you're not going to want to stay late you're not going to want to do the difficult jobs you're not going to want to engage in these things because it's punctuated by difficulty by hardship notice the Perpetual difficulty of Labor curs it is the ground for your sake in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life now don't get the zany idea well if that's the case I'm not going to work no you but you must work don't conclude that well you know it's going to be so hard so I'm not going to work there's a lion in the road I'm not going to go to work no no you you need to work you just need to embrace the fact that there's going to be difficulty Robert alter said the Vista of thorn and thisle is diametrically opposed to the Luscious vegetation of the garden and already Intimates the verdict of banishment that will be carried out in verses 23 and 24 but then notice verse 18 both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat the herb of the field in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground The Narrative is emphasized several times up to this point that Adam was taken from the ground had you obeyed had you been confirmed in righteousness you'd have been ushered into everlasting life in a positive sense but because not you're going to return to the ground that doesn't mean there's no soul no spirit that lives beyond the grave but it means that the physical is going to be buried it's going to return to the ground I think this does set the stage though this whole idea of returning to the ground for out of it you were taken for dust you are and to dust you shall return I think that's the good backdrop one should keep in mind with reference to the man born of a woman who would deliver his people through his own suffering and death and he would triumph over the devil decisively Paul picks up this theme in in Philippians chapter 3 and what he says at verses 20 and 21 I think are fed by an understanding of what happens in the first Adam or in this man he says our citizenship is in heaven from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ who will do what he will transform our lowly body in Adam the first our lowly body gets cast into the dirt when Adam thei comes or Adam the last he transforms that lowly body and fits it and makes it ready for Eternal communion with God most high the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious body according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself and that brings us finally to the Hope beyond the fall in verses 20- 24 this is the second time that Eve has been named Adam called his wife a wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living again saale Hammer says this was the second time Adam named his wife you see it in 2:23 her first name pointed to her her origin out of man whereas her second name pointed to her Destiny the mother of all living see in other words when this happens God doesn't say that's it you're gone you're done no God institutes on the heels of this fall into sin his great and glorious plan to save a great multitude that no man could number from every trib tongue people and Nation by the deliverer that he sent by the the man born of a woman who would accomplish Victory through suffering and death and then notice in terms of the significance Adam called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living Adam had heard God's words to to the serpent in verse 19 uh 15 and knew that from the woman the Redeemer would come it's not just her Eve personally and particularly you've weathered these storms with me baby I'm going to give you this wonderful name no this wonderful name signifies what's going to happen as a result of God's promise in verse 15 Adam expresses faith in the promise of God verse 15 by naming her the mother of all living so in other words it's not just significant for her as Mrs Adam but it's significant for us because all of us by God's grace who are believers in Jesus Christ have that vehicle in our history that communicates to us the blessed savior for Sinners notice the coverings of sin verse 21 Brethren there's a lot more that could be said on each of these points I'm trying to make sure that you don't miss your lunge but but this is a you know people that say well you know talking snakes and this that and the other you know that this world and all things in it were made by God by the word of his power in the space of six days and all very good you know there's people out there that you know really struggle with the miraculous and all the stuff going on in the Bible why I think MacArthur said it if God is then everything else follows right I used to work at the B2 Factory a manufacturer for the for the B2 bomber and the idea of evolution would be like you know building a big aircraft hanger opening both big doors letting the wind blow through and having you know several b2s built and ready to go we accused of fairy tales with Genesis 3 have you pondered Evolution have you thought through that if you ever thought about an adult fairy tale it's it's the theory of evolution Brethren if God is who the Bible says he is then ax heads can float if God says who the Bible says he is then snakes can talk so can balam's ask if God is who the Bible says he is then Christ can be raised again the third day see I don't think it's the the mythology of chapter 3 in Genesis that defends the Godless I think it's what they conclude is mythology in the empty tomb it's not talking snakes so much it's the Redeemer King at the right hand of God most high who must Reign till all of his enemies are made his foot stol and I actually think that's one of the emphases driving Evolution what happens when you get God out of the beginning you effectively remove him from the middle and the end right we're like pagans we just have cycles of history we're just in the big circle of life there's no significance there's no effect there's no impact you know Paul says for of him through him to him are all things Christianity is a linear view of History not a cyclical not a circular so we get God out of the beginning when we get them out of the Judgment so again is it talking snakes they have an axe to grind with no I wouldn't think so it's the one who crushes the head of the serpent it's the one who brings Redemption to his people but in Genesis chter 3 you should learn it Bank makes the good statement in principle Genesis 3 contains the entire history of humankind all the ways of God for the Salvation of the Lost and the victory over sin in substance the whole gospel the entire Covenant of Grace is present here all that follows Genesis 4 to revelation 22 is the development of what has been Germany planted here it is programmatic what you find in Genesis chapter 3 the rest of the Bible is just explaining it's just amplifying it's just as I said earlier moving the ball further down the field so then notice this coverings of skin in verse 21 so are also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them again not girdles girdles just cover your private area these were tunics this covered the entirety what's God saying your sin didn't just affect you there you're trying to cover your sin just by covering your private parts not suggesting you shouldn't cover your private parts I'm suggesting that man when he comes to deal with sin he does it about that deep God says no you must be covered he who covers his transgression he'll not Prosper but whoever confesses it and forsakes it that one finds Mercy as well notice that the coverings were not made of plant life isn't that where Adam and Eve went they went to Fig leaves well certainly that must be able to hide us from God we'll hide among the trees that he made and we'll cover ourselves with these fig leaves they they they gravitate toward plant life no God kills animals God underscores in Genesis 3:21 what the apostle rehearses in uh Hebrews 9:22 without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood there is no remission you see that connection very often in the New Testament documents through his blood atonement wrath must be appeased God must be satisfied his Justice must be satisfied so God kills these animals and he takes the skin off of these animals and he covers Adam and Eve so that when you roll along through Genesis and exodus and Leviticus and numbers and Deuteronomy and you see the institution of a priesthood you see the institution of a tabernacle and then a temple and you see the institution of sacrifice does it surprise you that it's the blood of bulls and goats that it's animals because there needs to be life for life there needs to be substitution there needs to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world so God shows them this God does this for them and as well the Lord underscores as I've said the necessity of atonement as the basis for Fellowship between God and man one man makes the observation I don't know his theological pedigree so I'll just tell you I quoted him from waly but it's a good statement he says with the sentence given God does in chapter 3: 21 for the couple what they cannot do for themselves chapter 3: 7 they cannot deal with their shame but God can Will and does God can Will and does hear that cuz that's important God can Will and does do there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared Come to Me Jesus says in Matthew 11 all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest but I don't understand everything come to him but I don't know everything come to him all you need to know is that you're a guilty vile helpless sinner that stands liable to God's just judgment and Punishment in this this life and that which is to come it's a happy topic isn't it but know that God in his kindness and in his grace and in his Mercy sent the son of his love the one announced here in Genesis 3:15 the man born of a woman that would accomplish total Victory through his own suffering and death all those who come to him in faith will have everlasting life you see but that sounds so easy it is easy on the one hand on the other hand it's a check to your rebellion and your transgression and your sin see let's not kind of beat around the bush here people do what they want to do usually right nobody's putting a gun to your head to go out and sin today nobody's got your arm behind your back yeah you do this and you do that what does Jesus say in John chapter 3 the the the darkness doesn't come to the light why because it doesn't want its Deeds exposed it doesn't want to be found out you got to understand that in your own heart you've got resistance in your your own heart you have enmity in your own heart you have this Rebel tendency in spirit may I just suggest as lovingly and as graciously and encouragingly as I can wave the White Flag stop learn from others in the building here the church here what were you like before you were a Christian oh you don't even want to know I already hear certain people well you don't even want to know you know it's like we come into a church and everybody you know dresses up a little bit or dresses up a lot and you know we brushed our teeth this morning our hair's in place we you know we look we look polished right and it's easy to assume it's always been that way no it hasn't always been that way the man born of a woman who accomplished total Victory through his suffering and death saved us from our sins was he able to save me too absolutely positively he saved the chief of Sinners the Apostle Paul he saved his underlings us certainly there is Mercy to be had with our lord Jesus when we come to him in faith well Brethren I will just quickly run through the rest notice the Lord's comment in verse 22 the us there refers to the Triune God behold the man has become like one of us it's not a Divine Council a Divine Sanhedrin this is the triun god the same as we see in Genesis 1 126 and then notice I'm I'm going to just give you what I believe is going on here because there's some difficulties to sort of work out we don't have much time behold the man has become like one of us to know good and evil and now lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever the particular issue was that this was a knowledge that he sought so that he could operate autonomously if you look back to the Temptation look back to the Temptation at verse 6 in chapter 3 so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food remember they're in a garden filled with trees that are good for food right what does God say it's a lavish promise you you may freely eat whatever beautiful but continue that it was pleasant to the eyes again just like all the other trees they were pleasant to the eyes as well well I I surmise trees today are Pleasant to the ice why wouldn't they be in a preall world look at this last bit though and a tree desirable to make one wise therein lies the nature of the Rebellion ye shall be as God so the knowledge that they've now entered into was a knowledge that was forbidden to them it was was prohibited to them their exclusion from the Tree of Life while a curse was a blessing what God does in banishing from banishing them from the garden that he planted them in is in the long run Redemptive he doesn't want them in that state of sin and misery in that state of fallenness to grasp now the tree of life because they'll be confirmed in a state of unrighteousness so he banishes them he excludes them he forbids their approach to the Tree of Life why because the man born of woman The Man Who Would accomplish Victory through his suffering and death he will confirm Us in righteousness and fit us for that glorious age to come so in this curse of banishment there is blessing Adam doesn't want to be confirmed in life if it's this kind of life in conclusion two things and then we go first the subtle devices of Satan I know we didn't look at the Temptation much I know we didn't look at his craftiness a lot but I want to suggest that this is the one that Peter describes in First Peter chapter 5 the Devil roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour what is that suggest a lion doesn't it or the modern popular conception of the Devil he's a guy in a red suit or that's just the way he looks and he's got horns and he's got a pitchfork and he's probably very easy to see isn't he I mean a roaring lion or a guy in a you know with a pitchfork I think i' noticed that in my day don't usually see guys with pitchforks unless I'm on a farm and just doesn't happen at Walmart so so unless he's buying a pitchfork I guess that could be the case too but it it it's almost like we we expect to see the devil and his minations to use a good old Puritan word he works with cunning cunning one of the best victories or best helps to Victory he ever got was when men started denying him he works through deception and interestingly what he promises them has a vein of Truth in it it's not absolutely con completely contrary the the Lord knows that in the day that you eat you shall be as Gods the man has become like one of us see this is the thing that you need to understand he doesn't come and whisper in year and tell you or shout in year with his Pitchfork saying go out and sin go rob bangs go sell drugs don't go go corrupt yourself he doesn't do it that way it's cunning it's deception and it's with a knowledge of man's susceptibility why does uh the the serpent come to Eve she's susceptible to them is she is got a predilection I don't want to say that because it sounds like God made her that way she has genuine Free Will in this preall situation there is in her a a lack of of IM immutability she's mutable she can change she can take that which is forbidden and the devil Works through a character assassination upon God again look at verse 5 well verse four then the serpent said to the woman you will not surely die for God knows that in day the days uh the day you eat of it your eyes will be open and you will be like God knowing good and evil you will not surely die that's an exact opposite statement to what God had promised so just understand the nature of your enemy it is the world it's a cursed messed up place out there it is your own remaining corruption or your your reigning sin but there's a real devil who has a vested interest like the birds of the air when gospel seeds are planted to come and and devour them only the birds of the air don't really care about creating misery in your home if you're a farmer but the devil's purpose is is that you don't hear the gospel that you don't believe the gospel and that you're not saved by God's grace and then finally we need to make the connections biblically the seed of the woman is Abraham's seed the seed of the woman is Isaiah's servant of the Lord the seed of the woman is David's anointed in Psalm 132 the seed of the woman is Christ the Son of God sent by the father for us men and for our Salvation Genesis 3:15 is the Proto gospel it is the reality that God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him I'll end where I hopefully began believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you thank you for all roads leading us to the Lord Jesus Christ we know that the Bible sets forth the scope of scripture being our beloved savior this one announced in Genesis 3 this one Amplified throughout the prophets and the Psalms and the historical books and come to full fruition and realization in the The Gospel records and in the apostles commentary on those we thank you for your grace we thank you for your mercy we thank you that you've not left us in our sin God be pleased to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh to you today through through Christ we pray that you would Grant those Graces of faith and repentance and we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen we may stand and we'll close our service by singing hymn number 568 the doxology in praise to our Triune Gods uh 568 [Music] bless pring All Creatures here of [Music] praise Father Son and Holy G Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen father thank you for this beautiful day thank you for the house of God and the people of God on the day of God may you go with us now and may you encourage and strengthen us in our our Most Holy Faith and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen you may be seated for a brief time of meditation