The Seed of the Woman

Numerous verses or passages in the Bible can be used to give a quick summation of the overall "story" that the Scriptures are attempting to tell. Genesis 3:15 is often referred to by theologians as the "proto-evangelion" or the "first Gospel" of the Bible. What this means is that this verse, and the surrounding context, is the first reference in the Bible to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians often think that the "gospel" is only found in the New Testament, with the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. But we actually learn about the gospel in the first pages of the Old Testament, immediately following the Fall of man into sin.

In fact, Paul tells us in Ephesians 1 that God the Father "chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding" (Eph. 1:4-8). The "gospel" was on God's mind from the very beginning and was part of His sovereign plan. Too often, Christians look at the gospel as God's "Plan B" or something that he had to quickly devise when Adam and Eve disobeyed. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Dr. R.C. Sproul has this to say concerning the "proto-Gospel":

The Gospel is not an innovation of the New Testament. That it is called "good news" may be a bit misleading. We see the link between the words "news" and "new." We read the newspaper to find out what's new. But though there are new aspects revealed about the specific details for the Gospel found in the New Testament there is a sense in which the good news of the Gospel is in fact "old news." It is found in a multitude of places in the Old Testament as the New Testament writers are fond of pointing out.

Indeed the "news" of the Gospel is as old as the Garden of Eden. The Gospel was first preached to Adam and Eve. The Preacher who delivered the message was God Himself. This message is known in the church as the Proto-Evangelion or the "First Gospel." Technically, the Gospel was not preached to Adam and Eve directly. Presumably they were eavesdroppers or bystanders who overheard it. Indeed to the original audience it was not even a Gospel, it was bad news delivered in the form of a curse. The original recipient was an audience of one, the serpent who beguiled Adam and Eve. This malediction—turned Gospel—is found in Gen. 3:14-15 "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."  

There is irony here. We usually understand the Gospel in terms of reconciliation. Yet the first Gospel is couched in terms of enmity and alienation. Christ proclaimed a Gospel of peace, but in Genesis the message is about conflict. As part of the curse God placed upon the serpent, He decreed that He would put enmity between the serpent and the woman, between the serpent's seed and the woman's Seed.

The thinly veiled good news in this decree is found in the divine promise that the mortal enemy of the human race will ultimately be vanquished. It is good news to Adam and Eve and to us that the evil one who led in temptation and fall will not be the friend of fallen people in need of redemption. The enemy of the serpent will emerge as our ally, indeed as our champion in cosmic conflict.

The promise of the proto-Gospel is the promise of victory—it is the promise of One who will come from the Seed of the woman who will be Christus Victor.

There is an ominous note contained in the proto-Gospel. The good news is that the head of the serpent will be crushed, fatally bruised by the heel of the Seed of the woman. The image is of a strong man grinding his heel into the head of a snake. It is not merely that the snake will be kicked or merely injured by the confrontation. Nor will the Seed of the woman merely step on the snake's tail, leaving him to wriggle away to safety. No, the good news is that the conflict will not end in a draw or in mild chastisement. The conflict will end by a mortal blow delivered to the serpent.

But the victory will have a price tag. It will not be accomplished without pain to the Seed of the woman. In crushing the head of the serpent, His own heel will be bruised. He must feel the fury of His enemy, the pain of bared fangs that inject venom. But His is not an Achilles' Heel by which He will Himself be destroyed by being bruised in a vulnerable point. Yes, He will die in the battle, but death will lack the power or authority to hold Him. The wound will be fatal, but not final. His triumph will be complete. The Suffering Servant of Israel will emerge as her risen, glorious King. This is The Gospel in a nutshell.

Knowing and understanding this is the first step toward Christans making a difference in the world. God not only knew and foreordained the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, he knows and foreordains the life, death, and resurrection of each of his children. As Christians, we must not adopt an attitude or thought pattern of defeat. Christ has already won the victory, what can man do to us? We must guard our hearts and minds from the pessimism that seems to abound in modern Christianity and begin to encourage and promote the optimism that was bought for us on the cross. Anything less is a denial of the gospel and the victory of Christ.

Comments

[Eric]

Charles:

Great question. In fact, it is a logically necessary question based on Ephesians 1. The Bible says that we were "chosen in Him before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4). Revelation 13:8 further makes this point by referring to Jesus as the Lamb who was "slain from the foundation of the world." If God's chosen people were in Christ BEFORE the foundation of the world, it stands to reason that the FALL was already dealt with IN CHRIST before it actually happened IN HISTORY. It was not a "Plan B," it was God's sovereign "Plan A" from the very beginning.

[Charles Brown]

I agree with the conclusions of your article about the role of the Savior. Could you clarify something though?

I have heard some Christians say as you mentioned that Christ's dying was a backup "plan B", so to speak.

If we were chosen by the Father in Christ before creation wouldn't the fall be planned and necessary for our salvation as well?

[Alfred J Middleton]

Excellent regarding research, accuracy, clarity and religiosity. I received joy
and a better understanding. Thanks, and
God bless U and yours.
Sincerely In Christ,
Al J