Faith That Claims the Promise

Actually Genesis 3:15 is often referred to as the Protoeuengelion or the first Gospel. Here begins, like a little stream, a trickle of the gospel message flowing down from the mount of God's promises. We see the promise of a Savior who will come into our battle against Satan and will deal him a mortal blow to the head even while the heel that crushes him is bitten and bruised… We now know what was to be the manner of that bruising. That heel is to be pierced with nails upon a cross. In this passage in Genesis we get our first glimpse of the suffering Savior and the conquering Champion of our faith; Jesus Christ.

Now remember that on the night that the Lord Jesus was born; for the very first time, human beings caught sight of this champion who had been promised to Adam and Eve so long before. The baby that Mary held was the long awaited, great hope of the human race. His coming to be born, the unique seed, of a woman (a virgin), was promised shortly after the fall of man and woman in sin. The Lord Jesus was born to battle and overcome the serpent, Satan. And He was born to bring about Satan's crushing destruction. This is the promise of the protoeuongelion – the first gospel.