First Sunday in Lent (2025)

Good News from the Beginning:

The Gospel in Genesis

The Good News of a Savior Who Conquers Evil

Genesis 3:14–15 NASB95

The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat 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 you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

In the 20th century, World War I was called 'the war to end all wars.' Nations fought fiercely only to realize that peace must be sought through cooperation and understanding. Just like in Genesis 3:15, where God proclaimed a cosmic battle between good and evil, we learn that genuine peace comes through the victory of Christ, who conquered sin and death, ensuring that our struggles today are not in vain but part of a divine mission.

This morning’s Scripture from Genesis, our Lord gives us the good news of the real “war to end all wars.” This week’s Good News from the beginning is that war has indeed been fought—and the outcome is certain, because the decisive victory has already been won.

Ash Wednesday began a preaching series that continues today and through all the Sundays in Lent. The series is entitled: “The Gospel in Genesis—Good News from the Beginning.” Today’s thoughts will be directed toward “THE GOOD NEWS OF A SAVIOR, WHO CONQUERS EVIL.”

In a fun story from a local park, a dad helped his son conquer his fear of the big slide. With a grin on his face, the dad said, 'Don’t worry, I’ve got you!' After the first exhilarating ride down, the boy couldn’t stop laughing. Jesus tells us in Genesis 3:15 that He’s got us too—holding our hands as we face the slides of life! With Him, we can boldly approach every challenge with glee, knowing we’re never alone in our journeys. Because…

Jesus Christ Has Won the Victory over All Our Enemies for Us.

I. A War in Heaven…

…began when one of the angels whom God had created good and holy was not content to remain in the blessed estate God had given him. Instead, he rose up in rebellion against God—and as a result, he and his fellow rebel angels were cast out of heaven. The war between good and evil had begun—not because God wanted it, but because the war had been brought to him.

The fallen angel who had led that rebellion—known as Satan—expanded the war to another front by bringing it to earth. Up to that time, everything in this creation had been “very good”; it was perfect. Adam and Eve—the first of mankind—had been at peace with each other, and they had enjoyed the perfect peace of unobstructed fellowship with the Lord their God. But evil could not stand to see such love and peace, so Satan invaded God’s good creation.

Concealing himself in the form of a serpent, Satan came to the garden and took aim directly at Adam and Eve’s rela­tion­ship with the Lord. Through his subtle questions, sug­ges­tions, and lies, he invited them to question whether they could believe what God had said to them and therefore to question also God’s love for them. Satan led them to believe that God was not caring for them but was holding them back. If they were to eat of the one tree of which God had told them not to eat, the serpent said, they would not die as God had warned; instead, they would then be just like God themselves.

Soon the woman followed Satan into doubt and discontent—with her husband who was with her, and their battle with the devil was already lost. And as they ate of the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened, and they saw that this was no longer the paradise they had known. The peace that had been between Adam and Eve and between God and mankind was no more.

The war that had begun in heaven had come to earth. God’s good creation, which he had intended to be a paradise for us to enjoy, had by sin been turned into a battlefield.

II. The Lord Illustrates how Victory will be won.

At this point, with that battle lost, it might have appeared that the tide of the whole war between good and evil had turned. But Satan had very little time to savor the moment before his celebration was cut short. Having confronted Adam and Eve with their sin, the Lord then turned to Satan and addressed him.

Directed to the serpent that had served as Satan’s mouthpiece:

Genesis 3:14 NASB95

The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life;

Though spoken to the serpent that Satan had used, those words were also a message to Satan himself. From that time on, the low status of a serpent would serve as a stark depiction of the low status of Satan, and the picture of a serpent eating dust would serve as a preview of the eventual defeat of Satan.

Next, the Lord spoke more specifically about Satan’s defeat as he gave an overview of the course this war would take. The Lord said to Satan:

Genesis 3:15 NIV84

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Here the Lord promises that the coming Christ will be victorious over Satan. In the Bible, we see three phases in God’s gracious work that culminate in this victory.

First, God would put enmity between Satan and the woman. Satan had deceived and led Eve away from the Lord, but the Lord would graciously draw her back to his side. In this way, the Lord would begin his work of reversing the damage Satan had done. Completing that work would take time, though.

In the second phase of the conflict described by the Lord, he would put enmity between Satan’s offspring and the woman’s offspring. All humanity will physically descended from Eve. Some people, in their opposition to the Lord, will reject the Lord and his Kingdom, thereby actually bearing more resemblance to Satan, and so they could be described as his offspring. Others, though, would share Eve’s faith and so would be her offspring not only by descent but in a spiritual sense as well. Satan’s offspring (all unbelievers down through time) would oppose the faithful offspring of Eve (all believers down through time) but the Lord would at all times preserve on earth a faithful remnant of believers.

And from that faithful remnant would eventually come one specific Offspring in whom the third and climactic phase of conflict would come to fulfillment. That one specific Offspring of the woman would engage Satan directly in battle. He would crush Satan’s head, and Satan would strike his heel. Though it would come at a painful cost, that promised Offspring—the promised Seed—would emerge victorious. Satan would go down in defeat. And the war would be over.

III. Christ Jesus is the Victor

Christ Won the Decisive Battle on the Cross and will Finalize His Victory on the Last Day. Exactly as the Lord promised this war would go, so it has gone.

First, the Lord did establish enmity between Satan and Eve by drawing her to faith. That faith shines through in the fourth chapter of Genesis, as Eve gives birth to her firstborn son and gratefully glorifies God for that gift, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord” (Genesis 4:1).

In this son—Cain—we see the beginning of the second stage of conflict foretold by the Lord. As Cain slew his faithful brother Abel, the conflict between Satan’s offspring and Eve’s offspring was clearly underway—a conflict that then continued, generation after generation.

Finally, and most importantly, the third and climactic phase of conflict foretold by the Lord also came to fulfillment. One who was born of a woman went head-to-head in battle against Satan.

This promised One is Jesus Christ—true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the virgin Mary. This promised Son came to redeem us—to set us free from the powers of sin, death, and devil. In John’s first epistle, he put it this way:

1 John 3:8 NASB95

The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

And how did he destroy the devil’s work and set us free? By redeeming us with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death, Jesus secured our freedom. By paying for our sins in full and reconciling us to the Father, Jesus took away the devil’s right to lay any claim on us. He destroyed the devil’s power. The author of Hebrews put it this way:

Hebrews 2:14–15 ESV

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

As the Lord had said would happen, that victory came at a tremendous cost to our Redeemer, as that serpent Satan struck him a cruel, painful, and deadly blow. But in his very death, Jesus, the promised Seed, utterly defeated Satan by saving all of us from him. He crushed the serpent’s head. He proclaimed that victory to the defeated powers of darkness in his descent to hell, and he publicly demonstrated that victory in his victorious resurrection from the dead.

That does, though, raise some significant questions. If Jesus has already won the victory over the devil for us, why do we still see the influence of the devil today, and why does God call on us in Scripture to be sober-minded and watchful, resisting the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8–9)? Why does it feel like the war is not over, and why does it often feel like we’re not faring so well in the battles we face daily in our hearts and lives?

Well, in his death and resurrection, Christ has already dealt Satan the decisive, fatal blow that guarantees the outcome of the war. But the war won’t come to its final completion until Judgment Day, when Christ’s victory will be complete. Meanwhile, we live in the gap between the “already” and the “not yet”—the period when the decisive battle has already been won but the fighting is not yet over; Satan and his forces will fight until the bitter end.

As we wait, though, we do so with full assurance of the final result. Though life can feel like a battle as we continue struggling against the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature, we know how it all ends. We know that, in the end, we win because Christ has won the victory for us, and he shares his victory with us. By God’s grace, through faith in Christ Jesus, victory is ours.

Looking back to World War I we know it didn’t live up to its billing as “the war to end all wars.” But looking back to the victory Christ won for us on the cross, we see the good news that Christ has overcome all our enemies in the true “war to end all wars”—and that because of him, a life without war is not just a dream. It is an assured reality that we will one day experience—all because of the victorious Christ.

“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:57). Amen.

PS - If you would like to read ahead, next Sunday we will be in Genesis 6 under the theme: The Good News of a Savior Who Gives Us a New Beginning

——————————————

Prayer of the Church

First Sunday in Lent

9 March 2025

Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

Lord Most High, You are the dwelling place of Your people. Be our refuge for the sake of Christ, who suffered temptation and death for our redemption. Preserve us from every evil and plague, and strengthen us in faith, that we may be satisfied with Your salvation. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

God of all nations, You make no distinction between Jew and Greek, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Protect and provide for the missionaries of Your Church as they proclaim the Word of faith and bring it near to all who will hear, so that more would confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that You raised Him from the dead. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord of all, You bestow Your riches on all who call upon You. Bless parents with all wisdom as they teach their children Your ways—especially those children who are struggling—that all in the household may confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Almighty God, govern the kingdoms of this world according to Your holy and gracious will. Protect authorities from every temptation of the devil, who falsely claims sovereignty over them. Equip them to curb what is evil and promote what is good. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

God of all mercy, You answer those who call upon You. Hear our prayers for all people in need of healing and restoration especially Barry Bohannon, Dale Livdahl, Tom Weiss. Be with them in their trouble, and rescue them according to Your gracious will. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

O Lord, everyone who believes that Jesus is Lord will not be put to shame. Unite Your people in a right confession of Your Word, and free them from disagreement over Your truth. Bring us with penitent hearts to receive the great riches of Your Son’s body and blood. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord God, as You brought Your people to the Promised Land and gave them an inheritance of abundance, so You give us all that we have. Preserve us from greed, and grant us thankful hearts to declare Your goodness and gladly support what You will. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

O God, whose strength is made perfect in weakness, put to death in us all vices and so strengthen us by Your grace that by the innocence of our lives and the constancy of our faith, even unto death, we may glorify Your holy name. We pray especially for our youth who are away enjoying themselves on a ski trip. Keep them safe, and by your Holy Spirit, help them to grow in the grace and knowledge of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord God, heavenly Father, see how the adversary continually afflicts us and walks about as a roaring lion seeking to devour us. We implore You for the sake of the suffering and death of Your Son, Jesus Christ, to help us by the grace of the Holy Spirit and strengthen our hearts by Your Word, that our enemy would not prevail over us, but instead that we may abide evermore in Your grace and be preserved to life everlasting; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Our Father…