The First Promise

Text: Genesis 3:1-20

Thesis: From our first sin, God intended to rescue us.

Application: In the midst of hardship, patiently trust the God who fulfills every promise.

Advent Reading

First Service: Scott and Angela Hildebrand

Second Service: Andy and Cyndi Mathers

Intro

Explanation of the Advent Season / Sermon Series

The First Promise - God’s Response to the Fall

Foundations of the Biblical Story

The first three pages of the Bible serve as foundational texts for the rest of the Scriptures.

God as Creator

A world made to be good, orderly, and whole

Human beings made in God’s image

Sin as a cosmologically destructive force

God’s response to sin is a threefold response of justice, protection, and mercy.

Justice

God responds to sin with perfect justice. God is a God who:

A. Makes things “good”

B. Makes things “orderly”

C. Makes things “whole”

And through the creation account we see that God has a great love, care, and attention to His creation. Sin ultimately is a rebellion against God and an attempt to take control of the universe into our own hands. This injustice is not only an affront to God, but it taints and fragments the good, orderly, whole world which God had made. When sin occurs, there is always a victim. When sin occurs, there is always damage.

God, as a perfectly just and good God who cares for His creation, will enact justice against the injustice of sin. Genesis 3:14-19 detail how God announces the consequences of the sins which have occurred, consequences which run in line with God’s justice against sin.

Protection

Because sin always causes damage, God limits the human beings’ capability to sin. If sin is left to fester, it will continue to magnify causing greater and greater destruction. As part of God’s justice against the sin which has occurred, God also acts to protect His world from unrestrained sin. As part of His justice, God protects creation against unrestrained sin by banishing the human beings from the garden of Eden. With the tree of life inaccessible, the human beings will eventually die. And their sin will die with them. This act is not only executed as right justice, but it is to protect creation and humanity itself.

We see what happens when sin is allowed to grow over centuries. In the story of Noah we see that human lifespans are again further limited, for when human beings were living hundreds of years, the world became filled with nothing but violence and chaos. Sin has infected humanity, and as humanity grows in power and capability, so does sin. God’s action here is based on love; a tragic scenario in which he must judge us to protect His creation (including us) from falling into nothing but sin.

Mercy

Yet God’s actions in Genesis 3 are not solely justice and protection minded; God acts with mercy. In the midst of the curse, God gives the first statement of hope - the protoevangelium. From our very first sin, God intended to rescue us. God makes a promise that there will be an offspring, a descendant of the woman, who will crush the head of the serpent - the very enemy which deceived humanity into sin in the first place. The enemy which wanted to destroy God’s creation will be defeated.

The entire Bible is built upon this promise. Every story develops with this promise in mind. As each generation comes and goes, the people of God ask, “will this be the one?” Amidst the hardship and difficulty, the people of God are never left without a message of salvation to cling to. This is what Simeon held onto as he waited for a Savior. God through the power of His Holy Spirit, made Simeon a personal promise - that he would not die before seeing the very Savior this promise pointed to. When Jesus is born and presented to Simeon, Simeon knows immediately that this child is the one that all of humanity had been waiting for [Luke 2:21-35].

And when eight days were completed so that it was time for His circumcision, He was also named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. And when the days for their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “EVERY FIRSTBORN MALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been stated in the Law of the Lord: “A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG DOVES.” And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, ato carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all the peoples: A light for revelation for the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. And Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and as a sign to be opposed—and a sword will pierce your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

The Birth of Jesus

Jesus’ Arrival

Matthew 1:18-21

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

From before Jesus was even born, Jesus was given to Mary, conceived by the Spirit of God for the purpose of being a Savior. The Christmas story is specifically designed to fulfill the promise which God had given humanity in Genesis 3. Not only does a Savior appear, but the Savior is completely human, born of a woman.

Jesus’ human nature is a necessary component of fulfilling the promise that God made at the beginning of the Bible. God’s plan was always to save humanity through a human. Though she was deceived, and sinned, and would die, through the God-given ability to generate new life, Eve’s life would eventually bring about a redeemer.

Understanding Typology - The Connection Between Eve, Mary, and the Church

The fulfillment of the first promise is why Christians throughout the entire history of the church have seen a connection between Eve and Mary. Through bearing and delivering the Son of God, Mary plays a role in fulfilling the promise made to Eve. This is a moment that Bible scholars refer to as “typological.”

Typological moments are scenes in the Bible which repeat or develop already established themes. The word typology has the same root as “typical” and “type.” When something is “typical,” it was expected based on an already established pattern. Something which is random, unexpected, or unheard of cannot be typical. Likewise, when we use the word “type” we refer to a group of things which all belong to a larger overarching category. A truck, a mini-van, and a sports car are all types of automobiles. Though they are specific vehicles, they all belong to the larger group. Not only that, but each of these examples represent their own sub-categories.

The Bible is filled with “types” which develop themes across the entire story of the Bible. Here are some big examples:

Moses is threatened as a baby -> Jesus is threatened as a baby

The sacrifice of the passover lamb -> Jesus as a sacrifice for sin

Jonah in the belly of the fish for 3 days -> Jesus in the grave for three days

Priests mediate between God and the people -> Jesus mediates between God and the Church

Kings lead the people of God -> Jesus leads the Kingdom of God

Types often have more than one connection. Often, types develop over a series of repeated scenes/situations. For example:

Men chosen by God to bless / save others:

Adam -> Noah -> Abraham -> Jacob -> Moses -> Joshua -> David -> Jesus

In the above example, all of these men were chosen by God to bless / save others, but the situation develops/changes from person to person. Likewise, each of these men ultimately fail in some way, preserving a need for a future salvation which is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus who is the only one to not sin. Unlike all of the other men before Him, Jesus has no failure, and so He “completes” or “fulfills” the type which has been developing.

All this to say, that typology is a common and important aspect of the Biblical story. Typology is the thread which weaves all these stories together, threads which ultimately find their fulfillment in Jesus.

Motherhood is one of the biggest types found within the story of the Bible. Over and over again, the Bible “zooms in” on particular women and the narratives regarding conception, child bearing, and delivery. See how the theme of motherhood develops through:

Eve, named for her role as the mother of all who would live

Sarah, who was barren until she miraculously had a child in old age

Rebekah, who was barren until God blessed her with twins

Rachel, who was barren until God blessed her with Joseph and Benjamin

Jochebed, who gave birth to Moses, a leader who would rise up against the enemy of the people of God

Rahab, a foreigner who was brought into the family of God whose later descendant would become king

The mother of Samson, who was barren until God gave her Samson, a man who fought against the enemy of the people of God

Ruth, a foreigner who was brought into the family of God whose later descendant would become king

Hannah, who was barren until God gave her Samuel

Bathsheba, who was brought in from another marriage and whose descendant would become king

Elizabeth, who was barren until she miraculously had a child in old age

Mary, in whom her son was miraculously conceived, who would go on to become king and defeat the enemy of the people of God

Mary functions as a type which ties together the ongoing themes of miraculous conception [Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Samson’s Mother, Hannah, and Elizabeth], giving birth to a future king [Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba], and whose child would fight against their people’s enemies [Jochebed, Samson’s Mother]. In tying all these themes together, she also establishes a direct connection to Eve through her role in God’s fulfillment of the promise He made to Eve. For Jesus is the one who would defeat the enemy which deceived the mother of all who would live.

[Mary Consoles Eve Picture by Sister Grace Remington]

Outro

The Christmas story is not a random one. The Christmas story did not pop out of thin air. Jesus’ arrival was foretold over and over again throughout the millennia. While we live in a broken world marred by sin, while we suffer and we wait wondering when all will be made right, we remember that God keeps His promises. God kept His promise to Eve as He miraculously worked through the body of a young girl who obeyed despite her ancestor who had rebelled.

In this season we patiently trust and hold onto a living hope. Our faith is not one built on empty words or promises. Our faith is in response to the fulfillment of promises! Why do we believe that Christ will keep His promise to come again? Why do we believe in the promise of the resurrection? Why do we believe in the promise that creation will be made new?

For we see that God keeps His promises.

He kept His promise to Eve.

He kept His promise to Mary.

He will keep the promise He made to you.