The First Thought of Christmas

DECEMBER 23, 2020 STUDY NOTES GENESIS 3:15 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES THE FIRST THOUGHT OF CHRISTMAS INTRODUCTION Our study tonight is a follow-up of the message last Sunday, the True Christmas Story Again, the point is that the celebration of Christmas goes far beyond the virgin birth of Jesus A true celebration of Christmas is praise to God from the manager to the future Kingdom of God At Christmas we sing “Born is the King of Israel,” LISTEN TO THE SONG At Christmas, our thoughts turn to the birth of the King at Bethlehem The first thought of Christmas we find in the Bible is Genesis 3:15 Genesis chapter 3 is the account of the “Fall of Man,” Adam and Eve disobeyed God The first known sin upon the earth was that of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1-19) They also experienced the consequences of sin against God (Gen 3:6-24) Scripture confirms the fact of the “Fall of Man,” Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: There is a song that tells of someone searching for God, seeking salvation Which is not according to scripture, salvation is not lost man seeking God It was God who called out to man, Gen 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? God knew where Adam was, but Adam needed to know where he now was because of his sin Biblical salvation is God’s search for man, that is why Jesus was born Within Genesis chapter 3 we find the first Messianic promise, Gen 3:15 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. The entire Bible is an explanation of the truths found within the first promise to fallen sinful man Genesis 3:15 is the prophecy of the redemptive work of the Messiah, Christ will fulfill it all AND I WILL The righteous God is speaking, the God of love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness is speaking The righteous God must act according to His righteousness, sin must be judged Genesis 3:15 unveils God’s righteous plan of redemption for sinful man, it is an eternal plan Within this verse is the covenant of God’s Grace, the Good News of the Gospel through Jesus PUT ENMITY The word “enmity” has the meaning of hostility, hatred, animosity, and warfare Within the “enmity” is the attitude of opposition toward the righteous acts of God We have the prophecy of a battle, a battle that has gone on throughout all of history We find the beginning of the battle in Genesis and the end of the battle in Revelation Those who are involved in the battle are identified BETWEEN THEE Referring to the serpent, throughout scripture he is given many titles One of the most descriptive verses of him is found in, Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 1 In the beginning he is the serpent of Genesis, he is shrewd, cunning, and unscrupulous In the end he is the great dragon of Revelation, a huge serpent, he has grown in his evil ways Throughout scripture he is the Devil, the slanderer, accuser, and deceiver He is also found throughout scripture as Satan, the adversary, the opposer of God and God’s people Satan is given the title “prince of this world,” Joh 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. “Prince” means “chief” or “ruler,” Satan rules in the hearts of the wicked and worldly “World” means an ordered system of evil which is separated from God and opposed to God Paul identified Satan as the “god of this world,” 2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. The word translated “world” means age, which refers to “a system of philosophy,” the evil age It refers to thoughts, opinions, speculations, impulses, aims, hopes, and goals that go against God It expresses a Satan-centered and man-centered manner of life that is against the will of God Identifying the way things are in our world today, describing the time-period that we are now living Satan is the ruler of an unseen, well organized system, he is the “prince of the power of the air,” Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Satan reigns over an empire of fallen angels and sinful mankind Peter gave the devil the title of ‘a roaring lion,” 1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: He is power hungry, constantly on the prowl, he won’t miss a chance to devour It often appears that Satan is winning the war, and he would if it were not for the fact of “the Woman” AND THE WOMAN There is an emphasis upon “the woman,” it was the woman who was beguiled by the serpent She was named Eve because she was the mother of all living, Gen 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. We will have further understanding of “the woman” later in Genesis 3:15 We read of two seeds, the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman God is speaking to the serpent when He says, “thy seed” THY SEED The seed of Satan includes all-of his followers, Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. The seed of Satan includes the evil spirits, the fallen angels, the demons, and the sinful human race There will be a constant war between Satan’s seed and the seed of the woman There is probably a prophecy within this verse that is often overlooked There is no doubt that the “seed of the woman” is a person, Jesus, the Messiah It is therefore also likely the seed of Satan will ultimately also be a person, the future Antichrist Jesus Christ is the supernatural Son of God, Antichrist will be the supernatural son of Satan Paul identifies the Antichrist as the “son of perdition,” 2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; “That man” refers to an actual human being and not a system of evil influence “That man” is evil, he is the “man of lawlessness,” and he is a man of flesh and blood The Antichrist will be the “Man of Lawlessness” and he will be a man 2 “The son of perdition” literally means “the son of destruction,” meaning that the Antichrist is doomed Never-before has there been one exactly like him, he will set himself up as God, 2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. He will oppose anything and everything that has-to do with God and the worship of God Antichrist places himself in the position of God by sitting in the Temple of God Making a public proclamation, claiming to be God, and deserving to be worshiped Antichrist will be Satan’s man, indwelt by Satan and empowered by Satan, 2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, The final struggle announced in Genesis 3 :15 will be between Christ and the Antichrist HER SEED (THE SEED OF THE WOMAN) Here we have the unusual prophecy of a birth, stated as “the seed of the woman” The concept of the seed of the woman is unique in scripture There is no doubt that it refers to the unique virgin birth of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ Everywhere else in Scripture descent is reckoned through the lineage of the male Every human being since Adam and Eve are of the seed of Adam The genealogies of the Bible trace the line of descent through the male An example is Genesis 5, you will read again and again, “he begat,” referring to the male line “The seed of the woman” prophesies that by the woman and without a human father the Savior would be born, Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law “God sent forth His Son” identifies the Deity of Jesus “Made of a woman” identifies the humanity of Jesus In the Genealogy of Jesus, the word “begat” is found 39 times before Joseph is mentioned (Mt 1:1-16) But it is omitted after the name of Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary, Mat 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. It is omitted because Joseph did not begat Jesus Christ Jesus was born of Mary, Jesus was the physical Child of Mary, but Joseph was not His physical father There are so-called theologians of today who try to tell us that the virgin birth of Jesus is not important The truth is that Biblical truth stands or falls with the doctrine of the Virgin Birth To deny the Virgin Birth is to deny the Deity of Christ To deny the Deity of Christ is to deny the truth of salvation Without the Virgin Birth there is no Savior, without the Virgin Birth there is no salvation Jesus Christ is not God because He was virgin born, He is not the Savior because He is virgin born He was virgin born because He was God, He was virgin born because He is the Savior If He is not virgin born, He is not the Christ, if He is not Christ then His death is meaningless Without the virgin birth the death of Jesus is no more than a martyrdom of a good man The followers of Christ are of the seed of the woman, through faith in Christ, we become “sons of God” Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. To receive Jesus as our Savior is to be placed in the position of a child of God, Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. “The seed of the woman” includes all who are “In-Christ,” Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, Her seed includes those who are of the family of God and we will share in the victory of Jesus IT SHALL BRUISE THY HEAD This is the prophecy of Satan’s defeat by the seed of the woman 3 Satan’s defeat involves the work of Jesus through His first and second coming At His first coming Jesus defeated Satan at the time of His temptation (Mt 4:1-11) Jesus also defeated Satan when He died on the cross, Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; “That through death” refers to the death of Jesus on the cross Christ became man in order that He might die as man and destroy the power of death Through His death on the cross, He conquered death and defeated the devil “Destroy” does not mean that Satan ceased to exist or that he became inactive The word “destroy” does not mean to annihilate or to eliminate completely It means “to cause something to be useless,” the power of Satan has been broken Jesus brought an end to the power of Satan over those who are saved Jesus put an end to the power of Satan over those who would follow Jesus Jesus defeated Satan when He arose from the dead, 1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, Peter is telling Christians that we have a “living hope,” hope that is alive Hope that is worth living for, the Christian life can be filled with hope Our “hope” is the assurance that Christ is alive, 1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. We can look forward to tomorrow with hope, hope does not mean that we know all that is ahead But hope leaves what is ahead to God who does know The final blow to Satan’s head is yet to come at the second coming of Christ, Rom 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. The word translated “bruise” means to crush or break in pieces which is what Christ will do to Satan The day is coming when Christ will break the power and strength of Satan once and for all, 1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. “The end” does not mean the termination of the world, it is not the annihilation of the world It is when Christ completes the Divine plan of God for all things, the redemptive plan of God The full victory of Jesus will be at the time of His return, the time known as the Day of the Lord In 1 Cor. 15:24 “The end” is described in two ways, each beginning with the word “when” Christ will give back, deliver up, or render over to God all that was lost through the Fall of Man Daniel received a vision of that future kingdom, Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. “The end” will be when Christ will put down all rule, authority, and power, 1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. “All enemies” includes Satan, Antichrist, False Prophet, fallen angels, and all followers of Satan All who are involved in opposition to God, God’s Word, and God’s people will be defeated Why will it be that way? “For He must reign,” it can be no other way, Psa 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. God has determined that Christ will reign, He “must be” King of Kings and Lord of Lords The final blow to Satan’s head is described in Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 4 Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. “The thousand years” will be the Millennial Reign of Christ upon earth It may be difficult for us to understand why Satan will then be set loose for a little season But trust God and believe the rest of the story, “It shall bruise thy head,” Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. The bruising of the head of Satan will ultimately be a fatal blow, unlike Satan’s bruising of Christ THOU SHALL BRUISE HIS HEEL The thought of the “heel” is a footprint, Satan has tracked the footprints of Jesus throughout the Bible In the OT Satan attempted in many-different ways to prevent the footprints of Jesus ever taking place Satan attempted to destroy the nation of Israel, the lineage through which the Messiah was born In the NT he attempted to prevent the birth of Jesus or defeat Jesus at His birth, he failed (Mt 2:16) Satan then attempted to destroy the footprints left by Jesus as He ministered upon earth Satan thought he had won the victory when Jesus was crucified on the cross, he found out different Peter proclaimed the truth of the cross in the first sermon of the NT Church Age, Act 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Act 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: The bruising blow of Satan upon Jesus’ heel will never be fatal, but a bruising is prophesied Satan will inflict a painful wound on the woman’s Seed, which includes all followers of Christ, Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. Satan’s battle against Christ and His followers is known as the conflict of the ages The conflict of the ages is not over, the intensity of the conflict will increase in 2021, Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. Christ has given us the life to live today regardless of what Satan puts upon us Rev 12:12 said, “Therefore rejoice ye heavens,” therefore tells us why, Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. We must continue to live by faith regardless of what will happen in America or the world in 2021 Its Christmas, let us sing “The First Noel,” and then we must sing “All Hail The Power of Jesus Name” Listen to the song 5 6