What Was God’s First Promise of Redemption?
Genesis 3 is the darkest chapter in the opening pages of the Bible. Sin has entered the world. Adam and Eve have been separated from God, and death has become part of the human experience.
Yet before they leave the Garden, God gives a promise.
Speaking to the serpent, He says,
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15)
Christians have long referred to this verse as the first promise of the gospel because it points forward to a coming Deliverer.
The picture is simple.
The serpent would wound the offspring of the woman.
But the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent's head.
One wound would be painful.
The other would be fatal.
As the story of the Bible unfolds, that promise becomes clearer.
God repeatedly narrows the line through which the Deliverer will come.
He will come through Abraham.
Through Isaac.
Through Jacob.
Through the tribe of Judah.
Through the family of David.
Finally, the New Testament reveals that Jesus Christ is the promised offspring who came to defeat Satan, conquer sin, and destroy death through His own death and resurrection.
At the cross, it appeared that evil had won.
Jesus suffered.
He died.
He was buried.
But three days later He rose from the dead, demonstrating that Satan's greatest weapon—death itself—had been defeated.
The writer of Hebrews explains that through His death Jesus destroyed
"him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." (Hebrews 2:14)
Paul adds that
"the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." (Romans 16:20)
The promise first spoken in Eden continues to unfold throughout Scripture until its final victory is seen in Revelation, where Satan is defeated forever and God's people dwell safely in His presence.
Genesis 3:15 reminds us that redemption was never God's afterthought.
Before Adam and Eve left the Garden, God had already announced His plan.
The rest of the Bible tells the story of how He fulfilled that promise through Jesus Christ.
Continue Your Study
If God's plan was to bless the whole world, why did He begin with one man and one family?
What promise did He make to Abraham?
And how does that promise lead us to Jesus Christ?
Related Bible Studies
What Went Wrong?
The Kingdom of God
The Story of Redemption
The Temple Story from Genesis to Revelation
Companion Video
What Was God's First Promise of Redemption?
Read First. Conclude Later.