This week’s Scripture for the Week passage is taken from the book of Genesis. Most probably the incident described in the passage took place at least six thousand (6,000) years ago, and it was revealed to Moses about three thousand five hundreds (3500) years ago and he wrote it down upon God’s command, so that we can be warned against the craftiness of the devil and take precautions to protect ourselves against all kinds of temptations that leads us away from God. Jesus defended Himself against Satan’s temptation in the wilderness using the Scripture at the right time (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). The underlying fact is that this prophetical passage (Genesis 3:15) gives the first-ever hint regarding the coming of Jesus Christ.

Although the life and ministry of Jesus Christ is the central theme of the New Testament, His ministry neither started with His descension into the earth in the form of a human being nor ended after His ascension to heaven but His never-ending ministry started in the timeless past and will continue for ever and ever in eternity. He, along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, planned and executed everything together from the beginning (whenever it is). This is evident when we read/study the Scripture thoroughly, especially the gospel according to John 1:1-5, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:1-5).

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:15-17).

According Genesis 1:1-25, God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them (living and non-living). As God was about to complete His creation work, God said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness (Genesis 1:26a). So, as the last of all His creation works, God created human beings; and He created them in His own image and likeness, as stated in Genesis 1:27 So, God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. The human beings whom God created were perfectly fine and kept a continuous fellowship with their Creator God until the serpent deceived them. The serpent here represents either the Satan/devil who took the form of a serpent or Satan used the serpent as his agent to deceive the woman (Eve). In either way, in Hebrew, the term שָׂטָן shtn (śāṭān) is closely connected with the English term adversary, accuser, or slanderer. In the Scripture, Satan is known under several titles, and just a few of those titles are mentioned here for our information: the great dragon, the ancient serpent, the devil and many more (Matthew 4:10; 2 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 4:27; Revelation 12:9; 20:2).

Genesis 3:1 states that Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. As time passed, the serpent, in a clever and deceitful way, initiated a conversation with the woman (Eve) who was all alone going around and collecting fruits for food for herself and her husband Adam from the garden where God placed them to live in (Genesis 2:15-17). The serpent took advantage of the situation and she easily yielded to devil’s will by answering his questions one after another. At the end of the conversation, the serpent tempted Eve as she failed to resist the serpent’s convincing arguments and she saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it (Genesis 3:6). Thus, both Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating the fruit that God prohibited them from eating (Genesis 2:16-17). It was too late by the time they realized that the serpent was lying to them and misleading them with all wrong statements. The moment they disobeyed God’s command by eating the forbidden fruit, sin entered the world and began to reign over every man and woman. Ever since this event, the world became polluted with sin. Adam and Eve even failed to understand that they were accountable to God in all circumstances – good or bad (Ecclesiastes 12:14; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

Due to their disobedience of God’s commands, God punished both Adam (Genesis 3:17-19) and Eve (Genesis 3:16), as well as the serpent (Genesis 3:14) and put enmity between the serpent and the woman; and between the serpent’s offspring and the woman’s offspring. As a result, He (the woman’s offspring) will crush the serpent’s head, and the serpent (Satan/devil) will strike His heel (Genesis 3:15). When, we, the New Testament believers, look back in history, we can be assured that Jesus already defeated sin, death, and Satan on the cross of calvary (refer: Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 15:54-56; Colossians 2:15). Yet, the conflict between good and evil will continue until Jesus Christ (the Son of God) defeats Satan and his army completely at the end of the age (1 John 3:8b; Revelation 20:7-10).

Since the serpent caused Eve to sin, God said to the serpent, 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 (Genesis 3:15). Satan is working hard to mislead the entire human race even to this day. The same strategy the serpent used to deceive Eve in the garden of Eden is being still used by the Satan to deceive men and women of all ages. However, God promised an eternal hope for humanity through His Son Jesus Christ (John 3:16). In Genesis 3:15, after Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command by eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17), we read a promise concerning the seed of the woman, which is stated in 1 John 3:8b, the reason the Son of God (Jesus Christ) appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

In view of the fact that because of the existence of sin in the world, humanity is divided into groups: the righteous and the unrighteous. The righteous always care for themselves as well as for others, but the unrighteous only care for themselves and no one else. Apostle Paul wrote,

To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism (Romans 2:7-11).

Due to the co-existence of good and evil in the present age, the righteous and unrighteous often clash with one another. How do we identify who is righteous and who is unrighteous? Definitely, we can identify who is righteous and who is unrighteous by observing one’s words and deeds. According to 1 John 3:7b-8a, the one who does what is right is righteous, just as He [God] is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. This shows that the devil sins and those who sin are his disciples.  The Son of God came down to this earth to destroy the devil’s work. Remember what the demon possessed person told Jesus: What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24).

Thus, the purpose of Jesus’ coming is clearly specified in 1 John 3:8b, which states that The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. This is what exactly God foretold in Genesis 3:15, the Son of God came down from heaven to earth to destroy the devil’s work. So, we have hope to survive, we have hope to live, and we have hope to have life. Elsewhere, Jesus said, … I have come that they [you] may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10b). Since, the Son of God appeared to destroy the devil’s work (1 John 3:8b) and give us a new life (John 10:10b), we are a new creation as Apostle Paul stated that If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-18a).