A famous Christian author has said that when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree, they were destined to reproduce the fruit of that tree consequently, death and corruption spread throughout their descendants. Yet, God in His mercy determined to reverse their mistake. I don’t know about you, but I love mercy. As we looked at the end of Lesson 2 we saw that the Lord promised the woman that a seed or a man would come forth from her descendants that would crush the head of the serpent that had deceived her in Genesis 3:15. The principle of the seed is a concept that helps us understand God’s purposes in this age and also helps us to understand God’s words to man, which is the Bible.
Let’s take a look at the promised freedom we can have through the seed of the woman who crushed the serpent’s head. The head denotes power and authority so for the head of the serpent to be crushed means that his power and authority would be rendered powerless over humanity through the seed of the woman.
If you have ever lived on a farm or ranch, then you know the principal I am about to explain very intimately. Genesis 1:11-12 tells us that ‘every seed reproduces after its kind. God put within every seed is the power of reproduction. It’s the miracle of life. The seed of a tomato reproduces tomatoes. The seed of a horse will reproduce a horse. The seed of a man will reproduce a human being. God has installed within His creation the power to reproduce itself through its own seed.
Let’s look at this in the context of sin and what I will call the sinful nature. Sin entered the world through Adam and we can all trace our family tree back to the Garden of Eden because Adam is the father of us all. The more scientists study DNA they are coming to the conclusion that humans are very much alike. A scientific study done in 2018 came to the conclusion that all humans descended from the same man and woman. According to Romans 5:12 when Adam disobeyed and sinned it affected all of humanity from that day forward. The penalty for sin was death and corruption which he passed on to all succeeding generations through the reproduction of the seed.
The original man and woman were made in the image of God as we saw in the last lesson, but after disobedience that image was marred and damaged initially through spiritual death. Adam now had children after his own image which was marred with sin. According to Romans 3:23 ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God because no longer was man’s nature without sin like God’s. I ended Lesson 2: What is Man? showing you the promised victory through the seed of the woman or a promised deliverer who would be born into this world, who would free man from sin’s power by crushing the serpent’s head.
God’s promise was that mankind could be free and victorious from sin’s power, but he wouldn’t be able to do it through his own power or strength; he would have to rely on God’s power. When God spoke to Adam and his wife it was a promise or covenant agreement not only with them but also with the future generations of the human race. As I have already said, the seeds of all the major Biblical doctrines in the Bible are found in the book of Genesis. We will build upon an understanding of blood covenant in the coming lessons.
The final fulfillment of the covenant agreement made by God to Adam and Eve has found its ultimate fulfillment manifested in Jesus Christ who is the fulfillment of the seed of the woman. Jesus Christ according to Luke 1:35 was not born of the seed of man.
Jesus did not have the sin nature because he was not born of man’s seed, but He was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit through a virgin and so separate from the seed of Adam and Adam’s sin nature. In Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection Genesis 3:15 was fulfilled.
The Holy Spirit divinely conceived Jesus, yet He was fully human because he became a man through the virgin birth. As a man Jesus was able to identify with our humanity, yet as God He was without sin therefore, he was able to release us from sin’s power. Jesus is the fulfillment of the seed of the woman and it was He who crushed the serpent’s head or authority and reversed the effects of the fall. In its most specific sense, the Lord Jesus has trampled Satan at the cross and made victory from his power available.
As I said in the introduction to this school of discipleship one of my teaching goals is to make theology practical where it changes you from the inside out. True lasting change only comes from understanding the redeeming work of our Creator. He has destined us to be restored so that we live our lives governed by the Spirit of life, in the same way the man and woman had in the original creation. The message of the gospel is the full revelation or understanding of the seed of the woman and it is a message of new life. It is the Father’s ultimate intent to restore humanity through the redeeming work of Christ to our original purpose.
Peter in his first epistle says that new life does not come from our earthly parents because the life they gave us will end in death.
However, this new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God as the New Living Translation. Our parents may have supported us well and raised us with moral values or maybe you had a horrible childhood whose parents weren’t helpful to your life at all. Regardless of whether your parents were good or bad they do not have the ability to give you eternal life. In I Peter 1:23 we see that he makes the comparison between the perishable seed of man and the imperishable seed of the word of God. It is through the message of the gospel, which is divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit that new life is brought into our hearts and we are born from above.
To be born from above is necessary because all descendants of Adam have inherited his sin and are morally bankrupt.
Jesus came to reverse the effect of Adam’s transgression and when we receive the gospel message, the Holy Spirit's power gives us spiritual life. In John 3:3 and I Peter 1:23 this is referred to as being born from above and in II Corinthians 5:17 it says we have become new creations.
The main scriptural passage that we use for understanding the new birth is in John 3:1-8. Let me share that with you. There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Him at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him. Jesus replied, “I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. But how can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked Him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born? Jesus answered, “I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
The new birth is the power of the Holy Spirit at work, totally transforming a soul’s eternal destiny. It is not some religious ceremony based on our own works, which is the equivalent of putting a Band Aid on to straighten a broken leg. Jesus didn’t tell Nicodemus he needed a new religious program, but that he actually needed to go through a new birth. The world mocks us when we talk about being born again, but it’s the foolishness of the cross that creates a new heart.
Jesus told Nicodemus one of the most highly respected religious leaders of his day, that he must be born from above.
Natural birth gets us into this world of flesh. I believe in this text if you look at the context when Jesus says you must be born of water, he is not talking about water baptism, but he is talking about when a baby is born into this world. During pregnancy, your baby is surrounded and cushioned by a fluid-filled sac called the amniotic sac. Typically, at the beginning of labor or during labor your membranes surrounding the baby will rupture. That’s known as your water breaking and once the water breaks then a baby is born into this world of flesh.
However, it is only through spiritual new birth that we enter into the spiritual life of the kingdom of God. This is not something you can do on your own. Only God can perform this supernatural act in your heart. In John 1:12 the Bible says that to as many as receive Jesus Christ, they are given the right to become children of God…who are born not of blood, so separate from Adam's seed, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
As we ponder being a son or daughter of God it is an amazing reality, but it is the truth of the word of God. God has put his very own Spirit into our hearts. We have the very same Holy Spirit that Jesus had, which brings us into a joint participation of all that He did on our behalf.
The power of the gospel is the power to reproduce God’s very own likeness in our hearts. I want to say that again. The power of the gospel is the power to reproduce God’s very own likeness in our hearts.
The gospel is put into our hearts as a seed, but it will reproduce godly fruit in our life’s, if we will keep it planted within the soil of our hearts. We can never be God or even be a god, but we are called to be in the likeness of God and his children. God’s plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. Through Christ we are placed into the Family of God and as Christian’s we are to demonstrate God’s likeness to this world.
The study of the seed is one of the most basic truths in the word of God because it is here that we discover the nature of redemption.
Redemption is a term that is used to discuss man’s death penalty of sin being paid. Because man was bankrupt and unable to pay the price for his freedom, God made a way, as He was promised He would, through the Seed of the woman. The promised one was Jesus Christ, who was born of a virgin and became the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. In the book of I John 3:8 it says, ‘the devil sinned from the beginning... however the Son of God appeared for this purpose, that he might destroy the works of the devil. If we receive Jesus, then we can be free from the power of the seed of the serpent and become part of the family of God.
If you enjoyed this lesson, please go to my YouTube page Foundation Publications and like it so you will get updates when I share new lessons. Share this info with your friends on whatever social media platforms that you use.
Next Lesson: Lesson 4 - The Blood Covenant
Comments