Bible Doctrine Lesson 4

Bible Doctrine Lesson 4

Restoration: By the "Seed of Eve" and the "Lamb of God"

In the previous Biblical doctrine lesson (lesson 3), we saw that God created man (Adam) and gave him dominion (freedom) over God's creation (the earth). In that lesson we also saw that Adam and Eve disobeyed God (sinned) and were separated from God (punished). Genesis chapter three not only tells about the first sin, but also God's plan of restoration.

After the fall (sin of Adam and eve) God makes a promise to Satan, Eve, and all mankind. That promise is about a "seed of Eve" who will crush the head of Satan. The Bible traces this "seed promise" through Eve, Abraham, and David.

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.

This "seed of Eve" later becomes the promise to Abraham when in Gen 12:3 God says "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

In Gal 3:16 the Bible states "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."

In 1Ch 17:11-12 we that the "seed" promise to Eve and Abraham becomes the "seed" promised to David, "And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go [to be] with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will establish his throne forever." (God speaking to David)

The seed of Abraham was not Isaac but Christ. The seed of David was not Solomon but Christ. Isaac and Solomon were the human seed bearers, Christ was the ultimate "Seed".

Also the Bible is full of "parallels", that is the concept where the same thing or concept is mentioned in multiple forms (illustrations). For example in Genesis chapter three the concept of the "Seed" and the "coat of skins" both represent Christ.

The concept of the "coat of skins" (death of an animal) quickly explodes into a "sacrificial system" that provides for a substitute for God's requirement of "eat of tree of knowledge" and die. Jesus later becomes that ultimate substitutional sacrifice. The exodus story of Israel from Egypt starting in the book Exodus and ending in the book Joshua is a picture (type) of the salvation story of how a Christian is delivered from bondage of sin by the "Passover Lamb", Jesus Christ.

1 Cor 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

In John1:29 John the Baptist says "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" referring to Jesus. In the book of Revelation God's Word says "Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing". (Rev 5:12) The whole Bible is a story about how Jesus becomes the "last Adam" and is both the "Seed" and the "Lamb". Sin enters mankind by the way of the first Adam and is purged from man by the blood of the last Adam who is Christ.

1 Cor 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.

1 Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do some additional research on the concept of Christ as that promised "Seed" and the "Lamb of God". This research should increase your understanding how the Bible has a single thread from cover to cover, Genesis to Revelation with the message, "nothing but Jesus and Him crucified".
The promise to Abraham was also made by God to “the fathers” of Israel, Abraham, Issac and Jacob and constitutes the second of the three great promises that God has made.
Abraham’s faithful obedience was rewarded by further details being revealed to him.
Here is an outline of the promise and it’s different aspects:

• The initial promise given at UR – Genesis 12:2-3
• Abraham would become a great nation and a great name.
• God would bless those that blessed him and curse those that cursed him
• That in Abraham eventually ALL natians will be blessed.
• After entering the land God was to show him Abraham was then given the following promise at Sichem (Shechem) – Genesis 12:7
• Abraham would have children (seed) who would inherit the land
• After an example of Abraham’s unselfish attitude, where Abraham gave his nephew, Lot, first choice over which land he could go and graze his cattle on, these further revelations occur at Bethel- Genesis 13:14-17
• Abraham and his seed would inherit the land of Israel forever
• His seed would be multitudinous
• When Abraham showed that he believed in God (Genesis 15:6), further developments in the promise are made at Hebron – Genesis 15:1-12+17-20:
• God makes a covenant with Abraham by sacrifice.
• The boundaries of the land which God would give to Abraham and his seed are defined.
• After Abraham passed a great test of faith given to him by God, where he demonstrated that he was prepared to scarifice his only beloved son, Isaac, for God, the final installments of the promise are made on Mount Moriah – Genesis 2215-19:
• That Abraham’s seed would possess the gate of his enemies (this phrase means to be victorious over them – see Psalm 110:1)
• That in this seed all natians would be blessed.
• The promise was confirmed by an oath from God.

These promises were also repeated to Abraham’s son, Isaac and to Isaac’s son Jacob – see Genesis 26:2-24, 28:3-14, 46:3 and 24:4.

What does the promise to Abraham mean?

The seed of Abraham

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:16
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Matthew 1:1
The above verses show the importance and meaning of the promise to Abraham. Jesus Christ is the promised seed! The land of Israel was promised to Abraham and to his seed, Jesus Christ. How can others share in this promise?
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”. Galatians 3:26-29
So a belief, or a faith, in Jesus Christ and an understanding of these promises enable us to be heirs of the promise to Abraham! As Peter puts it:
“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”. 2 Peter 1:4
The Bible teaches that by belief and baptism, a person is considered as being “IN CHRIST” who in turn is Abraham’s seed – the promise from God is that “IN THY SEED shall all nations be blessed”. Abraham’s seed then was firstly a singular aspect (Christ) but it also has a multitudinous aspect (believers in the promises through Christ), who are as the “sand and stars” for multitude.

The natural seed of Abraham

So what of the natural descendants of Abraham? How can we be sure the promise is not to them? Consider these verses:
“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen (The non Jews) through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” Galatians 3:7-9
“And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” Matthew 3:9
“Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children.. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” Romans 9:5-8
“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” Romans 3:27-31
The above verses clearly show that to be a natural descendant of Abraham is not enough, a belief in the promises and that they have and will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ enables anybody to be associated with them. This is the gospel.
When Jesus is called the Lamb of God in John 1:29 and John 1:36, it is referring to Him as the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin. In order to understand who Christ was and what He did, we must begin with the Old Testament, which contains prophecies concerning the coming of Christ as a “guilt offering” (Isaiah 53:10). In fact, the whole sacrificial system established by God in the Old Testament set the stage for the coming of Jesus Christ, who is the perfect sacrifice God would provide as atonement for the sins of His people (Romans 8:3; Hebrews 10).

The sacrifice of lambs played a very important role in the Jewish religious life and sacrificial system. When John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), the Jews who heard him might have immediately thought of any one of several important sacrifices. With the time of the Passover feast being very near, the first thought might be the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. The Passover feast was one of the main Jewish holidays and a celebration in remembrance of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. In fact, the slaying of the Passover lamb and the applying of the blood to doorposts of the houses (Exodus 12:11-13) is a beautiful picture of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. Those for whom He died are covered by His blood, protecting us from the angel of (spiritual) death.

Another important sacrifice involving lambs was the daily sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem. Every morning and evening, a lamb was sacrificed in the temple for the sins of the people (Exodus 29:38-42). These daily sacrifices, like all others, were simply to point people towards the perfect sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In fact, the time of Jesus’ death on the cross corresponds to the time the evening sacrifice was being made in the temple. The Jews at that time would have also been familiar with the Old Testament prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah, who foretold the coming of One who would be brought “like a lamb led to the slaughter” (Jeremiah 11:19; Isaiah 53:7) and whose sufferings and sacrifice would provide redemption for Israel. Of course, that person was none other than Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God.”

While the idea of a sacrificial system might seem strange to us today, the concept of payment or restitution is still one we can easily understand. We know that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and that our sin separates us from God. We also know the Bible teaches we are all sinners and none of us is righteous before God (Romans 3:23). Because of our sin, we are separated from God, and we stand guilty before Him. Therefore, the only hope we can have is if He provides a way for us to be reconciled to Himself, and that is what He did in sending His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross. Christ died to make atonement for sin and to pay the penalty of the sins of all who believe in Him.

It is through His death on the cross as God’s perfect sacrifice for sin and His resurrection three days later that we can now have eternal life if we believe in Him. The fact that God Himself has provided the offering that atones for our sin is part of the glorious good news of the gospel that is so clearly declared in 1 Peter 1:18-21: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”

nothing but Jesus and Him crucified :1 Corinthians 2:2: Christ, in his person, and offices, and sufferings, is the sum and substance of the gospel, and ought to be the great subject of a gospel minister's preaching, but not so as to leave out other parts of God's revealed truth and will. Paul preached the whole counsel of God. Few know the fear and trembling of faithful ministers, from a deep sense of their own weakness They know how insufficient they are, and are fearful for themselves. When nothing but Christ crucified is plainly preached, the success must be entirely from Divine power accompanying the word, and thus men are brought to believe, to the salvation of their souls.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.