1.1: The Promise of Redemption
Chapter 1.1: The Promise of Redemption (Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:14)
God’s First Promise of Redemption after the Fall: The Seed of the Woman
The promise of redemption begins in the very moment of humanity’s fall into sin. After Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, the world was forever changed. Sin entered the world, and with it, death and separation from God. Yet, in this dark moment, God spoke a word of hope—His first promise of redemption.
In Genesis 3:15, God declares 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.” This verse, often called the Protoevangelium (the "first gospel"), contains the earliest declaration of God’s plan to overcome the powers of evil and bring salvation to His people. The promise of a future Redeemer is embedded in these words, as God foretells the coming of the "Seed of the Woman"—one who would defeat sin and evil, even though He would suffer in the process.
The imagery of a woman’s offspring is significant. Unlike most genealogies that trace a lineage through men, this prophecy specifically mentions the “seed of the woman.” This alludes to a future birth that will not follow the usual human pattern of male lineage but will be a divine intervention. This Seed will be the one who will ultimately defeat the serpent, a symbol of Satan and sin. The crushing of the serpent's head signifies a victory over evil, death, and the power of sin. Yet, this victory comes at a cost: the serpent will strike His heel, foreshadowing the suffering and death that the Redeemer will experience.
Thus, from the very beginning, God’s plan for redemption is tied to the coming of a Savior—one who would emerge from the human race, yet with a unique origin. The Seed of the Woman will be born to defeat the works of the devil, inaugurating the ultimate victory over sin and death.
The Virgin Birth: Fulfillment of the Promise
Fast forward to the time of Isaiah, over a thousand years later, when God speaks again of this Redeemer. In Isaiah 7:14, the prophet speaks of a miraculous sign: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” This prophecy is one of the clearest foretellings of the Messiah in the Old Testament. Isaiah’s words are not just a promise of a child born to a virgin, but of a child whose birth will signify the presence of God with His people—Immanuel, meaning “God with us.”
This prophecy connects directly with the earlier promise in Genesis. The virgin birth signifies a miraculous intervention by God. Just as Genesis 3:15 pointed to a Redeemer who would come from the woman, Isaiah’s prophecy narrows this promise, identifying the specific means through which this Seed would be born. It would not be through ordinary human conception but through a divine act of the Holy Spirit, thus preserving the supernatural nature of the Messiah's birth.
The virgin birth underscores the uniqueness of the Redeemer. He would be fully human, born of a woman, yet He would be fully divine, the Son of God. This is the miraculous convergence of the two natures of Christ—divinity and humanity—ensuring that He would be able to fully fulfill the promise of defeating sin and evil. As God with us, He would be the one to bring about the redemption of all creation.
The Promise Fulfilled in Christ’s Birth
When Jesus was born to Mary, the virgin, in Bethlehem, this ancient promise was fulfilled. The Seed of the Woman, foretold in Genesis, had arrived in the person of Jesus Christ. As the angel told Joseph in Matthew 1:20-23, the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, is the promised Redeemer who would crush the serpent’s head. His life, death, and resurrection would ultimately defeat the power of sin and evil, bringing the hope of redemption to all who believe in Him.
In this first promise of redemption, we see God’s incredible faithfulness. Even in the face of humanity’s sin, God did not abandon His creation but instead set in motion a plan of salvation that would unfold over millennia. From the moment of the Fall, God began His work of restoring and redeeming the world, and this plan culminated in the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, the Seed of the Woman.
Conclusion
The promise of redemption given in Genesis 3:15 and its fulfillment in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ is a testament to God’s unfailing commitment to His creation. The Seed of the Woman, born of a virgin, was the fulfillment of God’s long-awaited plan to redeem humanity. Through Christ, God defeated sin and evil, reconciling mankind to Himself and offering eternal life to all who would believe in Him. This first promise of redemption, though made in the darkness of the Fall, ultimately shines as a beacon of hope—the assurance that God’s salvation is certain and that His purposes will always triumph over evil.
