Jesus Christ “The Seed Of The Woman”—“The Lord”
CAIN AND ABEL
When the Lord Jesus Christ was on earth He said to the Jews concerning their Scriptures, “they are they which testify of Me.” John 5:30.
In this connection let us carefully note:
Acts 13:29 and 30
“And when they had fulfilled all that was written of Him, they took Him down from the tree, and laid Him in a sepulchre. But God raised Him from the dead.”
Then after God raised Christ from the dead, in His resurrection body He talked with His disciples. Note His words in one of His conversations:
Luke 24:25 to 27
“Then he said unto them, ‘O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? into His glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”Luke 24:46
“And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.”
Thus we see that the Lord’s prophets, from Moses to Malachi, wrote concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven to earth. The first prophecy is found in Genesis 3:14 and 15 where Christ is promised as the Seed of the woman. There is a sense in which all of the Bible, from Genesis 3:14 and 15 to Revelation 22:21, is the unfolding or fulfilling of Genesis 3:14 and 15.
When the Lord Jesus Christ finishes his work, not only will Satan be vanquished and all of God’s enemies destroyed, but ultimately there will be a new heaven and a new earth where dwelleth righteousness.
II Peter 3:13
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
There will be a realization of:
Ephesians 1:10
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him”
PRECIOUS PROMISES—PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE
Let us again note
Acts 13:29 and 30
“And when they had fulfilled all that was written of Him, they took Him down from the tree, and laid Him in a sepulchre. But God raised Him from the dead.”
When was the Lord Jesus Christ taken down from the cross and put in the sepulchre? When they had fulfilled all that was written of Him. The Prophets of God, from Moses to Malachi, wrote concerning the coming, the ministry, the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
HE THAT SHOULD COME—HE THAT SHALL COME
It is interesting to link together a question and a statement concerning Christ.
Luke 7:19
“And John calling unto him two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus, saying, Art Thou He That should come? or look we for another?”Hebrews 10:37
“For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” Note concerning the two advents of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Art Thou He that SHOULD come?” “He that SHALL come.” Christ came to earth once and was rejected, crowned with a crown of thorns. He was judged by the people. Christ will come again. He will be crowned with many diadems (Revelation 19:12), and then He will judge the people. But He will appear again for redemption also.Hebrews 9:28
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many: and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
Christ, on earth, said, concerning the Scriptures (the thirty-nine Books from Genesis to Malachi), “they are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39. “He that should come,” “He that shall come.” According to God’s Word, beginning with Genesis, Christ was to come and according to God’s Word Christ is to come again.
There are thirty-nine Books in the Old Scriptures. Moses wrote the first Book and Malachi the thirty-ninth. Before we consider some of the prophecies concerning Christ, from Genesis to Malachi, let us read:
II Peter 1:4
“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.”
God has made some very precious promises to man. Some of them have been fulfilled. Others are going to be fulfilled. By them believing sinners have become partakers of the Divine nature. We are now relying upon the fact of Christ’s redemptive work. In addition to the Divine nature the Lord Jesus Christ took on Himself human nature (Hebrews 2:14), that believing sinners, in addition to their human nature might become partakers of His Divine nature.
In Genesis 3:21 we read:
“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them.”
Note what God’s Book states in:
Leviticus 17:11
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”Hebrews 9:22
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood: and without shedding of blood is no remission.”Matthew 26:28
“For this is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”I John 1:7
“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, cleanseth us from all sin.”“And without shedding of blood is no remission.” “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
It has been thought by many Bible students that Adam and Eve were saved because they received coats of skin, which spoke of the sacrifice of God’s Holy Son on the cross. There is no definite statement. Their nakedness was covered but there is no Scripture as to whether or not their sins were forgiven, whether or not they were really saved. Their names are missing in the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11.
The first definite, promise of the coming of Christ to be the sinners’ Redeemer is:
Genesis 3:14 and 15
“And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field: upon thy belly thou shalt go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. 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.”
God said, “Satan, you put this first man, made in My image under your feet. I will send another Man, the Second man, in my image and He will put you under His feet.”
Before we refer to this promise of the death and triumph of Christ, let us note that God foreknew, foreordained and foretold the death of Christ for sin:
I Peter 1:19 and 20
“But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”
Acts 2:23
“Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.”II Timothy 1:9 and 10
“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, Who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
In these Scriptures we learn that God had purposed man’s redemption before man’s ruin. He foreordained that Christ should die at the time and in the manner that He was put to death.
But now Genesis 3:14 and 15. “The Seed of the woman” will come. There will be a conflict between Christ, “the Seed of the woman”, and Satan.
Hebrews 2:14
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.”
Also note:
“But this Man after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God. From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.” Hebrews 10:12 and 13.
“For He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For He hath put all things under His feet. But when He saith, all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself by subject unto Him That put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” I Corinthians 15:25 to 28.
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him.” Ephesians 1:10.
“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” Romans 8:19.
“HE THAT SHOULD COME.” Christ was to come as the Seed of the woman. He was to be God manifest in the flesh, the Lord. Note Malachi, the thirty-ninth Book.
Malachi 3:1
“Behold, I will send My messenger, and He shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant, Whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.”
Here we note that “He that should come” is to be the Lord. Now note the combinations “the woman’s Seed” and the Lord in the prophecies of Isaiah
Isaiah 7:14
“Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”Isaiah 9:6
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
So the coming One was to be, and was, the Lord, the Seed of the woman. Hear God’s Messenger speaking in Matthew.
Matthew 1:21 and 23
“And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.” “Behold, a virgin shall be with Child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
Note this three-fold division of the Bible: 1. From Genesis to Malachi. 2. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 3. From Acts to Revelation.
1. Some One is to come. Christ.
2. Some One has come. Christ.
3. The One Who was to come and came has gone back to heaven and will come again. Christ.
In another lesson we shall show how Christ, in His birth, home town, messages, betrayal, suffering, rejection, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, did everything as He did that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.
CAIN AND ABEL
Hebrews 11:4
“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”I John 3:12
“Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.”
The story of Cain and Abel is recorded in Genesis 4:1 to 17.
Genesis 4:1 to 17
1 “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
6 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand:
12 When then tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch; and he builded a city and called the name of the city, name of his son, Enoch.”
We-quote also the record of Seth’s birth:
Genesis 4:25 to Genesis 5:5
“And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and be begat sons and daughters:
And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died,”
As faith cometh by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:9 to 14) Abel must have heard God’s Word, God’s way of righteousness, either from Adam and Eve or from God. Cain heard that God-way very definitely even after he had tried his own way.
In the story of Cain and Abel we have God’s revelation of the right way and the wrong way. Some of the difference between man’s religious way and God’s redemptive way, the difference between God’s righteousness and man’s self-righteousness.
In Cain and Abel we have two men in a field. Now note the record of two men in the temple and two men on trees. In each case the difference between the two men is the blood of the innocent substitute.
Luke 18:10 to 14
“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift so much as unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalted himself shall be abased; and humbleth himself shall be exalted.”Luke 23:33
“And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.”Luke 23:39 to 44
“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying, If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness earth until the ninth hour.”
What was between the penitent thief on the cross and the impenitent thief? The blood of the Lamb. That precious blood will separate the believers in glory from the unbelievers in perdition. The Pharisee in the temple in his self-sufficiency felt no need for the blood on the mercy seat. The publican prayed, “God meet me, a sinner at the blood-sprinkled mercy-seat.”
What was between Cain and Abel? The blood of God’s sacrifice which sacrifice pointed to the bruising of the Seed of the woman. Genesis 3:14 and 15.
As to man’s way of righteousness and God’s way, note:
Romans 10:1 to 4
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”Romans 10:10
“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”Isaiah 64:6
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”Ezekiel 33:13
“When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.”Romans 4:4 and 5
“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him That justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”Titus 3:5 to 7
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
As to salvation by the goodness of the natural man, the betterment of the human nature, versus salvation by God’s workmanship, by the Divine transforming power creating in man a new nature, God settled that dispute in the experience of Cain and Abel. God had respect unto Abel and his offering. He rejected Cain’s offering out of the ground that had been cursed. Note God’s way and order in:
Ephesians 2:10
“For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
THE FOUR GREAT CURSES
1. “Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception: in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake: and in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat of the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.” Genesis 3:16 to 19
2. “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” Galatians 3:10.
3. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: For it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Galatians 3:13.
4. “Then shall He say also to them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, unto everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41.
1. The curse that came when Adam and Eve sinned, when they were driven from Eden.
2. The curse of the law, 2500 years later:
Romans 3:19 and 20
“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law where shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”Romans 4:15
“Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.”Hebrews 12:20 and 21
“(For they could not endure that which was commanded, and if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake.)”
4. The final curse of the place of torment, the sorrows of the second death.
Revelation 20:14 and 15
“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”John 3:14
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.”
3. Now note curse number 3—Cursed was Christ on the tree
II Corinthians 5:21
“For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him”John 19:5
“Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe, And Pilate said unto them, Behold the Man!”Matthew 27:45 and 46
“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?”John 19:30
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head and gave up the ghost.”
Because Adam was disobedient unto death.
Because Adam hid behind the tree.
Because Adam was driven from the Garden.
Because Adam went out to sweat.
Because Adam brought the curse.
Because Adam brought the thorns.
I Corinthians 15:22 to 24
“FOR AS IN ADAM ALL DIE, EVEN SO IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE. BUT EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER: CHRIST THE FIRSTFRUITS; AFTERWARD THEY THAT ARE CHRIST’S AT HIS COMING. THEN COMETH THE END, WHEN HE SHALL HAVE DELIVERED UP THE KINGDOM TO GOD, EVEN THE FATHER; WHEN HE SHALL HAVE PUT DOWN ALL RULE AND ALL AUTHORITY AND POWER.”
The third curse will deliver God’s’ creation from the other three curses. Christ was made a curse on the Cross. Christ is coming back from heaven to bring about the restitution of all things. Acts 3:21.
QUESTIONS—LESSON FIVE
1. What is the first Bible promise of the Redeemer?
2. Why did the Lord, in Luke 24:25 to 27, say to His disciples, “O, fools,” or “O foolish ones”?
3. What had happened when they took Christ down from the tree and put him in the sepulchre?
4. Who was Christ according to the question of John the Baptist in Luke 7:19? According to the statement of Hebrews 10:37?
5. In what verse did Christ say, “the Scriptures testify of Me”?
6. Who was Christ to be according to Isaiah 7:14 and Malachi 3:1?
7. In what verse do we read that Christ, before the world, was foreordained to be God’s spotless Lamb?
8. What cleanses from all sin? What is the fact concerning remission of sin in Hebrews 9:22?
9. What was the difference between Cain’s sacrifice and that of Abel? Why did God accept Abel’s and reject Cain’s?
10. What did Cain do to Abel? Who caused Cain to commit that awful crime?
11. What do the Scriptures teach regarding the place of good works in salvation?
12. What is guaranteed to man by the exceeding precious promises in God’s Book?
13. Why was the name “Seth” given to the son born to Adam and Eve?
14. What curse is mentioned in connection with the exile of Adam and Eve from Eden?
15. What is said concerning the curse of the law in Galatians 3:10?
16. What did Christ become on the cross, according to Galatians 3:13 and II Corinthians
5:21? With what blessing to believing sinners?
17. What does the word “Emmanuel” mean? What Scriptures give the prophecy and fulfillment of that name for Christ?
18. What will God ultimately do according to Ephesians 1:10?
19. For whom is the everlasting fire prepared?
20. What happened in the earth while Christ was on the cross?