And I will put
enmity between
you and the woman,
and between your seed
and her Seed;
He shall bruise
your head,
and you shall
bruise His heel.'
Genesis 3:15
The above Scripture is one of familiarity for most all Christians. Allow me to give some thought in regards to this verse. First it is a prophecy and as most all prophecies do, it has a double meaning: one meaning applies to Eve and her children that there would be enmity between her seed, her children, and his seed. Who then is the one spoken about as to his seed? It is the Serpent, the Devil, Satan, and is it not true that there is great enmity between those who desire to follow the God of the Bible and those who do not? Yes! Secondly, this prophecy refers to another one as so mentioned in the verse that the Serpent would bruise the heel of one of her seed. Paul aids us: "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen" (Romans 16:20). Paul point to the fact that her seed is Jesus Christ. Then the prophecy adds that her seed would bruise the head of the Serpent, this is confirmed by John in the Revelation: "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast tot he earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Revelation 12:9). It is plain and clear from all other prophecies, and from the presence and events surrounding the Person of Jesus Christ that He was the promised "seed" and that He is the Savior. Jesus Christ revealed in every dimension, above in heaven, in creation on earth by means of the Incarnation, even to the very depths, that is in Hades, the common grave of mankind, in the breadth of His work proclaimed throughout the world that all things have been filled with the knowledge of God.
Why did not Jesus Christ offer His sacrifice immediately when He came to earth? That is a good question. I might add that I am glad He didn't for if He did, would I be here to live and write this blog? Some might admit that that would have been a good thing! Ha! Seriously, if He had done such a thing upon His arrival in the Incarnation and had surrendered His body to death, then be raised from that death immediately, all this to have been done upon His appearance on earth as a man, He would have ceased to be and object of our senses. Instead, He lived among men in His human body and let Himself be seen in it, doing acts and giving signs that showed Him not only to be man, but also God, the Word, the promised one given to Eve.
There are two things that the Savior did for us by becoming man: first, He banished death from us and made us anew. Secondly, He is invisible and imperceptible as God in heaven, yet, through His words He revealed visibly Himself as the Word of the Father, the Ruler and King of the whole creation. When we examine this paradox we find that Jesus Christ was not hedged in by His body. His presence in the body did not prevent His being present elsewhere as well. Far too often we make Jesus to be a separate being by the fact that He was in a human body placing Him to be only here on earth. We forget that He was God, the Second Person of the Godhead, and this association with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the Godhead did not split Him apart by becoming flesh. As man He resided on earth, and as God He remains in heaven as well, He is God and He is everywhere at all times, God, and has never separated Himself as the Second Person to be a separate being. He came to earth, took on human flesh for the purpose and design of the end by the Father, by the counsel of the Godhead. When Jesus Christ moved His body, He did not cease to direct the universe by His Mind and might. As the word of God, God Himself in the Second Person, the truth is that in Himself He contained all things. Was He not the creator of the Universe? Yes! I will list a few things that pertain to the Incarnation, the Savior.
1. He is present everywhere, yet, is distinct in being from it.
2. He is ordering and directing, giving life to all.
3. He is containing all yet He Himself, is not contained.
4. He exists with the Father, He is the same essence as the Father, in this life He is demonstrating the Son of God.
5. Existing in a human body, a body to which He gives life, He is still the source of all life to all the universe.
6. he is present in every part of it,yet is outside the whole.
7. He is revealed both through the works of His body, and through His activity in the world.
By means of this evidence, these facts, is He not to be worshiped? Yes! And as I presented before, He is to be worshiped according to that which is appropriated to God for He is God. We worship Him in spirit and truth. Yes, our senses are enlivened, we are conscious of our heart rejoicing in the fact that God, by means of the Son, the Incarnation, saved, but there is no appropriateness when worship is only touching our senses giving a false impression that we are doing that which is holy and appropriate when the Bible does not reveal, it is His revelation to us, that method of worship. Prayer, read His word, apply His word to our lives, our worship is not in some form of gyration, or outbursts, such as barking like dogs, falling on the ground rolling around as if crazy, these are appealing to our senses but not appropriate for worship to our God, our Savior. May we always be reminded, to call oneself a Christian is to live as a Christian, no matter what, for what can be done to the children of God? Death? Ha! Kill us, we go to heaven. But fear the one who can not only kill the soul, but can limit the children of God in applying the Scriptures to our lives.
O LORD, the hope
of Israel,
all who forsake You
shall be ashamed.
Those who depart
from Me shall be
written in the earth,
because they have
forsaken the LORD,
the fountain of
living waters.
Jeremiah 17:13
As A Christian Do Not Be Ashamed
Richard L. Crumb
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