Lesson 5: Genesis 13—15: e Promise of Offspring

In Paul’s context, Jesus had already come, so we’re not under the Law anymore. Since He’s come, the Law is no longer our driving force. So how do we know the Seed was Jesus?

Galatians 3:16: e “Seed of the Woman” is Jesus! When we believe in the death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus, we have the Seed, Christ. I have to tell you, that’s the only way we get through life. When you have the Seed, Christ, you can overcome the seed of the serpent anytime. In fact, when you have the Seed, Christ, you’ve already won!

1 Corinthians 15:56-57: Paul explained how the seed of the serpent, death, no longer has a sting. Now the sting of death is sin, the power of sin is Law. But thanks be to God who gives the victory through Jesus Christ. He is our Seed!

Closing

e Seed that is deposited in Genesis 3:15 will become our thread all the way through Genesis. We want to talk about Christ in the Scriptures so that we can overcome the temptation and the sin that was set in place because of the seed of the serpent with Adam and Eve. John Walvoord, the late president of Dallas eological Seminary, said: “A ray of light is provided in the Adamic Covenant because God promised a Redeemer that would come.” at Redeemer is the Seed, Christ, in Genesis 3:15.

The Daily Word

Every day is a battle between the two seeds—Satan and Jesus. How does this battle between Satan and Jesus affect your walk with Christ today? e enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

As you walk with Jesus through the everyday battles, remember the victory belongs to the Lord Jesus; He is our God of peace.

e LORD God said, “Since man has become like one of Us, knowing good

and evil.” —Genesis 3:22

Further Scripture: John 10:10; Ephesians 6:10–11; 1 Corinthians 15:54–57

Questions

1. What was Jesus’ role in creation? (John 1:1, 3; Colossians 1:16) 2. How is “light” in creation (Genesis 1:3) a foreshadowing of Christ? (Psalm 27:1; John 1:5-10; 8:12; 2 Corinthians 4:6) 3. How is Christ the second Adam? (Romans 5:14–19; 1 Corinthians 15:45–47) 4. What/Who is the “seed” in Genesis 3:15? (Galatians 3:16,19; 4:4; Hebrews 2:14) 5. In Genesis 3:21, what did God cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness with? How does this foreshadow Christ? (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22; 10:1–18) 6. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in Genesis 1—3 through the reading or the teaching?

WEEK 1

Lesson 2: Genesis 4—6

Seed: e Gift of the Firstborn

Teaching Notes

Review

Yesterday, in Genesis 1—3, we saw Jesus in Genesis as the Seed. Genesis 3:15 states, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” e fi rst Messianic prophecy was found in the fall of man.

Teaching

For the entire book of Genesis, as we focus on Jesus, we’re going to see Him as the Seed. When the fall of man took place, God still had an answer. It is the Seed.

Genesis 4:1–2: Eve conceived and gave birth to Cain. Some of us get stuck in sin, and we don’t move forward; but Adam and Eve knew there was hope, so they moved forward and had a child. Eve gave birth to a second son, Abel, who became a shepherd of the fl ock. Cain cultivated the land; he became a farmer. Since names are important in Scripture, we should note that “Cain” means to acquire or to possess. A literal English translation would be “got.” “Abel” can be translated as “breath,” meaning short-lived.

Genesis 4:3–4: In Genesis 3:15, we fi rst noted two diff erent seeds. In this passage, there are two diff erent types of seeds functioning here. Cain as a farmer presented some of the land’s produce as an off ering to the Lord, but he held back. Abel on his part gave the fi rstborn. He did not hold back. God saw the heart behind what they presented; He saw their motives. In his off ering, Cain personifi ed Isaiah 29:13: “ e Lord said: Because these people approach Me with their mouths to honor Me with lip-service—yet their hearts are far from Me, and their worship consists of man-made rules learned by rote.” Cain asked, “What can I get by with?” So you have the seed of the serpent functioning with Cain. He was reproducing that spiritual enmity with God. And in Abel, you see the Seed of the woman (the Messiah), the love of God.

is is constantly the tension we have to go against: Do we want to function as a seed of the woman, knowing we have the Seed, Christ? Or do we function as the seed of the serpent, always trying to go against God and get away with whatever we can?

In Scripture, the firstborn is important. Exodus 34:19 says, “ e firstborn male from every womb belongs to Me, including all your male livestock, the firstborn of cattle or sheep.” Deuteronomy 12:6 says, “You are to bring there your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.” You are supposed to give the best to the Lord, not what you can get away with.

Abel was willing to give everything he could to his Father because he realized it was an offering to the Lord. Your life is not yours if you have the Seed, Christ, in you. Yet for some reason we think that each day we can choose whether we live for ourselves or the Lord. Walter Kaiser Jr. said, “God always inspects the giver and the worshiper before He inspects the gift, service, or worship.”1 I want us to have pure motives as we do everything in the reviveSCHOOL. When we do that, God will honor that!

1 Corinthians 15:20: “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Abel was presenting a foreshadowing of Christ as he offered the firstfruits.

1 Corinthians 15:21–22: “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” When you function in the spirit of the seed of the serpent, you die; but when you function in the spirit of the Seed, Christ, you live!

1 Corinthians 15:23–25: “But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at His coming, those who belong to Christ. en comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when He abolishes all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He puts all His enemies under His feet.” It starts with the firstfruits.

1 Corinthians 15:26–29: “ e last enemy to be abolished is death. For God has put everything under [Jesus’] feet. But then it says ‘everything’ is put under [Jesus] it is obvious that [God] who puts everything under [Jesus] is the exception. And everything is subject to Christ, then the Son Himself will also be subject to [God]

1 Walter C. Kaiser Jr. et al., Hard Sayings of the Bible (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1996), 101.

who subjected everything to [Jesus], so that God may be all in all.” It starts with Christ as the Seed. When we consider the picture of Abel, then Christ, all of a sudden, is the first fruit.

Genesis 4:5–7: God didn’t have regard for Cain and his offering. But God effectively told Cain, “If you do what is right, you will be accepted” (v. 7). Here’s what I love about how God works. Even though Cain messed up, God gave him a second chance! If you do what is right, you will be accepted. God gave Cain a way out. All we have to do is humble ourselves and admit we are wrong. According to Isaiah 66:2, “My hand made all these things, and so they all came into being. is is the L’s declaration. I will look favorably on this kind of person: one who is humble, submissive in spirit, and trembles at My word.” God accepts those who are humble and submissive in spirit.

Cain murdered his brother because he functioned in the seed of the serpent. Proverbs 28:13 states: “ e one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.” Praise the Lord for second chances (James 4:8)! Seasons of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19). Do you know how that happens? It happens through the firstfruits. God sent Jesus Christ as our firstfruits. And how is He the firstfruits? Because He is the Seed that we know was the answer to overcome all of this.

Closing

It wasn’t about what Cain gave; it was about his heart condition. Cain was still giving something, but he was thinking more about himself. Jude 1:11–13 warns, “Woe to them! For they have traveled in the way of Cain . . . these are the ones who are like dangerous reefs at your love feasts . . . nurturing only themselves without fear. ey are like waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn—fruitless, twice dead, pulled out by the roots,” ese are the ones who are dangerous . . . they are fruitless.

We have to start being careful of people in the Church. If we want to change culture, we can’t be about ourselves. We have to be about Him! We have to bring the best to the table. e whole book of Jude is about warning people that it’s not going to get better. We have to contend for the faith. According to 1 John 3:11–13, “For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil, and his brother’s works were righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.” We should love one another, unlike Cain, who was of the evil one.

When you have the Seed, Christ, you have love for God and love for others. When you have the seed of the serpent, like Cain, you think of yourself.