The Old Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Mentor's Guide, MG09

/ 4 1

T H E O L D T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

The seminal text of the promise is explained in the protoevangelium , the first telling of the Gospel in Genesis 3.15. Here in this text God lays out the specifics of his salvation promise, including the certainty of hostility between the serpent and the woman and their respective “seeds,” the bruising of the heel of the woman’s seed, and the crushing of the serpents head by the seed. The theological implications of the protoevangelium are plain and profound. Namely, these include the fact that God would provide humanity with a Savior through the woman’s lineage who would destroy the serpent, albeit his heel would be bruised by the serpent. In the NT, Jesus of Nazareth is revealed to be this divine seed commissioned to destroy the devil’s work and to redeem humankind to God. Yahweh’s covenant promise with Abraham serves as progressive continuation of God’s divine promise for a Savior. In the covenant with Abraham, this promise is specified to be the seed of Abraham who would bring redemption and restoration not only to God’s people (Abraham’s descendants), but blessing to the nations of the earth as well. In the NT, Jesus of Nazareth is declared to be the seed of Abraham, the one through whomAbraham, his descendants, and the all the families of the earth would be blessed.

1

I Find My Lord in the Bible

I find my Lord in the Bible, wherever I chance to look, He is the Theme of the Bible, the center and heart of the Book; He is the Rose of Sharon, he is the Lily fair, Where ever I open my Bible, the Lord of the Book is there. He, at the Book’s beginning, gave to the earth its form, He is the Ark of shelter, bearing the brunt of the storm The Burning Bush of the desert, the Budding of Aaron’s Rod, Where ever I look in the Bible, I see the Son of God.