The Gospel in Genesis Part 1

God’s loving and generous communication of the good news began right at the outset of human history. The very first example is given in Genesis chapter 3. In fact, theologians call verse fifteen the protoevangelium, or first gospel.

Before we dive into the passage, we should look at a few verses from Genesis chapter 2 to remind ourselves of the context. God has placed Adam into the garden and told him that he may eat freely from any tree in the garden; except one.

Genesis 2:15-18 (KJV)
15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

So, God places Adam in the garden, gives him a wife, and says, “enjoy.” There is only one rule. Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

As we just saw, there were two trees of special significance in the garden. So, it might seem curious that God did not tell Adam that he was not to eat from the tree of life. In fact, He said that Adam could eat freely from every tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so at that time it would have been perfectly acceptable for Adam to eat from the tree of life.

However, as we will see at the end of this article, after Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God forcibly prohibited them eating from the tree of life. We will pick up the account after the serpent has finished planting doubt about God’s character.

Genesis 3:6 (KJV)
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Adam and Eve were enticed to grasp for godlikeness. Everything about this fruit seemed good to their senses. The tree was beautiful, “a delight to the eyes”. It was good to eat. It was “desirable to make one wise.” The enemy told them that the fruit would make them like God, knowing good and evil. It sure seems sensible.

At this point we might wonder why God ever put that tree into Eden at all.

God is love. He created us to be objects of His love and to have a relationship with Him. What He did not do, and because of His character—who He is—could not do, is create us in such a way that we were programmed to love Him. That is not real love; it is manipulation and control, and it is inconsistent with who God is.

Instead, He made us in such a way that we could choose to respond to His love for us and have a relationship with Him; or not to. The only way we can genuinely love God is if we have the ability not to love Him.

This ability to choose how we respond to God is demonstrated when we trust Him about who He says He is. This is the reason we must walk by faith and not by our senses.

We see the effect of their unbelief in Genesis 3:7 (KJV)
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.

Once the first couple had eaten from the prohibited tree, they knew good from evil. That gave them the ability to judge the difference between good and evil. They chose to trust what they could see, taste, hear, smell, and touch, rather than what God said. Consequently, they broke their relationship with God, separated themselves from Him, and died spiritually. All that was left for them was to live by their senses.

This is the reason we today cannot help ourselves when it comes to judging. Before we born of the Spirit (and afterward when we forget for a moment who we are in Christ and walk according to the flesh) we judge everything. The only way out of being judgmental is to trust God. When we walk according to the flesh, we judge. Only when we walk according to the Spirit within us, can we escape.

So, Adam and Eve, now slaves to their senses, took action to correct things. Notice here that they covered their sinfulness, their nakedness, with leaves. No blood was shed, and we know that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. (see Hebrews 9:22)

We see this repeated in the account of the offerings presented to God by Cain and Abel. Cain brought the fruit of his labor—vegetables. Abel spilled blood and brought animals as his sacrifice. Abel’s sacrifice was accepted, and Cain’s was rejected because Cain’s was based on something he had done (works) and Abel’s was based on God’s provision (faith). Abel did what God required rather than reasoning that anything he had done would be good enough.

Now we move on to Genesis 3:8-10 (KJV)
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

The result of knowing good and evil was fear of punishment. Once Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree, they could see that they had disobeyed and failed to trust God, who had shown them only pure love. This resulted in fear; an attempt to cover it up; and an attempt to hide from God.

The Apostle John speaks about this idea in 1 John 4:18 (KJV)
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

God sought the couple out.

Genesis 3:11 (KJV)
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

“Hast thou eaten?” So, Adam and Eve are clearly in a bad place. They have placed their faith in themselves. They have decided to trust their senses rather than God’s word. There is clearly no way they can fix this. There are consequences to this sinful unbelief. But in His gracious and loving style, even as God declares the consequences of all this, He also declares that He has a plan to fix it.

Now we will just jump to Genesis 3:15 (KJV)
15 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.

Paul Mizzi said, “The protoevangelium, literally, the first gospel, is actually the first revelation of the Covenant of Grace; this was the first dawning of the light of the Gospel on earth.”

Adam and Eve had covered themselves with leaves. This made perfect sense to them. They were covered—by their own reckoning. When each looked at the other, neither could see the other’s nakedness. This covering was inadequate however, because it was the result of their own effort. Despite the fact that God was the offended party, He was gracious and loving toward them (because that’s who He is) and he covered them with the skins of animals.

Not only was this a more serviceable covering from a practical perspective, it also foreshadowed the gospel, in which the shedding of blood would provide the perfect and all-sufficient payment for sin.

The Bible uses the perfect English word to describe this, but it is not a word we use much these days. The word is “propitiation”, and it means not only payment, but complete and full satisfaction in every regard.

Now we will fast-forward to Genesis 3:22-24 (KJV)
22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Sin has consequences and it leads to death. God had told Adam that in the day he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would surely die. So, now that it has happened, why is God concerned about Adam eating from the tree of life and living forever?

I used to see God’s expulsion of Adam from Eden as part of the curse, but I do not think that is a correct understanding of why God did what He did. I think it is important that we look at God’s actions in the context of what He has revealed about His character. It is also important to read the Old Testament, and all of Scripture, in light of the fulfillment of the gospel promises Jesus brought about at the cross.

We know that God is love, and James 1:17 tells us, every good and perfect gift comes from above. James 1:17 goes on to say that the good and perfect gifts come down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. He does not change, so whatever God does He does from the context of love. He is always the same, so we can count on Him to act consistently—even when we cannot understand His reasons. Therefore, it is very comforting that He sometimes gives us insight into His reasons for things.

Given who God is and in light of the gospel, I believe that God was very concerned about Adam because Adam had died spiritually. If he were to have eaten from the tree of life in his fallen state, there would have been no hope for him. If Adam were immortal no death to sin would have been possible. Remember, we have been crucified with Christ. That would be impossible if Adam had eaten from the three of life.
By forcibly preventing Adam from eating from the tree of life, God blessed him and left open a way for Adam, and his seed, (that would be us) to be restored to the perfect relationship with God that He intended when He created mankind.

God is looking for our hearts. He wants us to trust Him implicitly. Our value, our hope, our righteousness, even our life, comes from Him. This is the relationship He wants to have with us.

God has made a point of telling us that He has a plan for us. He has been doing it from time immemorial; right from the beginning of human history. He has backed up His promises with examples of His benevolence and grace throughout Scripture. He loves us and He never changes.

Grace and peace to you.
Larry