Genesis 3:15

Commentary Genesis 3:15

Text (NKJV):
“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.”

1. Context in Genesis 3

Genesis 3[i] records humanity’s fall into sin. Adam and Eve disobey God’s command, listening to the serpent’s deceit. The chapter outlines the consequences of sin: shame, broken fellowship with God, pain, toil, and death. Yet in the midst of judgement, Genesis 3:15 shines as a promise of hope. It is often called the protoevangelium—the first announcement of the gospel.

2. Exegesis of Genesis 3:15

• “I will put enmity”
  God Himself establishes hostility between the serpent (Satan) and the woman. This is not merely human dislike of snakes but a cosmic spiritual conflict between Satan and humanity, particularly the people of God.
• “Between your seed and her Seed”
  The serpent’s seed refers to those aligned with Satan, living in rebellion against God. The woman’s Seed points ultimately to Christ, though it also encompasses the faithful people of God across history. The singular “Seed” anticipates the Messiah (cf. Galatians 3:16).
• “He shall bruise your head”
  The Seed of the woman will decisively crush the serpent’s head. This is a fatal blow, symbolising Christ’s victory over Satan through His death and resurrection.
• “You shall bruise His heel”
  Satan will wound the Messiah, but only temporarily. The cross was real suffering, yet it was not final defeat. Christ rose victorious, securing salvation for His people.

3. Theological Insights

• The Gospel in Seed Form
  Genesis 3:15 is the first promise of redemption. Even as God pronounces judgement, He reveals His grace. Salvation is not an afterthought but part of God’s eternal plan.
• Christ as the Fulfilment
  The New Testament identifies Jesus as the Seed who conquers Satan (Romans 16:20; Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 12:9). His victory is both decisive (at the cross) and ongoing (in the church’s mission).
• Humanity’s Division
  The verse explains the division of humanity into two lines: those who belong to Christ and those who follow the serpent. This enmity shapes history and continues today.

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4. Meditation Guide

Reflective Questions:

• Where do I see the ongoing conflict between the serpent’s seed and the woman’s Seed in my own life?
• How does Christ’s victory over Satan give me confidence in daily struggles?
• Am I living as one aligned with the Seed of the woman, or am I tempted to follow the serpent’s lies?

Prayer Focus:

• Thank God for His grace in promising salvation even at the moment of humanity’s fall.
• Pray for strength to resist the serpent’s deceit and to walk faithfully with Christ.
• Ask for courage to proclaim the gospel, the good news of the Seed’s victory.

Practical Application:

• Spiritual Warfare Awareness: Christians must recognise that life involves spiritual conflict. We are called to resist Satan’s schemes with the armour of God (Ephesians 6:10–18).
• Hope in Christ’s Victory: Even when wounded by trials, believers can rest in Christ’s triumph. His resurrection guarantees that evil will not prevail.
• Living as Gospel People: Genesis 3:15 calls us to live as people of hope, bearing witness to Christ’s victory in our workplaces, families, and communities.

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[i] Genesis 3

New King James Version

The Temptation and Fall of Man

3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

8 And they heard the sound 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 among the trees of the garden.

9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
15 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.”

16 To the woman He said:

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”

17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:

“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”

20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.