Chapter 6
The Virgin Birth of Christ -- The Promised Incarnation
  In our study in the previous lessons, we saw the entrance of Spiritual death into the life of man. In studying the problems that God our heavenly Father faced in providing a redemption from the Spiritual Death for man, we saw man's need of a redeemer demanded the union of God and man in one person. Man's need of righteousness, his need of eternal life, his need of a mediator could only be met by an incarnation of God in a human.
  The incarnation of Deity with humanity will provide a substitute of Deity and humanity united on such grounds that the incarnate one can stand as man's mediator. Being equal with God on the one hand, and united with man on the other, He is able to bring the two together.
  Again, being Deity and humanity united, He will be able to assume the obligations of human treason and satisfy the claims of justice, and thereby bridge the gulf between God and fallen man.

God's First Promise of the Incarnation
  When man committed the crime of High Treason, he died spiritually. In his existence of spiritual death, his condition is described as "without hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12).
  Immediately God, in his love began to work on behalf of man. Our heavenly Father faced man's condition squarely, for He knew that man's needs could only be met on legal grounds by the incarnation of His Son. His love counted no sacrifice too great that would bring man again into His fellowship. Mercy and truth were met together (Psalm 85:10) and the triumph of love gave to man a promise of a redeemer.
  In His conversation with Satan, God gave to him the first promise of the incarnation. (Genesis 3:15) "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed, he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
  There are four most remarkable statements in this promise: First, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman." That is, there will be enmity between Satan and the woman. This is proved by woman's history. She has been bought and sold as common chattel. Only where Christianity has reached the hearts of a country has woman ever received any treatment that would lift her above brute creation.
  In Christian countries she is the heir of our diseases, and the victim of our divorce courts. Doctors tell us that 95 percent of all the hospital cases are of the woman.
  Second, "I will put enmity between thy seed and her seed." Satan's seed is the unregenerate human race. Woman's seed is Christ.
  Christ was hunted from his babyhood by Satan's seed until they finally nailed Him to the cross; and from the resurrection of Jesus until this day, the church has been the subject of the bitterest persecutions and enmity in the world.
  Third, "the seed of the woman." Here indeed is a prophecy - that a woman shall give birth to a child independent of natural generation.
  Fourth, "He shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel." He shall bruise thy head ... that is the head of Satan. In all oriental languages the term "bruise the head" means "breaking the Lordship of a ruler."
  Man, in Adam, gave his dominion to Satan (Genesis 1:26; Luke 4:5-6). Satan has come into the dominion that God gave to man. He will hold and exercise this dominion until the seed of woman comes and breaks the Lordship he holds over the human family. A man is going to break Satan's Lordship.
  "The heel" is the church in its earth walk. The long ages of the persecution of the church by the seed of Satan is a matter of record.
  This is a remarkable prophecy, and how clearly it has been fulfilled.
  Christ, the incarnate one has come and destroyed him that had the authority of death, that is the Devil, "and delivered them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15).
  This scripture has also found its fulfillment in Jesus' bitter persecution which finds its culmination in His death on the cross, and then in persecution of the church, which is the body of Christ, and which carries out His will on the earth.
  Genesis 3:20 "The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living." The word "Eve" in the Hebrew is "Havvah" which literally means the "living one" or the "life giver." Here God tells man that his wife shall be the mother of the life giving one, our Christ!

Man's Universal Desire for the Incarnation
  The teaching of the incarnation is not out of harmony with human desire or tradition. It has been believed in by all tribes of people in some form. Universal man has craved an incarnation. His spirit hungers for communion with deity, because he was created in God's image with the ability to partake of God's life. This is proved by man's drinking blood and cannibalism, by the naming of his Kings by the titles of deities, and also by making his emperor or king an incarnation of deity.
  The gods of the Greeks and Romans were supposed to be divine and human, indicating man's hunger and acceptance for union with Deity.
  The incarnation is no more difficult to believe than the creation of the first man. Adam was created by an act of divine power; the rest of the human race were generated by natural processes, but this redeemer who is to be born of the woman, is to be formed by a special act of divine power. The one who planned and purposed it is God Almighty and the incarnation is a possibility with Him (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:32-35).

Satan's Attempts to Thwart the Plan of God
  We do not know how clearly Satan realized the plan of God for man's redemption that was given in the promised redeemer. We know that he did not fully understand it or he would not have moved in strategy to have Christ put to death by crucifixion (1 Corinthians 2:8). He thought that the crucifixion was the destruction of Christ's life not knowing the crucifixion and the shed blood would be the means of man's redemption.
  Nevertheless, Satan must have realized the fact that a redeemer was coming through humanity that would break his dominion over man. He therefore seeks to destroy the plan of almighty God.
  The working of Satan to thwart the purpose of God follows two lines:
  First, he seeks to destroy the knowledge of God on earth, and second, to destroy the righteous lines in humanity. Through these two avenues he seeks to make it impossible for a redeemer to ever come through humanity. He desires to separate man from all fellowship with God.
  Satan's first attempt to pursue his purpose was in the murder of Abel by Cain (Genesis 4:1-15). Abel had witness borne to him that he was righteous by offering a sacrifice in faith according to the revelation God had given to him.
  Genesis 4:4 "And Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof and Jehovah had respect unto his offering."
  Hebrews 11:4 "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness in respect to his gifts and through it he being dead still speaketh."
  Satan did not know but that Abel would be man's redeemer therefore he destroyed his life. In doing this he destroyed the righteous line then existing.
  Genesis 4:25 Seth was born to Adam and Eve. Eve seemed to realize that a righteous line had been destroyed and that Seth had been given to fulfill Abel's place. She named him "Seth" which means "substitute," and said, "God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, for Cain slew him."

The Seed of Woman
  As generations pass, Spiritual Death is at work within the life of man causing him to walk alienated from God with his mind blinded (Ephesians 4:17-18). Satan is attempting to make the seed of Woman so utterly estranged from God that He will never be able to send a redeemer through humanity.
  The only promise so far given in reference to the incarnation had been very general. Later on, God makes the promise of the redeemer more marked and specific, and as we study we shall see a specific working of Satan to the destruction of the righteous line named by God.
  Genesis 3:15 The incarnate one is called the seed of the woman, a general term. Genesis 12:3 it becomes more marked and the incarnate one is specified the "seed of Abraham." In Psalm 89:3-4, he is termed the "seed of David." He shall come from the family of David. A family is marked. Isaiah 7:14, makes it still more specific when He says: "behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanual!" He says: "the virgin" just as though he had marked her out. An individual is marked.
  As we study the history of Israel we shall see the efforts of Satan directed toward the seed of Abraham, then the seed of David, and then his bitter hatred in persecuting Jesus Christ, born of the virgin!

Genesis Chapter Five
  Genesis five gives to us the genealogy of Noah. As Satan works to destroy the righteous line . . . God is preserving a line through which the redeemer will come. He is working toward an incarnation. It may be well to read Genesis chapters four and five that two things may be noticed.
  After Cain is brought conspicuously before us by the murder of his brother, his issue is traced to Lamech, who is also a murderer (Genesis 4:25-26).
  The Holy Spirit seeks to interest us in another man altogether, the third son born to Adam and Eve named "Seth" (Genesis 4:25-26).
  In Seth's line came Noah, Shem, Abraham, Jacob and later Jesus himself, as the seed of woman who bruised the serpent's head.
  In order to fix our attention on Seth, the righteous line, the Holy Spirit in inspiration repeats again at the beginning of Genesis 5 the original account of creation, and then gives in detail, the line of Seth. This shows us that His dealings are now with this line.

Genesis Chapter Six
  Genesis 6:1-3 "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all they chose."
  We notice here the marked distinction between the Cainites and the Sethites, the righteous line. The Cainites built cities, invented arts, devised amusements to palliate the curse of sin (Genesis 4:21-22).
  The Sethites walked with God (Genesis 4:26). In Genesis 4:26, the word "LORD" in capitals indicates that the original was Jehovah, the covenant name of God. They who believed and had hope in His promise, knew and loved that name.
  It is well to note that the seventh from Adam through the line of Cain, Lamech, was a polygamist, murderer, and a worshipper of the god of forces (Genesis 4:16-24); while the seventh in the line of Seth, was Enoch, a man who had this testimony that he pleased God, (Hebrews 11:5) and was translated (Genesis 5:21-24).
  In the sixth chapter of Genesis we see again the working of Satan to thwart the purpose of God. He causes the intermarriage of the line of Cain with the righteous line of Seth. This corrupts the line through which the redeemer shall come, to such an extent, only Noah is left in the worship of almighty God.
  Genesis 6:5 "And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every imagination of the heart was evil continually."
  Satan succeeds in destroying the knowledge of God in the heart of man. The thoughts of every man's heart were evil continually. Only Noah knew and walked with the true God (Genesis 6:8-9).
  Seemingly, Satan had triumphed in his efforts, but God Almighty's purpose was not to be thwarted. It was a small matter for Him to bring an end to humanity in its corrupt condition (Genesis 6:11-13).
  If a righteous line were to be preserved, and the knowledge of Himself kept alive in the earth, God must destroy corrupt humanity, and continue the righteous line through Noah. It is through Noah then that the redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, would come.


Click for Chapter 7