The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Two more questions in Genesis

In a continuing discussion about Genesis, two more questions arose.

1. Were Adam and Eve elect? In a recent sermon, my friend's pastor said that Adam and Eve went to Hell. I have always believed that, even though they were the first humans to sin, that God's grace in Christ was also extended to them. However, after further review, the Bible seems fairly silent on their ultimate salvation. Are there any other passages of Scripture that shed light on the issue?

2. On a slightly odd note, from the curse on the snake to crawl on it's belly, are we to assume that at one point the snake had feet and walked? This particular question arose from a sermon about "walking with God" where instances of the word "walk" in the OT were commented on. I can only assume the snake walking was implied from the curse since I don't see the word "walk" associated with the serpent in Genesis.

Thanks,
John

John,

The best I can do for you on this one is to refer you to this:

Genesis 3:15 (ASV) ". . . and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

Genesis 3:21 (ASV) "And Jehovah God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them."

Isaiah 61:9-10 (ASV) "And their seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which Jehovah hath blessed. I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."

Zechariah 3:2-5 (ASV) "And Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel. And I said, Let them set a clean mitre upon his head. So they set a clean mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of Jehovah was standing by."

Okay.... to put these passages all together I believe that God, in cursing the serpent and putting enmity between its seed and the seed of the woman through whom the Messiah would come, I believe it is implied that our first parents were to be saved in Him; the seed (Christ).

Secondly, immediately after the curse was pronounced, God clothed Adam and Eve with "skins". Here is implied that an animal was sacrificed (blood shed) in their behalf and from it they were "covered". I am going to assume that the imagery in this passage is clear enough that I don't have to spend time explaining how this is developed throughout redemptive history.

Thirdly, we move along in God's progressive revelation to the Isaiah passage where once again it is revealed that God's chosen "seed" are clothed with "garments" of His own righteousness, etc. Are you catching on here just a bit, at this point?

Lastly, just before the Lord Christ made His appearance on earth, we read in Zechariah once again the reaffirmation of God in this matter of His chosen one(s) being clothed with His own righteousness and more.

For me, by taking just these 4 passages into account to which many more could be added, it seems to me that Adam and Eve were of the "seed" (in addition to being the start of the Messianic line), that were to be clothed with the garment/robe of God's righteousness which comes through the shedding of blood of Christ, the sacrificial lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.

Sooooo, that's my .

In His grace,

Pilgrim,

I agree with every thing you wrote. When I was talking to my friend, I had mentioned that the foreshadowing of Christ in 3:15 and the clothing of Adam and Eve showing God's favor toward them as reasons why I thought they were elect. I had not, however, made the connection between God clothing Adam and Eve and the shedding of blood as well as our being clothed in Christ's righteousness. I really think those are important images, so I thank you for bringing them to my attention.

John

I believe there might be another reason to conclude that Adam and Eve were saved.


Please note that Eve spoke of the Lord in faith and even though she was quite wrong about Cain, she had apparently remembered God's promise of the Messianic seed.

Denny

Romans 3:22-24

How right you are my bright little star!

There is another nuance from:

Genesis 3:15 (ASV) ". . . and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

And it has to do with 1 John 3.9, and John 15.7. It was the woman's seed which speaks of a virgin birth. But, it also speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration within the believer by the Word of God. Three things take place: Conviction and condemnation of sin, i.e. the curse, and the presentation of the promise, (the gospel in terms of the messianic prophecy), the declaration of the seed in the woman (new birth), and the coverings (external equivalent of baptism). That Eve should bring forth both fruit of the flesh (Cain) and of the Spirit (Abel) should not surprise us since we the Bride of Christ bring forth both, so she fulfills the role of Prophetess also even as Abraham who was justified by what he did after the deliverance of the promise by the Lord.

I also think the fact that Eve is in the lineage of Christ is of utmost importance. The lineage of the promise is unbroken, beginning to end. That His seed remained in Her is spoken of by the same testimony that the children of Abraham according to the promise was in his seed, Isaac, and by virtue of that it is an impute righteousness from the cross backwards and forwards.

Yes, there is evidence from Scripture that Adam and Eve were not only the world's first human beings but that Adam and Eve were indeed the world's first Christians.

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Denny

Romans 3:22-24

I just thought I would bump up the second part of this question. It actually arose in another conversation again recently. On of my friend's pastor stated that we are to conclude that the snake once had legs from the curse. Although I guess we can never say 100% either way, my personal belief is that the snake probably did not change physically from the curse, i.e., didn't have legs to begin with. For example, Calvin also believes the serpent never walked


I guess this is one of those somewhat irrelevant questions, but I am curious of others' opinions.

John

John,

I am of the opinion that the snake never had legs. If one is consistent with the entire passage which relates the curse upon Adam & Eve, the serpent and the entire earth, this particular mention of the serpent crawling upon the ground, etc., is actually rhetorical and not to be taken literally. When the LORD through Moses says that the serpent shall "bruise the heel" of the woman's seed but that her seed will "bruise its head" it cannot be taken literally. For, in fact, what is being referred to is Satan and all the fallen angels (implied) and not the serpent and the Lord Jesus Christ and not Cain nor Abel. Further, the bruising of the seed's heel was actually a fatal blow which brought about the physical death of Christ, albeit in reality a less than fatal blow because He was resurrected . . . but the bruising of the serpent's head is not only a fatal blow but one that will result in eternal death, i.e., a life of living torment in Hell. Calvin also picks up on an important point concerning the serpent being consigned to the eating of "the dust of the earth", and we know that serpents don't' eat dirt! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Although the entire animal kingdom as well as the entire creation suffered the consequences of the Fall, the curse is not to be understood to be applicable to the physical snake in the garden but again to Satan.

In His grace,