Adam & Eve Were Justified by Faith in Jesus
Genesis 3 is a very sobering account of the fall of man. Because of this, all things are now groaning to be restored to what they once were (Romans 8:20-23). Despite its darkness, it is a startling fact that even in the midst of judgment and sin, God is still present, promising mercy and grace to come. How so? Genesis 3:15 says, “And I will put enmity (hatred) between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall crush you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Many people call this the “Proto-Gospel”, meaning the “First Gospel”, because they think Genenis 3:15 is the first time the gospel shows itself in the Bible. Is it the fiirst gospel? No, 2 Cor. 4:6 seems to say that you can see the gospel and redemption in Genesis 1:3. Even though this is not the first gospel, it still shows the gospel! One day the seed of the woman (called “He”) will crush the serpent on the head, delivering a fatal blow to him. Adam & Eve treasured this promise and clung to it with all their might. They longed for it and looked forward to the day this seed called “He” would come to destroy the evil one and restore everything. How do we know that they longed for it to come?
Follow me to Genesis 4:1, it says “Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, ‘I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.’” If you pay attention to the word “manchild” and the phrase “with the help of” in your Bible you may find some interesting notes. Your center column references or bottom study notes should point out that the Hebrew text translates this verse differently. In Hebrew Eve actually said this, “I have gotten a man, the LORD.” That’s it.
What does that mean? Think about it, Eve knew one day a man would come from her descendants (or ’seed’) who would crush the head of the serpent, restoring all things to how they should be. This points out that Eve (and probably Adam also) thought that this first child they had was that seed who would crush the serpent! So when Eve gave birth, she said, “I have gotten a man, Yahweh.” She thought she had given birth to the Messiah! Though time would show that she was mistaken, we can note that Adam and Eve expressed faith in the coming Messiah by their statement in Genesis 4:1.
Was this when Adam and Eve were saved? Or justified by faith in Jesus (the coming Messiah)? I think so. Martin Luther agrees. He said this, “Adam called his firtsborn son Cain – that is possessor, houselord. This son, Adam and Eve thought, would be the man of God, the blessed seed that would crush the serpent’s head.” (Tabletalk, 7) This is encouraging in one way, at least! It shows that salvation (or justification) has always happened by faith in Jesus Christ, even from the first people ever created! God has never changed how people are saved, no matter whether their looking forward in faith to Jesus, or looking back in faith to Jesus.
