This is a sermon series called Origin Story: Genesis 3:14-15, “Hope.” August 9, 2026 You can watch more here.
I remember when our kids were like 3 and 6 years old I walked in the door after work, and my wife Holly was on the phone with 911. Holly was using one of those food processors, got distracted, and chopped off the tips of her fingers. I said, “Hang up the phone, get in the car!” and we definitely broke some laws as we got her to the ER.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the Emergency Room, but they should definitely change the name to “we will get to you when we get to you room.” It’s the worst! For the doctors and nurses, it’s just another day at work. I get it! But, when the doctors and nurses walked in the room with Holly they extended incredible empathy.
In that moment, they conveyed this was a really big deal, they knew what to do, and they knew how to take care of her. That’s a little bit of our context in our passage this morning, because before humanity could move toward God, we’re seeing God was already moving toward humanity. Amen? Let’s look at Genesis 3, verses 14-15:
Genesis 3:14-15, “14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat 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 you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”
We are only going to cover 2 verses this morning! I love that our church family will dig into two verses with me! If you are new this morning, Genesis is in the Old Testament. Genesis 1-2 teaches us that all of creation is designed by Him, through Him and for Him, so that in Genesis 1-2 everything is perfect.
But, in Genesis 3 we see a wrinkle in the story. In verses 1-7 Adam and Eve fall into sin. In verses 8-13 we see a progression that still happens in humanity today as we see failure à shame à fear à hiding, and à blaming. Isn’t that amazing? People say the bible is outdated, but here we are, thousands of years later and in 6 verses we see the spiritual condition of humanity laid bare. That’s so powerful!
In verses 14-15 we see one of the most significant passages in all of Scripture. Throughout history people have referred to these two verses as the “protoevangelium.” Write that down. It means “First Gospel.” In Genesis 3! Just moments earlier, Adam and Eve were walking with the Lord in the cool of the day. And, because of the sin in verses 1-7 Adam and Eve there’s a fracture between humanity and God.
Adam and Eve run and hide, because Adam and Eve are expecting the wrath of God. And honestly, the holiness of God would be just to bring pour out His wrath. But instead, before humanity could move toward God, God was already moving toward humanity. Let’s look at verse 14 again:
Genesis 3:14, “14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life.”
When you see the phrase “the Lord God said to the serpent” we’re not talking about snakes and reptiles, right? We touched on this a couple of Sundays ago, because in verse 14 the “serpent” is talking about the devil. Write that down! Satan whispers lies. He questions God’s Word. He distorts God’s character. He deceives them into believing that life apart from God is better than life with God. Uh, that still how Satan works today!
Scripture is clear we don’t need to be afraid of Satan but we do need to be aware of Satan. We need to be on guard against his schemes! The Apostle Peter writes, “He is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” He loves to discourage. He loves to distort God’s Word, distract from His glory, and deceive us into confusion.
I heard one pastor refer to his ways as the Killer D’s! Discourage, distort, distract, and deceive! Therefore, we must be on the alert. Let me give us some practical ways to be on guard against the devil:
- Commit to a local church: One of the easiest ways to be on guard against Satan is getting connected in a church family. This isn’t about making people feel bad for not going to church. It’s just simple strategy, there’s strength in numbers.
The enemy loves it when we say things like, “It’s just me and Jesus!” He’s like ,”Easy pick’ns! He loves to isolate us from the pack. He loves to prey upon the vulnerable. He loves it when we say to ourselves, “I got to go out on my own. I have to march to the beat of my own drum!” It’s easy pick’ns for him! Amen! (Honestly, I would commit to a church family just to reduce the chances of the enemy coming after me!)
- Get into God’s Word: This isn’t about bible trivia. This is about being able to discern truth from error, and God’s Word is the truth that becomes the lie detector of Satan’s schemes.
There have been so many times in my life when I am getting wrapped up in those Killer D’s. Sometimes, I am spiraling in discouragement, convinced things are going from bad to worse, literally saying to myself, “I messed up. I am worthless. I don’t have anything to offer.” And, by God’s grace the Holy Spirit will bring His Word to my mind and my heart so as to say, “Nope! That’s not true! Your Word tells me I am forgiven. Your Word tells me I am seated at Your table. Your Word tells me You are constantly working in my life through the good and the bad. Amen? But, we have to get into God’s Word, because if not, we’re easy picke’ns!
Come to faith in Jesus: Lastly, the best way to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy is coming to faith in Jesus. I don’t know where everyone is this morning. But, scripture teaches us that until we come to faith in Jesus that we are of our father the devil. (Sit in that for a second.)
We were created in the image of God, but through the sin of Genesis 3 we are born into darkness. We born spiritually dead where we live according to the lusts of our flesh, and by nature children of wrath, BUT God being rich in mercy, because of His great love, makes us alive together with Jesus. He raises us up with Jesus. He seats us in the heavenly places with Jesus. That’s Ephesians 2!
In Christ, we got our own Killer D’s. It’s called Satan being disarmed and defeated, and it’s been declared through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection! Amen? So that, Satan can whisper those lies of bondages we can say, “Nah, those chains have been broken! We are set free! We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to say, “Get behind me Satan!” Amen? Look at verse 14 again: (SLIDE: Verse)
Genesis 3:14, “14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life.”
When you look at the passage as a whole, notice the Lord God never curses Adam and Eve. He curses the serpent. Later He will curse the ground, so that humanity will sweat as we keep and care for creation, but in verse 14 the serpent is the one who receives the curse. That’s so important. It’s not us making our way to Him. It’s Him making His way to us! He’s still constantly calling out like back in verse 8, “Where are you? Who told you that lie? Come to Me!” Amen?
In addition, the physical make-up of the serpent has changed, “on your belly you will go.” We don’t really know what this means, but it is clear that crawling on your belly and eating dust is a picture of humiliation. Throughout Scripture eating dust is never a positive. It’s always a reflection of lament, pain loss, and humiliation, so that the focus of verse 14 is that the power and influence of Satan is being limited. Write that down! Yes, we need to be alert, but in Christ, we don’t need to be scared!
I can’t stress this enough. We’re not talking about an equal fight between the Lord God and Satan. Satan is only allowed to do what the Lord God allows Him to do for His purposes and for His glory, so that again, we don’t need to be afraid of Satan, but we do need to be alert. Amen? So, get connected to a church, get involved in God’s Word, and come to faith in Jesus, because God’s Word is clear, the enemy is defeated. Look at verse 15:
Genesis 3:15, “15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”
The word “enmity” means “hostility.” Write that down, because it’s key to understanding this verse. Up to this point, Eve had listened to the serpent’s voice. She believed his lies and followed his lead. But now, as an act of God’s grace, He says, “I will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman” so that from this point forward there will be conflict instead of cooperation.” That’s His grace moving toward us, so that we need to dig out the importance of seed. Look at it!
Genesis 3:15, “15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”
The word “seed” is both plural and singular. It is plural in that the “seed” is talking about people of faith, but it is singular because the word “seed” is talking about Jesus that is to enter into human history one day! You might think, “Michael, are you making this up?” No, this is what the Apostle Paul teaches in Galatians.
Galatians 3:16, “16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.”
So that throughout Scripture Israel is wondering, “Who is this seed? Where is this seed?” Is it Abel, Noah, Abraham, David? Nope! Who is it? Who is the seed? Its Jesus! I mean, just imagine Adam and Eve sitting there in fear, shame, hiding and blaming. They’re not moving toward Him. They don’t want to move toward Him.
And, then the Lord God comes to deal with the serpent and then starts talking about how He is going to fix it! He’s like, “It’s My creation! I am going to get it back!” Then, when we look at Scripture and it’s like God is slowly bringing this promise into focus over and over and over until, “Jesus!
I mean, just to be clear, when the Lord God says, “Your seed and her seed” in Genesis 3:15, Adam and Eve don’t know what that means. Noah, Abraham and David don’t know what that means fully. The Old Testament has over 300 promises describing that seed over and over until the angel appears to Mary and says, “This is it!”
It all starts in Genesis 3:15 where we see God’s grace being put on display. Left to ourselves, we’re hiding in sin, death and darkness. But God, makes a promise that one day One will come who will graciously awaken us and call us to Himself so that we might be reconciled in Christ, seated at His table, and empowered to stand firm against his ways. Amen? Look at verse 15 again:
Genesis 3:15, “15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Some theologians see this part of verse 15 as Jesus crushing the head of Satan with His heel that was so powerful it leaves a bruise, so that in the end, both will suffer but only One will be victorious. That’s Jesus! Listen to me, we need to see this passage in God’s Word with the conviction, because we live in a world where there are two seeds; one of darkness and one of Light. There are two kingdoms; one of darkness and one of Light. There’s a spiritual battle and it’s real!
Sometimes in life, there are going to be unanswered questions. Sometimes, there are going to be ups and down. Sometimes there is going to be attacks from the evil one. Sometimes, there is going to be conflict, tension, frustration, hurt feelings at the personal level, marital level, family level and church family level. It’s going to happen! But, Genesis 3:15 is teaching us, “We should expect it, but when we are in Christ, we don’t need to become disheartened by it!”
Because in every one of those moments, Jesus is with us. He is offering His grace, strength, hope, forgiveness, repentance, healing, and the promise that one day He’s going to fix it!” One day we won’t see in a mirror dimly, but we will see His glory face to face. The veil will be removed. Creation will be restored, because in Genesis 3 He said, “He’s coming!” Amen? (Worship Team)
Let’s lower the lights. Let’s invite the worship team to the stage. I think the Lord has us here this morning to make some decisions. Some of us need to make a decision for faith in Jesus. If you’ve never met Him, you need to meet Him. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe He resurrected from the dead, so that your life belongs to Him!
I also think there is a chance that some of us could be followers of Jesus but we are playing with darkness. We are treating that lion like a kitten and I think this morning is a time to turn from darkness. We’ve spent enough time playing with sin, lets confess to Jesus and to someone else to as a reminder that those chains of death have been broken. And, lastly let’s take a step of obedience toward Jesus this morning. It’s a step by faith that He created us, He knows what’s best for us. It might be reading Scripture. It might be committing to a local church. It might be something different but let’s make a decision today. Let’s ask for His help to not just hear His Word but be doers of His Word by grace through faith in Him.
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin by the Domain, established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching. Are you looking for a church in Austin? At North Village Church we put Jesus at the center of our church family. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30am, encourage Christ centered fellowship through groups, and host special events such as Bible studies and Theological Training, to ensure that we are rooted in in God’s Word. We also serve our local community in association with several Austin based organizations.
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