Connect Hebrews 2:14 with Genesis 3:15 regarding the defeat of Satan. The Promise in Eden – Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.” • First prophecy of redemption spoken directly to the serpent. • Two combatants identified: the serpent’s line and the woman’s promised “Offspring.” • Outcome foretold: a head-crushing, fatal blow to Satan; a heel-wound to the Messiah—painful yet not final. • Sets the trajectory of all Scripture: God will reverse the Fall through a human Deliverer. The Incarnation and the Battlefield – Hebrews 2:14 “Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy the one who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.” • “Shared in their humanity” ties Jesus unmistakably to the human race—fulfilling the “seed of the woman.” • Purpose of taking flesh: to die. The heel-wound foreshadowed in Eden becomes the saving death at Calvary. • Result: the devil is rendered powerless—his apparent weapon (death) is turned against him. How the Two Passages Connect 1. Same Adversary – Genesis: “the serpent.” – Hebrews: “the devil.” – Scripture treats them as one and the same spiritual rebel (cf. Revelation 12:9). 2. Same Victor – “He” in Genesis, singular masculine pronoun. – “He” in Hebrews, Jesus the Son, true man and true God. 3. Same Strategy – Genesis hints: victory through bruising. – Hebrews clarifies: victory through sacrificial death. 4. Same Outcome – Serpent’s head crushed → ultimate defeat. – Devil destroyed, his power of death broken. Christ’s Death: Satan’s Defeat in Detail • At the cross Jesus absorbed the full curse of sin (Galatians 3:13). • By rising, He dismantled death’s finality (2 Timothy 1:10). • Colossians 2:15: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” • 1 John 3:8: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” • The cross, therefore, is not merely forgiveness for believers; it is also the cosmic overthrow of Satan’s regime. Further Scriptural Echoes • Romans 16:20 – “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” The Eden promise becomes the Church’s confident hope. • Revelation 20:10 – final incarceration of the devil in the lake of fire; the head-crushing reaches completion. • Hebrews 2:15 – Christ frees “all those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” The victory is practical, not theoretical. Living in the Reality of Victory • Freedom from fear: death is now a doorway, not a dungeon. • Resistance with confidence: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). • Proclamation of hope: the serpent’s head is already crushed; we announce a finished triumph. • Perseverance: trials are heel-strikes, temporary and limited, while Satan’s defeat is decisive and eternal. |
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