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5. the virgin
birth of Christ foreshadowed after the fall
by God's declaration that Satan would eventually
be defeated |
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 a
person's descendants were normally refered to as the seed of
a man. |
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for
example, Christ was referred to as the promised Seed of Abraham:
"Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He
does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And
to your Seed,' who is Christ." ( Gal 3:16) |
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the
only time a person's descendant is refered to as the seed of
a woman occurs in Genesis when God refers to the one who will
defeat the work of Satan. This subtle point foreshadows the
virgin birth of Christ, as only Christ can defeat the work of
Satan. One technical reason Christ was able to defeat the work
of Satan is His sinless nature. He did not inherit the sin nature
of humans because He was born of a virgin - of the seed of the
woman. |
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in
Genesis 3:15 God declared "And I will put enmity between
you [Satan] and the woman, and between your seed and
her Seed; He [Christ] shall bruise your head [strike
Satan with a fatal blow], and you shall bruise His heel
[strike Him with a non-fatal wound...though Christ was crucified
He rose from the dead]." |
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6. God's plan
of salvation dependent on the righteousness
of ONE person – Christ – foreshadowed
in the life of Adam |
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in
Romans 5:14 the apostle Paul identified Adam as a type of Christ:
"... Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come."
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a
the very beginning of history we see in the fall of Adam and
Eve a profound insight into the nature salvation... the profound
effect of one man's righteousness (the righteousness of Christ)
making salvation possible for the entire race is foreshadowed
by the effect of one man's sin plunging the entire human race
into sin. |
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Romans
5:18-19: "Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment
came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through
one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting
in justification of life. 19 For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many
will be made righteous." |
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"through
one man's offense... through one Man's righteous act..." |
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"by
one man's disobedience... by one Man's obedience..." |
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7. righteous
standing before God based on faith in Christ
alone foreshadowed by the righteous standing
of Abraham before God |
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Paul
used Abraham's righteous standing through faith as a proof-text
in his argument in Romans that we are saved by faith apart from
works: "For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed
God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'" (Romans
4:3) |
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8. sacrifice
of Christ as God's only Son foreshadowed in
the life of Isaac |
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Genesis
22:1-5: "Now it came to pass after these things [after
God promised that Abraham's descendants would become a great
nation and through them the whole world would be blessed]
that God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' And he
said, 'Here I am.' Then He said, 'Take now your son, your only
son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and
offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains
of which I shall tell you.'" |
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parallel
with Christ... approximately 2000 years later God would send
His only Son whom He loved to the land of Moriah
on Mt Calvary to be sacrificed as an offering
for the sin of all mankind – and thus fulfill the promise
of blessing for all nations through Abraham's descendants! |
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the
land of Moriah was the general area where Jerusalem was later
build |
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the
exact "mountain" to which God led Abraham could have
been either the location where the temple was built or the location
where Jesus was crucified. |
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God
referred to Isaac as Abraham's "only son" because
he was the only son through Abraham's legal wife while his other
children came through handmaids. |
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Genesis
22:3-5: "So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled
his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac
his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose
and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the
third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.
5 And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the
donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will
come back to you." |
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Abraham
stated, "we will come back..." thus expressing confidence
that God would raise Isaac from the dead. |
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if
Isaac died then God would have had to raise him from the dead
in order to fulfill His covenant with Abraham: "But My
covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear
to you at this set time next year..." (Genesis 17:21) |
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the
death and resurrection of Christ foreshadowed in Isaac's life... |
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by
Abraham offering his "only son" ... God offered His
only Son. |
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by
Abraham's confidence in God's ability to raise Isaac from the
dead ... Christ rose from the dead. |
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by
God providing Abraham a substitute sacrifice ... Christ died
as a substitute for us. |
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by
the uncanny timing of Abraham reaching the location God specified
"on the third day" after he set out on his journey
... Christ rose from the grave on the third day after His death
in the same geographic location 2000 years later! |
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