The Promised Skull-Crusher Revealed by Farther Steps
by Dan Morley
The young man’s answer was quiet and mumbled, but certainly honest and transparent: “No… I don’t believe in God.” I followed up his answer by asking what he thought Christianity was all about. “Moral living” was his reply. While I initially found his answer bewildering, sadly I shouldn’t have been surprised. The pastor of that church had been preaching through the book of Exodus for some time when I inquired why he was not preaching Christ and the gospel. His answer was concise and direct: “I only preach what’s in the text.” I staggered for a moment, recalibrated my orientation, and inquired whether that was not the whole point of the text. He responded that his next sermon would incorporate the gospel. Sadly, the following sermon was moralistic preaching devoid of Christ, with recommended steps of how to obey God’s commandments, and an appeal tacked on at the end “If you do not know the Lord, may today be that day.” It shouldn’t be easier to find Waldo in a train station than it is to find Christ in the preaching of the Old Testament.
Various frameworks are held for understanding the relation between the Old Testament and the New Testament, and some are essentially an overlap or amalgamation of frameworks that are not harmonious with each other. Even worse is the method of picking and choosing a vast variety of interpretations from favorite celebrity preachers and formulating a YouTube theology that is absent of any consistent covenantal framework and hermeneutical principles (methods of interpretation employed in the exegesis of scripture) that harmonize with all of scripture. The orthodox confession of the divine inspiration of scripture as well as the historic principle of the analogy of scripture (that sacred scripture interprets scripture) helps the exegete maintain the rule of non-contradiction and find harmony, unity, and a common theme from Genesis to Revelation to the glory of God in his unfolding plan of redemption.
There is a single narrative plan of redemptive history to the glory of God woven through all of scripture which finds its climax in the sufferings of Christ and the glories that follow. According to Edmund P. Clowney, “To see the [Old Testament] text in relation to Christ is to see it in its larger context, the context of God’s purpose in revelation.”[1] The whole of the Bible is the revealing by farther steps the promised skull-crushing seed of the woman; the saviour of sinful mankind; the final and perfect prophet, priest, and king. To derail the intended purpose of anticipating the text’s fulfilment in Christ misses the point and results in moralistic preaching. Christ is the central theme and storyline of the entire Old Testament and this can be seen with clarity because the New Testament repeatedly interprets the Old Testament, brings to light what had been in the shadows, and announces that the Old Testament promises have occurred in Christ and his Kingdom.
Inspired Commentary
The New Testament presents a divinely sanctioned hermeneutic producing infallible interpretation through New Testament commentary of the Old Testament’s focus being the person and work of Jesus Christ. The Word who assumed our nature confirms that the Old Testament points to him:
Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself… Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. (Lk 24:25-27, 44-48)
Furthermore, the apostolic witness agrees with Christ’s assessment and is written in light of it (1 Pet. 1:10-11; Acts 26:22-23). Considering that the New Testament comes by divine inspiration as holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, the New Testament therefore is God’s confirmation that the Old Testament points to Christ and that this was God’s intention from the beginning. Therefore, Christians ought to follow Jesus’ hermeneutic and the precedence of apostolic concurrence. To get there, the exegete must first understand the Old Testament event in its immediate and literary context to determine the Old Testament truth. The Old Testament truth seen in light of the greater history of redemption and revelation points to its fulfillment in Christ. Then its significance can be faithfully applied.[2]
Dispensationalism holds a differing view that God offers different ways of salvation in different dispensations and that the time from the call of Abraham until Acts 2 was salvation by works, and will return to that system in a future millennium.[3] The Dispensationalist’s strictly historical-literal interpretation of the Old Testament is Israel-centric instead of Christocentric. Tragically, this method includes a denial of the covenant of works and its subsequent fulfillment in the active obedience of Christ and imputed righteousness. It confuses and collapses the categories of law and gospel. Furthermore, it interprets a future restoration of ethnic Israel and land-promise fulfillment with a re-institution of an earthly temple and sacrificial system rather than fulfillment in Christ for the church: the mystery of Christ hidden in the Old Testament revealed in the New Testament. This is unfortunate as it fails to understand that “all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (2 Cor. 1:20). Contrary to Dispensationalism, a grammatical-historical, theological principle of interpretation finds that the Old and New Testament constitutes a unit. By reading the bible theologically, the Old Testament offers the key to the correct interpretation of the New Testament, and the New Testament provides a commentary on the Old Testament which is in shadow form symbolic and typical of spiritual realities that are presented in full light in the New Testament.[4] Such a biblical-theological understanding of redemptive history discovers Christ from Genesis to Revelation as the agent of creation and promised redeemer, to the new-creation redeemer bridegroom.
Scriptures Opened and Hearts Burning
To ascertain the true sense of Old Testament texts in light of the overarching harmony of meaning and message of the bible requires identifying Christ as the scope that the Old Testament text leads towards.[5] On the road to Emmaus, Christ expounded all of the scriptures as it concerned himself, his suffering, and subsequent glory. Later at Jerusalem, he explained to his disciples that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the whole of the Old Testament concerning him. Thus it is written, and thus it is necessary to be fulfilled in Christ, his suffering, and the glories that follow. Furthermore, the disciples were witnesses to these things and wrote in light of it. The Christian exegete therefore should follow this biblically sanctioned Christocentric interpretation of the Old Testament. To gain clarity in faithfully preaching Christ from the Old Testament, Sidney Greidanus explains six legitimate principles to move from the periphery of the Bible to Jesus Christ as its center: the ways of redemptive-historical progression, promise-fulfillment, typology, analogy, longitudinal themes, and contrast.[6]
According to Greidanus, the way of redemptive-historical progression is a tracing of events through the timeline of the history of salvation, which find their climax in Jesus of Nazareth, the incarnate Lord. An example of this would be in Acts 7:2-52 where Stephen traces the history of redemption and concludes by announcing that the coming of this foretold Just One is he whom they just killed. The way of promise-fulfillment is God’s bringing to fulfillment what had been spoken of in the antecedent stage of redemptive history. In other words, New Testament fulfillment of Old Testament promises or predictions. For example, Matthew 2:15 “This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet” and Luke 22:37 “For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me.” The way of typology is God acting in redemptive history in regular patterns through the similarity of redemptive acts by shadows, prefigurations, and types. Examples of typology would be Adam as federal head of creation was a type of Christ as federal head of new creation (Rom. 5:14 “Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come”), and the Passover Lamb a type of Christ (1 Cor. 5:7 “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us”). The way of analogy is the narration of events and persons in the image of previous events and persons. For example, highlighting the continuities in the relationship from what God was for Israel, the bride of Yahweh, to what Christ is for the church, the bride of Christ. The way of longitudinal themes pertains to God’s progressive revealing of himself and his works through the development of key themes that find meaning in Christ. Examples include themes of kingdom, covenant, redemption, sacrifice, victorious Davidic monarchy, and restoration of order out of chaos. The way of contrast focuses on the discontinuity that Christ brings. For example, the Old Testament Israel was ordered to utterly destroy the sinful nations in contrast to Christ’s commission to make disciples of all nations (Dt. 7:1-6; Matt. 28:19-20).
I Spy Something that is Shadow
The cosmic-war language of the seed of the woman contending against the serpent in Genesis 3:15 is what is referred to as the protoevangelium.[7] It is the first promise of the gospel and it occurs within the declaration of the curse. It is the first promise to mankind of God’s redemptive-historical progression. It is the good news of the seed of the woman defeating the serpent. It is God bringing order out of chaos and curses. It is a historical event with real people involved in something that actually happened which has both immediate as well as future implications and an underlying theological figurative foreshadowing of Christ’s victorious crushing blow over Satan, sin, and death with the triumphant inauguration of his new-creation kingdom.
In Genesis 2:15-17, God gave the positive command to Adam who had creation dominion, and in Genesis 3:1-7, the command was transgressed and consequently Adam forfeited any hope of meriting eternal life and the ramifications as a federal head spreading the curse to all of his posterity (Rom. 5:12). The immediate consequences of the fall included the loss of communion with God (Gen. 3:8, 10, 24), being under God’s wrath and curse (Gen. 3:16-19; Gal. 3:10), and being made liable to temporal and eternal misery (Baptist Catechism Q. 22). Adam as head and public representative of his posterity provides further revelation through typology of the Messiah being a federal head and representative (Rom. 5:14b), and yet the implications of headship are in contrast. Through Adam comes inherited death, sin, judgement, and condemnation, whereas through Christ (the promised skull-crusher) comes the gift of life, grace, righteousness, and justification (Rom 5:15-19). Where Adam failed, Christ prevailed.
The promise comes within the context of God making a covenant[8] of works[9] with Adam and all his posterity which can be summed up as “do this and live” which was broken and resulted in mankind being in a fallen state of misery. The promise is one of good news and will take form as a covenant of grace which can be summed up as “believe and receive” viz. faith in the messiah, the promised skull-crusher. The specific details that fill in the gaps aren’t immediately disclosed but revealed by farther steps. As worded by the framers of the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith: “This covenant is revealed in the gospel; first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by the seed of the woman, and afterwards by farther steps, until the full discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament” (2LBCF VII:3). This promise finds its fulfillment in Christ: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law” (Gal. 4:4-5), “the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8), and “having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Col 2:15). The bruising of the heel of the seed of the woman finds full colour in the incarnate Word of God suffering and dying on the cross where, as Matthew Poole wrote: “Christ, the blessed seed of the woman, overthroweth [the devil, and his power and authority over men] by taking away the sting of death, which is sin, 1 Cor. xv. 55, 56; and destroying him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, Heb. ii. 14.”[10] High-level cosmic fulfilment is seen in Revelation 12:7-12 with the casting down of “that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan,” as well as the coming of salvation, strength, the kingdom of God, the power of Christ, and the testimony of the blood of the lamb. Further cosmic crushing-fulfillment is seen in Revelation 20:10 where the devil (and his seed)[11] is cast into eternal torment of the lake of fire.
The Old Testament event of the promise of a skull-crushing redeemer finds its contextual reality of a broken covenant of works, the curse upon fallen mankind, and in the midst of it, a symbolic promise in shadow form of the triumphant destruction of the devil, sin, and death, and its power over mankind. A promise for Adam and Eve to believe by faith, looking forward, as the promise unfolds in a God-guided history of redemption and revelation finding its climax in Christ, and a promise for the church to believe by faith, looking back at the incarnation, life, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Jesus Christ seated on the throne with all authority and power. Genesis 3:15 has great significance for the church in seeing God’s eternal almighty power in declaring his purposes in figurative language according to the pretemporal covenant of redemption (2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 1:2) of God the Father purposing, God the Son accomplishing, and God the Holy Spirit applying the work of redemption to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:3-14). There is no dualistic uncertainty of which force will thwart and conquer the other. God’s eternal purpose of redemption is unfolding in time and being experienced by his creatures. Although this life is one in a cursed, broken world of fallen mankind ruled by the power of the prince of darkness, where there is much sin, misery, sorrow, trials, suffering, pain, and death, there is a redemptive-historical progression of God’s promise of salvation, revealed by farther steps, that spotlights Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Through this gracious gospel fulfillment, God’s attributes such as covenantal mercy, grace, and love are revealed to the greater glory of God and make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which Adam could not have known by a covenant of works. Where the breaking of the covenant of works brought the curse and chaos, a biblical-theological theme emerges of God dividing waters of chaos and leading his people into a new land to inherit, where he will dwell with them in a particular tabernacling presence where his glory rests and dwells, and he supplies all their needs and blesses them. A new-creation paradise kingdom of glory with Jesus Christ, the promised skull-crusher, as federal head with new-creation dominion in a stable state of glory in God’s tabernacling presence, knowing God not just as infinite, eternal, omnipotent creator, but also as merciful, gracious, loving redeemer. A state that will be better than the beginning, better than the garden, better than the tabernacle, better than Canaan, better than the temple, better than the church on earth. All the promises of God given to the church under the Old Testament were declarations and confirmations of this first promise of salvation by the Son of God becoming the seed of the woman, crushing the head of the serpent, and delivering mankind.[12]
Conclusion
All of scripture is inspired by God who is truth unchangeable and cannot lie. All texts of scripture must harmonize with the overarching message. The single narrative plan of redemptive history that is woven through all of scripture finds its climax in the sufferings of Christ and the glories that follow. Therefore, unlike the moralistic exegetical conclusions of the Dispensationalist pastor who did not see Christ in Exodus, all that is peripheral to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that follow must support Jesus as the supporting substructure of all of scripture. This storyline, according to Robert L. Plummer, “reveals the need for Jesus, the promise of Jesus, the anticipation of Jesus, the incarnation/arrival of Jesus, the teaching of Jesus, the crucifixion of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, the ascension of Jesus, the promised return of Jesus. The Bible is a book about Jesus.” [13] All mankind who is alive on earth is born as the posterity of Adam, is fallen in sin, and is in need of Jesus and redemptive deliverance in Christ alone, the promised skull-crusher revealed by farther steps, the final and perfect prophet, priest, and king, the only mediator between God and man. All the promises of God in Christ are yes and amen (2 Cor. 1:20). Blessed be God for Jesus Christ the Redeemer.
[1] Edmund P. Clowney. Preaching Christ in All of Scripture (Wheaton: Crossway, 2003), 11.
[2] Clowney, Preaching Christ in All of Scripture, 32.
[3] Clowney, Preaching Christ in All of Scripture, 16-17.
[4] Louis Berkhof. Principles of Biblical Interpretation: Sacred Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1950), 137.
[5] Richard Muller. Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics: The Rise and Development of Reformed Orthodoxy, ca. 1520 to ca. 1725, vol. 2, Holy Scripture The Cognitive Foundation of Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003), 492-493.
[6] Sidney Griedanus. Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999), 203-225.
[7] Protevangelium: literally, the protogospel; the first announcement of the redemption to be effected in and through Christ, given figuratively to Adam and Eve in the words of God to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Gen. 3:15 NRSV); in Reformed federalism, the inception of the covenant of grace. From Richard A. Muller, Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms Drawn Principally from Protestant Scholastic Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017), 297.
[8] Hosea 6:7 refers to Adam transgressing the covenant.
[9] A promise of inheriting eternal life upon perfect, exact, entire, and perpetual obedience, “do this and live” (Lev. 18:5; Lk. 10:28; Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3:12).
[10] Matthew Poole. A Commentary on the Holy Bible, vol. 1, Genesis-Job (1685; repr., Carlisle: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1996), 10.
[11] Although Cain is clearly the posterity of Adam and Eve as Adam knew Eve and she conceived and bore Cain (Gen. 4:1), Cain is categorized in 1 John 3:12 as being of the evil one. The unfolding opposition of the cosmic war progression with enmity between the seed of the woman (Abel faithful to God) and the seed of the serpent. Those who contend against Christ are categorized as being of the devil: Acts 13:10 “you son of the devil,” and John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
[12] See John Owen. The Glory of Christ, in The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold, vol 1 (1850-1853; repr., Carlisle: Banner of Truth Trust, 2000), 120-124.
[13] Robert L. Plummer. 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2021), 166.
