"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." - Genesis 2:16-17
God gave Adam one commandment. Disobedience to God’s command would bring death.
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die…" - Genesis 3:4
Jesus revealed that the serpent, the devil, is a liar and a murderer from the beginning.
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." - John 8:44
The devil, that old serpent, lied to Eve, which led to Adam’s disobedience and death for all mankind.
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." - Genesis 3:6
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…" - Romans 5:12
Yet, because of God’s mercy, he did not kill man. Instead, God took as a substitute the death of an animal.
"Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." - Genesis 3:21
For years, God accepted the sacrifice of innocent animals to cover man’s sin. These sacrifices could never take away man’s sin; their sins were only pushed ahead.
"But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." - Hebrews 10:3-4
While God had mercy on man in the beginning to accept the death of an animal in place of the death of Adam, the blood of animals could not satisfy. As God promised Eve in the beginning, He made a body of the seed of a woman to provide a sacrifice that would finally take away the sin of man. Now God’s grace would abound.
"Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure." - Hebrews 10:5-6
The power of the devil, that old serpent, would receive a deathblow by the death of Christ, who was the seed [offspring] of the woman.
God told the devil, that old serpent:
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." - Genesis 3:15
As Adam disobeyed God in the beginning and brought sin and death upon all mankind, Jesus’ obedience to death brought righteousness and life.
"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." - Romans 5:19
What animal sacrifices could not do, God’s holy human body, Jesus Christ, could finally take away our sins.
"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." - Hebrews 10:10
Because Jesus is God our Father in a human body, He lives forever. When we are washed by His blood in baptism, we can receive His gift of His Holy Ghost and also live forever.
"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." - Revelation 1:18
Jesus triumphed over the devil by His death on the tree, taking the power of death away from the devil. The devil can no longer justly accuse us of sin – Jesus paid the price of sin for us.
"And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." - Colossians 2:15
The temporary covering of sins by the blood of animals is now replaced by complete remission of our sins by the blood of Jesus applied to our life when we are baptized in Jesus name. By the blood of Jesus, we are justified of sins so that we may be sanctified by His Spirit, and able to have eternal life once again as Adam and Eve had in the beginning before the fall.
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." - Acts 2:38-39
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