Easter Behold Your Kingنموونە
Day One
Easter Was the Plan Before the Foundation of the World
by Michelle Hicks
Read Genesis 3.
Sin entered the world and with it came hopelessness. However, we also discover that God was not caught off guard. He had a plan crafted before the foundation of the world—the ultimate hope, a Savior. Jesus.
In the beginning God (Gen. 1:1). I love how the Bible starts with the focus and foundation on God. But it isn’t long until Genesis 3 reveals the account of Eve being tempted and deceived by the serpent. Most of us are familiar with this beautiful beginning that turned into tragedy. Adam and Eve sinned by eating from the one and only tree God had forbidden. Genesis 3 reveals the curses and repercussions of sin that we describe as the fall.
Ultimately, the consequence for sin is death, both physically and spiritually (Rom. 6:23). Eternal separation from God is the result. But God, in His goodness, had a plan from the beginning.
When the Lord was walking in the garden after Adam and Eve sinned, He came seeking those who were now lost. This loving act demonstrates how God loved us and had a plan in place for salvation. God came to seek and save humanity right from the start. His plan culminated in Jesus Christ—His death, burial, and resurrection.
Genesis 3:15 is often called the protoevangelium—the first gospel proclamation.1 The hostility between Eve and her enemy, the serpent (later identified in Rev. 12:9 as Satan) is representative of the spiritual battle that continues to this day. Because of Adam’s sin, we are all enslaved to sin and dead in our sins. We carry out the “inclinations of our flesh” and are “by nature children under wrath” (Eph. 2:1-3). In other words, we have no hope. But in Genesis 3:15, God told the serpent there was One coming from the woman’s “offspring,” who would “strike (his) head.” To strike or crush the head of the snake is a picture of fatal and final destruction. That’s what happened through Christ’s coming to be our perfect sacrifice. Jesus has defeated death and Satan. Even in physical death we can have spiritual victory and eternal life because of the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ. Because of Easter.
Scripture
About this Plan
It’s so easy to get swept up in the busyness of plays and pastels during the Easter season that we sometimes forget to stand in awe of Jesus. "Easter: Behold Your King" is a thoughtful look at the Easter season. This study will not only help the reader understand how beautifully deep Christ’s sacrifice for us is, but also how to live in light of these life-giving truths.
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