Gen 3:15, And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." 
	In this current chapter there is very much that we could spend months considering. However, rather than getting sucked into the finger pointing and the blame game; let us concentrate on the beginning of the separation at the core of our every day life. It is in this passage that we find the division that has and will plague us as humans on this earth. We find it inherent in every aspect of who we are in this current life. It surrounds us, like a poisonous gas that we continually inhale. It batters our every physical and emotional sense. It is at war within our beings as we try to live the life that we are given in Christ with the curse of our sin-stained humanity. Nature proclaims this cosmic mêlée in its torrents and upheavals of natural law. The entire atmosphere shrieks forth in the curse that man has chosen to put himself above God, and to set up an alliance with the serpent.    
	This is the immense conflict into which we have been born in our natural beings. The Apostle Paul encapsulated it in Rom 3:10-24, as it is written, "There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one." "Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving," "The poison of asps is under their lips "; "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness"; "Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace have they not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus…
	Only through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has this universal conflict been utterly resolved. In Jesus, in the Only Begotten of the Father, God has accomplished the just and righteous end of this enmity within the heart of man. Yes, on this earth, believers still have to deal with the residue of the fall of Adam and Eve to the temptation of the serpent to become as god. But, praise God, in Christ, we have been released from the consequences and the eternal effects of that horribly selfish decision. 
However, that release was at the supreme cost of the very Son of God, as the Prophet Isaiah foretold in Isa 53. Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, For the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the Lord was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors. Amen.
	Jesus took upon Himself the enmity between the serpent and man and between man and God. He suffered the every just and holy sentence of death for our sake. He was bruised by the full strength of the power of this age and endured everything, every beating, every torment, every torture, every stripe of the whip and every vial and evil degradation for your sake and for mine. He underwent all the necessary anguish, agony, and distress so that man would be brought back into the relationship which was the very heart of God for all of eternity. 
We are healed because of His stripes. We are saved because of His death. We are made righteous because of His suffering and agony. In Christ, the curse of Genesis 3 is banished and we are eternally free to enjoy life in the presence of God Almighty, our Lord and our Savior. 
	As the Apostle John so eloquently writes in 1 John 5:1-5, Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 
	Our understanding of this truth should cause us to value the life that we have in Christ, beyond all measure. We should be finding ourselves filled with awe and reverence to God for what He endured for our salvation. There should be thanksgiving and appreciation unto Him for the work that He has done through His Son, Whom He gave for our sakes. This was not just some haphazard plan that came into being out of frustration and a sense of defeat. 
From before the eternal ages began, God knew that there was only one way to save His creation, and that was to take upon Himself flesh and blood and become man. The Son took that course of action out of love, love for the Father and love for us. He put Himself under the curse, but did not did succumb to its vial temptations for power and for earthly glory.
	As the writer to the Hebrews relates in Heb 2:14-18, Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. Christ knew the course of what it would take to conquer the enemy’s power and hold on humanity. Jesus gave up His place as the Creator and took upon Himself the flesh with all its wants and desires. Yet, He did not give into those temptations, but rather sought only to do the will of the Father in Heaven.
	Everything in Genesis Chapter Three hung in the balance of His obedience. He met the tempter head on without any wavering! Christ did what Adam and Eve never could have done; He resisted the enticements, lures, and inducements of this age. He chose rather to honor God in His every action and thought and motive. 
Matt 4:1-10, Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give His angels charge concerning You'; and 'On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" 
	In His obedience, Christ became the very power of our overcoming the enticements and the defilements of this realm. By His life in us, we are enabled to overcome the every temptation of the evil one, against whom we are in conflict every day of our lives. It is not a power that we have of our own selves, but rather the reality of the very person of Christ indwelling us and being our strength and our wisdom and our source of obedience. In Him, we are kept safe and secure from all the wretched elements of this age’s efforts to pull us back again into slavery and death. 
As Christ, Himself, encourages us with the following in Luke 10:19+20, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you. "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." 
	Our rejoicing is not centered in the fact that we are eternally protected from the clutches of the evil one. Neither is it in the fact that we are able to face the hordes of demonic hosts in the name of Jesus Christ. We are to rejoice in the fact of the person of Jesus Christ in Whom we have eternal life. We set our eyes and our minds and our hearts on Him, only. This is so because of the entrapment that we know faces us whenever we think that we are able to do anything of our own power and might and abilities. It is only because of Jesus that we have peace with God. It is only in Christ and by His work that we are saved from all the holy wrath of God. It is in Christ, Alone, by Whom our eternal security is sealed and accomplished.
	As the Apostle Paul declares in Rom 16:19+20, For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil. And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. 	
It is only by the grace of God in Jesus Christ that the curse has been lifted and our placement into the very family of God is a surety. Never let us consider ourselves to be as God, for that is the very heart of the wickedness of which man partook in the Garden. Rather, let us always and forever reverence Jesus Christ as our life. Let us always lift Him up in every situation and every trial and every circumstance and every conflict that we face on this earth. While we may still be fighting the battle of self versus Christ in these physical bodies, we know that He has done what is necessary in His ultimate and everlasting victory. 
John 12:31+32, "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." We are to forever and always proclaim the victory that He wrought by His suffering and obedience. We never have to worry or fret about the defeat of the enemy. That is already accomplished and finalized. We are to simply live our lives in the manner that pleases Christ. We must choose to honor Him in our every decision and obey as He directs our every path. Yes, we will make mistakes. But if our heart is that we desire to be pleasing to God in all that we do, He will rule and overrule to His perfect glory, even in these lives that we are living on this earth, today. So be it!
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel. Amen.

This morning’s benediction is 1 Chron 16:28-36. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him; Worship the Lord in holy array. Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, "The Lord reigns." Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord; For He is coming to judge the earth. O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Then say, "Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks to Thy holy name, And glory in Thy praise." Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. Then all the people said, "Amen," and praised the Lord. Amen.