Crushed
From Garden to Glory
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” — Genesis 3:15
It All Started in a Garden
It all started with a lie.
Not just any lie—a lie that fractured the world and echoed through every generation. A whisper that questioned God’s voice and slandered His heart.
“Did God really say?”
That one question still echoes in our culture, our thoughts, our temptations. And as I’ve studied the New Covenant promise in Jeremiah 31:33, I’ve come to realize something deeply moving:
All of redemptive history—every covenant, every prophet, every promise—is God’s holy, patient, unrelenting answer to that one lie.
The Lie That Broke the World
Genesis 3:4-5 records that devastating moment when Adam and Eve listened to the serpent instead of their Creator.
“You will not surely die… God knows that when you eat of it you will be like God…”
And just like that, everything came undone. But behind the fruit was a deeper deception:
God’s Word can’t be trusted.
His judgment isn’t real.
He’s keeping something from you.
You can be your own god.
It’s not just a story about Adam and Eve—it’s the story of every human heart. “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…” (Romans 5:12). The lie didn’t stop in Eden—it infected us all.
And yet, even as judgment is falling, God whispers hope.
The First Gospel
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” — Genesis 3:15
This verse is known as the Protoevangelium—the first gospel.
In the middle of the curse, God makes a promise: the woman’s seed will one day crush the head of the serpent. A child will come. A Redeemer. One who will suffer a blow (“you shall bruise His heel”) but will deal a fatal, final blow to the enemy.
From that moment on, the rest of the Bible becomes a search for that Seed, and a record of how God is preparing the world for His arrival.
Tracing the Seed Through Scripture
From Abraham to David to the prophets, we see a promise unfolding.
Genesis 22:18 – “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”
2 Samuel 7:13–14 – “I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.
Isaiah 53 – “He was pierced for our transgressions…”
But the law, given through Moses, couldn’t heal the human heart. It wasn’t the answer—it was the spotlight.
“Through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20)
“Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions…” (Galatians 3:19)
It showed us how deep the serpent’s lie had gone and how desperately we needed someone to make things right.
The Law on Our Hearts
“I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” — Jeremiah 31:33
This is the promise of a new covenant—not written on stone, but inscribed on hearts.
God is not giving us more rules. He’s giving us new hearts—hearts that beat in rhythm with His Spirit, that love what He loves, and long to walk in His ways. This isn’t external conformity. It’s internal transformation.
This promise prepares the way for the Seed who will bring it to pass.
The Cross, the Heel, the Head
When Jesus went to the cross, it looked like the serpent had won. The promised Seed was bleeding. Dying. Silenced.
But heaven knew better.
“He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.” — Colossians 2:15
“…that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil…” — Hebrews 2:14
“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”— 1 John 3:8
Jesus took the serpent’s strike, but in doing so, He crushed its head. He reversed the curse. He broke the power of the lie. And in rising again, He secured the restoration of everything the enemy tried to destroy.
The law is now written on our hearts. The Spirit dwells within. And the voice of the serpent no longer has the final word.
Where We Live Now
We live in the in-between.
The serpent is mortally wounded, but he still lies. Still whispers. Still tempts.
But now we know the truth. We know what God really said.
We know the voice of our Shepherd.
We know the One who bruised His heel to crush the serpent’s head—and who has promised to finish what He started.
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” — Romans 16:20
Signs of the Serpent Today
The serpent’s lies are dressed differently today, but the message is the same.
Modern whispers:
“Live your truth.”
“God is love—He wouldn’t judge.
“You deserve more.”
“You don’t need forgiveness—you need to believe in yourself.”
Each of these ideas is just Genesis 3 in disguise. The same poison, bottled in new packaging.
“They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…” — Romans 1:25
But we don’t drink from that well anymore.
We drink from the fountain of truth—the Word of God, written on our hearts by the Spirit of the Living God.
How to Discern Truth from Lie
Use the Word as your filter.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” — Psalm 119:105
Ask:
Does this align with Scripture
Does this glorify Christ or exalt self?
Does this lead to repentance or rebellion?
Does this bear the fruit of the Spirit—or the works of the flesh?
Follow the Spirit.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” — John 16:13
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…” — 1 John 4:1
Truth isn’t a feeling. Truth is a person—Jesus. And He has given us His Spirit to guide us.
Heart Check: Is God’s Law Written on My Heart?
This New Covenant promise isn’t abstract—it’s personal. It’s meant to transform your inner life.
Take a moment and ask yourself:
Do I hunger for God’s Word, or avoid it?
Is obedience a joy—or a burden
When I sin, do I feel conviction—or indifference?
Do I love what God loves—and hate what He hates?
Do I see the fruit of the Spirit growing in me?
If you long for that kind of transformation, that’s not something you generated—it’s evidence that God is writing His law on your heart.
The Lie Was Told, But the Truth Has the Last Word
The lie in the garden was real, and it was deadly.
But the truth has the final word. And the truth is this:
God keeps His promises.
God’s Word is good.
God is not holding out—He gave us Himself.
And now, as children of the New Covenant, we don’t live by whispers in the dark—we live by the truth written in light. On tablets of human hearts. And sealed by the blood of the Seed who crushed the serpent once and for all.
Want to Go Deeper?
This blog post was inspired by our broadcasted Thematic Verse Mapping session on Jeremiah 31:33. If you’d like to see the connections unfold live and in community, go check out the session below and follow along with your Bible open, your free Thematic Verse Map, and your heart ready to received God’s truth.
We have also created a devotional for you to download and study on a personal basis or in a small group. If you would like a text only version for free, click HERE.
