Satan was conquered by that nature he had cast headlong into ruin. A woman, by his subtlety, was the occasion of our death; and a woman, by the conduct of the only wise God, brings forth the author of our life and the conqueror of our enemies. The humanity of the old Adam had infected us, and the humanity of the new Adam cures us (1 Cor. 15:21, ‘By man came death; by man also came the resurrection from the dead’). We are killed by the old Adam, and raised by the new Adam; as among the Israelites, a fiery serpent gave the wound, and a brazen serpent administers the cure. The nature that was deceived bruises the deceiver, and destroys the foundations of his kingdom. Satan is defeated by the decisions he took to secure his possession, and loses the victory by the same means he thought he would preserve it. His tempting the Jews to the sin of crucifying the Son of God, had a contrary success to his tempting Adam to eat of the tree. The first death he brought upon Adam ruined us, and t...
Thinking Deeply about Life and Faith