I’m doing a NT read-through that’s focused on how each book uniquely portrays Jesus, and I was struck today by the snake-crusher theme in Romans. There’s a clear reference to this theme in Romans 16:20, a subtle one in Romans 7:7–12, and a more subtle one in Romans 8:3. This post focuses on explaining the subtle reference in Romans 7:7–12 to substantiate reading Romans 8:3, the “more subtle reference,” in light of the snake-crusher theme.

Let’s start by taking a glance at Genesis 3:15, where God says to the snake,

I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. (Genesis 3:15)

The Clear Reference

At the end of Romans, Paul says,

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. (Romans 16:20)

I think that’s a clear reference to the promise in Genesis 3:15, but there’s a more subtle reference to the same idea in Romans 7:7–12.

The Subtle Reference

In Romans 7:7–12 Paul makes clear, well before Romans 16:20, that he is writing with Genesis 3–4 in mind. In Romans 7:7–12, Sin is personified and does what the snake did. Sin tricks.

Taking advantage of the situation through the commandment, Sin produced in me all sorts of misguided desires. You see, apart from the law Sin is dead. And at one time, I was living without the law, but when the commandment came, Sin came alive. I died, and the commandment that leads to life ended up leading to death. You see, by taking advantage of the situation, through the commandment Sin tricked (ἐξηπάτησέν) me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. (Romans 7:7–12)

The point of the whole paragraph is to explain how the good law that should lead to life actually leads people to death. To make his point, Paul personifies sin, and has it play a role just like the snake in the garden. In the garden, Eve explains,

The snake tricked (ἠπάτησέν) me, and I ate. (Genesis 3:13)

Paul’s personification of sin on analogy to the snake isn’t an imposition on the thought world of Genesis 3 because Genesis 4 does the very same thing. After telling the story of the snake tricking Adam and Eve, in Genesis 4 Sin appears in the narrative slot of the snake. God says to Cain,

Is it not true that if you do good there will be favor for you, but if you do not do good Sin is crouching/coiling (רֹבֵץ) at the door. It’s desire is for you, and you must rule over it. (Genesis 4:7)

Paul is writing inline with the thought world of Genesis 3–4. The snake tricked (ἀπατάω) Eve in Genesis 3, the snake was personified as Sin in Genesis 4, and Paul therefore says Sin, like the snake, tricks (ἐξαπατάω) those who try, without the Spirit, to do the very good thing of obeying the law.

The More Subtle Reference

Now for the more subtle reference in Romans 8:3. This is the one that got me writing today. Paul says,

By sending his own Son in the form of sinful flesh and for Sin, God condemned Sin in the flesh … (Romans 8:3)

In this verse “Sin” stands in the place of the snake/Satan, and to say so isn’t an imposition on Paul’s flow of thought. In light of Romans 16:20 and the way sin is personified in Romans 7:7–12, “God condemned Sin” is yet another reference to the the defeat of the snake/Satan, portraying Jesus as the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.

Conclusion

Romans 7:7–12 personifies sin on analogy to the snake in the garden, and Paul explicitly mentions God crushing Satan under the feet of the Romans in Romans 16:20. I think it’s clear from these passages that Paul has Genesis 3:15 in mind as he writes, and it therefore makes sense to read Romans 8:3 with reference to the the snake-crusher theme, too.

Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God condemned (past tense) Sin/the snake/Satan, and he closes the letter by encouraging the Romans that he will soon (future tense) crush the head of the snake under the feet of the Romans.

All reality will soon (I pray) catch up to the end of the story that happened to appear in the middle of the story — when Jesus lived an obedient life, died unjustly, and was vindicated through his resurrection and ascension. That’s where it’s all headed … soon (ἐν τάχει).