A Gift Worth Waiting For – Part 2

(Gal 4:4 NKJV) But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

Last time we learned that the statement, "God sent forth His Son," pointed to the deity of Christ—meaning that Jesus is fully God. We learned that Jesus is not just the Son of God, He is God, the Son.

Jesus possesses all the unique characteristics of God. Quoting from Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23 says, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." According to both of these verses, Jesus was "God with us" when He walked upon this earth.

Jesus wasn't merely "God's chosen one with us" or “God’s representative with us”…

* I Timothy 3:16 states, "God was manifest in the flesh."

* John 1:14 tells us that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..."

The Bible presents Jesus Christ as much more than a great prophet and teacher. God's Word presents Jesus Christ as God incarnate.

* Zechariah 12:10 tells us that God said that He, Himself would be "pierced" by sinners and looked upon. Revelation 1:7 states that Jesus Christ Himself fulfilled this prophecy!

God's Word presents Jesus Christ as God incarnate.

This leads us to the next statement Paul makes in Galatians 4:4:“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law…”

The Son of God was “born of a woman”. Paul points his readers to the humanity of Jesus Christ--meaning Jesus was not only fully God but also fully man.

Jesus was “born of a woman.” Paul is alluding to the truth that Jesus was born by way of the virgin birth. The virgin birth is a reference to the biblical teaching that Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary without a human father, by the miraculous action of God.

The word “virgin” is used of Mary, the mother of Jesus in Matthew 1:23 and Luke 1:27. From these passages comes the doctrine of the virgin birth.

Mary was a young woman betrothed (engaged) to Joseph.

Matthew gave the account from the viewpoint of Joseph. He was betrothed to Mary. Before they were married, she was discovered to be pregnant. Joseph planned to divorce her without public scandal. Only then did God reveal to Joseph that the child was conceived through the Holy Spirit.

Luke gave the events from the viewpoint of Mary. An angel appeared to her while she was still a virgin betrothed to Joseph. It was revealed to her that she would bear a son who would be called “the Son of the Highest” (Luke 1:32).

It is significant that in both the Matthew and Luke accounts the Holy Spirit leaves no room for doubt as to whether or not there is a human involved in the conception or "fathering" of Jesus:

* In the Matthew account Joseph says, "I'm not the man!"

* In the Luke account Mary says to the angel, "How can this be, since I'm still a virgin?"

The amazing thing is that God predicts thousands of years earlier that this kind of thing would happen. In Genesis 3:15 we find the words, “And 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.”

Notice the words, "her Seed" in verse 15. In these words there is a unique allusion to the virgin birth. Biology teaches that in conception, the seed or sperm is delivered by the man; but in the miraculous conception of the Messiah, the seed was the woman's!

Galatians 4:4 tells us that the Messiah, God the Son, would be “born of a woman.” Paul is not stating the obvious; he is alluding to the promise in Genesis 3:15 and to Mary being overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and getting pregnant without the seed of a man.

Why the virgin birth?

The virgin conception of Christ guarantees the perfect union of two natures in one Person. This person is Jesus, the God-Man (cf. Isa. 7:14; 9:6, 7).

The Holy Spirit miraculously conceived this “body” in the womb of Mary, who had never known a man, and the result was the incarnation…God in the flesh, with sinless blood.

That is why I Peter 1:19 declares that we are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Belief in the virgin birth is a central doctrine of Christian thought. The entire program of redemption and salvation stands or falls upon the foundation of the virgin birth.

The essence of this wonderful truth is magnified in the words of a Christmas carol that many are familiar with: