(Gal 4:1 NKJV) Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all,
(Gal 4:2 NKJV) but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.
(Gal 4:3 NKJV) Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.
(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,
(Gal 4:5 NKJV) to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
(Gal 4:6 NKJV) And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"
(Gal 4:7 NKJV) Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
In Galatians chapter 4, Paul begins explaining the special way in which God dealt with Israel for a special purpose. He uses the rearing of the Jewish child-heir to teach the relationship between the believer and the law.
The Bible refers to Jews as heirs (Romans 4:14), for God made wonderful promises to them through Abraham, but it took many centuries before they received their inheritance.
(Gal 4:1-2 NKJV) Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.
The child, Paul reasons, might be heir to a fortune…but as long as he or she has not reached the legal age of inheritance, the child is no different from the slave. Even though they would one day inherit all that belonged to their parents, they in many cases, were treated no differently than slave children—until that one day when they received their inheritance.
Paul is teaching that the Jews were in their “spiritual childhood” under the Law. God had ordained that there would be a space of time where they would be indoctrinated or taught His Law.
* Though one day they would inherit the land—that time had not come.
* One day they would be rich in faith—that time had not come.
* One day God would turn their hearts of stone into hearts of flesh but that time had not come.
The Jew’s graduation into their full inheritance was kept at bay until God’s appointed time. Galatians 4:3 says: “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.”
The "elements of the world" refers to how humanity operated before Christianity. It refers to how both the Jew and Gentile “acted out” before the influence of Christ and the effects of Christianity.
Paul wants us to know “when we were children” that is, before Jewish and Gentiles began to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we were in bondage under the elements of the world. Our ancestors were living by the principals of the world.
* The Jews were in bondage to keeping the letter of the law to obtain salvation. For example, In Luke 6, the Jewish religious leaders taught that it was against the law for Jesus to heal a man on the Sabbath. In Matthew 15, the disciples of Jesus were scorned for failure to ceremonially cleanse their hands before eating.
* The Gentiles were in bondage to their pagan rituals. The ancients of Rome, Greece, Germany, Italy and Russia…the Mongols, Turkic, Chinese and other Asiatic peoples…the Ethnic people groups of the Middle East, Africa and south America…all sought to appease whatever image of God that remained as their oral tradition distorted God’s revelation to their father Adam.
Before Jesus Christ came on the scene, both Jew and Gentiles were in bondage to their ceremonies and rituals. Our text goes on to say, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son…” He was a Gift worth waiting for!
God has a way of interrupting our lives. He invaded time and space and changed things. Any Jew who wanted to be…was delivered from bondage to the Law. Any Gentile who wanted to be…was delivered by Jesus from bondage to pagan rituals. Anyone today can be delivered from the sins that so easily beset them because God sent forth His Son!
Here in Galatians chapter four, Paul is referring to the incarnation. He is writing about the true meaning of Christmas; he is referring to the time when God gave His Son as a baby, who would grow up to be the God-man, who would die for our sins.
The Bible is telling us that this time of symbolism, legalism, ceremony and pagan ritual would run its course, having prepared the way for Jesus Christ.
(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,
In verse four, Paul uses the expression, “the fullness of time…"
* This is not the Greek word, kairos, which means a fixed time or special occasion.
* This is not the Greek word, aion, ahee-ohn' that refers to a particular interval of time.
It is chronos, khron'-os, which means, “a lapse of time.” Paul is referring to a space of time that would elapse before the coming of the Son of God in the flesh. When this time runs its course, God the Father would send forth His Son.
Warren Wiersbe says, "Christ was born at the right time, in the right manner (of a woman—a virgin birth), and for the right purpose—to set us free."
God was a setting timer for the exact moment in which He would dispatch His Son.
In our recent series on prophecy we learned God established a divine timetable:
According to Scripture, the Prophet Daniel was given the date of the arrival of God’s Son…483 years after the edict of the Medo-Persian government to rebuild Jerusalem.
Daniel 9:24-25 tells us that it the time of the decree to restore and build Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah would be 7 weeks (49 years) plus 62 weeks (434 years), yielding 69 weeks or 483 years, all but 7 of the 490 years involved in the 70 weeks.
God ordained that the Mosaic Law would be a tutor, giving both Jews and Gentiles a picture of their own depraved hearts. Paul says in Romans 7:7, “For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet.””
In Galatians 3:24-25 he also writes, “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”
During this period of time God set the stage for the sending of His Son:
* The Roman Empire would come into existence and foster a time of peace.
* The “Roman Roads” would make travel easy for those who would spread the Good News about Jesus.
* The universal use of the Greek language made the rapid spread of the Gospel possible.
The earth-stage was all set for the greatest event in the history of the human race, the incarnation, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection of God the Son.
This is why the Bible says in Galatians 4:4, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son…” The Greek says, God exapostello - ex-ap-os-tel'-lo; He dispatched His Son.
Its root, apostello, refers to the act of one who sends another with a commission to do something; the person sent, being given credentials. Our English word apostle comes from it. Our Lord is called the “Apostle and High priest of our confession” in Hebrews 3:1.
Exapostello means that Jesus was dispatched to the earth. In other words, Jesus was sent by the Father as His Ambassador to humanity. In John 5:30 Jesus says, "I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”
A hymn published in 1887 began with these words:
I will sing the wondrous story; Of the Christ who died for me.
How He left His home in glory; For the cross of Calvary.
Jesus was sent forth from the Father as a Gift worth waiting for!
He was sent forth to suffer.
Hebrews 13:12 tells us, “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.”
He was sent forth to die for our sins.
Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given…”
Isaiah 53:5 says, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:3, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…”
He was sent forth to be raised from the dead!
In Luke 9:22 Jesus says of Himself, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."
He was sent forth to conquer sin and the grave!
(1 Cor 15:55-57 NKJV) "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
He was sent forth for you and me! 2 Corinthians 5:21 (The Message) says, “God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.”
He was a Gift Worth waiting for!
Another thing we need to know is that the Greek structure in Galatians 4:4 emphatically declares that God sent “His own Son” …Jesus is the Son of God! This is so important we need to park here for the rest of this message.
Jesus is “God the Son.” This truth is one of those authentic teachings of Christian doctrine that separates true Christianity from the schisms and isms.
* It separates true Christianity from the breakaways like Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons.
* It separates true Christianity from other religions like Islam that honor Jesus but do not worship Him as God.
For example, on their official website the Jehovah’s Witnesses post it say:
God does not have a literal wife with whom he fathered children. But he is the Creator of all life. (Revelation 4:11) Therefore, the first human that God created, Adam, is called a “"son of God."” (Luke 3:38) Similarly, the Bible teaches that Jesus was created by God. So Jesus is also called a “"Son of God."”—John 1:49.
Islam also teaches something totally different about Jesus than does the Bible. One of their websites has the following quote from the Quran:
“O People of the Book, do not commit excesses in your religion, and do not say anything about God except the truth: the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was nothing more than a messenger of God, His word, directed to Mary and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers and do not speak of a ‘˜Trinity”“ stop [this], … God is only one God, He is far above having a son… [4:171]
Islam teaches that everything in the Bible written about Jesus is to be taken symbolically, not literally.
However, when the Bible refers to Jesus as being the “Son of God” it absolutely is to be taken literally. Notice the literal terms used in the description of Jesus in the first chapter of Hebrews:
(Heb 1:1 NKJV) God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
(Heb 1:2 NKJV) has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
(Heb 1:3 NKJV) who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
* Jesus is the only One that it can be said He has been “appointed heir of all things.”
* Jesus is the only One of whom it can be said He “made the worlds.”
* Jesus is the only One of whom it can be said He is the "brightness of God's glory"
* Jesus is the only One of whom it can be said He is the "express image of His person"
* Jesus is the only One of whom it can be said He “sustains all things by His powerful Word.”
* Jesus is the only One of whom it can be said He “purged our sins.”
* Jesus is the only One of whom it can be said He “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
When Jesus entered into His earthly ministry and was baptized by John, in Matthew 3:17 the Bible tells us that God the Father says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
What does it mean when God says, “This is my beloved Son?”
It means that Jesus is “deity” like the Father (meaning He is God)
(John 1:1 NKJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(Phil 2:5 NKJV) Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
(Phil 2:6 NKJV) who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
(Col 2:910 NKJV) For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Also see Titus 2:13-14 and 1 John 5:20
Not only do the Scriptures say He is God, it assigns divine names to Jesus
It means that Jesus has divine names like the Father
(Isa 9:6 NKJV) For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(1 Tim 3:16 NKJV) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.
What does it mean when God says, “This is my beloved Son?”
It means that Jesus has divine attributes like the Father
Eternality
(Isa 9:6 NKJV) “…Everlasting Father…”
(Rev 1:8 NKJV) "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last. In other words, Jesus is the eternal God. Before there was anything He was. That's what He is saying. Eternity belongs to him. His life didn't begin in Bethlehem. He was alive for all eternity prior and shall live forever.
Omnipresence - Everywhere present
(Mat 18:20 NKJV) "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."
Clarke’s Commentary reads, “None but God could say these words, to say them with truth, because God alone is everywhere present, and these words refer to his omnipresence.
The commentary goes on to say (I’m paraphrasing), “Suppose millions of churches were meeting at the same time, in different places on the planet, (which is a very possible case), this promise states that Jesus is in each of them. Can any, therefore, say these words, except God, who fills both heaven and earth? But Jesus says these words: ergo - Jesus is God.”
Omniscience - Having all knowledge - past, present and future; actual or hypothetical
(John 2:24-25 NKJV) But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
This statement ought to cause both fear and encouragement in the heart of the believer and unbeliever.
* Fear, because Jesus as God knows our past, He knows our present He knows our future and will use this information either to reward or to punish.
* Encouragement, because Jesus knows what we need. He knows our weakness and blesses us with what we need.
Hebrews 4:15-16, tells us Jesus is “touched with the feelings of our weaknesses, and was in all points tempted just as we are, yet without sin.” Because he knows us inside and out we can come, “boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Omnipotence - All powerful
(Isa 9:6 NKJV) “…Mighty God…”
(Rev 1:8 NKJV) "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
In other words, there is nothing too hard for our Lord Jesus!
Immutability - Never changing
(Heb 13:8 NKJV) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
One of two things causes a man to change his mind and reverse his plans: a lack of foresight to anticipate everything, or lack of power to make things happen.
But as God, Jesus is both omniscient and omnipotent and there is never any need for Him to revise His decrees. No. "The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations" (Ps. 33:11).
What does it mean when God says, “This is my beloved Son?”
It means that Jesus is the Creator like the Father
(John 1:3-4 NKJV) All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
(Col 1:16-17NKJV) For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
It means that Jesus forgives sins like the Father
(Mat 9:2-6 NKJV) “…He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"; then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."
It means that Jesus judges like the Father
(Mat 25:31-32 NKJV) "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
(John 5:22-23 NKJV) "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
It means that Jesus has life in His power like the Father
(John 5:21 NKJV) "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
It means that honor is ascribed to Jesus like the Father
(John 14:1 NKJV) "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
(Heb 1:6 NKJV) But when He again brings the First-born (Jesus, God manifested in the flesh) into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him."
It means that our future glorification is in Jesus’ power like the Father
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NKJV) For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
(Phil 3:21 NKJV) {Jesus} will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
(Rev 21:5 NKJV) Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."
When Galatians 4:4, says "God sent forth His Son," it is telling us that God sent His own essence…His own likeness…He sent His own equal…He sent His own Son and it was a Gift worth waiting for!
In fact, the Jewish leaders of Jesus' time understood this perfectly. John 5:18 says they sought the death penalty against Jesus, charging Him with blasphemy "because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God."
So when Jesus was called "Son of God," it was understood categorically by all as a title of deity, making Him equal with God and (more significantly) of the same essence as the Father. That is precisely why the Jewish leaders regarded the title "Son of God" as high blasphemy.
* When you think of Jesus, don’t think of Him as simply a good man.
* When you think of Jesus, don’t think of Him as simply the example of someone we should follow.
* When you think of Jesus, don’t think of Him as merely one who came to earth to teach us a better way.
* When you think of Jesus, don’t think of Him as merely a prophet, priest or king.
He is God the Son, who has taken on a human body in order to die for our sins. He was sent by the Father and that was a Gift worth waiting for!
Since Adam, our forefather, failed miserably in his disobedience. God promised in Genesis 3:15 that the Seed of the Woman would deal a mortal blow to the head of the serpent and it was a Gift worth waiting for!
One author wrote, “After coming down through forty and two generations, the seed of Abraham, the root of Jesse, burning bushes and kinsmen redeemers, daystars and bulwarks—the blood of bullocks and goats, He then wrapped Himself up in the flesh that He found in the dressing room called “Mary”, and landed in a little town called Bethlehem.” I say, “It was a Gift worth waiting for!”
Jesus the Messiah, had to come in the form of a man, the last Adam, and pass the test triumphantly and satisfy God’s judgment on sin by taking our place and dying our death.
“It was a Gift worth waiting for!”
Next time we will continue looking through Galatians chapter four. We will deal with the next statement Paul uses in this passage…the words, “born of a woman.”
This statement points us to consider the humanity of Jesus Christ--meaning Jesus was also fully man. He was very God and very man. Jesus is “man enough” to be acquainted with your suffering, your trials and tribulations but He is “God enough” to do something about them.
