Sermon: It’s Christmas, The Fulness Of Time Has Come

Sermon: It’s Christmas, The Fulness of Time Has Come

Scripture: Galatians 4:1-5 “Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. Having been redeemed from being under the law, we receive something else: adoption as sons. In Roman society, the son was the one who would inherit the position and property. He was the heir of the father. Now, our passage tells us that Jesus came so that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

Introduction: The origin of Christmas can be traced to pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. Before Christianity, pagans celebrated the winter solstice at the end of December. Church officials later adopted Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Jesus. I want to look at the Coming of Christ in the fulness of time, God’s time. In our lesson today, Apostle Paul draws our attention to When Christ came, Where Christ came from, How Christ came and Why Christ came. I am not concerned with the 25th day of December, I am concerned with the fulness of time. God’s timing is perfect.

In his letter to the churches of Galatia, Paul affirms that the Son of God came to this earth at just the right time in the divine scheme of things. He expresses the thought like this: “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. Having been redeemed from being under the law, we receive something else: adoption as sons.”

For centuries, this time had been in preparation with all the various element falling in place. Everything was arranged by the unseen hand of God. The Jews, with their concept of monotheism and the Old Testament Scriptures (with scores of prophecies regarding the Messiah) had prepared the way. The Greeks had provided a language that was the most precise instrument for the conveyance of human thought the world had ever known. The Romans had given humanity a time of peace and marvelous transportation and communication systems. When Jesus was born, it was indeed the fullness of time. The “fullness of time,” was a time when the world was in darkness, although the Jews had the Scriptures with many prophecies pointing to His coming. The Greeks had given the world a common language, the Romans had given the world a forced peace, road, communication and commerce. All these things had come together under the providential preparation of God in anticipation of the moment God himself who send His Son. And when the fullness of time had comes a decree was given by the Romans, Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem. The Shepherds was stationed in the field, the stars had aligned themselves and every detail was complete, God sent His only begotten Son into the world. Christ came from the Father in the fullness of time.

Christ came from the Father, as the sinless lamb of God, to redeem us and bring us back into fellowship with the Father and the Son. Galatians 4:5 also reveals “That he (Jesus) might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons”.

Before Jesus came, the animal sacrifices under the Law were unable to satisfy the sin debt. It was only a temporary fix to cover man’s transgressions. We were like children; we were slaves to the world, the flesh and the devil. But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

The main point of Galatians chapter 4 is that now Christians are adopted into God's family and are no longer under the law of Moses. The benefits of Jesus coming the first Christmas changed everything. Jesus came to satisfy man’s sin debt moving believers from legalism to Grace. The overarching theme of this lesson is God’s free grace over legalism. Jesus came to move us from enslavement to freedom. It’s about being set free from the enslavement of the law so that Christians can live in the freedom of sonship. Jesus came to adopt us, who believe, into God's family. Christians are adopted as full children of God and are given the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to give believers access to everything that belongs to God. Christians have access to everything that belongs to God, and to everything God has provided for them. Jesus came that the Just could live by faith. Christians are saved by faith and live by faith in the power of the spirit. Paul uses an analogy of an heir to a wealthy Man to illustrate his point. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. When we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to redeem those under the law. Galatians 4 reflects on God’s sending of his Son that we might be children of God and co-heirs with Christ.