God’s Perfect Gift

Galatians 4:4–7 “When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.”

We must recognize God’s timing is always perfect! Many English translations, translate the first phrase of verse 4 as the fullness of time rather than when the time came to completion as the CSB does. Either of those is a solid translation of the Greek. The phrase here in the Greek is literally “the fullness/completion of the time.”

When the fullness of time came God sent His Son! Paul here is writing of the coming of the Messiah, entering into human history as a man! We know Jesus has always existed, after all He created the Universe and everything in it! Jesus has been at work in human history since before time was created. We know He is fully God, but now He is taking on the role of man. He is going to be born of woman and born under the law. He is going to be the God Man.

Let’s examine what was happening in the world at the time God sent Jesus.

The Pax Romana, the (Roman peace) provided a stable environment for Rome to flourish internally and project its culture outward, creating a unified, prosperous, and culturally influential empire. This period extended for just over 200 years ending in about 180AD. During this time there were no widespread wars so travel was safe amid trade routes and communication was easier. The network of Roman roads and sea routes facilitated the rapid spread of the Gospel. Koine Greek had become the common language, allowing the New Testament to be written and understood across the Mediterranean.

The Jewish diaspora had taken place, which was the scattering of the Jewish people from Israel after Babylonian rule and as Roman conquest heightened, scattering the Jewish people throughout the Roman Empire and providing synagogues throughout the Empire, which provided monotheistic locations for early Christian preaching.

At this time there was also widespread disillusionment with pagan religions and philosophical systems which created a spiritual hunger in many people.

The law had finally accomplished its purpose of showing man his utter sinfulness and inability to live up to God’s perfect standard of righteousness. Though certainly there were many who still did not understand they were incapable of keeping the law. God provided our righteousness by sending his son at the perfect time.

In Ephesians 1: 9-10 we are told “He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.”

God’s timing throughout history is always perfect. It may not appear to us at first or at all in a given circumstance that His timing is perfect, but the Bible makes it clear.

Jesus was sent at precisely the right time in human history.

God knew this would be the perfect time to send His son. He knew since the beginning that His perfect creation would be impacted by sin and we would require a Savior. We never surprise God with our sins nor did Adam and Eve.

After all, we see the first time the gospel is prophesied not in the New Testament, but near the beginning of human history in Genesis 3, right after Adam and Eve sin. In verse 15 we read “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” This is God’s first promise of a coming Redeemer, foretelling the ultimate defeat of evil through a descendant of humanity.

There is something that can be easily overlooked in verse 15. We read here “He will strike your head, and you will strike his heal.” This tells us our Redeemer has to be a man! Early in verse 15 we see the reference to her offspring which points directly to our redeemer being a man, born of woman. But there is a problem, Adam’s sin was imputed, it was credited to each one of us. Paul writes in Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.”

Romans 5:12 clearly tells us we all sin, so there is no man who could be born of a woman, who could not sin because we are all sinners, everyone has sinned. So we can recognize here in Genesis the redeemer must be born of a woman, but not of a man.

This is why the virgin birth is so crucial! Without the virgin birth Christ would have been sinful and could not have redeemed us. There have only been two men who were ever born sinless. The first was Adam, who was created sinless, but failed, he disobeyed and was trapped in sin early in his life allowing for death to enter the world. The second man is Jesus, who was born of woman and the Holy Spirit, under the law and yet lived a perfect life, keeping the whole law! This is the only way a man, born of a woman could be sinless. He could not have come from man, but had to born of the Spirit.

The Son of God, the God Man, Jesus lived under the law, but never sinned! He led a perfectly righteous life. God knew we needed a redeemer, in 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul writes “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

As part of God’s perfect plan He knew He would send His Son to earth as a baby, that Jesus’ incarnation, His perfect sinless life, His death, burial and resurrection was the only way for each of us to be rescued from our sin so we could have a personal relationship with Him.

God’s timing is always deliberate and purposeful. 

Jesus’ incarnation, His virgin birth to Mary, His living a perfect life under the law all took place in perfect timing.

Returning to Galatians 4:5 we see Paul continues by reminding the Galatians and us today the why of Jesus’ incarnation. Jesus incarnation was the way he could be born sinless and yet be under the law. Paul points out here in verse 5, Jesus came “to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

He came to redeem those under the law… to redeem each and every one of us who believe in Him.

2. Jesus coming redefined the relationship we can have with God through redemption.

In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul writes He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

God made him who knew no sin, die as our substitute taking not just our sins, but the sins of the entire world on himself.

Our sinfulness was imputed, it was credited to Jesus, just as Adams sin was credited to each of us. Jesus, who lived a perfect life under the law still had to bear the burden of our sin credited to him. Jesus took the punishment we deserved! He knew there was no way we can be righteous on our own. The scriptures are clear there is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who could keep the whole law except Jesus, the God Man! It is impossible for us to be righteous because of anything we do or don’t do.

God must punish sin, we know this, but many times we forget we all deserve death because of our sin.

We all have an innate sense of justice. I have spent many years working with children and families of all ages. One the most common phrases I hear, whether it is coming from a preschooler or a teenager is “it’s not fair!” One of the first phrases we say as children is “that’s not fair.” We learn to say this about everyone else, but we often forget it applies to us as well.

God is just, sin must be and always will be dealt with by God!

In Romans 3:21-24 Paul writes “But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;  they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

We read here in Romans 3 the righteousness of God has been Imparted to all who believe in Jesus.

God will deal with all sin in one of two ways.

This is the most important decision any of us will make. As we just read in Romans 3 we can have Christ’s righteousness imputed to us, credited to us if we believe in Him by faith. When we repent of our sins and believe in Jesus, that He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day we are saved. The righteousness of God is provided to us through our faith in Jesus Christ! Jesus’ righteousness is credited to us because of what He did, not because of anything we have done.

God will deal with the sin of those who do not believe in Jesus as well. The consequence of sin is death, not just physical death but spiritual death where the sinner is separated from God, for eternity, and lives under God’s wrath in hell. 

What is the difference between these two choices?

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Receiving the free gift of salvation from Jesus!

Romans 3:25-26 God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

God through His Son Jesus has provided a way for us to be justified through Christ’s perfect Righteousness. Justification is a legal term, applied to our standing before God. We are all guilty of sin, however when we believe in Jesus His righteousness is credited to us and we are justified. God declares us not guilty!

Those who come to Jesus by faith will be saved. When God looks on those of us who have been saved He no longer sees our sin, rather he sees Jesus’ righteousness!

Verse 5 goes on to tell us we are redeemed so we may be adopted!

3. When we believe in Jesus we are adopted by God, we are transformed from slaves to sons because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

Returning to Galatians 4 verses 6–7 “And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.”

He adopts us, We begin to have a family appearance that then leads to sanctification. Mannerisms, family resemblance. When we are adopted sons and daughters. No longer a slave, but a son, an heir to all things. Fellow heir with Christ. 

Sanctification is the process where we are conformed to the image of Christ. 

Glorification, one day we will no longer be in the presence of sin. 

Ephesians 2:8 tells us For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—