God Sent Forth His Son

I invite you to find Galatians 4 in your Bible.

For just a moment, we are going to consider verses 4-7.

Whether you are a member of Christ Covenant Church or whether you are visiting with family and friends, or maybe you are here tonight for another reason,

Whatever has brought you here on Christmas Eve, I know in my heart that this is the perfect time for you to stop for just a moment and hear what God has done for you, the very thing we celebrate at Christmas.

The Bible says:

Galatians 4:4–7 ESV

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

It is very easy for us to get frustrated with the timing of things.

I thought I’d be so much further along by this time.

I’m tired of waiting.

Or maybe you struggle like me to feel that time goes by so quickly and you can’t seem to keep up.

As people, we can seek to manage time, but we certainly have no control over it.

So, it is an amazing thing to consider that God, who created all things, is in sovereign control over time.

It had been thousands of years since the first man and woman sinned against God in the garden.

It had been thousands of years since God promised that one born of woman would come and crush the serpent’s head representing our sin and death.

Why had God not sent a savior the day after those first sins?

He does not always answer all of our questions, but He does promise us that His timing is always perfect.

And when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son.

Now, it would not have felt like perfect timing to Mary who was just a teenager, and Joseph who had not yet begun to live with his wife.

It would not have seemed like perfect timing when Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem and found no place but a stable and a manger to have their newborn son.

It would not have felt like the perfect timing to the Jews who considered that they had waited so long for a Messiah that they were not sure if He would ever come.

It would not have felt like the perfect timing to Rome who believed they had brought peace to the world by the sword.

But we can always trust God’s timing even when we do not understand it.

God sent forth His Son.

God does not need us.

Instead, God has always dwelt in the perfect community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Yet, when the time was right, the first person of the trinity - God the Father - sent the second person of the trinity - God the Son - to be born of woman.

Jesus was God, the second person of the trinity, who has always been from eternity past, and when the time was right, God the Father sent His son to be born of woman, under the law.

The God of the universe humbled himself to the point of becoming human, a baby, born of woman as we all were, born under the law.

We can be tempted to believe that we wish we were completely autonomous.

We hear in the culture that what is true for you is true for you and what is true for me is what is true for me.

We hear that we should speak our truth and cast off all things that would seek to restrain us.

We are told we should live like the old Frank Sinatra song, “I did it my way.”

Yet, we have the Bible to show us what life is like when people live that way.

The book of Judges in the Bible is a book that tells us of a time when everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

And the book is filled with humanity at its very worst filled with horrors and atrocities.

Which shows us that it is God’s grace that we are born under the law.

We are not the Creator, we are creatures of the Creator, so our Creator has given us the law to show us how we are to live.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love others as yourself.

Have no other gods before the true God.

Honor God’s name and do not take it in vain.

Honor your Father and Mother.

Do not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet what others have.

We are graciously born under the good law of God.

Yet, Jesus made clear to us that even if we have anger for our brother, it is as murder, and even if we have lust for a woman, it is as we have commited adultery.

So, God has made it crystal clear that though we live under the good law of God, we have all fallen far short of it.

Because of our disobedience, we are naturally separated from God and have become enemies of God, His rule, and His glory.

That is why it is such incredible news that when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

You see, Jesus was born under the same law as we all were, and because Jesus was fully man, He was accountable to the law just the same, but because Jesus was God, he was able to live his life in complete obedience to the law of God fulfilling every word and intention.

That is why Jesus, who was born under the law is able to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

He perfectly fulfilled the law, but then he died in our place for our sin, he took punishment we deserved in order to redeem us from our disobedience to God’s law.

And all who are in Christ have received adoption as sons and daughters of God.

God sent His perfect son to die in our place in order to adopt us as His beloved children.

Jesus took the punishment of our sin so that we could take the blessing of being adopted as a child of God.

He sent His son, so all who would believe in him would become sons and daughters, able to cry out “Abba Father!”

Before you repented and believed, God was only your judge, the one you had disobeyed and deserved his guilty verdict.

After you repent and believe, God is your Father who has done everything to save you and who promises that this good work he started in you he is going to bring to perfect completion.

And I can tell you as a father, my love and care for my children is not based on if they always obey.

It’s not based on the fact that they are never messy or disobedient.

It is based on the fact that they are my beloved children.

And I live that out so imperfectly.

How much more does our Father God love those who are his beloved children and carry them all the way home?

The greatest gift you can receive this Christmas is the adoption of God through believing that He sent His son.

While God has offered us His son, we are not saved automatically.

And we are not saved by trying to be a good person.

And we are not saved by learning the facts about the Christmas and Easter story.

We are only saved when we repent of our sin.

That means we agree in our hearts that we have sinned against God and that we deserve his punishment.

Not only do you repent of your sin but you believe in your heart that Jesus came because he loves you.

That Jesus died in your place for your sin.

And you believe God rose Jesus from the dead to defeat your sin and death and to give you eternal life with God.

That’s why Jesus came at Christmas.

Would you receive this greatest of gifts right now?

If you are here today, and you are an adopted child of God, would you treasure this gospel in your heart as you celebrate Christmas this year?

Let’s pray.