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A Christmas Message |
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The Historical Preparations And Purposes For Christ's Birth
Text: Galatians 4:4-7
4 When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 Now because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, calling out, “Abba Father!”
7 So you are no longer a slave but a son; and if you are a son, you are also an heir through God.
Sermon:
What do we treasure most about Christmas? Might it be the holiday decorations, the family’s celebration, and the gifts that are given and received? We can enjoy those things, but we must be careful that they do not become more precious to us than what Christmas is really about, and we slip into being a worldly minded person whose greatest treasure of Christmas is the earthly material things.
For us Christians, the meaning of Christmas will make us feel like Asaph, who wrote in Psalm 73:25, “Whom do I have in heaven but you? And having you I desire nothing on earth.” Asaph did not consider the good life of prosperity, health, wealth, and possessions his greatest treasure. The truth was: he was burdened with the troubles of life and plagued every morning. But he saw that the good life of the worldly minded was nothing more than a fast trip to hell, which trip they were enjoying. So Asaph saw that his greatest treasure was God himself, for it was God who saved him and gave him eternal life in heaven. Is this not what you also think?
This Christmas season we will think that God is our greatest treasure if we appreciate what he did to save us 2,000 years ago. He sent his Son into this world. This Christmas sermon text enables us to explore the historical preparations leading up to God's sending his Son into the world and the purposes for which he sent his Son. When we have treasured up these truths in our heart, we will better appreciate the birth of the blessed Babe of Bethlehem, who restored us to God. Then we will think God is our greatest treasure and say, “Whom do I have in heaven but you? And having you I desire nothing on earth.”
The historical preparations God made for his Son to be born into this world will lead us to praise God in awe for all his wonderful deeds that he did already in ancient times to save us through his Son Jesus Christ. The historical preparations God made for his Son to be born into this world are summed up by the apostle Paul in these words: “When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under law.”
God did not send his Son into the world until the time God had set, when he would have all things arranged and prepared for Jesus’ arrival. To prepare for the coming of Jesus, God directed the course of this world’s history since the beginning of time. He raised up and removed the great empires of the ancient Middle East. He raised up the empires of Assyria and Babylon to discipline his unfaithful, yet chosen, people of Israel, from whom his Son would descend. He raised up the empire of the Medes and the Persians to free his people from captivity in Babylon and to restore them to the land of Canaan, where his Son would be born and conduct his ministry. He raised up Alexander the Great to establish the empire of Greece, in order to spread a common Greek language all over the Middle East. By means of that Greek language God would spread throughout the world the news of his Son’s coming and the mission his Son would accomplish. It would be the language of the New Testament Scriptures. Then God raised up the Roman empire to establish an era of law and order, stability, and safe travel for his Son’s witnesses to the world.
Having made these preparations for sending his Son into the world, God used the heathen emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus, to declare a census of the Roman world that brought a young couple named Mary and Joseph to the town of Bethlehem to be counted. There in Bethlehem God had foretold his Son would come into the world. And so, when the fullness of the time came, and all the preparations had been arranged, there in Bethlehem he sent his Son into this world.
In this Christmas season may these few words, “When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son,” lift up your spirit to praise God for all that he has done in the history of this world to send Jesus to save you. Stand in awe of God’s past mighty deeds that enable us Christians to sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord has come.”
When the fullness of the time came, God sent his Son in this amazing, hisstorical manner: he was born of a woman. His Son’s being born of a woman gives us reason to worship and praise God for his faithfulness. In the Garden of Eden God had said that the Seed of the Woman would crush Satan’s head. That was God’s first promise to send his Son, Christ the Messiah. From that moment every woman became a possible bearer of the Christ who would destroy Satan and release all people from Satan, sin, and death. As time passed God narrowed the field of potential women to a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, until the woman of promise came down to Mary. So it came to pass, according to his promise, that God sent his Son, the Seed of the Woman, who was born of a woman named Mary.
God’s Son being born of a woman was a profound miracle. Mary was a virgin. No human father was responsible for the son to whom she gave birth. Her son Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit when the power of the Most High overshadowed her. In this way the Son of God became the Son of Man. The Creator became one of his creatures. The Divine assumed to himself a human nature. In the person of Jesus Christ God is man and this man is God. This knowledge is too grand for us. Though we cannot understand it, in this Christmas season we can adore the baby Jesus lying in the manger, who is the Son of God in the flesh.
The other amazing fact attending the Son of God’s birth into the world was that he was born under law. Being God himself, God’s Son was above the law. He was not subject to its decrees and demands, anymore than a human father who sets a bedtime for his child must go to bed himself at that time. Yet the Son of God was born under the law, placing himself under the law’s demands for righteousness and holiness, in order that he may be the Substitute for all people under that law.
God is a holy and just God. As it says in Psalm 5, no evil can dwell with him. No sinner can come into his holy presence. Only he who has fulfilled God’s law perfectly and is righteous can dwell with him. Ever since Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, however, all human beings--including us, have been sinful by nature and have violated God’s law that demands we be holy and perfect. Being sinners under the law, we humans were subject to the law’s decree that we must be punished for our sins. Thus we had a dismal, bleak future and eternity ahead of us. We had nothing but death and hell to look forward to.
It is just because we are sinners who were subject to death and hell that we rejoice this Christmas season over the purposes God had for his Son’s being born of a woman under the law. God’s purposes for his birth were “to redeem those under law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
Jesus, the Son of God, was born to redeem those under law, namely all people on the face of the earth. The word redeem in the original Greek language means to buy back. At its creation the human race belonged to God and was in his holy image. Through the fall of Adam and Eve, however, the human race became separated from God and became slaves of Satan to do his evil will. All human beings were then enslaved to sin and the law of punishment for their sins. Being sinners, who could not dwell with God, not a single person was eligible to inherit eternal life with God. So the purpose God had for having his Son born of a woman under law was to redeem, to buy back, all us human beings from the clutches of Satan and enslavement to sin and death.
To buy us back the Son of God was born a human being without sin under the law to be our Substitute in fulfilling the law. Though he was tempted in every way we are, he remained without sin and fulfilled the law perfectly for us, so that his righteousness would be credited to our faith in him. Having his righteousness, we are once again acceptable to God and may dwell with him.
But the law also demanded that our sins be punished. Having been born under the law to be our Substitute, God transferred the guilt of all our sins to him. As it is written, “God made him who knew no sin to be sin in place of us.” Being the bearer of all our sins, God punished him in our place. “He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; The punishment for our peace was upon him; And by his stripes we are healed.” Because Jesus suffered the punishment for our sins, the law was satisfied. The punishment we deserved was pardoned. Once again we possessed God’s peace and favor.
The purpose God had for his Son being born of a woman under law to buy us back from Satan, sin, and death was this: “. . . that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Jesus bought us back so we would be adopted as God’s sons.
There is a reason for the verse saying “sons” and not “children”. In ancient times the sons had the right of inheriting their father’s estate. As a result of Jesus’ redeeming us, God adopted us as his sons who have the right to his inheritance--eternal life. This is true whether we are a male or a female. Our gender makes no difference. As the above Christmas sermon text says, “So you are no longer a slave but a son; and if you are a son, you are also an heir through God.” So whether you are a male or a female, you are God’s son and heir to eternal life in the blessedness of heaven.
So this Christmas season rejoice in God’s sending his Son who was born of a woman under the law. By him you were redeemed; and through him you are a son of God who will inherit eternal life with him in heaven. Now having heard the wonderful works that God has done to save you by sending his Son to be born into this world, you can joyfully say with much appreciation, “Whom do I have in heaven but you? And having you I desire nothing on earth.”
Amen.
4 When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 Now because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, calling out, “Abba Father!”
7 So you are no longer a slave but a son; and if you are a son, you are also an heir through God.
Sermon:
What do we treasure most about Christmas? Might it be the holiday decorations, the family’s celebration, and the gifts that are given and received? We can enjoy those things, but we must be careful that they do not become more precious to us than what Christmas is really about, and we slip into being a worldly minded person whose greatest treasure of Christmas is the earthly material things.
For us Christians, the meaning of Christmas will make us feel like Asaph, who wrote in Psalm 73:25, “Whom do I have in heaven but you? And having you I desire nothing on earth.” Asaph did not consider the good life of prosperity, health, wealth, and possessions his greatest treasure. The truth was: he was burdened with the troubles of life and plagued every morning. But he saw that the good life of the worldly minded was nothing more than a fast trip to hell, which trip they were enjoying. So Asaph saw that his greatest treasure was God himself, for it was God who saved him and gave him eternal life in heaven. Is this not what you also think?
This Christmas season we will think that God is our greatest treasure if we appreciate what he did to save us 2,000 years ago. He sent his Son into this world. This Christmas sermon text enables us to explore the historical preparations leading up to God's sending his Son into the world and the purposes for which he sent his Son. When we have treasured up these truths in our heart, we will better appreciate the birth of the blessed Babe of Bethlehem, who restored us to God. Then we will think God is our greatest treasure and say, “Whom do I have in heaven but you? And having you I desire nothing on earth.”
The historical preparations God made for his Son to be born into this world will lead us to praise God in awe for all his wonderful deeds that he did already in ancient times to save us through his Son Jesus Christ. The historical preparations God made for his Son to be born into this world are summed up by the apostle Paul in these words: “When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under law.”
God did not send his Son into the world until the time God had set, when he would have all things arranged and prepared for Jesus’ arrival. To prepare for the coming of Jesus, God directed the course of this world’s history since the beginning of time. He raised up and removed the great empires of the ancient Middle East. He raised up the empires of Assyria and Babylon to discipline his unfaithful, yet chosen, people of Israel, from whom his Son would descend. He raised up the empire of the Medes and the Persians to free his people from captivity in Babylon and to restore them to the land of Canaan, where his Son would be born and conduct his ministry. He raised up Alexander the Great to establish the empire of Greece, in order to spread a common Greek language all over the Middle East. By means of that Greek language God would spread throughout the world the news of his Son’s coming and the mission his Son would accomplish. It would be the language of the New Testament Scriptures. Then God raised up the Roman empire to establish an era of law and order, stability, and safe travel for his Son’s witnesses to the world.
Having made these preparations for sending his Son into the world, God used the heathen emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus, to declare a census of the Roman world that brought a young couple named Mary and Joseph to the town of Bethlehem to be counted. There in Bethlehem God had foretold his Son would come into the world. And so, when the fullness of the time came, and all the preparations had been arranged, there in Bethlehem he sent his Son into this world.
In this Christmas season may these few words, “When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son,” lift up your spirit to praise God for all that he has done in the history of this world to send Jesus to save you. Stand in awe of God’s past mighty deeds that enable us Christians to sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord has come.”
When the fullness of the time came, God sent his Son in this amazing, hisstorical manner: he was born of a woman. His Son’s being born of a woman gives us reason to worship and praise God for his faithfulness. In the Garden of Eden God had said that the Seed of the Woman would crush Satan’s head. That was God’s first promise to send his Son, Christ the Messiah. From that moment every woman became a possible bearer of the Christ who would destroy Satan and release all people from Satan, sin, and death. As time passed God narrowed the field of potential women to a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, until the woman of promise came down to Mary. So it came to pass, according to his promise, that God sent his Son, the Seed of the Woman, who was born of a woman named Mary.
God’s Son being born of a woman was a profound miracle. Mary was a virgin. No human father was responsible for the son to whom she gave birth. Her son Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit when the power of the Most High overshadowed her. In this way the Son of God became the Son of Man. The Creator became one of his creatures. The Divine assumed to himself a human nature. In the person of Jesus Christ God is man and this man is God. This knowledge is too grand for us. Though we cannot understand it, in this Christmas season we can adore the baby Jesus lying in the manger, who is the Son of God in the flesh.
The other amazing fact attending the Son of God’s birth into the world was that he was born under law. Being God himself, God’s Son was above the law. He was not subject to its decrees and demands, anymore than a human father who sets a bedtime for his child must go to bed himself at that time. Yet the Son of God was born under the law, placing himself under the law’s demands for righteousness and holiness, in order that he may be the Substitute for all people under that law.
God is a holy and just God. As it says in Psalm 5, no evil can dwell with him. No sinner can come into his holy presence. Only he who has fulfilled God’s law perfectly and is righteous can dwell with him. Ever since Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, however, all human beings--including us, have been sinful by nature and have violated God’s law that demands we be holy and perfect. Being sinners under the law, we humans were subject to the law’s decree that we must be punished for our sins. Thus we had a dismal, bleak future and eternity ahead of us. We had nothing but death and hell to look forward to.
It is just because we are sinners who were subject to death and hell that we rejoice this Christmas season over the purposes God had for his Son’s being born of a woman under the law. God’s purposes for his birth were “to redeem those under law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
Jesus, the Son of God, was born to redeem those under law, namely all people on the face of the earth. The word redeem in the original Greek language means to buy back. At its creation the human race belonged to God and was in his holy image. Through the fall of Adam and Eve, however, the human race became separated from God and became slaves of Satan to do his evil will. All human beings were then enslaved to sin and the law of punishment for their sins. Being sinners, who could not dwell with God, not a single person was eligible to inherit eternal life with God. So the purpose God had for having his Son born of a woman under law was to redeem, to buy back, all us human beings from the clutches of Satan and enslavement to sin and death.
To buy us back the Son of God was born a human being without sin under the law to be our Substitute in fulfilling the law. Though he was tempted in every way we are, he remained without sin and fulfilled the law perfectly for us, so that his righteousness would be credited to our faith in him. Having his righteousness, we are once again acceptable to God and may dwell with him.
But the law also demanded that our sins be punished. Having been born under the law to be our Substitute, God transferred the guilt of all our sins to him. As it is written, “God made him who knew no sin to be sin in place of us.” Being the bearer of all our sins, God punished him in our place. “He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; The punishment for our peace was upon him; And by his stripes we are healed.” Because Jesus suffered the punishment for our sins, the law was satisfied. The punishment we deserved was pardoned. Once again we possessed God’s peace and favor.
The purpose God had for his Son being born of a woman under law to buy us back from Satan, sin, and death was this: “. . . that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Jesus bought us back so we would be adopted as God’s sons.
There is a reason for the verse saying “sons” and not “children”. In ancient times the sons had the right of inheriting their father’s estate. As a result of Jesus’ redeeming us, God adopted us as his sons who have the right to his inheritance--eternal life. This is true whether we are a male or a female. Our gender makes no difference. As the above Christmas sermon text says, “So you are no longer a slave but a son; and if you are a son, you are also an heir through God.” So whether you are a male or a female, you are God’s son and heir to eternal life in the blessedness of heaven.
So this Christmas season rejoice in God’s sending his Son who was born of a woman under the law. By him you were redeemed; and through him you are a son of God who will inherit eternal life with him in heaven. Now having heard the wonderful works that God has done to save you by sending his Son to be born into this world, you can joyfully say with much appreciation, “Whom do I have in heaven but you? And having you I desire nothing on earth.”
Amen.
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