When we
think of Christmas passages, Luke 2 and Matthew 1 come to mind, among others.
Hidden among the epistles though is a great verse that should not be overlooked
as we ponder the Christmas story. It starts with the incarnation and then
beautifully explains the reason behind the coming of the baby that we
celebrate.
But when the fullness of time had
come, God sent forth a Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those
who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians
4:4-5
As I meditate
on this passage, each phrase speaks important truths:
The
fullness of time:
God has perfect timing in all He does. Thousands of years had passed since
God’s promise that One from a woman’s seed would crush Satan’s head. But up
until now, it hadn’t been the right time.
God knew what He was doing; the wait was intentional. And at this point
in history, with the Roman Empire spread wide and the Greek language widely
spoken, God was ready. The right people were all in place. The time was here.
The Savior could come.
God sent
forth a Son: This
was a Son who existed from eternity past, who dwelt with the Father in Oneness.
This was the plan all along. This promised One, the Messiah, would be the
rescuer the fallen world so desperately needed.
Born of a
Woman: How much more
vulnerable can the Son of God become than to be a newborn infant, reliant on a
young woman for His very sustenance? And because He was born of a woman and
thus was fully human, He understands our frailties. He understands heartache,
trials, loneliness, and pain. And we are also reminded of the promise in the
Garden: One from the woman’s seed would crush the serpent.
Born
under the Law: Ever
since Adam and Eve’s fall, all humanity is born under the law. This law must be
upheld to have a relationship with the Father. And yet, because of our sinful
desires and actions, we cannot follow the law perfectly. We are slaves to a Law
we cannot keep and hopelessly lost. Christ, born fully human, was now subject
to the same Law.
To Redeem
all those who were under the Law: Sisters, that’s us! Redemption has been made possible
because this One whom God sent at the right time, who was born of a woman and
under the Law, was able to keep the Law perfectly. Not only that, but He also
took our penalty, death, on Himself, so that His righteous life could be
imputed to us, and God’s righteous judgement against sin could be upheld as His
wrath was poured out on Christ. We have been redeemed at a high cost.
So that
we might receive adoption as sons [daughters]: We have not only been redeemed, but we have also
been adopted. We are daughters of the Most High God! If we follow the train of
thought in these two verses, it can be boiled down to this: Jesus was born to
save us so that we could become God’s children. Christ’s birth had an end in
mind… our salvation and adoption into God’s family. Jesus was born to die. His
manger lay in the shadow of a cross that would purchase our freedom.
I love the next two verses in this
passage as well:
“And because you are sons, God has
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 an heir of God.”
Because of Christmas and what would
follow, we are no longer slaves to a law we cannot keep. We are heirs to a
kingdom that is yet to come when the Savior we celebrate at Christmas comes
back a second time, yet this time not as a baby, but as a conquering king. May we
not just look to the past as we reflect on Christ’s birth this season, but may
we celebrate our salvation and adoption in the present, and wait with
anticipation for the day in the future when God’s final
plan will be fulfilled at the return of His Son.
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