He Came to Redeem121215

Galatians 4:4-7, world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 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 through God.

Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' first coming into the world. The early church did not observe a birthday for Jesus. I suspect, but do not know for sure, that generally speaking birthdays were not celebrated in the first century. The early church celebrated Easter as the evidence of who Jesus was — our Lord and Savior! Today we do celebrate birthdays and enjoy celebrating the birthday of Jesus. However, as long as the world focuses on the baby in the manger the real point of why he came is lost amidst the tinsel and the gifts.

This passage begins with "the fullness of time" and it is an interesting phrase. I was recently asked why God didn't interfere in the progress of the human race before the flood when so many lost their lives. I said, "Because the fullness of time had not come". I believe the fullness of time refers to several things that came together. First, the Roman Empire had come into being. This allowed for widespread travel and communications throughout the Mediterranean basin on an excellent system of roads. There was one legal system from Spain to Syria and from North Africa to Germany. There was "peace" throughout the region enforced by the iron fist of Rome so that travel was fairly safe. Second, there was one common language of trade and communications. And, it wasn't Latin, as you might expect, it was Greek! Greek was a very precise language allowing ideas to be spread widely, and accurately, throughout the Roman Empire. And, third, Jewish synagogues were spread over the Roman Empire in every major city. This allowed the Old Testament Scriptures to be widely known. And the Scriptures were available in a Greek translation so that the common man could read it.

So, in the fullness of time, God sent forth his son…

To be born of a woman, born under the law.

The virgin birth. Remember the first prophecy concerning Jesus? Listen while I read the account from the garden of Eden as God spoke to Eve about the future offspring of the woman, Genesis 3:15, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” And then see it fulfilled in Luke's account,

Luke 1:26-35, In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Today, people seem to think teaching the virgin birth is not really important I disagree with that for several reasons. The one who would crush the head of the serpent was clearly promised as being the offspring of the woman. Adam was the responsible person in the garden of Eden and, as such, when he sinned he was contaminated by an inherited trait that is passed on to his children in all generations. That was not true of the woman. The virgin birth is a necessary part of Jesus being born without sin. The virgin birth also allows God himself to identify with human nature so that he could defeat the enemy of mankind. Jesus needed to share in flesh and blood, according to the book of Hebrews, in order to deliver us from the fear of death. And that flesh and blood had to be free of inherited sin. So Jesus was born of a woman and was…

Under the law. Let's look again at Luke's account. Luke 2:22-24, And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

Jesus' birth was not just “of a woman” but was also “under the law”. There was no reason for Joseph and Mary to assume that their "special baby" would not be subject to the law of Moses. So upon his birth they took him to the Temple to offer the sacrifice of a poor family, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." Jesus himself said that he did not come to destroy the law but, instead, he came to fulfill it. Jesus lived in correct relationship to the law as it was given to Moses. His interpretation was much stricter than that of the rabbis and the lawyers. For example, when they said, “you shall not commit adultery” it was applied to the physical act. Jesus said that thinking about adultery made one as guilty as the physical act. They said you shall not murder. Jesus said anger and evil words makes one as guilty as the act of murder.

Yes, in the fullness of time, Jesus was born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law. To redeem something, or someone, means to pay off whatever is holding them in bondage. Ellis J. Crum wrote a little song that we sometimes sing and it goes something like this:

He paid a debt he did not owe; I owed a debt I could not pay; I needed someone to wash my sins away. And, now I sing a brand-new song, "Amazing Grace" all day long. Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.

He paid that debt at Calvary. He cleansed my soul and set me free.

I'm glad that Jesus did all my sins erase. I, can, now sing a brand-new song, "Amazing Grace"all day long. Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.

At least, that's of my version of the first two verses. If you didn't already know it , I love that song. He came…

To redeem. Often, in these days, the simplest way to give a gift is to give a gift certificate, or gift card. This allows the recipient to select their own gift. It's not as exciting as opening a box under the tree, unless of course, you hide the gift certificate in the midst of packing bubbles inside a box. And in some ways, especially for us children, it's not as satisfying on Christmas morning because it can't be immediately redeemed for its value. But, if the gift certificate is valuable enough the recipient will be eager to redeem it at the first opportunity. In other words, "in the fullness of time". Jesus, was eager to redeem what had been lost in the garden of Eden. Luke tells us that…

He came to seek and to save. Matthew illustrates this "seeking". Listen while I read, Matthew 18:10-14, See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

A couple of years ago, I was gifted with a beautifully framed picture of a sheep over the side of a cliff hanging on for dear life. Just above the sheep is the Shepherd. He is holding on with his staff in his hand while reaching down to rescue the sheep that had gone astray. It's one of my favorite pictures because it shows in graphic form how Jesus reached down to deliver me. I don't mind being compared to a sheep because many times in my life I've been dumber than a sheep!

Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost. And "that", my friends, is you and I. We are "that which is lost". When the fullness of time had come, Jesus, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem us, came to seek and to save. He did that…

In agreement with the Father. John 3:16, tells us, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

The Father God loved the world! Now I'm part of that world and you are too! Many years ago, I remember my friend, Dick Hayes, telling me about his salvation experience. I can't go into all the details but it's sufficient to say that he was one of the leading sinners in Enterprise, Alabama. As a result of his 17-year-old daughter. along with a friend of hers, spending the night in prayer for his salvation he was driven to seek spiritual counsel. He left his office in the morning and walked to the pastor's home nearby. He pounded on the screen door, found it was unlocked, and pushed his way inside to the front door. When the pastor opened the door my friend Dick was on his knees crying! The pastor assumed that he was drunk but kindly invited him in. It was quickly determined that Dick was not drunk but was in spiritual trouble and needed help. The pastor hardly knew where to begin so he simply quoted John 3:16 and said to Dick, "You are part of the world so let's put your name in where it says 'world'." Dick said he was overwhelmed when he heard those words and he said to the pastor, "You mean God loves ME!" And he said that he was immediately saved by the grace of God. He went on to make a public profession of faith that night at the church service and set out to make right the wrongs of his life. He ultimately became a pastor and an evangelist.

You see, the Father sent forth his Son and it was done in agreement within the Godhead. Listen while I read from…

John 17:1-6, When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word....”

As Jesus' life on earth was coming to an end he prayed that beautiful prayer in John chapter 17. You might want to read it over and see where he prayed for you and me. But here, at the very beginning, Jesus makes it very clear that he is in agreement with the Father concerning what was about to happen in Jerusalem. Jesus could see that the glory of God was going to be shown on the cross of Calvary and in the empty tomb. Jesus, born of a woman, born under the law, came to redeem by seeking and saving that which is lost! He not only saves us he redeems us from the curse!

Redeemed from the curse. Listen while I read, Galatians 3:13-14, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

The curse is "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God", and, "the wages of sin is death". The curse visited on all mankind in the Fall, in the garden of Eden is a horrible thing. Apart from Jesus Christ taking our sin to the cross mankind has no hope in eternity. In Christ Jesus all the blessings that God has bestowed comes to us. Along with our salvation, achieved by Christ on the cross, we also receive the adoption as sons and daughters in the family of God. God has a plan…

To provide for adoption. This "adoption" is not by our choice it is…

An act of God. Remember what John wrote? John 1:12-13, But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

We must always remember that our salvation is not by works of righteousness that we have done it is always, and only, by the grace of God. God not only willed to save us he willed to adopt us into his family! We are not saved just to be servants we are redeemed by God to become family members. We are saved by grace through faith. And we are…

Received by faith. Listen while I read, Galatians 3:24-26, Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

No wonder the word "gospel" means "good news"! Before Christ came in the world, in the fullness of time, mankind was held in bondage to a law that he could not possibly keep. Jesus died for us and paid the price for our sins so that we can come to him by faith. When we receive our salvation by faith we become children of God…

Bestowing family privileges. One privilege is that we are able to call God our Father as Jesus taught us to pray in the model prayer. Matthew 6:9, Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name....”

We have the privilege of addressing our Father in heaven and of calling him by the most intimate family name. We have received a new relationship. In the past we were in slavery, now we have been set free. See how Paul described it…

Romans 8:15-17, For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,…

"Fellow heirs with Christ" what a wonderful concept! We have been adopted into the family of God and now we have the Lord Jesus as our older brother. We are part of the family of God! More than that, we have security in that family. Being in a loving family is a place of safety. As joint heirs with Jesus we have a guarantee of our inheritance. An inheritance on earth is a very insecure thing. Everything on earth is perishable and can be lost. Peter tells us that our inheritance is protected in a way no earthly treasure can be. Listen while I read what he had to say…

1 Peter 1:3-5, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Our inheritance is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us. It is By God's power not our strength. It is guarded through faith and will be revealed in the end.

There is another family privilege that we have. It is not always recognized as a "privilege" but it really is. When we are left on our own, generally speaking, we get into trouble, at least I do! The writer of Hebrews talks about this privilege. Listen while I read…

Hebrews 12:5-6, And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Discipline is a wonderful thing. It is not punishment, even though it feels like it. It is correction and if we did not receive it we would go on through life repeating the same mistakes over and over and over again. We are to take very seriously the discipline of the Lord. Don't you see? He disciplines the one he loves and corrects everyone that he receives.

As a child of God we have family privileges. We can call on God is our Father in fact, we can call him "Abba", or “Daddy”. We are fellow heirs with Christ and we have an inheritance that is secured in heaven. And when we do wrong we have a loving Father who corrects us and disciplines us for our good. This Christmas let's rejoice in our relationship with our Lord and Savior.

We must remember that Jesus came into the world, not to be forever a baby in a manger, but rather to be a Redeemer who enables us to be adopted into the family of God. Most teaching on salvation misses this point. We are not just saved from our sins, we are delivered from the curse and brought into the family of God. He saved us, not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to his mercy. We, on the other hand, received faith as a gift from God to allow us to receive salvation from our sins and adoption into the family of God. Christmas gives us the greatest gift of all! Christmas gives us a spiritual family that should include our natural relatives as well as our spiritual relatives. Have you recognized that without him you are a sinner and that the wages of sin is death? Have you rejoiced in the fact that God showed his love by sending his Son to die on the cross for your sins? If not, I hope you will today.

All scripture quotes from:The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.