[0:00] You will find my text this morning in the epistle of Paul to the Galatians. The book of Galatians chapter 4.
[0:15] Galatians chapter 4 and verses 4 and 5. But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
[0:42] We have begun a series of sermons on the basics of the gospel. Let me remind you that when we began that series two weeks ago, I said there is only one place to begin.
[1:00] We begin with God. God himself, not with man and his need, great as that is, we begin with God. And so we considered two weeks ago the holiness of God.
[1:13] He is absolutely and utterly holy. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. That led us on inevitably to consider last week man's sinfulness.
[1:30] Into what a terrible state and condition sin has brought man. Man in his sin is guilty before God. Depraved.
[1:42] Powerless. And dead. Spiritually dead. Woe is me. For I am undone. And that leads us inevitably today on to consider the coming of Christ.
[1:58] God's remedy for man in his sin. The coming of Christ. Our subject this morning is the glorious mystery of the incarnation.
[2:10] God becoming man. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into this world. I trust that you notice how we are proceeding step by step.
[2:24] One step, one study leads on inevitably to the next. After each sermon I don't have to sit down and think where do we go from here.
[2:35] There is really only one place to go. In the light of the doctrine of God's holiness and man's sinfulness. It is inevitable that when the fullness of the time was come.
[2:51] God sent forth his son made of a woman. Made under the law. To redeem them that were under the law. That we might receive the adoption of sons.
[3:04] Very well then. We take our text and look at it section by section. First of all this. When the fullness of the time was come.
[3:17] When the fullness of the time was come. What does this mean? It simply means when the appointed time was come. The appointed time.
[3:29] When God's appointed time came. He took this action. The sending of his son into the world. Now my friends isn't there something wonderfully comforting about this.
[3:44] The sending of Christ into the world. The providing of a saviour. Was not a response on God's part to some unforeseen emergency.
[3:58] An afterthought on God's part. There are no afterthoughts with God. Before this world was made. Before anything at all was created.
[4:09] Before time was. God planned and decreed. The sending of his son into the world. The salvation of the people of God.
[4:22] Was determined and decreed by God himself. Before time began. And when the fullness of the time was come.
[4:34] When God's appointed hour struck. God sent his son into the world. But we can explore this a little more.
[4:48] Deeply a little further. Why was it that that particular time. That point in history some 2,000 years ago.
[4:59] Was God's appointed time. The great philosophers of Greece had come and had gone. Those men. Those men. Those men. Socrates and Plato and the others.
[5:12] Were the most brilliant. The greatest philosophers of this world. Had ever seen. Those pagan philosophers. It had been clearly demonstrated to men.
[5:24] That human philosophy. So brilliant though it was. Could not save them. Those outstanding men.
[5:35] Those great philosophers. Those great geniuses. They had asked all the ultimate questions. Concerning death and life. But they had been unable to come up with any certain answer.
[5:50] In the wisdom of God. It was demonstrated.
[6:03] The utter bankruptcy of human philosophy. It's bankruptcy of saving power. It was demonstrated in the wisdom of God. That human philosophy.
[6:13] Even at its best. Was bankrupt. Of saving power. It could not save. Then too. The great empire of Rome.
[6:24] Had done its work. That great empire. Had conquered. And subdued. The whole of the known world. Of the time. It had established.
[6:35] Conditions of peace. Throughout its vast empire. The Pax Romana. Reigned throughout. The great Roman empire. And not only that. The empire had constructed.
[6:46] A marvelous network. Of roads. Such were the conditions. That. There was never a time. More favorable. For the spread.
[6:57] Of the gospel. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. But more important still. The children of Israel. The Jewish people.
[7:08] Had had the law. God's law. Now for some. Thirteen hundred years. Since the time of Moses. Jews. And. A.
[7:19] The. Those. Jews. Most. Many of them. Many of their religious leaders. Had taken the view. That. They had in themselves. The power to keep that law.
[7:30] And so. Save themselves. We're always so ready. Aren't we. To complain. That we don't. We haven't been given enough time. To prove ourselves.
[7:42] Well God gave to those Israelites. Some thirteen hundred years. And surely it was. Amply demonstrated. By then. That the law.
[7:53] Cannot save. That by the. Deeds of the law. By the works of the law. There shall no flesh. Be justified. In God's sight.
[8:03] All man's efforts. To save himself. Have been shown to be. Totally and utterly futile. There is nothing. Absolutely nothing.
[8:15] That man can do. To save himself. Then. When the fullness. Of the time. Was come. When God's appointed.
[8:26] Hour arrived. God put. Into operation. His. Master plan. When the fullness. Of the time.
[8:37] Was come. But then we move on. And we notice. Secondly. In our text. That it says. God sent forth. God sent forth. His son.
[8:50] This tells us. Two truths. We learn from this. Two important truths. First of all. This. That when Jesus Christ. Came into this world.
[9:01] He came with the father's authority. God sent him forth. The whole grand plan. And scheme of salvation. Is of God.
[9:13] God planned it. God purposed it. God decreed it. God sent forth his son. God. It is not. It is not that. By his coming into this world.
[9:24] That Jesus. Did something that persuaded God. To love us. That's a caricature of the truth of the gospel. That is a travesty of the truth.
[9:36] It is because God loved sinners. That he sent his son into this world. He sent his son into the world. In his great and marvelous and everlasting love.
[9:50] To turn away from his people. His own. The father's wrath. In his love he sent him. To do that. Jesus Christ. Came into this world.
[10:02] With the father's authority. God sent him forth. And this tells us. Secondly. This great truth. The truth of Christ's pre-existence.
[10:15] Christ's pre-existence. God sent forth his son. He sent him forth. From a place. From the place.
[10:26] Where he was before. When a child is born into this world. Or should I say. When that child is conceived. In his mother's womb.
[10:38] That is the beginning of his existence. Previously. He has had no being at all. No existence whatsoever. But it is not so.
[10:49] With Jesus Christ. His conception in the womb of Mary. And his birth in Bethlehem. Were but his becoming man.
[10:59] Were but his taking to himself. Human nature. He existed with the father. Before that. He existed with him. From all eternity.
[11:11] Jesus Christ is eternal. He is everlasting. He is everlasting. There never was a time.
[11:21] When he was not. He always was. With the father. Before time began. Before the worlds were made. Christ was. Before ever time was.
[11:34] Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is. Christ the son is. Before his birth. Or before his conception. He was.
[11:45] Eternally. With the father. Always there. His pre-existence. The bible teaches this. So very plainly.
[11:56] John. John. John begins. His great fourth gospel. By telling us. In the beginning. Was the word. The word. Is Jesus Christ. Another name.
[12:07] For the Lord. Jesus Christ. In the beginning. Was the word. And the word. Was with God. Before ever. He was born. There in Bethlehem.
[12:18] He was with God. With the father. He was there. With them. In the beginning. That means. At the beginning. Of the world. And before ever.
[12:29] The world began at all. That means. At the very beginning. It means. Before ever. Anything began at all. Because of the limitations. Of human language. It has to be put in this way.
[12:39] In the beginning. From all eternity. Christ. Was. With. The father. We were reading. In Philippians. Chapter 2.
[12:50] A very famous. Passage. Concerning the. Coming of the Lord. Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul. Says there. That he. Being in the form. Of God.
[13:00] And thinking it not. Robbery. To be equal. With God. Made himself. Of no reputation. And took upon him. The form of a servant. That's what happened.
[13:11] When Jesus was born. He took upon him. The form of a servant. Before ever. That event occurred. He existed. In the form of God. Being in the form of God.
[13:21] He's eternally God. But at that point in time. He. The eternal son. Took upon him. The form of a servant. He was always with the father.
[13:36] His pre-existence. God sent forth. First of all. When the fullness of the time was come. Secondly. God sent forth.
[13:47] And now thirdly. We notice this phrase. His son. His son. God sent forth. His son. Jesus Christ.
[14:00] Is the son of God. He is God. The son. He is divine. He is fully divine. He is God. He belongs to the Godhead.
[14:11] He is the second person. Of the Godhead. God. There is nothing. Nothing. In all. Christian doctrine. And teaching. That is more.
[14:21] Utterly. Basic. Than this. Nothing. There is no religious group. Anywhere. That denies. The full deity. Of our Lord. Jesus Christ.
[14:32] That has any claim. Or title. To the name. Of Christian. That is why. It is completely wrong. For us. To think. Of people. Like the Jehovah's Witnesses.
[14:43] As a. A Christian group. They deny. The full deity. Of Christ. And cannot be called. Christian. At all. There is. I repeat. Nothing. Nothing.
[14:54] That is more. Completely. And utterly. And absolutely. Basic. In the. Christian doctrine. Or teaching. Than this. That Jesus Christ. Is God.
[15:06] The Bible. Calls him God. Some 800. Or so years. Before. Ever he was born. His birth. Was foretold. His coming.
[15:17] Was foretold. By the prophet. Isaiah. And he says. There in Isaiah. Chapter 9. He is the mighty God. That's what you can read. There in Isaiah.
[15:27] 9. Verse 5. The mighty God. Let me remind you. Again. Of what I. Quoted from. John. Chapter 1. In the beginning. Was the word.
[15:37] And the word. Was with God. And that verse. Goes on. And the word. Was God. The word. Christ. And God. Are identified. The word.
[15:48] Was God. Don't let the Jehovah's Witnesses. Take you in. By telling you. That should be translated. The word. Was our God.
[15:59] There is no competent. Greek scholar. Anywhere. That will. Agree with that. Translation. The Bible. Says. The word. The word. Was God. God.
[16:10] The apostle. Paul. Says. Quite categorically. In Romans. Chapter 9. That he is. Christ. Overall. God. Blessed. Forever.
[16:21] Christ. Who is. Overall. God. Blessed. Forever. And there are. Many other texts. I could quote. For you. In which. Jesus Christ. Is called.
[16:31] God. God. Famous. Translation. Of the Old Testament. Into Greek. It was made. Some 200 or so years.
[16:42] Before Christ's birth. We call it the Septuagint. Because. It was. A translation. Made. By some 70 scholars. In the city of Alexandria. That translation.
[16:55] In that translation. The word. For God. The great word. Jehovah. The great Old Testament. Name. For God. The divine name. Is invariably. Translated.
[17:05] By the Greek word. Kurios. Lord. And in the New Testament. When the. Men. Who were used. To write. The New Testament. Wrote.
[17:15] Those great books. That make up. Our New Testament. They took this word. Kurios. And it's the word. That they. Used. To. Refer. To. Jesus Christ. They called him.
[17:26] Lord. To use that word. Over and over again. Of him. A. The very word. That was used. Of Jehovah. Himself. In the Old Testament.
[17:37] Would in their eyes. Be. Terrible blasphemy. Were he not. We read. That he had no need. That any man. To testify.
[17:48] To him. Concerning man. For he knew. What was in man. You see. He's all knowing. He's omniscient. As we say. He knows everything. He knows everything. About us.
[17:58] He knows. Whatever is. In man. He knows everything. About you. And about me. And about every other. Human being. On the face of the earth. He's all knowing.
[18:09] He's all powerful. He's omnipotent. As we say. He said himself. Concerning his resurrection. That he would take his life. I have power.
[18:20] He says. To lay it down. And I have power. To take it again. Usually. The New Testament. Refers to the resurrection. As the God. The Father.
[18:30] Is raising of his son. That here. In this text. The Lord Jesus Christ. Say that he takes his life. The resurrection. Takes his life again. The resurrection.
[18:40] Is attributed. To himself. To the son. I have power. To take it again. The New Testament. Tells us. That he is able. To subdue. All things.
[18:51] To himself. He's all power. And not only that. But he's everywhere. He's omnipresent. As we say. In technical. Theological language. He's everywhere.
[19:03] Jesus spoke to Nicodemus. One night. And he said to him. No man. Has ascended up. Into heaven. But he that came down. From heaven. Even the son of man.
[19:13] Who is in heaven. The son of man. Is himself. That's a divine title. Here. There he was. The Lord Jesus Christ. In a room in Jerusalem. One night. Speaking to Nicodemus.
[19:25] And he said. I the son of man. Am in heaven. Even the son of man. Who is in heaven. No human being. Can be in two places. At the one time.
[19:36] But this is. God. This is God. The son. He can be there. In that room. In Jerusalem. Speaking to Nicodemus. And he's in heaven. As well. He's everywhere.
[19:47] All the attributes. Of God. That he is. Everything you say. Of God. You can say. Of him. For he is. God.
[19:58] It's clear. Too. That he is God. From the mighty works. That he does. And that he has done. He is the great creator. That same great chapter.
[20:10] John chapter one. Says. All things were made by him. Without him. Was not anything made. That was made. Only God. Can create. You and I.
[20:21] Can make certain things. If we have the proper materials. And the needed skill. But we cannot create. Make something out of nothing. All things were created by him.
[20:32] And not only that. He upholds all things. In him. Everything coheres. In him. All things consist. The Bible says. This whole. Marvelous universe of ours.
[20:42] Would collapse. In utter chaos. Were it not. For his upholding. Does that not. Tell us. That he is God. Then too. He forgives sins.
[20:54] Only God. Can forgive sins. He said. To the paralytic. Who was let down. By his four friends. Through the roof. In Capernaum. So he lay there. At Jesus feet.
[21:05] In that house. In Capernaum. He said to him. Some. Your sins. Are forgiven you. For someone. Who is mere man. To say that. Would be terrible blasphemy.
[21:16] Those Jewish religious leaders. Ascribed them. The Pharisees. Thought that it was blasphemy. For they considered him. A mere man. They said he's making himself. Equal with God. Most certainly he was.
[21:27] For he is God. Equal with the father. In power. And in glory. His mighty worth. He can give rest.
[21:39] To men. From any corner. Of the world. To men. And women. Who come to him. He could rise. And issue.
[21:50] This great invitation. Come unto me. All ye that labor. And are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Any person.
[22:00] Who issued. Such a statement. Promising universal rest. To any who came to him. Would be. Either a madman. Or an imposter.
[22:11] Or a person. Suffering from terrible. Delusions of grandeur. Were he not God. Jesus Christ. Could issue. Such an invitation. Because he is.
[22:23] God. His mighty worth. And then too. The New Testament. Shows him to us. As an object. Of worship. Only God. Did to be worshipped.
[22:34] God. When he showed. To doubting Thomas. One of his disciples. The scars. On his hands. And on his side. Thomas immediately.
[22:44] Responded with worship. My Lord. And my God. He declared. The dying Stephen. The first Christian martyr.
[22:56] Cried out. Lord Jesus. He cried out. As he was dying. Lord Jesus. Receive my spirit. He addressed prayer. To Jesus. Only to God.
[23:07] Can one address prayer. And Stephen. Knew. That Jesus. Is God. The four and twenty elders. Of whom we read. In Revelation. Chapter five.
[23:17] Who. Whom John saw. In his vision. Before the throne. Of Christ in heaven. Those representatives. Of the whole church. From all ages. They fall. Before him.
[23:28] And they. Worship him. We are told. He is God. It would be unthinkable. For any Jew. To worship.
[23:39] Any but God. In Jewish eyes. That would be. The most fundamental. Of all things. And indeed. It is the most fundamental. Of all sins. To worship. Any but God.
[23:51] This. Puts it. Once and forever. Beyond all dispute. That Jesus Christ. Is God. He is a proper. Object of worship.
[24:03] You my friend. Are this morning. In his presence. Be reverent. Humbly. And lovingly. Worship him.
[24:15] Your Lord. And your God. The doctrine. Of our Lord's. Full deity. Is absolutely. Essential.
[24:26] If he is not. Fully divine. Then you and I. Have no savior. It is his deity. That gives to. His sacrifices. Great.
[24:36] Value. So that it avails. For all. Who come. To Christ. In repentance. And in faith. Only because. He is God. Could he so.
[24:48] Bear. The wrath. Of God. Against sin. That we might be. Spared. That wrath. It is absolutely. Essential. That our mediator.
[24:58] That our savior. Be divine. God. Sent forth. His son. That is who he is. God's son. God. When the fullness.
[25:11] Of the time. Was come. We notice. First of all. God sent forth. Second. He sent forth. His son. Thirdly. We notice. And now.
[25:21] Fourthly. We notice. This phrase. Made of a woman. Made of a woman. Mary. Gave birth. To Jesus.
[25:32] Jesus. Took from her. All that any child. Takes from his mother. She. Is in a full sense. She was in a full sense.
[25:44] His mother. What this is telling us is. That he is. True man. He is human. He is fully human. He has a human nature.
[25:55] He was born. A man. The evidence. For our Lord's humanity. Is abundant. In the scripture. He grew hungry.
[26:07] As you and I. Grow hungry. He needed to take food. As you and I. Do day by day. He became thirsty. As you and I. Become thirsty.
[26:18] He sat one hot day. At midday. By the well. At Sychar. And he asked. A Samaritan woman. There. To give him a drink. Of cool. Refreshing water.
[26:30] He grew physically. Tired. And exhausted. As you and I do. We read of him. One day. Being very busy. Teaching the people. And healing. And so on. After he had done that.
[26:41] His disciples. Were rowing him. Across the lake. Of Galilee. And in the stern. Of the boat. He fell. Sound asleep. He slept. So soundly.
[26:51] That not even. The howling. Of the wind. The raging. Of the storm. Awoke him. He's mad. He had human emotions.
[27:02] Just as you and I have. He could weep. He stood. And he looked over. The city of Jerusalem. And as he thought. Of the terrible fate. That awaited. The impenitent citizens.
[27:13] Of that city. He wept. Over it. He stood. At some distance. From the grave. Of his friend. Lazarus. And Jesus. Wept.
[27:23] There are many. Christmas. Hymns. That. Are noble. Expressions. Of biblical truth. I know that.
[27:33] Many of them. But there is one. Popular hymn. That is often sung. That has these words. In it. The little Lord. Jesus. No crying. He makes. What utter nonsense.
[27:46] You and I. Should never sing. These words. They are not true. The little Lord. Jesus cried. As any other baby cried. He was a normal baby.
[27:58] He became man. He is man. He needed friends. As you and I need friends. He craved for human friendship. He loved to be there.
[28:10] In the home. Of Mary. And of Martha. And of Lazarus. He chose twelve disciples. That they might be with him. With him. That they might teach them. Yes. Certainly. May but with him.
[28:20] That he might have their companionship. How he. Wanted to have their. Support. And companionship. There. In the garden of Gethsemane. At the last. How he wanted to have James.
[28:32] And Peter. And John. With him there. He had a particularly close relationship. With John. He is that disciple. Whom Jesus loved. The New Testament. Tells us.
[28:42] He loved all the disciples. But there was a particularly close. Relationship with John. At the human level. His humanity. And we see his humanity. Also.
[28:53] In that he was mortal. He died. God cannot die. But this is why. Jesus Christ. Became man. In order that he might die.
[29:04] For us. At the cross. He is man. He is God. What a mystery. He took human nature. Into mysterious union.
[29:17] With his eternal. Divine nature. And he remains forever. God. And man. He has two distinct natures. They are not mingled. Or mixed together.
[29:29] Two distinct natures. The human nature. And the divine nature. And yet. He is not. A dual personality. He is one person. One divine person.
[29:41] Many of you learned it. In your childhood. When you are to learn. The answers. In the shorter catechism. The answer to question 21. Is. The only redeemer.
[29:53] Of God's elect. Is the Lord Jesus Christ. Who being the eternal. Son of God. Became man. And so was. And continues. To be God.
[30:03] And man. In two distinct natures. And one person. Forever. That he should become man. Was absolutely essential.
[30:14] It was man who sinned. Only man. Could pay sin's penalty. Bear its punishment. Only a man. Could be our substitute.
[30:25] He's God. He's man. He's the God man. God sent forth. He sent forth his son.
[30:37] Made of a woman. And then. Fifthly. We notice this phrase. Made under the law. Made under the law. Gee. The man. Christ. Jesus. Was under obligation.
[30:48] To keep God's law. He was born under the law. He was made under the law. He had to worship none. But the one true God. He had to reverence the divine name.
[30:59] He had to love his neighbour as himself. He was obligated to keep God's law. And keep it he did. To perfection. He was completely sinless. A perfect man.
[31:10] Without sin at all. He took human nature to himself. But not sinful human nature. He was completely without sin. How terribly important is this doctrine.
[31:24] If he had any sins of his own. Then he could not by his death. Atone for the sins of others. He would have to die for his own sins. He's God.
[31:38] He had to be God. That his sacrifice would be. However a value. In setting people free from sin. He had to be man. Because it is man who sins.
[31:49] And he had to be sinless man. Or he would have to die for his own sins. He was made under the law. He was obligated to keep God's law.
[32:00] But this means something more. It means this. He was duty bound. With a duty to which he voluntarily bound himself.
[32:11] To bear the curse of the law. He stood in the place of others. Who had broken that law. And he took the punishment due to them.
[32:23] He bore the curse. That was due to them. That fell instead upon him. He made their doom. Our doom. His own.
[32:34] Oh my friend. Don't you see the love of Christ. A perfectly sinless man. Christ Jesus. Bore the punishment of sin.
[32:48] The wrath of God. The wrath poured out. Due to us. He bore it. That we might be spared it. He bore it.
[32:59] Instead of the sinner. As the Negro put it. He die. Me no die. He was made under the law.
[33:13] The fullness of the time was come. God sent forth. Secondly. He sent forth his son. We noticed. Thirdly. He was made of a woman. He's human. We noticed.
[33:23] Fourthly. He was made under the law. This thing. And then. Sixthly. And just in a word. We notice. Verse five. To redeem them. That were under the law.
[33:35] That we might receive. The adoption. Of them. Our subject. This morning. Has been. The sending forth. God sending forth. Of his son.
[33:45] The person. Of our Lord. Jesus Christ. But why. Did God. The son. Become man. Why. Was he born. Of a woman. Then made. Under the law.
[33:56] It was to redeem. Them. That were under the law. That we might receive. The adoption. Of sons. By the shedding. Of his blood.
[34:07] He has purchased. Redemption. He shed his blood. To provide. Redemption. For his people. To deliver. To redeem us. To pay. The ransom.
[34:18] Price. That would set us. Free. From our sins. We were thinking. Last Sunday morning. Of the terrible effects. Of sin. Upon us. Christ came.
[34:30] God sent him forth. That he might. Deliver us. From those. Terrible consequences. Of our sins. And those. Who he redeems.
[34:40] Those who he delivers. Become. The children of God. They receive. The adoption of sons. They enter into. God's family. They become. The children.
[34:51] Of the heavenly king. That is why. God. Sent him forth. And it only remains. For me.
[35:02] To ask you now. Have you. Experienced. This. Great. Deliverance. Are you. A child.
[35:12] The world. Of God. Are you. One of Christ's. Redeemed ones. Are you. In the family. Do you. Have Christ. As your saviour. I frequently.
[35:25] Ask. These questions. Or questions. Like these. At the end. Of a sermon. Or in the course. Of a sermon. But my friend. Are you facing up. To those questions.
[35:37] Christ. Is offered. To you. How very. Dreadful. It will be. At the last. If having. At Christ. Offered to you. Again.
[35:48] And again. And again. You reach. The judgment. Without him. Oh my friend. Is there any reason. Can you give me. Any valid reason.
[36:00] Why even. Sitting here. In this church. In this church. In this morning. You should not. Make contact. Make saving. Contact with Christ. By faith.
[36:12] I urge you. Know that God's spirit. Would accompany. What I say. With his own. Almighty power. I urge you. Be ye.
[36:23] Reconciled. To God. Stretch out. The hand of faith. And make contact. With Christ. The Savior. Let us pray.
[36:38] We give thanks. For thy wondrous love. In sending forth. Thy son. Made under the law.
[36:49] Born of a woman. We thank thee. That thou did. Stemmed him forth. To be the sinner. Savior. We pray. That we will. As individuals. Trust in him.
[37:02] And so. Rejoice. In God's. Great salvation. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen.