|
|
|
 |
|
| |
|
 |
|
|
Scripture: Galatians 4:4-5
By Dr. Joseph W. Henderson
Sunday, December 20, 2009
KingdomView, Vol. 1, Issue 10
We live in a world that is constantly changing: seasons, governments and leaders, relationships, and our own personal growth experiences. However, our God declares that He never change (Malachi 3:6). In theology this truth is referred to as the immutability of God, which is "that perfection of God by which He is devoid of all change, not only in His being, but also in His perfections . . . ." Since Christmas is about Christ and Christ is the second member of the Godhead, He does not change either and that’s good news. Though we change and at times fail, it is wonderful and reassuring to know that our God does not change — He’s constant. He is constant in His character, commitment to His children, and His cause in the world (John 3:16). Our selected text reveals another cause set forth by God to transition us from bondage under the Law (Galatians 3:13) to spiritual sonship (Ephesians 1:5). Therefore, my thesis is "The redeemed possess spiritual sonship." There are four details in our text regarding Christ’s redemption of fallen men:
The arrival of Jesus Christ to earth was ordained by the Father. The Father sent His Son in the fullness of time. The Roman government had established peace in the world and had built a dynamic road system that allowed travel within its vast empire to be undertaken with ease. This allowed the gospel to spread among its cities and provinces unencumbered. The Grecian civilization provided a language which was adopted as the lingua franca (a lingua franca is a language systematically used to communicate between persons not sharing a mother tongue) of the Roman empire. The Roman’s mother tongue was Latin, the Jews primarily spoke Aramaic and Hebrew, and Greeks contributed Koine Greek, a common language that was spoken pretty much by all residing in Palestine during the Roman occupation. And finally, the Jewish community’s influence of monotheism, the worship of one God in the midst of a pagan society that worships many gods; this captures what Paul is conveying in regards to the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4a). Additionally, Jesus is born of a woman under the Law. He’s the God-man. He has two natures ¾ He’s fully God (Colossians 2:9) and man (Galatians 4:4). Christ redeemed us from the bondage of the Law that was never intended to have the power to save us (Romans 8:3-4), but to point us to the Savior, Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:19). The Mosaic Law is like a mirror. A mirror can only show us our imperfections; it’s powerless to correct them. The Mosaic Law shows us how sinful we are and points us to a Savior that can remove those sins. Therefore, Jesus Christ is that Savior and He is the only one that has kept the Mosaic Law without sinning. Paul declared that Jesus Christ is the end of the Law (Romans 10:4). We are no longer under the bondage of the Mosaic Law, but are now under grace (Ephesians 2:7-10). We’ve been given spiritual sonship through Christ’s redeeming work at Calvary. Therefore, the character of the true meaning of Christmas never changes ¾ Ain’t that good news!
|
