Christmas 2020 - Galatians 4:4-7
Notes
Transcript
Christmas 2020 - Galatians 4:4-7
Christmas 2020 - Galatians 4:4-7
Galatians 4:4-7
I probably say this every Christmas but most of you know that Christmas is not my favorite holiday. I like the Resurrection season better. That does not mean that I don’t like Christmas but it’s just not my favorite. The birth of Jesus is important and we know that because we find the account in two of the Gospels. If it were not important it wouldn’t be there and besides without His birth He could not have done the work of redemption that God considers of utmost importance. How important does He consider it? Let’s let the writer of Hebrews tell us:
Hebrews 10:28-3128 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.[1] From that I would say that God considers the work of Christ to be important.
Since it is so important today we will be looking at the story of Jesus specifically at His birth. To start out I just want to give you a little cultural Christmas quiz.
1. Where is Santa Clauses home?
2. How many Reindeer does Santa use to pull his sleigh?
3. What color is Santa’s suit?
4. Can you name the 8 reindeer that pull Santa’s sleigh in good weather?
5. What is the name of the 9th reindeer with the shiny nose?
You did a good job on knowing about Santa. I’m proud of you. Now let’s take another kind of quiz.
1. Where did Jesus do His first miracle? Cana of Galilee, at a wedding.
2. How many “I Am” statements did Jesus make in the Gospel of John? 7 I AM the Good Shepherd, I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life, I AM the Door, I AM the Resurrection and the Life, I AM the Bread of Life, I AM the Light of the World, I AM the True Vine
3. How many Apostles did Jesus have? 12
4. Can you name the 12 Apostles? Peter*, Andrew*, John#, James#, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus@, Thaddaeu@ (Judas brother of James), Simon the Canaanite Zelotes, Judas Iscariot.
5. How many sets of brothers were Apostles? 3
If I were to ask you questions about the birth of Jesus you could probably tell me that He was born in Bethlehem, and that He was there because there was a census or taxation as the King James puts it, so that His foster father, Joseph, had to go there with His mother, Mary.
You could probably tell me about the angel coming to Joseph telling him not to be afraid to marry his fiancé Mary even though she was already pregnant.
You could tell me about the angel Gabriel coming to Mary and announcing to her that her child would be the Savior, Emanuel even though she had never been with a man; she was a virgin.
I have no doubt that even our children could tell us how Mary took her new born son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger of a stable because there was no room for them at the inn.
And you could all tell me the story of the shepherds who were in the fields watching their sheep when all the sudden an angel of the Lord was present scaring them to death, then proclaiming to them: unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior Who is Christ the Lord. And you could tell us how the shepherds saw a multitude of angels saying Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace, goodwill toward men. Then how the shepherds hurried into Bethlehem to find the Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger just like the angels had said. You could also most likely tell me that the first thing the shepherds did after leaving the stable where they found Jesus was to tell everyone who would listen.
And you could relate to us the story of how the Wisemen or Magi who were following His star came to Jerusalem and had a meeting with King Herod trying to find the One born King of the Jews, and how Herod was upset and called all the Scribes and Priests together to determine where the King of the Jews would be born. You could tell how Herod directed the Magi to Bethlehem and how they found Him in a house in Bethlehem because His star rested over the house. You would most likely mention that the Wisemen worshiped Jesus, the baby born a king in a stable. You could also tell us that the gifts they brought were expensive gifts; gold, frankincense and myhhr.
You could tell us about Herod’s plan to kill Jesus and how it was thwarted by the Wisemen going home a different way and not telling Herod where the baby was. And how Herod had all the babies 2 years old and younger killed just to make sure Jesus was dead.
And you could tell us how Jesus was protected by an obedient “father” who took the Son of God to Egypt for safety after being warned by an angel.
I have no doubt that all of you could tell this story as well if not better than I can. It is a great and beautiful story of how our Savior, our Emmanuel stepped out of eternity and into time, into humanity itself, invading our world to live a life of obedience that we cannot. But tell me, what is the significance of the story? We often tell it like it is a fairy tale story we bring out once a year to tell our children. However, Hebrews 10:28-31 that we read a moment ago made it very clear that the story of Jesus and what He did should be taken very seriously. This morning we will look at Galatians 4:4-7 and see what the significance of Jesus coming to man, as a man and dwelling among us as Emmanuel. Let’s pray then we will get started.
Galatians 4:4-7 4But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.[2]
The first thing we see in this passage is that Jesus came into the world to be born of a virgin at a specific place, at a specific time, and under specific conditions. Very plainly Jesus the Christ came into the world at the time God had planned in eternity past. It was the fullness of time. I’m not going to do it but you could read all of the prophecy in the Old Testament concerning Christ’s coming. But if we were to read the account of Jesus birth in Luke 2 we would see that He was born during the reign of Caesar Augustus. During the reign of this Emperor there was in the “civilized” world a common language, Greek, that was used throughout the Empire so communication across the “civilized” world was simplified. During the reign of Augustus there was a road system that linked all of the major cities of the Empire together so that information could freely flow from one end of the Empire to the other. Also during the reign of Augustus there was what was known as the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome. It was a peace enforced by the point of the spear and the edge of the sword but it was peace none the less and people could travel about freely without fear of danger in their travels. God the Father brought God the Son into the world at His appointed time because He had caused the conditions to be perfect for the spread of His gospel; common language, ease of travel, and relative safety.
The second thing we see in this passage is that God sent His Son. This was not some physical liaison between some superior being and a human woman. There was no physical relation between the Father and Mary. Mary was a virgin and remained a virgin until after the birth of Jesus. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit who was sent by the Father for the purpose bringing His Son into the world. Luke 1:34-35 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.[3]
Matthew 1:24-25 24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.[4] In John 3:17 we see that God sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. Jesus goes on to say in John 3:18-19 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. [5] God sent His Son because man was condemned.
And the next thing we see in this passage is that man is condemned already because he is born under the law and Jesus came to redeem us from our slavery to the law. Being a slave to the law is the same as being a slave to sin because the truth of the matter is no one can keep the perfect law of God because of sin; man loves darkness rather than light. Man in his rawest state is always seeking to justify himself by either keeping the law or excusing himself from the necessity to keep the law just like Adam blamed Eve. In Matthew 1:21 the angel had just told Joseph that his betrothed wife was with child then he said: 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”[6] Man is born under the law of God and responsible to keep the law but unable to do so as Paul says in Romans 3:23 all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God so God sent forth His Son at just the right moment in human history for the purpose of redeeming His people who are under the law.
We need to understand that there is nothing in any mythology or any other religion that compares to this. In every other religion man must conform to his god in order to win his gods favor. But our God sent forth His Son born under the law just like us in order to be the perfect sacrifice for our rebellion against His law. Mankind is not neutral towards God, mankind is opposed to God, the things of God and the people of God. God condescended to man to redeem those who were His enemies: Romans 5:8 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.[7] And in Romans 8:5-8 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.[8] God sent forth Jesus to redeem us from the Law of sin and death.
The fourth significance we see in the birth of Jesus into the world from our passage in Galatians is that since we who have believed are redeemed then we are now adopted to be children of God. Romans 8 calls us heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus. All of the promises of God are fulfilled in Jesus Christ and we receive the benefit of those promises, we are more than conquerors. Galatians 3:26-27 says: 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.[9] Having put on Christ through faith we are now clothed in His righteousness and no longer have to depend on our own to stand before God.
The fifth significance of Christ coming into the world to redeem us from the law and adopting us as children of God is that we now have the Spirit of Jesus indwelling us assuring us of our adoption as children of God. Since we are children of God and we have a constant reassuring of that adoption then we must not make ourselves slave again to sin and the law. If we are children of God then we must live like we are children of God. Jesus came to save us from our sin. That does not just mean from the eternal consequences of sin but it also means the bondage to sin in the here and now. We no longer have to sin because where once we hated the law of God now we desire to keep the law of God. Where once we were enemies of God we are now children of God who long to please our Father knowing that when we fail we are forgiven and can cry out Abba Father.
In Hebrews 10:28-31 that we read at the opening of the sermon we see that God takes very seriously the work of His Son on the cross, and the work of the cross did not begin at the cross.
In just the right moment in time, when all that God had caused to come together; common language, ease of travel and relative safety; when the Gospel of the kingdom of God could flow across the known world, God sent forth His Son. He sent Jesus into the world because the world, man, is condemned. Because of man’s sin, loving darkness rather than light, and God’s righteous requirements of the Law, man is a slave to the law of God. But Jesus came forth born under that law to free His people from being slaves to sin and the law. Nothing in all religious history compares to this. Only our God condescends to man, reaches down to His enemy to save him from eternal hell, and He did this by sending His Son. Because God sent His Son into the world those who believe are now heirs of God, we are children of God and His Spirit dwells within us and by that we can cry “Abba Father”. Since we are now heirs of God through Jesus Christ we must live like we are heirs of God.
Christmas time is a lot of fun but we must not get caught up in the fairy tale version of it. We must remember why Jesus came into the world and it wasn’t so families could get together and enjoy each others company and give and receive gifts. That can happen but that is not why He came. It was not so that once a year you can give money to those little pots outside of store entrances; though it is a good time to give to those in need. It was not so that we could have warm fuzzy feelings of peace on earth and goodwill towards man; though believers, of all the people on earth, can truly understand peace and goodwill. Jesus came stepped into humanity, God sent His Son into the world because the world is condemned but the ones who believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Tell that story of Christmas. Let’s pray.
[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (Heb 10:28–31). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[2] The New King James Version. (1982). (Ga 4:4–7). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[3] The New King James Version. (1982). (Lk 1:34–35). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[4] The New King James Version. (1982). (Mt 1:24–25). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[5] The New King James Version. (1982). (Jn 3:18–19). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[6] The New King James Version. (1982). (Mt 1:21). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[7] The New King James Version. (1982). (Ro 5:8). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[8] The New King James Version. (1982). (Ro 8:4–8). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[9] The New King James Version. (1982). (Ga 3:26–27). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.