FROM ADVENT TO ADOPTION – Galatians 4:3-5

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on December 16, 2018 under 2018 |

Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; December 16, 2018 from Galatians 4:3-5

Theme: The advent of our Savior turns us from slaves under the law to sons of the Father.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

In turning our thoughts toward Christmas this morning, I’d like to take up a subject that we rarely think of during the Christmas season. And that’s the subject of “adoption’.

Adoption is the right thing to talk about at this time of year, dear brothers and sisters; because the story of Christmas is really—ultimately—about how God made an adoption happen—a very important adoption—your adoption, and my adoption, in Christ.

Now; we all know what ‘adoption’ is in everyday life. It’s when someone takes a child, who is not theirs by natural birth, and yet makes that child to legally become their own—with all the rights and privileges that would have belonged to that child if they had been naturally born. It is, of course, a wonderful thing when a child is born into the world to a mother and father. But it is a truly remarkable act of love when a man and a woman take a child that is not their own and make that child legally their own—with all that comes with being their child.

And that helps us to appreciate what our spiritual adoption by God the Father is about. Adoption is the gracious act of God by which He takes someone that is not His own and, by grace, makes them a full-fledged member of His family—with all the rights and privileges of full acceptance, full favor, full relational freedom, full inheritance-rights, and all the privileges of a natural-born family member.

The passage of Scripture that I ask that we turn to this morning is one that makes reference to the event of Christmas. But its main theme is about something else—the wonderful subject of our spiritual adoption by God the Father. And as we’ll see, it’s our adoption by the heavenly Father that the story of Christmas was really, ultimately intended to accomplish.

That passage is found in Paul’s New Testament letter to the Galatians.

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First, a little background.

In this New Testament letter, the apostle Paul had been writing about the Old Testament law. He had been explaining to these believers that the law was given by God through Moses, not to make us holy, but rather to guide us to our need for a Savior. In Galatians 3:22-24, he said that “the Scripture”—that is, the Old Testament writings that give us the law—“has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

Think about that word “tutor”. Back in ancient times; if a wealthy man had a child who would one day become the heir of all that he had, he would place that child under the training and supervision of a household tutor. That tutor would protect, and guide, and instruct, and—to a degree—limit and restrain, and in fact almost confine that child under discipline, until fullness of maturity came; until that child was ready to receive the rights and privileges of the inheritance. And that’s what Paul is saying that the law was for the people of God. Its various rules, and its regulations, and the ceremonial rituals and ordinances that it commanded, all ‘confined’ the people who were under them. The people of God were, in a sense, under bondage to ordinances, and detailed instructions regarding sacrifices and offerings, and observances of calendar dates and feasts, and strict dietary laws, and commandments regarding almost every detail of life. And yet, the purpose of all of this was not to make them righteous. Rather, it was to tutor the people of God—to confine them—until the time when Christ the Savior was born.

And so, in Galatians 4:1-7, Paul went on to write;

Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ (Galatians 4:1-7).

What a difference! From slaves to sons! Jesus Christ has been born into the world to redeem us; and as a result, by faith in Him, we’re no longer under bondage! We now enter into the fullness of our adoption as sons and daughters of the heavenly Father!

Now; you notice that Paul speaks in this passage of our ‘adoption’—that we now ‘receive the adoption as sons’. And so, rather than emphasize the usual Christmas story today, I want instead for us to go back—behind-the-scenes of the Christmas story, as it were—and concentrate on the theme of ‘adoption’. Believe it or not, our ‘adoption’ by the Father through the work of Christ is really what the Christmas story was meant to bring about.

And unless we really understand our ‘adoption’, then we’re actually missing an important part of the Christmas story.

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Our ‘adoption’ is one of the most important aspects of our salvation in Jesus Christ. In fact, there is a sense in which our ‘adoption’—if rightly understood—is just another name for salvation itself. And yet, sadly, we rarely ever consider it.

But just think of what we’re told in Romans 8:15-17. That’s where Paul wrote;

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “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 joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together (Romans 8:15-17).

By adopting us, God makes us into full-fledged sons and daughters—every bit as much His own children as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And because of this, the Father also makes us joint heirs of the rich inheritance that belongs to His only begotten Son Jesus. As Paul puts it in Ephesians 1:2-6;

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6).

The Bible’s teaching about our adoption by the Father in Jesus Christ is truly a glorious thing. God did not send His Son into this world merely to take away our sins—as if He washes us clean and that’s all there is to it. That, of course, would be wonderful enough. But there’s much more to it than that! God sent His Son to redeem us from our sins so that He could then adopt us—completely—as His own sons and daughters; and thus draw us to Himself in as close a relationship with Him as it would be possible for us to have; and to thus give us all of the rich inheritance that belongs to His Son Jesus, in the glory of heaven, forever!

And that, dear brothers and sisters, is the ultimate reason why Jesus was born into this world. The advent of our Savior is what has turned us from slaves under bondage into full-fledged sons and daughters of the heavenly Father. That’s really what the Christmas story was meant to accomplish.

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So then; let’s go back to the apostle Paul’s words in Galatians 4, and consider how he shows this to us. First, notice …

1. WHAT OUR CONDITION WAS UNDER LAW.

He wrote of how, even though that child in ancient times was an heir, he was under the guardianship of a tutor. He was genuinely a son; but during that time, he was little better off than a slave. And in verse 3, he wrote, “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.”

When he writes “we”, I don’t believe that Paul is referring to every individual person in the world. We have to remember that not all people are truly the children of God. It’s true that we are all His ‘children’ in the sense that He created us. But not all are in a relationship of favor with Him as His children. The Bible teaches that some are the children of God, and some are ‘children of wrath’. The Bible recognizes only two types of people in the world—the children of God, and those of whom Jesus said, “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44). This is important to keep in mind. Paul is not saying the popular thing that the people of this world love to say. It’s not saying that all people are the children of God; because that’s something that is taught in the Bible.

Rather, Paul is speaking here of those who truly are the children of God by virtue of a covenant relationship with Him by faith—the called-out people of God—the ‘church’, either of the Old Testament era or of the New Testament era. In the New Testament era, we are ‘the people of God’ by faith in the work that Jesus did for us on the cross as preached in the gospel; and in the Old Testament era, people were ‘the people of God’ by faith in the promise of the coming of Christ as preached to them—and as embraced by them—in the commandments and ordinances of the law. Paul was pointing backward to that Old Testament era; and was saying that, back then, we would have been just like that child who was under the guardianship of a tutor. We—’the covenant people of God’—would have been in bondage “under the elements of the world”.

What were those “elements” by the way? The word that Paul used is an interesting one. It basically meant things ‘set in a straight row’. And one way of understanding these ‘elements of the world’ would be as the basic elements of this material realm. The apostle Peter spoke of things in this way—and used this same word—when he wrote that the day of the Lord will one day come, “in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:10). And if this is what Paul meant, then he would have been saying that the people of God, under the Old Testament system, were under bondage to rules and regulations over material things—that they were kept in bondage and confined by earthly elements.

But another way to understand what Paul was saying is with regard to the basic fundamentals of understanding—the ‘elementary school’ program—the ‘first principles’ of a relationship with God—the basic, fundamental ‘A-B-Cs’, you might say. The writer of Hebrews used this word in this way when he wrote, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God” (Hebrews 5:12).

And I believe that that’s the way Paul meant for us to take what he was saying in Galatians 4:3. Back in that old covenant era—back when we, as the covenant people of God, were like ‘children’— we “were in bondage under the elements of the world”. We lived under the confining principles of the basic A-B-Cs. “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle”. And under that old system, if we violated the rules and regulations of the law, we were guilty, and had the sentence of death placed upon us.

So there we were—as children under confinement to a law which kept us under bondage and convicted us of sin. But that leads us, next, to consider …

2. WHAT GOD THE FATHER DID FOR US.

In verse 4, Paul wrote, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law …” How glad we should be that He did!

First, notice that we’re told that God sent forth His Son for us “when the fullness of time had come”. What does that mean? Well; for one thing, it would surely mean that the Father sent His Son at the right time of history when the conditions of the world were perfect for the spread of the gospel. The world was brought under the relative peace of the Roman empire, the roads were sufficient and safe for travel, and all people groups largely spoke the same Greek language—so that the message of what Jesus had done could be delivered and everyone could hear and understand. That was truly a time—in the providence of God—that was rightly called “the fullness of time” for Jesus to come and the gospel to spread. And for another thing, it was the fullness of time in the sense that it was the time that God had promised. In the Book of Daniel, God gave very specific prophecies to His servant Daniel that pinpointed the exact time when the Son of Man would come into the world—centuries before it happened. And Jesus was born into this world right when God promised that He would come. That also made it “the fullness of time” in a prophetic sense.

But I suspect that what Paul meant was that it was “the fullness of time” in terms of God’s redemptive plan for humanity. This would be most in keeping with what Paul had already said in this letter. Back in Chapter 3, Paul wrote about the promises God had made to Abraham concerning his coming “Seed”—who would be born from his body—who would be the one in whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And after God gave that promise, He then gave the law through Moses. The law brought conviction of sin; but it didn’t annul the promise God made concerning the Seed of Abraham. And so; in verse 19, Paul asked;

What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made … (3:19a).

In other words, the law was given to bring people under confinement because of sin. God gave His good law; and yet, His people could not keep it. It made them out to be sinners that desperately needed a Savior. And when the fullness of time had come—when the law had fully served its purpose in the redemptive plan of God—when people could plainly see that they could not make themselves righteous by the law—then God sent forth His Son!

And look further. We’re told specifically that God “sent forth” His Son. The fact that the Son was “sent forth” means that He existed before He was sent. The Son of God left His glory in the heavens and—in obedience to the Father—came into this world. And notice how He did so. We’re told that He was “born of a woman”—or as it would better be translated, “born of woman”. That speaks of our Savior’s full humanity. He came from heavenly glory to be born into humanity as one of us. And there’s the Christmas story for you!—“the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”! And what’s more, He was “born under the law”—or again, as it can be better translated, “born under law”. He came into this world as a Jewish man; born under the constraints of the law which had kept the covenant people of God under bondage.

What a plan of God! He made a promise to the world concerning the Seed of Abraham—then He confined the children of Abraham under a law that made them long for deliverance from sin—and then, at the right time, sent His own sinless Son as that promised Seed—born of woman—born as a child of Abraham under the law—as the answer to our need for deliverance!

What a glorious story Christmas is! It is the birthday of the Lord Jesus. But the story of His coming is so much more than just the story of His birth! It’s the story of our full and complete salvation!

And so, let’s go on to see …

3. WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED BY JESUS’ COMING.

In verse 5, Paul wrote that God sent His Son “to redeem those who were under the law …” To “redeem” means to ‘buy back’ or to ‘buy out’. It means ‘to pay the price for freedom from bondage and slavery’. And that’s what God did in sending His Son for us into the world.

That the Son of God came into this world as fully human—as one of us—and also born under the law, means that He was able to keep the law for us. We were not able to keep it; and so He lived in perfect righteousness—according to the law—as one of us; and all in order that His righteousness might be credited to us. And because He was fully human, and born under the law, He was also able to die on the cross for us and pay the death penalty for our guilt on our behalf.

Jesus has fully ‘redeemed’ us—the people of God—who were under the law. He has bought us out of our bondage; and established a new covenant; and now, all the benefits of His sacrifice for us, and His righteous life on our behalf, become ours when we place our faith in Him and walk by faith under the leadership of His Holy Spirit. As Paul puts it in Romans 8:1-4;

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:1-4).

And this all leads us to consider one more thing; and that is …

4. WHAT WE HAVE NOW RECEIVED AS A RESULT.

You find it at the end of verse 5. Why did God send His Son to us, in the fullness of time, as born of woman—born under law—to redeem us from our bondage to the law? It was, “that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

That’s what Christmas is really pointing to. That’s what the whole story was meant to accomplish. It was meant to bring about our salvation in the fullest possible sense—not just so that we are freed from the guilt of our sin; not just so that we would now be washed clean in God’s sight; but so that we would now be brought into the full privilege of being the full-fledged sons and daughters of God—fully acceptable in His sight; brought into the deepest possible relationship with Him that we could ever have; receiving the full inheritance of His beloved Son Jesus Christ, in the glory of heaven, forever and ever!

That is why our Lord, who was born into this world as one of us—when He had fully accomplished for us all that He was sent to do on the cross, and after He was raised from the dead—was able to tell the disciples, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” (John 20:17).

We’re not really understanding Christmas rightly unless we understand that!

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And may I add one more thing? We’re not responding to Christmas rightly unless we also live whole-heartedly in the light of our adoption in Christ.

First, we need to make sure that we have placed our faith in what Jesus has done for us. It’s by believing on Him and receiving what He did for us that we are made into sons and daughters of the heavenly Father. As it says in John 1:12-13;

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).

I hope that you have consciously placed your faith in Jesus and said a personal, “Yes! I receive it!” to what He has done on the cross for us.

And then, having done that, we need to go on from there and fully embrace the privileges of that adoption fully in the everyday experience.

I had a time of prayer the other day. And because of what I was learning about our adoption, I found myself praying in a very remarkable way. I offered my request to the Father in these terms, “Dear Father—and I call you Father gladly!—I am bringing my request to You today, not as just anybody. Rather, I am offering it to You as Your full-fledged son—washed clean by the blood of Jesus and fully accepted in Your sight, a delight to Your heart, as loved by You as You love Your only begotten Son Jesus—as someone who is destined to live with You forever, and to share eternally in the inheritance of Your Son Jesus in eternal glory.

“I offer my request to You as one whose prayer You delight to receive and whose every need you delight to meet. But I also pray as Your beloved Son Jesus taught me to pray to You; saying, ‘Not my will, but Yours be done’. And I can pray as He did because I know that You love me as much as You love Him, and will only do what is good and right in the way You answer.

“Thank You for hearing my prayer, dear Father, just as a loving father hears the desires of his beloved son. I trust what You will do. And I pray this in the name of Jesus; who has made it possible for me to come to You in all the fullness of Your grace.”

I don’t believe we’re really responding to the wonderful story of Christmas rightly, dear beloved brothers and sisters, unless we are whole-heartedly believing in and acting upon the adoption that is now fully ours in Christ—along with all of the rights and privileges that come with full adoption by the Father; delighting in the Father’s infinite love for us; resting in His provision and care; trusting in His plan for us; entering into His presence through prayer boldly; bringing our requests to Him freely; embracing the fact that we are—right now—blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; and looking forward to our entry into the full experience of the inheritance of Christ with Him in glory forever.

Truly, the advent of the Savior into this world has turned us from slaves to sons.

EA