The Theology of Christmas
One Off Christmas • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 35:58
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4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Introduction
Christmas is a mixed blessing. For true believers it is good to reflect on the coming of Jesus Christ into the world and all that it means. For the world it is opportunity for enjoyment and festivity with a gloss of their definition of Christianity.
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1. God’s Plan v4
1. God’s Plan v4
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4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
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a. Fullness of Time
a. Fullness of Time
Christ’s coming supplied the basis of freedom for man. He came, moreover, “in the fulness of the time”; that is, he arrived upon the scene of human history at the time previously fixed by the Father
a. the spread of the Greek language throughout the civilised world,
b. the presence of Jewish synagogues in many places, enabling Christian missionaries to reach both Jews and Gentiles (proselytes) simultaneously, and
c. the help which these evangelists derived from the network of Roman roads and, to some extent, from the enforcement of Roman peace.
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b. God Sent His Son
b. God Sent His Son
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1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
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35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
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c. Born of a Woman
c. Born of a Woman
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20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
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d. Born Under the Law
d. Born Under the Law
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Galatians D. Why Exchange One Bondage for Another? (4:1–11)
born under law, and this in the sense not only of being under personal obligation to keep that law, but also of being duty-bound (with a duty to which he voluntarily bound himself!) vicariously to bear the law’s penalty and to satisfy its demand of perfect obedience.
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2. God’s Purpose v5
2. God’s Purpose v5
Galatians 4:5 (ESV)
5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
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a. Redemption
a. Redemption
13 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”—
i. under law,” and this not only in the sense of being subject to the moral law, which by nature we were unable to fulfil and whose curse we were unable to carry so as to get out from under it;
ii. in the sense that “we” regarded strict obedience to the ceremonial law and all its man-made additions to be necessary for salvation.
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b. Adoption
b. Adoption
15 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!”
Galatians D. Why Exchange One Bondage for Another? (4:1–11)
Plainly, then, the purpose of the Father in sending his Son, and of the Son in condescending to be born “of a woman, under law,” was that we might not only be delivered from the greatest evil but might also be crowned with the choicest blessing.
Galatians D. Why Exchange One Bondage for Another? (4:1–11)
It bestows upon its recipients not only a new name, a new legal standing, and a new family-relationship, but also a new image, the image of Christ
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30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
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3. God’s Provision v6
3. God’s Provision v6
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6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
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a. Sons
a. Sons
Now because they are sons, God, the Father, having adopted them as sons, has sent forth the Spirit into their hearts. They are sons; hence they receive the Holy Spirit. They receive the Spirit; hence they become conscious of their sonship (Rom. 8:15). All three persons of the Holy Trinity are indicated in this passage, and their harmonious co-operation as the one true God is beautifully set forth
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b. Abba Father
b. Abba Father
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36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
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15 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!”
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4. God’s Promise v7
4. God’s Promise v7
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7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
a. A Son
a. A Son
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3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
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b. An Heir
b. An Heir
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16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Conclusion
10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.