Mensa Otabil - In The Fullness of Time
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We’ve looked to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we’ve examined it from the book of Isaiah. We’ve looked at it from Genesis, at Numbers, and at Jeremiah. We’ve considered all these prophecies pointing to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are all in the Old Testament. But for today, we turn to the New Testament and read something from the book of Galatians, Galatians chapter 4, verses 4 and 5: «But when the fullness of 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 of sons.»
This passage summarizes everything about the prophecies of Jesus Christ and their fulfillment. This passage also places Jesus at the center of human history. What the passage is saying is that all of human history is centered on Jesus Christ. Before He came, human history was pointing to His coming; after He came, human history points to what He did. Jesus is the center of our story. The story of mankind is the story of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that’s what this passage tells us.
A couple of things I want you to note: the first is that Christ was born in the fullness of time. Now, why does the passage say that? Because every prophecy that God had made, starting from the first one in the Garden of Eden, kept building up. Not only the prophecies but also the activities of the law and the sacrifices of the law-all of that pointed to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the question is, when is all of this coming to pass? For years, people were waiting for the fulfillment of all of these things, and the passage says that there was a fulfillment of time — a period when God brought everything together in the path of the Lord Jesus Christ. The timing of history was designed so that all the prophecies about Jesus Christ would be fulfilled.
The second thing to note here is that Christ was born of a woman. This goes back to the first prophecy that says the seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent. The passage is particular about that. Of course, every human being is born of a woman, so in a general sense, it is saying that Jesus was a human being like everybody else. But in a particular sense, it is also saying that Jesus is this unique individual born of the virgin. So in this one statement, it tells us that the fulfillment of all prophecies was met in the Lord Jesus Christ. When the fullness of time came, God brought forth Jesus through a woman.
The third thing that the passage says is that Christ was born to redeem us, which talks about His mission. We can talk about Jesus Christ in many ways. We can look at Him as a great philosopher; of course, He propounded some great ideas. As a great teacher, we can discuss Him as a great healer or as a good human being, a good leader. But beyond all of that, the most crucial thing about Jesus Christ is that He is the Redeemer of mankind. He came to redeem us from sin, so we must never overlook that aspect of redemption. If we talk about Jesus in all terms but avoid the fact that He is the Redeemer, we’ve missed the purpose of His coming. God brought Him forth to redeem us. I pray that this Christmas season, if you have not experienced the redemption of Christ, you will experience Him in your heart and in your life. May Christ the Redeemer come to live inside of you.
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, at the right time, You brought forth Your purposes. Thank You for fulfilling Your word to the world. In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen. Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow, and Pastor Mensa Otabil; Shalom, peace, and life to you.