Text: Galatians 4:4-7
Date: December 24, 2022
Event: Christmas Eve
Galatians 4:4–7 (EHV)
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, 5in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons. 6And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to shout, “Abba, Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if you are a son, then you are also an heir of God through Christ.
God Sent His Son
The birth of a baby is a joyous occasion. A new life is brought into the world. A new member of the family has finally arrived. The preparation for the child’s birth has all led to this point, and parents, grandparents, other family and friends couldn’t be more excited or happy with the arrival of this day.
Tonight we are celebrating the birth of a child, and we are filled with joy. We’ve spent the last several weeks, throughout the Advent season, preparing for this child’s arrival. But tonight, we have a joy that is different than what a family experiences when their family grows by one. This is a joy that is comforting, not just in the short-term, but in the forever-term.
Jesus was born because we needed him to be born. God had a demand of us, of all people. He demanded from all of us a life of perfection. We had to keep his law flawlessly from beginning to end. But all of us started out born in sin. All of us started out at fault, and we’ve just piled on more faults since then. Whether the world would call them big or little, whether they’re public or private, the sins that we’ve committed pile up on our record. And God doesn’t care whether we have a relatively fewer sins than someone else. His expectation is perfection and anything short of that means eternal punishment.
We were in a bind that we could not get out of. No amount of good things we could do could change the fact that we’re all imperfect—so we needed someone to be perfect for us. And this is why Jesus was born. Paul said, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons.”
Notice what God’s Son came to do—he was born under the law, in order to redeem those under the law. In Jesus, God took on a true human nature—became truly human—so that he could take our place under God’s demands. This is not God playacting and pretending to be obeying laws that don’t apply to him. God becomes man to fully, really take our place. Jesus lived his life perfectly for us, died on the cross to pay for our sins, and rose from the dead to assure us of his victory. The result of all of Jesus’ work is that you and I find adoption as sons.
Now, when Paul refers to sons here, he’s not being sexist and exclusionary. In those days, the sons were the heirs. And so, regardless of gender, those who trust in Jesus as Savior are heirs of God, set to inherit everything that is his.
Without Jesus’ work, we would still be lost in sin. Without Jesus we would be separated from God forever. But because of Jesus’ work in our place, we are reunited with God. In fact, we no longer run and hide from God like Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. Paul says that we call God, “Abba, Father.” If we were translate that Aramaic term more directly into English, we might say that by Jesus’ work we call God, “Dada, Father.” That’s the relationship we now have with God—one that is as dear and as trusting as a very small child looking up to his or her parent.
So that’s the importance of Christmas. It’s not actually not strictly about the birth of a child, about a family growing by one. It’s about our adoption into God’s family. Because Jesus arrived, we have been brought into the family of God. Because Jesus lived a perfect life for us, that perfection has been credited to us. Because Jesus died to pay for our sins, we are forgiven of everything we’ve every done wrong. Because God adopted us as his heirs, we will spend eternity with him.
That’s the love of God. That’s the gift of God. That’s what it means that God sent his Son for you. How could we put it any better than the angels? Truly this is good news of great joy for all. Thanks be to God! Merry Christmas! Amen.
