Note: Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.
Passage of Focus: Galatians 4:4-5 (cf. Psalm 22:22-24)
It has been well said that one of the central themes in Scripture could be summarized as follows: “God is redeeming a people by His Son, for His Son, to His own glory.”[1] When contemplating the totality of the biblical canon, one discovers that the redemption of sinners by the Lord Jesus Christ has always been at the heart of God’s plan for human history. Consider just a sampling of this reality from both the Old and New Testaments.[2]
5 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;
And He will reign as king and act wisely
And do justice and righteousness in the land.6 In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will live securely;
And this is His name by which He will be called,
‘The LORD Our Righteousness’” [Yahweh Tsidkenu] (Jer. 23:5-6).
“Let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when [the Jews] heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:36-38).
As indicated in Jeremiah’s prophecy, the One who God would raise up to establish righteousness in the northern (Israel) and southern (Judah) kingdoms is identified as God Himself (i.e., “The LORD Our Righteousness”; Yahweh Tsidkenu).[3] This figure would be known as “a righteous Branch,” the promised and long awaited Messiah for God’s covenant people (Isa. 11:1; Zech. 6:12-13). On the basis of Peter’s sermon delivered at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40; esp. vv. 36-40), the oracle foretold by Jeremiah was realized with the advent of Jesus over six centuries later.[4] As truly God, Jesus is Lord of the cosmos (Phil. 2:9-11); as truly man, Jesus is Christ of the covenants (1 Cor. 10:1-16; esp. vv. 4, 16). By the authority of God’s written word, and upon observing God’s providential work in hindsight, this has been the conviction of the Church for nearly 2,000 years.
Yet as marvelous as it is to ponder the fact that Jesus came into the world to ransom sinners from the kingdom of darkness, it is equally significant to reflect on the means by which Jesus was able to accomplish His rescue mission. Specifically, why was it necessary for Jesus to be born of a virgin in order to save His people? Or to frame the question in a different way, how does our salvation depend on the virgin birth? Against the backdrop of this mystery, the Apostle Paul offers clarifying perspective in Galatians 4:4-5.
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters.
While many preachers and theologians have spent ample time seeking to expound this rich portion of Scripture, the purpose of this article calls for reflection on two prominent truths embedded in the text.
1. The Arrival of Our Savior was Planned
When Paul makes reference to “the fullness of the time” at the outset of verse four, he is stressing God’s intention to send Jesus into the world at the perfect moment in human history. From eternity past, God established the perfect moment in time for Jesus Christ to come into the world, and to accomplish the redemption of His people through His perfect life, substitutionary atoning death, and bodily resurrection (Rom. 4:23-25; Eph. 1:7-10). In other words, there is no coincidence that Jesus’ first advent occurred precisely when it did. In fact, had the incarnation occurred during any other era, Jesus would not have been able to fulfill key prophecies regarding the Messiah.
For example, had Jesus not lived during the apex of the Roman Empire, His death would not have been carried out by crucifixion.[5] The testimony of passages such as Psalm 22:16-17 reveal that crucifixion was the prophesied manner whereby the Messiah would be sacrificed on behalf of sinners. Furthermore, had Jesus’ ministry not transpired during the early first century, God’s promise about the timing of the Messiah’s arrival would be rendered false.[6] Based on Daniel 9:24-27, the Messiah’s death would occur 483 years after the Persian Emperor Artaxerxes Longimanus decreed for Jerusalem to be rebuilt. As we know from the biblical and secular historical records, this prophecy was actualized when Jesus died around 30 A.D.[7]
These are merely two—of many—examples that illustrate how meticulous God was in planning the arrival of His Son, and how God’s people expected the Messiah to appear exactly when He did. From an apologetical standpoint, one of the greatest evidences for the truthfulness of Christianity is that Jesus can be identified as “the only expected person” of all time. Loraine Boettner helpfully teases out this observation in his seminal volume, Studies in Theology.
In all the history of the world, Jesus emerges as the only “expected” person. No one was looking for such a person as Julius Caesar, or Napoleon, or Washington, or Lincoln to appear at the time and place that they did appear. No other person has had his course foretold or his work laid out for him centuries before he was born. But the coming of the Messiah had been predicted for centuries. In fact, the first promise of His coming was given to Adam and Eve soon after their fall into sin. As time went on, various details concerning His Person and work were revealed through the prophets. And at the time Jesus was born, there was a general expectation through the Jewish world that the Messiah was soon to appear, even the manner of His birth and the town in which it would occur having been clearly indicated.[8]
Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ is the only expected person. Praise be to God that in He entered this world in the fullness of the time, and in accordance with the divine plan of saving sinners from spending eternity in Hell.
2. The Accomplishment of Our Salvation was Perfect
In keeping with the flow of Paul’s thought in Galatians 4:4-5, we find that sinful human beings could not be saved apart from Jesus—as the eternal Son of God—experiencing every physiological stage of human development.[9] As the Godman, Jesus had to experience the process of gestation, birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood (Luke 2:51-52).[10] Although His human nature was not plagued by original or actual sin, Jesus can genuinely sympathize with mankind’s toil in a fallen world (Heb. 2:14-15; 4:15).[11] Thus, for the sake of reconciling sinners to their holy Creator, Jesus had to be “born of a woman.” The designation of Jesus being “born of a woman” encapsulates the virgin birth, and the ensuing doctrine of God the Son assuming a true human nature. John Gill provides further insights on this phrase in his commentary on the book of Galatians.
[Jesus was] not created as Adam was, nor [was He] begotten by man, as men in common are… [Rather, Jesus was born] of a woman, a virgin, as was foretold; and [He was] not only made and formed in her, but of her flesh and blood He took part. [This] denotes the low estate and great humiliation of Christ, and shows that as sin came into the world by the woman [Eve], the Savior from sin came also the same way [by the woman Mary.][12]
In the final analysis, the virgin birth of Jesus was directly linked to His accomplishment of our salvation. Moreover, at every point of His life, Jesus was “under the law.” Like all image bearers, Jesus was directly accountable to the statutes delineated in the law of God (Matt. 5:17-18). However, as the visible image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15), there was never a time in which Jesus failed to render perfect obedience to all divine commandments (John 8:29). Whether in thought, word, or deed, Jesus never ceased to abide by the two greatest commandments: (1) love God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matt. 22:36-38); (2) love neighbor as oneself (Matt. 22:39-40). From this purview, Jesus can be rightly characterized as a perfect Savior. By virtue of His flawless obedience to God’s law, sinners are granted Christ’s perfect righteousness upon placing their faith in Him (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 3:18). And like David, the cry of every believer’s heart will be consistent with the message of Psalm 22:22-24.
22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
24 For He has not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from [me];
But when [I] cried to Him for help, He heard.[13]
As we meditate on the meaning and significance of Christmas, may we never undermine or trivialize the virgin birth. Our salvation depends on it!
[1] Tom Pennington, “All the World’s a Stage: Understanding the Ultimate Purpose of Our Salvation,” The Master’s Seminary Journal 22, no. 1 (2011), 112.
[2] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture citations are derived from the New American Standard Bible (2020 edition).
[3] “Jeremiah 23:5-6 New American Standard Bible 2020 (NASB20),” Blue Letter Bible, accessed December 28, 2022, https://www.blueletterbible.org/nasb20/jer/23/1/t_conc_768006.
[4] Dating based on the authorship of Jeremiah’s prophecy (~605 BC), as stated in R. C. Sproul, The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 1252.
[5] “Where Do the Hebrew Scriptures Prophesy the Death and Resurrection of the Messiah?,” GotQuestions.org, November 18, 2010, https://www.gotquestions.org/death-resurrection-Messiah.html.
[6] Jonathan Menn, “The Seventy Weeks,” Third Millennium Ministries, August 2019, https://thirdmill.org/articles/jon_menn/jon_menn.BEA4.html.
[7] As elucidated in the preceding footnoted resource, there is substantial debate on the finer particulars of Daniel’s “70 Weeks Prophecy.” Nevertheless, there are numerous viable interpretations of this prophecy that are compatible with the first advent of Jesus Christ.
[8] Loraine Boettner, Studies in Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1992), 160.
[9] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology: Anthropology, vol. 2 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, 2013), 381.
[10] Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology: Eleventh Through Seventeenth Topics, vol. 2 (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1992), 343-344.
[11]Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics: Sin and Salvation in Christ, ed. John Bolt, trans. John Vriend, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 295-298.
[12] John Gill, “Galatians 4:4 – Meaning and Commentary on Bible Verse,” biblestudytools.com, accessed December 28, 2022, https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/galatians-4-4.html.
[13] Edited slightly to make the Psalm more personally applicable to the reader.
Dewey is a licensed and ordained minister in the Southern Baptist Convention. He was raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is happily married to Beall, and is a proud father of Isabelle Ruth. Dewey played college baseball at Western Texas College, receiving the Associate of Arts degree in General Studies. Following his time at Western Texas College, Dewey would continue as a student-athlete at The Master’s University, earning the Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Ministries. Upon completion of his undergraduate work, Dewey went on to acquire the Master of Arts degree in Biblical Studies from The Master’s University, as well as the Master of Theology degree in Historical Theology from Campbellsville University. Dewey is currently a doctoral student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, with an emphasis in Christian Worldview and Apologetics. Over the last decade, Dewey has served local churches in a variety of ways, focusing on next generation ministries. He has experience teaching children in AWANA, serving as youth pastor, as well as leading college students and young adults. He is also passionate about personal evangelism, and has led groups in gospel outreaches in cities around the country. To strengthen his service to the church, and in conjunction with his seminary studies, Dewey has participated in several academic fellowships and cohorts. He specializes in the disciplines of apologetics, biblical theology, historical theology, and systematic theology. Dewey is also actively involved with Covenant Confessions—a ministry of Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. Today, Dewey serves as the Associate Pastor of Next Generation and Outreach at Metro East Baptist Church (Wichita, Kansas).
You can follow Dewey on Twitter @SlaveofChrist17
