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Good evening everyone. You can 
turn in your Bibles to Galatians chapter 3. Galatians 3. Our focus will be on Galatians 
4 verses 4 and 5. We're going to read beginning 
in verse 26 of Galatians chapter 3. Galatians 3 beginning in verse 
26. And we'll read to chapter 4 verse 
9. So once again this is Galatians 
3 beginning at verse 26. For you are all sons of God through 
faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized 
into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. 
There is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female 
for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, 
then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. 
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. But then indeed, when you did 
not know God, you served those which by nature are not God's. 
But now, after you have known God, or rather are known by God, 
how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements 
to which you desire again to be in bondage? Amen. Well, let's 
open in prayer. Heavenly Father, we rejoice in 
the Scriptures. We thank you for the book of 
Galatians disclosing the glories of Jesus Christ, disclosing the 
blessed truth of justification by faith alone in Christ Jesus 
alone. And we do pray that you would 
help us again by your Spirit to be illuminated in the Scriptures 
and in your truth. And we pray that we would leave 
this place singing the praises of our Savior, the Lord Jesus 
Christ. And we pray that you would do that mighty act of salvation 
in our midst tonight. And you would do that mighty 
act of free and victorious grace and bringing sinners from the 
darkness of sin to life and light in Christ Jesus. And that you 
would, by spirit and word, edify the saints. We pray in Christ 
Jesus' name, amen. Well, maybe just to refresh our 
minds with regards to the book of Galatians, the grander central 
truth that Paul brings out with respect to the book is seen probably 
in Galatians 2.16. There we read, knowing that a 
man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus 
Christ, Even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might 
be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, 
for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified." So 
there was a big problem, though, in the Galatian churches, and 
we see that brought out by the Apostle Paul in many places in 
the book, but first in Galatians 1.6. I marvel that you are turning 
away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ to 
a different gospel. Prior to the section that we 
read in Galatians 3, at verse 3 we read this, Are you so foolish, 
having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by 
the flesh? And so we see the cause of the 
problem, this problem of them turning away from the gospel 
of grace. We see the cause of this problem 
in Galatians 1, 7, where we read this. And this is just to bring 
us to the point or to our focus this evening. But notice the 
cause of this problem in Galatians 1, 7. Speaking of this different 
gospel, which is not another, but there are some who trouble 
you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. And then in Galatians 
6.11, see with what large letters I have written to you, with my 
own hand, as many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, 
these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may 
not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. And the implications 
then of turning from the gospel of Christ and following after 
these who would seek to distort and pervert the gospel, the implication 
then are seen, and it's twofold, the implications for this problem 
in Galatia. And the implications first concern 
the saving work of Christ. Galatians 2.21, I do not set 
aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the 
law, then Christ died in vain. And then the implication for 
the one professing faith in Christ Jesus, Galatians 5.3, and I testify 
again, to every man who becomes circumcised, that he is a debtor, 
to keep the whole law. And so when we are in Galatians 
3 and Galatians 4, the section that we read, we find it laid 
out this way. We see the outline of Galatians 
3, 26 to 4, 7, or 4, 9 rather, In Galatians 3, 26 to 29, we 
see the reality and character of Christian sonship. What is 
it to be a son of God? Well, it is to have faith in 
Christ Jesus, the Lord. We see in Galatians 4, 1 to 5, 
the explanation and origin of Christian sonship. It comes by 
the perfect work of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We see 
in 6 and 7, the implications and privileges of Christian sonship, 
and then the folly of abandoning Christian sonship in verses 8 
and 9. But finally, then getting to verses 4 and 5, what we have 
the Apostle Paul doing is we have him setting forth the doctrine 
of the incarnation and the purpose of the incarnation as that which 
is to be a corrective against the Galatians and those who were 
perverting the gospel of Jesus Christ. So we'll look at verses 
four and five. With that in the back of our 
minds is that it is a Pauline corrective issued in order to 
counter the erroneous and heretical doctrines of those perverting 
the gospel of Jesus Christ. So let's read verses four and 
five again, and then we'll get into our meditation this evening. Verses four and five of Galatians 
4, 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. It's another one of those sections 
of Scripture where we have encapsulated the Christian message. And there 
are many of these in our Bibles, John 3, 16, Philippians 2, 5 
to 11. We have many others in the scriptures 
where we have the message of Christianity encapsulated. And so this encapsulated message 
delivered by Paul, we'll consider under four headings. First, the 
timing of the incarnation. Secondly, the triune glory of 
the incarnation. Thirdly, the humility of the 
incarnation. And then fourthly, the purpose 
of the Incarnation, and the verses laid out, the two verses are 
laid out very nicely, if you will, by the Holy Spirit through 
Paul for us to examine Paul's disclosure. First off, the timing 
of the Incarnation, notice what we read, but when the fullness 
of the time had come, but when the fullness of the time had 
come. And this is to link with or this 
does link with the simile or the comparison brought out by 
the Apostle Paul in verse two. Notice with regards to the child, 
he is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the 
father. So this fullness of the times 
in verse four means or it carries the weight of the time appointed 
by the father. just like in this earthly reality 
where a child who does not differ at all from a slave for a time, 
though he is master of all, just like that time expires or comes 
to an end by the appointment of the Father, so too here, with 
respect to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, there was a time 
appointed by the Father. And we can consider this and 
look at it from a number of legitimate vantage points. First, this timing 
of the Incarnation is the time agreed upon between the Father 
and the Son from all eternity. Let the saint of Christ never 
tire to rehearse this most certain truth, that before the foundation 
of the earth, God the Father and God the Son collaborated 
to save a multitude of sinners by Jesus Christ unto the praise 
of the grace of the triune God. Before creation, before the triune 
God set in orbit the galaxies of the universe, before he set 
out the stars throughout the expanse of creation, they communed, 
they purposed, they covenanted. to save a multitude of sinners 
by the Lord Jesus Christ. There was a time agreed upon 
between the Father and the Son from all eternity. This is what 
we have before us in the fullness of the times, a time appointed. You see, we do not have in our 
triune God a God of plan B, a God of plan C, D, E, and F. We don't have a God who set out 
to do something, this plan failed, And so he had to inaugurate and 
erect a new plan. That plan failed. And so he had 
to do that until something stuck in the person and in the work 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't serve such a pagan conception. We don't serve such a pagan deity. But rather the God who before 
the foundation of the world had a plan A, one singular plan, 
to bring glory to himself by the salvation of a multitude 
that no man can number by Jesus Christ, the second of the blessed 
triune. And so we have the time agreed 
upon by the Father and the Son. And the Scriptures bring this 
doctrine out in many places. And if you will, you can follow 
with me to a few places in Scripture where we do see this. In Titus 
1, remember last Lord's Day when we read Titus 1 in our New Testament 
Scripture reading, we noted that before Paul even writes to Titus, 
a true son in our common faith, he brings out some language that 
speaks to this time agreed upon between the Father and the Son 
from all eternity. Notice Titus 1, beginning in 
verse 1, Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus 
Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledgement 
of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal 
life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began." 
Now, before we get on to the next verse, notice what we have 
here, before time began, there was a divine purpose in the gospel 
of Jesus Christ, the hope of eternal life. And then notice 
here the language of our text, very close to it at least, verse 
3, but has in due time manifested His Word through preaching. When the fullness of the times 
had come, God sent forth His Son. Notice also in Ephesians 
1, Here we have a number of verses, in fact, that speak to this reality. And then in verse 10, we have 
the same language as Galatians 4.4. But even before we get to 
Ephesians 1.10, we have this idea of this time agreed upon 
between the Father and the Son from all eternity in verse 4. But notice beginning in verse 
3, because there begins the doxology. 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. We have that certain reality 
that there was a plan centered around the Lord Jesus Christ 
before creation that He would come in due time and save all 
those who were given to Him by His Father. And so we have this 
time agreed upon between the Father and the Son from all eternity. 
But notice verse 10, if you're still in Ephesians 1, we have 
the same language as Galatians 4.4, by the same author. Speaking 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, we read that in the dispensation 
of the fullness of the times, He might gather together in one 
all things in Christ. So there was to be a completion 
of days, a wrapping up of a time, and it was a fixed time set by 
God that a certain number of events and things leading up 
to the Lord Jesus Christ's first coming would occur, would take 
place. And then the promised Messiah, 
the promised Savior of men would come to deliver sinners from 
their sins. So again, the time agreed upon 
by the Father and the Son from all eternity. And secondly, we 
see with regards to the timing of the Incarnation, the time 
that was diligently searched out by the prophets. You see, 
we have an intimate connection between this from-eternity plan 
and then the after-eternity, if you will, or the after-creation 
proclamation of the prophets of the Spirit of Christ, delivering 
the message of a coming Messiah who would suffer and who would 
be risen to glory. Turn to 1 Peter with me for a 
moment, because we have, yes, the time agreed upon by the Father 
and the Son from all eternity, And then we have the time that 
was diligently sought out by the prophets. And in first Peter 
one, we have a wonderful set of words that disclose this most 
certain truth. You see, the prophets, as you're 
turning there, the prophets of the Old Covenant were not ignorant 
with respect to what they were proclaiming. They weren't writing 
and penning things without knowing that this was the writings concerning 
a coming Messiah. They had, if you will, Messianic 
consciousness. As they're writing, they knew 
that there was the Spirit of Christ within them, communicating 
the sufferings of this coming Christ and the glories that would 
follow. Notice 1 Peter 1, beginning in 
verse 10, speaking of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Peter writes, 
Of this salvation, the prophets have inquired and searched carefully 
who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching 
what or what manner of time the spirit of Christ who was in them 
was indicating when he testified beforehand. the sufferings of 
Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed 
that not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the 
things which now have been reported to you through those who have 
preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, 
things which angels desire to look into. So the fullness of 
the times had come speaks to this reality, the timing that 
the prophets by the spirit of Christ diligently sought after 
searching water. What manner of time the spirit 
of Christ who was in them was indicating when he testified 
beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would 
follow. And with respect to timing, we 
may even have in view what Gil notes is specifically the prophecy 
of Daniel with regards to the completion of days or the completion 
of the 70 weeks as prophesied in Daniel chapter 9. Remember 
what we read there, 70 weeks are determined for your people 
or for my people. and for the Holy City to bring 
in everlasting righteousness, to put an end to sin, to make 
reconciliation for iniquity, to seal up vision and prophecy, 
and to anoint the Most Holy. We have those 70 weeks of years 
brought to an end by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, when 
the fullness of the times had come. And so this is, if we were 
to wrap this up, it is the time appointed by the Father. And 
as always, when we consider a time appointed by the Father, it is 
always attended with providential perfection in bringing to bear 
the reality of what was prophesied or what was planned. Listen to 
the words of Robert Raymond with regards to the language of the 
fullness of the times. And I believe what he is doing 
after reading the old Scott John Eady is he's basically paraphrasing 
John Eady. John Eady, for example, says 
the fullness of the time was also the fittest time in the 
world's history. Raymond exegeting him if you 
will says when the fullness of the time had come that is to 
say at God's appointed time when the Jewish Diaspora had spread 
throughout the Roman Empire and the Old Testament had been translated 
into Greek Opening the eyes of the Greek world to its theological 
power and beauty when the Pax Romana extended over most of 
the known world with great roads and the Greek language linking 
the Empire of the Caesars and and making travel and commerce 
possible on a scale formerly impossible. When Greek philosophical 
thought had atrophied into skepticism, offering no hope in human wisdom 
to improve the ancient world, when the so-called civilized 
world, as a result, had sunk so low morally that even pagans 
were crying out for relief from the rampant immorality all around 
them. In keeping with the Old Testament 
promises, prophecies, sacrifices, and other types and ordinances 
All four signifying Christ to come, God sent forth His Son, 
born of a woman, born under the law, as the Messiah and mediator 
of the covenant of grace." See, that's a glorious summary of 
those providential elements that were in place before those who 
cast their eyes upon a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, laying in 
a manger, and before those who cast their eyes upon this Christ 
as He grew in wisdom and prominence in the land. And as he would 
ultimately carry out his life, his mission and commission that 
the father gave him to save his people from their sins. We see 
all of these glorious providential elements appointment by the father 
being brought to bear coming together so that Christ, the 
mediator of the covenant of grace could do his work of perfect 
redemption. So we have the timing of the 
incarnation and if you're not there, You can find your way 
back to Galatians 4, because now we see the triune glory of 
the Incarnation. The triune glory of the Incarnation, 
again rereading the verse, but when the fullness of the time 
had come, God sent forth His Son. We have in the Christian 
gospel, we have in the Christian message, the triune God at work 
in the salvation of sinners. Here we read in verse four, God 
sent forth his son. And then later we have God in 
verse six has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, 
crying out, Abba Father. You see what we have conspicuously 
in the scriptures is God the Father, God the Son, God the 
Holy Spirit, from first to last, midst and throughout, working 
out the salvation of sinners without a helper. And here in 
Galatians 4, 4 and 5, we have nothing different. The triune 
God at work. The Father sends both Son and 
Spirit. And we can note here that there 
is a revelation of God or the revelation of God in His nature 
and in His being is manifest in the redemptive works of God. God sends forth His Son, a reflection, 
if you will, of the reality that the relationship between the 
Father and the Son in this divine and infinite being that is God 
is such that the Father eternally generates the Son. The Son is 
eternally begotten of the Father. And here we have, in time and 
in history, that being brought to bear with respect to redemption. The Father sends both Son and 
Spirit. God has sent forth the Spirit 
of His Son into your hearts. You see, when we scan the religion 
of Christianity, we see something that no other religion has. And 
that is absolutely an amazing thing for the believer to cast 
his eyes upon and consider. You see, no man could conceive 
of a deity that is triune. Our confession puts it this way, 
if I'm able to remember the language properly. In this divine and 
infinite being, there are three subsistences, the Father, the 
Son, or Word, and the Holy Ghost. All of them are equal in substance, 
power, and eternity, all having the same essence, and yet the 
essence undivided. You see, we couldn't conceive 
of this triune God where Father, Son and Holy Spirit share the 
essence, the essence undivided and are in perfect harmony and 
condescend to disclose to men a perfect plan of redemption. 
wrought by the Son, applied by the Spirit, purposed by the Father. It is a glorious thing, the triune 
glory of the Incarnation. We should note that what we have 
here in the language, God sent forth His Son, is the pre-existence 
of the Son before creation and before the incarnation. You see, 
there are those that would deny that, that do deny that. The 
pre-existence of the Son of God prior to the incarnation was 
just a concept. It was just an ideal or a plan 
in the mind of God that comes to fruition and is manifested 
in the flesh. in time and in history. No, we 
have Jesus Christ or we have the Son of God pre-existing, 
pre-incarnate before the world was. It is not just a concept 
or an idea or a plan in the mind of God, but rather here in the 
Sonship of Christ we find the pre-existence of the Son and 
God the Father sending forth the Son in the fullness of the 
times to come and do that act of redemption. John Gill speaking 
on the sending of the Son, not out of disrespect to Him, but 
love to us, God sending forth the Son. nor without His consent 
or against His will, He readily and heartily agreeing to it. 
Nor does it imply any local motion or change of place, but only 
designs the assumption of human nature." Now, pay attention as 
I reread that and continue. Because our ideas, the things 
that we believe concerning God and Christ are absolutely so 
vital. I'm going to reread this for 
a moment here, but this language, as you hear it, consider what 
it means with respect to Christ, His deity, and His humanity. Nor does it imply any local motion 
or change of place, but only designs the assumption of human 
nature. Nor does it suppose any superiority 
and inferiority. For though Christ as man, and 
in His office capacity as mediator, is inferior to the Father, yet 
not as to His divine nature or as the Son of God. But it suggests 
that He existed before He was sent, and that as a person, and 
as a distinct person from the Father. Otherwise, He could not, 
with any propriety, be said to be sent by Him. and also that 
there was an entire harmony and agreement between them in this 
matter. The father agreed to send his 
son and the son agreed to be sent, and that as to his taking 
upon him the office of mediator and his assumption of human nature 
in order to obtain eternal redemption. All this was not of himself, 
but done in concert with his father, from whom as mediator 
he had his mission and commission. In the fullness of the times, 
God sent forth His Son. And in a moment, in a few minutes, 
we'll look at the purpose of the incarnation, but I know that 
you all know what the purpose of the incarnation is. Is it 
not a mighty act of the highest condescension for God to send 
forth His Son, born of a woman and born under the law, to redeem 
those who are under the law, that we might have the adoption 
as sons, deity, taking on humanity for the salvation of those who 
are guilty, wretched, and vile. We have the pre-existence of 
the Son, and when we read the Son of God, or when we read God 
sent forth His Son, we know, of course, if it hasn't been 
obvious already, that this is not the Son with respect to any 
creation. God the Father did not create 
the Son and send him. It is not Son with regards to 
creation. It's not Son, as we might call 
Adam, the Son of God. In fact, Adam is called the Son 
of God in the Scriptures. This is not, though Christ, the 
Son of God as Adam was, nor as we are, the saints of Christ. 
He is not the Son of God with regards to that, but rather he 
is the Son of God by virtue of the Father begetting Him from 
all eternity within the blessed eternality of the triune Godhead. The Son of God is sent forth 
by God the Father to be the Redeemer of man." And just before we move 
to the humility of the Incarnation And bear with me here, because 
this is absolutely vital to grasp in our era of doctrinal decline. But under the triune glory of 
the Incarnation, we have the unwavering maintenance of divinity 
with the assumption of human nature. What do we mean by that? 
Well, we mean that when God the Son came from heaven in the incarnation. He did not, as Gil puts forth, 
have a change of local motion. It wasn't a change of location. It wasn't a change of place. 
He did not leave heaven, you know, with regards to his spatial 
location and come into earth. but rather he maintained his 
full deity, filling the heavens and the earth, and he came nevertheless 
born of a woman, born under the law, being found in a feed trough 
outside Bethlehem." We have this most certain reality, the unwavering 
maintenance of divinity with the assumption of human nature. 
Listen to Cyril. with regards to this. And this 
is to, if the language doesn't land every single word, the concepts 
that I'm reading don't land every single word, let this land, that 
the incarnation of Jesus Christ is absolutely flabbergasting. 
It's absolutely amazing. It is absolutely astonishing. 
Because we do not have some sort of Greco-Roman pagan notion of 
a condescending deity who leaves physically the, you know, resting 
upon clouds with his bare feet, you know, laurel leaves or whatever 
in his hair. and coming down and being found 
among men, doing the things that men do. But rather, we have God 
who fills the heavens and the earth, who condescends, not leaving 
a place, but assuming human nature, becoming the Redeemer of man. Notice what Cyril says here with 
regards to this idea. The eternal Word, that is Christ, 
subjected Himself to birth for us, and came forth man from a 
woman, without casting off that which He was. Although He assumed 
flesh and blood, He remained what He was, God in essence and 
in truth. For although visible in a child 
in swaddling clothes, and even in the bosom of His virgin mother, 
He filled all creation as God, and was a fellow ruler with Him 
who begat Him. For the Godhead is without quantity 
and dimension, and cannot have limits." The marvel of the Incarnation. We have a God not who departs 
heaven, leaves it, and comes to earth, but rather a God who 
can be said to have left heaven and came to earth, nevertheless 
all the while upholding all things by the Word of His power, nevertheless 
filling the heavens and the earth, and yet still taking on human 
nature, coming, being born of the Virgin Mary, and being born 
under the Law. We have thirdly then, moving 
on, we've seen the timing of the Incarnation, the triune glory 
of the Incarnation, now we have the humility of the incarnation. 
And we read the verse again to find this. But when the fullness 
of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, 
born under the law. In those two phrases, born of 
a woman and born under the law, we have the humility of the incarnation. We'll take these two things separately. Born of a woman, It may very 
well be the case that the Holy Spirit intends by this language 
to bring out the fatherless reality of the birth of Jesus Christ. 
He was born of a virgin. He was born of a woman, that 
would be fine to hold to, and no doubt that is true. But I 
would hold with John Eady, who says, while the previous clause, 
God sent forth his son, assumes his pre-existence, this, born 
of a woman, asserts his genuine humanity. There's two cardinal 
truths with respect to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God Most 
High, he is fully God, and he is fully man. So if this phrase, 
God sent forth His Son, asserts His pre-existence as God, then 
this phrase, born of a woman, asserts His true humanity, His 
genuine humanity. And we would note first that 
born of a woman is there to communicate Christ's genuine humanity. He took on the form of a bondservant. 
This was necessary were the sons of Adam to be redeemed. Since 
by one man's sin disobedience came to all men, we needed one 
man's perfect obedience to redeem us from the curse of that original 
disobedience. God must become man in order 
to redeem men from their sins. We see here in Born of a Woman, 
Christ's genuine humanity. And you might be asking yourself, 
or you might be saying to yourself, well why does this matter? Well 
first it matters if we are to profess the true and proper religion 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the things that you'll 
find in the creeds of the early church, specific in the Athanasian 
Creed, is that he says, for one to be part of the Catholic Church, 
and that just means the universal Church, not the Roman Catholic 
Church, but for one to be part of the true Church, the Christian 
Church, they must confess, and then he'll list certain things. Well, one of the things that 
he lists is the full deity of Christ, and the full humanity 
of Christ. You see, Christ did not come 
and feign humanity. He did not fake humanity. He 
did not come and manifest himself as a man, but really a specter 
or a spirit. But rather, he did come and he 
was most certainly born of a woman. This language communicates Christ's 
genuine humanity. And it also, secondly, shows 
the fulfillment of prophecy. What was the promise? What was 
the very first promise of this Savior who would come, but that 
he would be the hero born of woman who would crush the serpent 
with his heel? They were to look for, the faithful 
were to look for, one who was born of a woman. And so Paul 
rightly, and with great theological acumen, brings forth this language 
in order to set forth this as the fulfillment of prophecy. 
Genesis 3.15, the hero born of woman would crush the serpent 
with his heel, to paraphrase. We also have the fulfillment 
of Isaiah 7.14, the virgin shall be with child and his name shall 
be called Emmanuel. which is translated Matthew provides 
for us God with us to show the fulfillment of prophecy born 
of a woman we have born under the law So this humility of the 
incarnation is seen first in the fact that Christ is born 
of a woman and secondly that he's born under the law. If you 
read the commentators, you'll see some disagreements on if 
that means made under the law or if that means subject to the 
law. I think the first is primary 
and the second is assumed. John Eady says that it more than 
likely means that he is a Jew by birth. and as such was subject 
to the law. Christ, he says, was not only 
born a man, But he was born a Jew, one of the seed of Abraham. He 
was a member of the Hebrew Commonwealth by birth, and by the fact of 
that birth was under the law, so that he was circumcised, presented 
in the temple by Mary, and baptized by John. And he worshiped in 
the synagogue, kept the Sabbath, regarded ceremonial distinctions, 
observed the great feasts, and paid the tax of the half shekel. The apostle does not mean that 
after becoming man he did, by a distinct and additional voluntary 
act placed himself under the law, but that by his very birth 
he became subject to the law whose claims upon him he willingly 
allowed. You see, what's going on here 
in Galatia is that these Galatians are being fooled in order to 
possibly go back to these beggarly elements of Mosaic ceremonial 
law. You see, it's very, very intimately 
close to the problem with the Hebrew Christians that Paul writes 
to in the book of Hebrews. You see, they were being tempted 
to go back to The temple in the book of Hebrews, they were being 
tempted. to go back to the first principles of Christ rather than 
stick to the hope that was laid before them, the finished and 
sure work of the Savior. These here in Galatia are being 
tempted to add to their faith in Christ circumcision and adherence 
to the Mosaic Articles. And Paul wants them to know that 
it is in Christ alone that we have our salvation, our redemption. It is in Christ alone who fulfilled 
the law for us. that we have our acceptance before 
the Lord God Almighty. Notice what we have in Galatians 
4 and verse 9. But now after you have known 
God or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again 
to the weak and beggarly elements to which you desire again to 
be in bondage? You see, these Jewish Christians 
had come out of that system of yoke and bondage, adherence to 
the ceremonial law and all of those elements of mosaic religion. Christ had brought an end to 
that, rendering His perfect work and the sacrifice of Himself 
as acceptable alone before God, but these were being tempted 
to go back to such a thing. Notice the similar language in 
the book of Hebrews. and keep our fingers active, 
moving around in our Bible to keep us awake until we can get 
out of here in about 13 minutes time. and get back to our homes, 
but as we continue on with this act of worship, the preaching 
of the Word of God, notice Hebrews 6, beginning in verse 1, and 
the similarity to what we're talking about. Therefore, leaving 
the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us 
go on to perfection. not laying again the foundation 
of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God of the 
doctrine of baptisms of laying on of hands of resurrection of 
the dead and of eternal judgment and this we will do if God permits 
you see the stuff of verses 1 to 3 pertain to the Old Covenant 
religion. The articles of Old Covenant 
religion called the elementary principles of Christ. Back here 
in Galatians chapter 4, they're called those beggarly elements. Why would you go back to those 
things when Christ Jesus has rendered the perfect work? Being 
born of a woman, Being born under the law, he has redeemed those 
who are under the law. And so with respect to the humility 
of the incarnation, Christ is born of a woman. He's born under 
the law. And isn't that the mighty act 
of condescending humility that we are to rejoice in with regards 
to our Lord Jesus Christ? Because as Ryle has noted, Christ 
could have come, since he was enjoying the praise of angels, 
since he was enjoying the bliss of his heavenly communion with 
the Father and with the Spirit. If he had come down from heaven, 
Ryle says, with the glory of his angels, his Father and his 
angels, to earth and set up an earthly kingdom, that still would 
have been a mighty act of condescension. Why? Because he would have come 
as a man to earth Bearing human nature nevertheless. Yes. He's 
with his the glory of his father and with all of his angels, but 
if he still Condescends and takes on the form of a bondservant 
Isn't that still a mighty act of condescension dwelling among 
men and coming into our lower world of shame? He goes on to 
say it still would have been a mighty act of condescension 
if Christ came as a man and dwelt upon the mountains of Jerusalem 
in a mansion That still would have been a mighty act of condescension, 
but you see our Savior, our Christ, comes and He is brought into 
a life of ignominy, born of a woman and born under the law. The maker 
of men and women, the maker of galaxies, the one that spread 
out the expanse of the universe, the one who is the only lawgiver, 
nevertheless comes and He's born of a woman. and he's born under 
the law. A mighty act of the highest condescension. Sounds like an oxymoron, the 
highest condescension, but you get what I mean. The condescension 
of Christ is true and great condescension. Lastly then, we have the purpose 
of the incarnation. Then the text moves and flows 
to this very point. The purpose of the incarnation, 
Galatians 4.4, but when the fullness of the time had come, God sent 
forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, too." You 
see, there we have this word given as we transition from what 
He did to what it was for, born under the law, to redeem those 
who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption 
as sons. You see, in the pre-incarnate 
landscape, This is what we have. We do not have the shadow of 
a cradle looming upon the pre-incarnate landscape, but the shadow of 
a cross, the cross of Calvary. You see, in the canyons of the 
pre-incarnate landscape, we don't hear the portentous echoes of 
a baby crying. That wasn't the purpose of the 
incarnation, to marvel over God in a feed trough and stop there. But rather, in the canyons of 
the pre-incarnate landscape, we have the portentous echoes 
of Roman nails being hammered into a horizontal cross. This is what we have as the purpose 
of the incarnation, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He 
was born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who were 
under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons. First off, 
largely, The purpose of the incarnation is very simply salvation. The 
purpose of the incarnation is salvation to redeem those who 
were under the law. Now, while this has first and 
primary expression or focus upon Jewish Christians, it nevertheless 
extends beyond that as well to the Gentiles. It was peculiarly 
the Jews that were under the law. Gentiles not being under 
the law, but nevertheless having been created in the image of 
God, having the law written upon their hearts. But all of that 
to come back to this truth, that Christ came in the incarnation 
in order largely to save men. At the outset of the narrative 
of His life, this is what we have announced by the angel to 
Joseph concerning Mary. In Matthew chapter 1, we have 
the narrative given. and we have the purpose of the 
incarnation stated. Verse 21 of Matthew 1. Notice 
what we read there with regards to Jesus Christ. We read in verse 
20, But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel 
of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son 
of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife, 
for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And 
she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, 
for he will save his people from their sins." The purpose of the 
incarnation, Jesus Christ, the Savior of men, saving his people 
from their sins. From the lips of the Savior himself, 
as we move forward in in Redemptive Revelation, in Matthew chapter 
20, we find at verse 28, the mission, the commission of the 
Savior, stated by His own lips, just as the Son of Man did not 
come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom 
for many. And you see, the post-ascension 
apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, in their letters to the churches, 
are consistent with the words of their Master when they write 
things like, This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, 
that Christ Jesus came into this world, sinners to save. The purpose of the incarnation 
is the salvation of sinners. And secondly, and specifically, 
the vantage point is adoption. Notice again the language of 
the text, 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. You see, it is not the case that 
every man and woman, boy and girl, born onto God's green earth 
is a child of God. You see, that's the stuff of 
spiritual ambiguity and pseudo-Christianity, to say all of the sons of men 
are children of God and we just need to maximize our potential. whatever it might be. We have 
the case that only those who are saved by the Lord Jesus Christ 
and by the grace of God believe are truly the adopted sons of 
God. By creation, by virtue of our 
being in Adam, by virtue of being those who are violators of the 
covenant of works we are according to Jesus Christ himself of our 
father the devil and the desires of our father we want to do and 
so we have this adoption as sons and it comes by grace through 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our confessions speaking about 
this blessed doctrine, all those that are justified, God vouchsafe 
in and for the sake of His only Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers 
of the grace of adoption. by which they are taken into 
the number and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children 
of God, have his name put on them, receive the spirit of adoption, 
have access to the throne of grace with boldness, are enabled 
to cry, Abba, Father. are pitied, protected, provided 
for, and chastened by Him as by a father, and yet never cast 
off, but sealed to the day of redemption, and inherit the promises 
as heirs of everlasting salvation." You see, Christian, when you 
rehearse your salvation, when you just rehearse and consider 
your Christianity, There are a number of blessed things to 
contemplate and to rejoice in our regeneration that God brought 
us forth. We were born again, not because 
of anything we did, but solely and alone by the victorious and 
sovereign grace of God. He making us alive in Christ 
Jesus. We have justification. The fact 
that he declared us righteous by virtue of the perfect obedience 
of the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrificial work. We have 
sanctification, the fact that God, by His grace, grows us daily 
in the grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. But never forget 
adoption. I reckon it is one of those doctrines 
that perhaps isn't contemplated enough. The doctrine of adoption, 
the fact that God, by His grace, pulled us from our sonship and 
slavery to the devil. and put us into the household 
of the triune God, the household of faith. By His grace and for 
His glory, taking us from that sonship to Satan and placing 
us as co-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ, as His adopted 
sons. Contemplate your adoption and 
the privileges that come by way of it, because in those contemplations 
is the stuff of amazing grace. And praise and honor to our great 
triune God. And as we close, just very briefly, 
four things to close to consider with regards to the Incarnation. 
The timing of it, the triune glory of it, the humility of 
it, the purpose of it. And the first thing is, is that 
we are to be amazed at the plan of God. We are to be amazed at 
the plan of God. If it is the case that Paul can 
open up a letter open up more than one letter, but open up 
a letter by saying, 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. We, as Christians, 2000 years 
removed, can have that same disposition. You see, because Paul didn't 
sit there writing with a dry and a cold countenance. Blessed 
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ speaks that 
he was rejoicing in the God of heaven and earth and in the salvation 
poured out upon unworthy sinners. We are to be amazed at the plan 
of God. I fear that we are so easily amazed by trivial things, 
aren't we? So easily amazed by trivial things. In fact, I think we need new 
word for amazed. Flabbergasted. That was used 
earlier. Maybe we can use that one. When we're amazed at the 
plan of God. Astonished. Because we're so easily amazed 
at things like, you know, water skiing squirrels on YouTube. 
Just absolutely amazing. We can spend three minutes amazed 
at water skiing squirrels on YouTube when those three minutes 
could be used contemplating the glories of the plan of God and 
the salvation of sinners through Jesus Christ. Maybe you do that 
as well and it's not an unlawful thing to watch a water skiing 
squirrel. Go ahead. But you see, we are to be astonished. 
We are to be flabbergasted at this truth, that God, in the 
fullness of His appointed time, sent forth His Son, born of a 
woman, born under the law, to redeem those who are under the 
law. We are to be amazed at the plan of God. We are to know the 
Trinity. We are to know the Trinity. If 
it is the case that the Trinity is the foundation of all our 
communion with God and comfortable dependence upon Him, As our confession 
says, then we are to know the Trinity. God sent forth his son 
and sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying 
out, Abba, Father. We are to know that in this divine 
and infinite being there are three subsistences, or persons, 
God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The same in substance, 
equal in power and in glory, sharing the essence, yet the 
essence undivided. We know the Trinity, and we understand 
the God of heaven and earth, and we rejoice. Not only in the 
Trinity in His being and nature, and the being and nature of the 
triune God, but also in his work saving sinners unto the praise 
of his glorious grace. We are to rejoice in the humility 
of Jesus Christ. Rejoice in the humility of Jesus 
Christ. He came in that humble act of 
condescension and incarnation in order to redeem guilty, vile, 
and wretched sinners. Rejoice in the humility of the 
incarnation. You see, I think sometimes perhaps 
we might rejoice or contemplate our own humility more than the 
humility of Christ. Spending time working, we ought 
to work on our own humility. We ought never to. It seems to 
be a counterproductive thing to trumpet our own humility. It's always an interesting thing 
when someone remarks about their own humility. Your humble servant, 
Cam Porter. Okay, are we supposed to acknowledge 
our humility as those who are humble? But you see, contemplate 
the humility of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He came from 
such a place to such a place to redeem guilty sinners. The 
Son of Man descended from so high a place, and it is so often, 
as Calvin said, our disposition to marvel and to revel in our 
own pride and in our own things. We are to marvel at and to rejoice 
in the condescending grace and the humility of our Savior, the 
Lord Jesus Christ. And last, rest in the salvation 
of Christ. The problem in Galatia, the problem 
in Galatia is that they were not resting in salvation by Jesus 
Christ. They were being perverted. They 
were being deceived. They were being, the heretics 
and the errorists were trying to pull them away from the gospel 
of pure and pristine grace to this other gospel, which was 
no gospel at all. They were resting, yes, in Christ, 
but also in their adherence to circumcision and their adherence 
to the articles of the Mosaic economy. We are not to rest in 
anything save for salvation by Jesus Christ. And you might say, 
well, None of us do that. Why are you exhorting us to rest 
in the salvation of Christ? Of course we do. But you see, 
I think very often we can have this disposition whereby we can 
be those baptized Pharisees that stand before the tax collector, 
and we can thank God that we're not like that other Christian 
sitting in the pew, that we don't do that, that we don't go there, 
that we don't do X, Y, and Z, or that we do A, B, and C. And we can, in effect, be resting 
upon our own performance as Christians in this lower world. We rest 
solely and alone upon the finished and perfect work of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, who was born of a woman, who was born under the 
law, who redeemed those under the law, and who has given us 
the adoption as sons. Jesus Christ, our Savior, rest 
in Him and you will know the bliss of everlasting life, the 
forgiveness of sins. If you're here tonight and you 
don't know the Savior, the preachers come up here, we grip this pulpit, 
we deliver a sermon, we pray at the end, you leave. Before you leave, if you're here 
tonight, you don't know the Savior. You're outside of Christ in unbelief. Consider this Christ who came 
into this world, sinners to save. You are a sinner. We all are. Some here saved by grace. Some, 
if you're outside of Christ, waiting for that day that Pastor 
Butler preached about this morning, where the Son of Man would come 
with the glory of His holy angels. rendering judgment upon those 
who know not Christ and who obey not the gospel. Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ and you will have everlasting life. You will 
know the redemption that he brought and you will know this blessed 
reality of being adopted sons of God Most High, enjoying all 
the privileges of those who are of the household of faith. Let 
us pray. Heavenly Father, we rejoice in 
the scriptures. We thank you for the gospel of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice in the incarnation 
and the truth that it discloses to us. We rejoice in this blessed 
fact that you did send Christ in the fullness of the times, 
born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who were 
under it. We thank you that we by your grace have the adoption 
as sons through Jesus Christ and we do pray that you'd impress 
upon each and every one here because it is possible with you 
that is outside of Christ that you would impress upon them your 
holiness, your justice, your righteousness in judging those 
who do not know you. We do pray Lord God that you 
would cause them by your grace and for your glory to believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ and to be found safely in him and 
not having their own righteousness, which is through the law, but 
that which comes from you through faith in Christ Jesus. We do 
pray for each and every one of your saints here now. You would 
cause us in this upcoming week, by your grace, to live in a manner 
worthy of the gospel of Christ. That we would leave this place 
singing the praises of our Savior, rejoicing in the truths of the 
incarnation and the salvation that that led to. And we do pray, 
Lord God, that you would cause us day after day to grow in the 
grace and in the knowledge of Christ Jesus, our Savior. And 
it's in His name that we pray. Amen.