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e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e prophet Isaiah Isaiah chapter 9 Isaiah chapter 9 I'll read verses 1 to7 nevertheless the Gloom will not be upon her who is distressed as when at first he lightly esteemed the land of zebulun and the land of naph and afterward more heavily oppressed her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death upon them a light has shined you have multiplied the nation and increased its Joy they Rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest as men rejoice when they divide the spoil for you have broken the Yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder the rod of his oppressor as in the day of Midian for every Warrior's Sandal from the noisy battle and garments rolled in blood will be used for burning and fuel of fire For unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government will be upon his shoulder and his name will be called wonderful counselor Mighty God Everlasting father Prince of Peace of the increase of his government in peace there will be no end upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and Justice from that time forward even forever the Zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this amen well please turn in your hym books to Psalm 8 Psalm 8 b as in bravo we'll stand as we sing together 8 [Music] B GL Earth your name you the the glory of your the pr in the of the of your fingers see the what is so that you [Music] should you for him you have to God with Glory in you love [Music] your for our Lord the Earth excellent your [Music] name let us pray our blessed God and Holy Father truly your name is excellent we confess that you are the most high that you are Father Son and Holy Spirit a God who is worthy to be praised and glorified and honored and worshiped we ask that you would be enthroned upon the Praises of your people here tonight we pray that you would strengthen and encourage our hearts and build us up in our Most Holy Faith and cause us to know The Nearness of God as our good we thank you that in the Book of Revelation we see Christ in the midst of the lampstand we see his presence and his power demonstrated in our own midst and we rejoice in this blessed privilege to gather on the Lord's Day Sabbath with the people of God to sing the Praises of God we ask as well that you would look with favor upon each and everyone in this local body that it would be the case that you would conform us ever more under the image of your beloved Son that we would serve you each and every day that we would indeed shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation and that we would have that boldness and courage necessary to hold forth your glorious word of Truth we ask that you would frame our hearts are right now as we consider your majesty as we consider the reverence that is necessary as we approach such a glorious God May that reverence be mingled with great joy and with gratitude as we reflect upon what you have done in the gospel of your beloved Son we praise you for his work of redemption the Apostle says in him we have Redemption through his blood the Forgiveness of sins according to the riches of God's grace we thank you that there are riches we thank you that you are infinite we thank you that you are abundant in Mercy toward your people as we stand daily in need of those things even now we confess our remaining corruption to you we know that we are to walk in a manner that is consistent with our calling in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ yet God we confess that we are prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love how we thank you that we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous how we thank you that we can pray from the heart Psalm 130 if you Lord should Mark iniquities oh Lord who could stand there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared Lord God frame our hearts in that way tonight and for any and all who've come here tonight that are dead in their trespasses and sins we pray that the Holy Spirit would convict them would show them their bankruptcy before a Thrice holy God and would show them the glory of the Savior King in Saving to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God God through him may you be praised in that effectual call may you be praised as Sinners come out of Darkness into Marvelous Light confessing faith in our Lord Jesus Christ we pray for other churches here in our community we thank you that we're not alone we ask that you would bless those churches that are Faithfully preaching the word of Truth we pray that you would Prosper them that you would cause them to continue to grow in the things of the Lord and in their effectiveness and usefulness in this community and our father we pray that for the entirety of this nation we ask that you'd bless those churches that we are in association with be with the Brethren and Suri and in Armstrong bless the brethren in medicon hat and pinoca and in Regina thank you God for this uh privilege that we get to to have these fraternal relationships as churches and help us God to be useful in your hand in this country we ask that you would be merciful throughout the uttermost parts of the earth we thank thank you for those contacts that we have and that we know that we love and pray for we ask God that you would embolden them to continue to Proclaim Christ and him crucified and resurrected our hearts go out to our dear brother Peter and Myanmar that you would sustain this man that you would bless and provide for him and his family and all of the orphans that he tends to and just protect them as you have demonstrated your faithfulness in the past we trust that you will continue to do so For Your Glory and for their well-being we pray for a ceasefire in that country we pray for some degree of stability and we pray that the gospel would continue to make inroads in that land as well our father we pray for the missionary Enterprise and thank you for the various men that are in various places proclaiming the truth as it is in Jesus may they know your goodness upon their their preaching may you show your Bounty and your grace in the salvation of Sinners and in the edification of saints may you bless your churches worldwide and may it be the case that we would indeed glorify you in this present evil age as well God we than of the persecuted church we know there is great suffering and oppression and hardship experienced by our brothers and sisters throughout this world and we just commend them to you and to the word of your grace cause them to persevere in the midst of these things cause them to be steadfast and cause them to be faithful witnesses to the Lord Of Glory even in times of Oppression and hardship and suffering and our father we pray for your blessing upon the civil government in this land we know it's a day and age that reflects or uh is similar to what we see in the prophet Isaiah when men call good evil and evil good certainly abortion and euthanasia sexual perversion is exalted and Christian values and the law of God is is looked down upon so we pray that you would send forth your Holy Spirit again blessing the pulpits that many would come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ for in your common Grace continue to restrain and be merciful to put in high places those who have at least a degree of a commitment to Law and Order and Justice continue with us now we pray and receive our worship as it comes through the son in the spirit to our blessed father and we pray in jesus' name amen you can turn again with me in your hym books to 299 299 we'll stand as we sing together glory to the world the is let receive King every [Music] heart and and nature sing and nature sing [Music] and to the earthor [Music] and [Music] and and sorrow [Music] L to make his bless C for the he rul the world with Tru and and Mak the glor of his right and wonders of his and wonders of his [Music] and well please turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Joshua Joshua chapter 20 as we continue our scripture reading through the Old Testament in our Sunday evening worship services remember the overarching themes concerning the Book of Joshua they enter the land according to vers or chapters 1 to 4 they take the land via Conquest in chapters 5 to 12 we're in the section on the division of the land in verses 13 to 21 and then the emphasis in chapters 21 to 24 is on retaining the land faithfulness before God as they take that land well we'll read chapter 20 dealing with the Cities of Refuge the Lord also spoke to Joshua saying speak to the children of Israel saying appoint for yourselves Cities of Refuge of which I spoke to you through Moses that the Slayer who kills a person accidentally or unintentionally May flee there and they shall be your Refuge from the Avenger of blood and when he flees to one of those cities and stands at the entrance of the Gate of the city and declares his case in the hearing of the Elders of that City they shall take him into the city as one of them and give him a place that he may dwell among Ong them then if the Avenger of blood pursues him they shall not deliver the Slayer into his hand because he struck his neighbor un intentionally but did not hate him beforehand and he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment un until the death of the one who is high priest until uh in those days then the Slayer May return and come to his own City and his own house to the city from which he fled so they appointed Kadesh in Galilee in the mountain of napali sheam in the mountains of Ephraim and kirjath arba which is Hebron in the mountains of Judah and on the other side of the Jordan by Jericho Eastward they assigned beer or beaser in the wilderness of the plain from the tribe of Reuben ramoth and Gilead from the tribe of GAD and Golan and Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh these were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwelt among them that whoever killed a person accidentally might flee there and not B die by the hand of the Avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation amen well we see this constant refrain in the Books of Moses uh Genesis to Deuteronomy and then carried out with reference to the Old Testament scriptures as a whole on Justice and righteousness the children of Israel were to function in a way that glorified God and that shown as a light to the Nations around them the nations were supposed to say what kind of a god do do these people serve according to Deuteronomy 4 and here we see that distinction that the Bible makes relative to matters of Civil Justice with reference to murder and manslaughter not all uh manslaughter is murder not all killing is murder so there needed to be a distinction built into the law obviously God demands the execution of a murderer upon successful conviction in a trial but with reference to manslaughter or accidental homicide or what we see here without intentionality that is not the crime of murder and therefore he was not to be punished with execution nevertheless life was altered a bit for that particular individual he had to go and live in that City of Refuge that would discourage car carelessness on the part of people in the Covenant Community the classic example in the scripture is the man who chops wood with an axe if he doesn't fasten the head to the axe handle and it flies off and finds its way into his neighbor's head and he kills him then of course he's got to go to the City of Refuge that would indeed limit or hopefully encourage the limitation of carelessness on the part of the people uh uh of Israel but of course murder is demanded execution Genesis chapter 9 Paul assumes this in the sword passage in Romans chapter 13 and it is not suggestive but it is demanded by our God that whoever whoever sheds man's blood by man his blood will be shed for in the image of God he made man so the later legislation comes to finer tune that the going from the whoever sheds man's blood there is a distinction between manslaughter murder manslaughterer are not to be executed by the Civil state but the murderer certainly is well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for the scriptures of both the Old and the New Testaments we thank you that they are given by inspiration of God literally God breathed they're profitable for Doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction in righteousness we pray that you would thoroughly furnish us unto every good work we pray that you'd bless our brother cam as he comes up in a moment to Proclaim your truth may you fill him with the Holy Spirit and may He by your grace and For Your Glory make much of the Lord Jesus Christ and we pray in jesus' name amen will you can turn again with me in your hym books to 171 71 we'll stand as we [Music] sing true change un changeing all the our side we pra for the to the church on Earth dear Master reive the still for all Earth to shine is golden TR our soul is of CHR Liv sh like a be [Music] World CHR to the chch to for theing [Music] is dark PR [Music] good evening everyone you can turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Galatians Galatians 3 we're going to look at Galatians 4: 4 and 5 this evening but we're going to start reading in Galatians at chapter 3: 26 Galatians 3 beginning at verse 26 this is the word of God for you all for uh 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 christs then you are a 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 amen well let's pray Heavenly Father we thank you for this Lord's Day evening worship we thank you that we can gather in this place for the worship of our great god father Son and Holy Spirit uh do bless bless us now as we engage in the act of preaching we pray that we would do this in accordance with your will your good pleasure and that you might receive all honor and praise in this act of worship we pray that your spirit would be in our midst lifting up our minds uh uh unto a a high illumination and the things of your truth that we might know your blessed truth and that we would leave this place singing the Praises of your most glorious name and the grace that you pour out upon your people we do pray that this would uh would all OB pain in Reflections upon the Lord Jesus Christ Reflections upon his person and work that he came into this world Sinners to save and we pray in his name amen well we're going to look at at verses four and five uh uh another verse in the Holy scriptures that that captures the the point of creation and the the point of Providence why is it that God created the world why is it that he upholds all things by the word of his power in his uh providential wisdom and Glory it is for the setting forth of the sending forth of the Son of God to redeem guilty sinners from their sins and the whole point of divine revelation is truly captured in Galatians 4: 4 and 5 and so we're going to look at that those particular words I just want to reward them and then we'll have a look at uh four things in the course of the sermon notice 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 once again a capturing of the very point of creation and Providence and the Very purpose of divine revelation in the Holy scriptures so we're going to we're going to look at this passage under four simple heads this evening the moment the Mission the mystery and the meaning a very helpful alliteration of four M's for our purpose this evening and I believe they do fit I didn't have to sit for hours looking in a thesaurus for Words uh uh that start with them it's it's very fitting so first off the moment we have something with regards to the moment of uh a a moment in Redemptive history a time and the moment is seen in the language uh beginning at verse four but when the fullness of the time had come what what is this language and and what does it mean uh Christ himself uses this language and Paul uses it on more than one occasion back up with me to the gospel of Mark because the language that Christ uses here in Mark uh chapter 1 is the same language something with respect to the fullness of the time coming a the end of an anticipated uh anticipated era uh or something there there was an era of anticipation that now comes to a Terminus to a finality and to the expected moment notice in Mark 1 at verse 14 now after John was put in prison Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe in the gospel elsewhere the Apostle Paul uses the language in Ephesians 1 for example of in the dispensation of the fullness of the times God had perfected his intended and planned Redemption you can also turn with me to see this to the book of Hebrews this language of timing is I don't want to say replete but it is everywhere in the Holy scriptures with respect to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ notice in Hebrews 9 and at verse 26 Hebrews 9:26 then uh he then would have had to suffer this is speaking with respect to Christ often since the foundation of the world but now once at the end of the ages he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself so the language of the fullness of the times is here captured by the same apostle that wrote to the to the Galatians in the language of at the end of the ages this this morning we sang Two hymns that capture the very language of Galatians 4 uh 4 in fact um the verse or the stanza um in um hark the herald angel Singh is taking the language directly out of uh Galatians 4 when it says late in time Behold Him come offspring of the virgin's womb that is when the fullness of the times had come God sent forth his son born of a woman so the language that the hymnwriter uses is late in time Behold Him come as well in Oh Come All Ye Faithful word of the father late in flesh appearing or in some versions now in flesh appearing and we also sing the the hymn Come Thou Long expected Jesus when when the hym writers are saying late in flesh um the uh the Lord appearing or late in time Behold Him come they're not supposing that God somehow scheduled an event but then it happened later because God somehow procrastinated or or something weird like that we're not supposed to think in that way uh the Lord our God is infinite Eternal and unchangeable in all of his glorious Perfections it simply has to do with the fullness of time there was this long-expected anticipation of the Son of God to come into the world Sinners to save so just finding our way back back to the book of Galatians when the fullness of the time had come this I I think captures a number of things one of them is immediately in the context but when we consider the fullness of the times that language when the fullness of the times had come I I think we're supposed to think or we should think or we have good reason to think of five things and the first thing is the time determined in the Eternal decree in the Covenant of redemption the language of our confession is this it pleased God in his eternal purpose to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus his only begotten son according to the covenant made between them both to be the mediator between God and man and so when the fullness of the times had come captures that it captures that that time determined in the Eternal decree when the only begotten Son of God would come into into the world Sinners to save it it also secondly captures the time announced and anticipated by the prophets uh Daniel for example 70 works are determined for your temple and the holy city there the prophets speak with regards to a Time coming when there will be Redemption brought to Israel and so the fullness of the times when the fullness of the times had come it captures that very thing the time announced by the prophets the time anticipated by the prophets of the Old Testament thirdly it captures the the time of the and bear with me with the language for a moment but it captures the time of the converges convergence and Terminus of all types uh Pastor Butler preached this morning and he referenced types uh things places events persons the temple the Tabernacle uh David Abraham Moses Samson all of these events all of these places all of these things all of these sacrifices all of these Washings all of these ceremonies were all types that now converge at the fullness of the times in the Lord Jesus Christ so the fullness of the times uh when the fullness of the times had come captures the confir the convergence and the the Terminus the ending point the wrapping up of of all types that's what we see in the Lord Jesus Christ we have all of these blessed streams of old Covenant Revelation and old Covenant types that that come that there's a there's a Confluence of these streams all of these these revelatory and typological streams come to a blessed Confluence a onew path at the time of the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ it also captures fourthly the time of the Perfection of all providences God in his Providence was putting many P pieces many providential pieces into place such that when Christ comes upon the scenes the world is ready for the Advent of Christ to come to live to die to rise again to send his Apostles out into the world to preach the gospel of the living Christ in the context though there is a direct not though it again the fullness of the times includes all of these things but fifthly the time of the completion of old Covenant tutelage that's what's directly in view notice notice at verse two well just backing up to verse one of Galatians 4 under this this point regarding the fullness of the times the time of the completion of old Covenant tutelage notice verse one 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 now notice the time appointed by the father so what's directly in view is that with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ the lord Jesus puts an end to the era of Mosaic tutelage or old Covenant tutelage that is they were under this Covenant which again was not a if you're with us in the baptism Services the old Covenant is not an administration of the Covenant of GRA R but it is a physical temporary and typical Covenant that points forward to and and keeps the people of Israel under this tutelage under this guardianship by those sacrifices by those Washings by those ceremonies by all of those types until the time that the one who fulfills all those things comes so the nation of Israel they were under Guardians and they were under stewards until the time appointed by the father and what the what the Apostle Paul is getting at here in the context of the book of Galatians is he's essentially saying why would you go back to the mosaical institutions when the one to whom all those things pointed has come and has perfected salvation it's it's largely the point in the book of Hebrews the the same argument is made here why would you go back to the beggarly elements of the mosaic institutions when the very one to whom all those pointed the Lord Jesus Christ has come to perfect Redemption and bring many sons to Glory notice secondly then the mission the mission when the fullness of the times had come God sent forth his son this is the mission of the Son of God Pastor Butler has brought this up on a number of occasions when preaching through the Gospel of John on the mission of the Son of God we have that that uh ad inra reality of the Son of God in the in the Triune God that he is eternally begotten of the father and then with regards to those things at extra or outside of God we see the mission of the Son of God God sent forth his son and as we'll see in a number of minutes born under a woman born under the law but with regards to this Clause God sent forth his son uh what does it mean because you know when we we we are so used to obviously because we're humans and we're we're in space and we occupy space and we don't occupy other spaces we're our minds are naturally captured by people or things or whatever moving from one place and and going to another God is very gracious to us when he uses language like this in the Bible of sending forth the Sun or when Christ himself says I came down from heaven I am the bread of life that came down from heaven or I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me what does it mean for one who is omnipresent who is everywhere to come down from a place or to be sent from a place to another place um God is very gracious to us in speaking in a manner that we can understand because our minds cannot comprehend the infinite this sending to to speak negatively or with regards to what it is not is that this sending is not a locomotive sending that is that the Son of God is sent from a place to come to a place that he was not before so he's in a place and he's not in this place then he comes to this place and he's no longer now in that place that's not what it is because God is immense he is infinite Eternal and unchangeable in his glorious immensity Calvin uh John Calvin said something um excellent with regards to this he said this is something marvelous that the Son of God came down from heaven in such a way that without leaving Heaven he will to be born uh born of a virgin to go about the Earth doing good to die upon the cross and yet he always and ever will f fill the heavens and the Earth as he had from the beginning so it's not a locomotive sending Christ isn't confined and to a place and then sent down to another place and I I I want us to to enter into this particular world and language for a moment because it helped me you know there there are a number of of errors out there with regards to the Lord Jesus Christ and what it means for him to have come into the world did he cast off his divinity did he actually come from a place go to a place where he was not before having left the place that he was previously and all this this language and I think it's helpful for us to understand what it means for Christ to come into the world and for him to be sent this is Turin and and and and and hopefully you can enter into the the reality of this language because like I said it it really helped me with regards to okay when Christ is sent what does that mean does he actually come down from heaven as God if we're to picture him as a Greco Roman deity who's you know up at the top of Mount Olympus he's not at the bottom of Mount Olympus he's there he comes down to the bottom of Mount Olympus and he's no longer at the top there are Turran says three modes of being in a place that are commonly held so to be in a place um for anyone or anything to be in a place what does that mean there are three things and the first is circumscript that means attributed to bodies like us because they're in a place and space so as to be commensurate with parts of space so we're we're here you're there you guys are there you guys are over there I'm here the clock is there Steve Lawson is back sitting on the bench um we're in space we're in places circumscriptive those who have bodies are so secondly definitively applicable to created spirits and incorporeal substances so angels can be definitively in a place and not in another place but with respect to God on account of the immensity of his Essence that this should be understood in a most different manner from the mode of being in place of bodies for wherever he is he is Holy that is wh l l y holy in all things yet holy beyond all included in no place and excluded from none and not so much in a place because finite cannot comprehend infinite as in himself so to get to the point God is everywhere he is omnipresent he is not captured in a space he is glorious immense Eternal a most pure Spirit without body parts and passions immense Eternal immutable and so what does it mean then to be sent into the world for one who is everywhere who is already in the world we'll get there in a moment but I want us to see the scriptures as they capture this truth of the immensity of the being of God and so therefore the immensity of the Son of God you can turn with me to the Book of Job first job chapter 11 job 11 we job is a is a mine field not like explosive mines but a a mine for mining precious gems job is a Minefield for the Perfections and the attributes of God if we read job not only job himself but also some of his friends and one particular friend who provides good advice we we have wonderful things with regards to the Perfections of God who he is notice at Job 11 and uh verse 6 that he would show you the secrets of his wisdom for they would double your Prudence know therefore that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deser deserves can you search out the Deep things of God can you find out the limits of the almighty the these are the sorts of verses that that should capture our Christian hearts and and cause us to worship God that that language can you search out the Deep things of God in other words you can't the the answer is beforehand known and to be understood upon the question being asked can you find out the limits of the Almighty no you can't because he is Limitless he is boundless there is no metric or measurement by which our glorious Triune God can be measured or metered so what does this sending mean you can turn to Jeremiah for a moment Jeremiah 23 speaking with respect to the immensity of god notice that J jiah 23 at verse 23 am I a god near at hand says the Lord and not a god AAR off can anyone hide himself in secret places so I shall not see him says the Lord do I not fill Heaven and Earth says the Lord the Solomon in the dedication of the temple captures this very language prior prior to Jeremiah of course but in the dedication of of the temple Solomon is recognizing and proclaiming the glory of God in his immensity when he says that God cannot be contained in those things created by human hands shall God dwell on the earth and he says something like even the heavens and the heavens of Heavens cannot contain him so then what is this ending well the coming into the world of the Son of God as we find our way back to Galatians 4 the coming into the world of the Son of God the sending of the Son of God is simply the immense Divine and eternal word assuming to himself man's nature that's how God the son can be sent that's how the Son of God can come down from heaven not by leaving a place to a place that he wasn't before and departing the place that he was previously at but by the Assumption of our Humanity for the Salvation of Sinners so the mission is the coming into the world of the Son of God through the Assumption of our Humanity the taking upon himself of our Humanity notice again the language of 44 but when the fullness of the time had come God sent forth his son what a blessed reality that God sent forth his son in this case the reference to God or God is in reference to the father father in fact if we observe this passage it's a blessed passage it's a blessed Triune passage it sets forth the doctrine of the Trinity you know when the apostles are writing their letters when the Apostle Paul here is writing this letter he assumes the doctrine of the Trinity and simply writes in accordance with the blessedness and the glory of that Doctrine God the Father sends forth the son and then the son sends the spirit into your hearts crying out ABA father father Son and Holy Spirit are all captured it within these blessed three verses verses four five and six but back to this the mission of the sent son is what we'll see in a number of minutes it is the coming into the world the Assumption of our Humanity that he might bring many sons to Glory that he might bring Sinners uh to their Heavenly Glory that he might save a multitude from every tribe and tongue and people and nation that brings us then to thirdly the mystery the mystery what is the mystery well it's the next Clause but when the fullness of the time had come God sent forth his son and here's the mystery born of a woman born under the law now why do we why do we say that is a mystery well because firstly we're to see in this language a glorious humiliation and condescension of the Son of God that the Son of God that the creator of all things that the upholder of all things that the one who is immense Eternal boundless and Limitless would be born of a woman and and born under the law what what a mystery Alexander of Alexandria one of the the heroes of niia he said behold this new and ineffable mystery this this new and and ineffable it's it it's incomprehensible we cannot comprehend it fully but it's a glorious truth behold this new and ineffable mystery and then he goes on to articulate the Blessed condescension of the Son of God to come into this world Sinners to save so it's a mystery and it's first seen in the humility in Christ's Assumption of our Humanity born of a woman and born under the law we see the humility of his condescension to assume our humanity and this is Leo Maximus articulating why we are to see such a such a condescension and such a humility in the Son of God coming into our lower World Leo Maximus wrote being invisible in his own nature the Son of God he became visible in ours and he whom nothing could contain was content to be contained abiding before all time he began to be in time he obscured his immeasurable majesty and took on him the form of a servant being God that cannot suffer he did not disdain to be man that can and Immortal as he is to subject himself to the laws of death the Lord assumed his mother's nature without her faultiness for he who is true God is also true man and in this Union there is no lie since the humility of manhood and the loftiness of the godhead both meet here what what a glorious mystery what a glorious condescension what a glorious humility taken on by the Son of God who is born of a woman and born under the law and not only does this Clause capture the humility that's seen in his assumption but it also secondly captures the Fulfillment of divine promise this language of of born of a woman born under the law brings into view the Fulfillment of divine promise first born of a woman immediately when we read that language and immediately when the Galatians were um read that language when the letter was either read or when they heard it read or when they read it themselves they hopefully would have drawn a line directly back to Genesis 3:15 God sent forth his son born of a woman the the promised hero born of woman that would crush the serpent with his head had come in the fullness of the times he was born of a woman and so it reaches back to Genesis 3 this language and pulls to the four that blessed Divine promise given in a curse upon the serpent it also captures Isaiah 7 and you can turn there with me for a moment Isaiah 7 so it reaches back to Genesis in that Proto gospel in the garden and it also reaches back to prophetic promising you can turn to Isaiah uh 7 and notice what we have in the language here beginning at verse 13 then he said here now oh House of David is it a small thing for you to weary men but will you weary My God also therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign behold the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel you if we just take the language of born of a woman we ask the question what why is that even emphasized because that's just how humanity and and birthing works that's how people come into the world we're born of a woman why why even include that Clause well hopefully you can see why first to emphasize his humility that the Son of God the creator of the woman would be born of the woman but also to highlight the Fulfillment of divine promise and we see here there this promise of a sign that the Lord himself will give you a sign behold the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel with respect to born under the law we could go to a place like 1 Corinthians 15:45 and see what this means in the first place it is Christ as the second or last Adam who comes born under the law to as we'll see redeem those who were under it we were all under we were all under and Mankind at some point um not at some point always is unless they're Redeemed by Christ under the curse of the law they're in Union with their Federal and Covenant head Adam he fell and all his posterity fell in him and from that foundational launching pad of original sin does flow all subsequent transgressions and so we all deserve ve wrath and Justice and judgment not only in this life but in all in also in that which is to come and so Christ is born under the law as the second Adam the first Adam thrust all into sin the last Adam brings a multitude to Glory saving them from their sins secondly with regards to born under the law we we could see him as the obedient son he's born under the law in fulfillment of the Divine promise that there would be a servant who comes forth to bring righteousness to humanity you can turn with me to the book of Isaiah Pastor Butler this morning talked about Isaiah 42 being one of the four servant songs and we have at Isaiah 41 excuse me 42 at verse one the language with respect to born under the law notice 421 in Isaiah behold my servant whom I uphold my elect one in whom my soul Delights I have put my spirit upon Him He will bring forth Justice to the Gentiles he will not cry out nor raise his voice nor cause his voice to be heard in the street he brings forth Justice to the Gentiles he is this elect one who brings forth truth and Justice and notice in verse four he will not fail nor be discouraged till he has established Justice in the Earth and the coastlands shall wait for his law he is born under the law in that he is the promised servant of God who would come to perfect obedience substitution arily for his people you can also turn to the Book of John we see here John in many places and well Christ John recounting Christ himself speaking with regards to his Divine mission and speaks with respect to him being born under the law notice at John 6 verse 38 for I and here's that language again of coming down from heaven for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me so he's born under the law to do the will of the one who sent him and really Galatians 4 4 and 5 is a an explication of Christ's words here um in in John 6 verse verse 38 and so he is the second or last Adam who comes to bring uh bring to Glory those who are fallen in Adam he is the obedient son the servant of Yahweh as born under the law and thirdly he is the satisfier of the Law's penal demands he's born under the law as the one who satisfies Divine Justice specifically the penal demands of God go back to the book of Galatians and notice in the chapter prior we have this very thing beginning at verse 10 of Galatians 3 for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse for it is written cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them but that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident for the just shall live by faith yet the law is not of faith Fai but the man who does them shall live by them Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us for it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree so Christ is the last Adam he's the obedient son and he's the satisfier of the Law's penal demands that's what it means in in large part to to be born under the law now there's a a direct application too with respect to the old Covenant tutelage that we talked about earlier Christ comes to fulfill the Law's demands and therefore they are not to go back to or be under some sort of scheme where they think God requires them to engage in obedience to the law in order to be justified before God Christ came into the world and it's only through him that we have a righteousness that avails with God we cannot satisfy the Law's demands only the Son of God can and if we think about the just the humility and the Mystery of this like we talked about earlier you think think about this and W with sort of that Leo Maximus comparison of the Son of God according to his deity and the Son of God as son of man according to his Humanity with regards to The Obedience of the law the very Giver of the law condescends to take upon himself the form of law Breakers so that as the lawkeeper he would bring many law Breakers to Glory it's a wonderful thing the very Giver of the law condescends to be born under the law in order that he might redeem law Breakers and that brings us fourthly and finally as we look to close here in a few minutes that brings us to the meaning we go back to Galatians 4:4 notice the language as it continues but when the full 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 so that's that's the meaning the the Bible's answer to the question why did the Son of God come into the world the Bible's answer to the question why did Jesus come down from heaven is this to redeem those who were under the law that we might reive the adoption as Sons simply the Son of God came into the world Sinners to save what a what a glorious truth what a what a wonderful thing the meaning of the Incarnation the purpose of the Incarnation the very reason of the Incarnation of the Son of God is that he might bring a multitude of Sinners to Glory that that should cause our Christian Hearts to to warm and and to sing reflecting upon the fact that we were once under the curse we were once in Adam and now though we are by Grace no longer under a curse but in Christ by virtue of the Perfection of of his work being born of a woman and born under the law the reason for the mission and the Mystery was to save his people from their sins first to free from bondage those who were all their lifetime subject to it it's the language of the book of Hebrews in Hebrews 2 with regards to the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ remember that language of bondage in our immediate context now I say that an heir 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 underu Guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father in fact turn to Hebrews quickly here for a moment Hebrews 2 just to see the connection that Paul is drawing because the the context is very similar why would you go back to the Mosaic institutions why would you go back to the time of tutelage and guardianship and stewardship when the promised one has come who has perfected righteousness notice um uh notice in Hebrews chapter 2 and we'll pick up reading there at verse 14 in as much then as the children have partaken of Flesh and Blood he himself that is Christ likewise shared in the same that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death that is the devil and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage he came into the world to redeem those who were under the law he's born under the law to redeem those who were under the law who were all their lifetime subject to bondage and he comes to make many sons and daughters of God that that last portion of the language here that we read read to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as Sons isn't that that language wonderful that that we can that we can call ourselves the Sons and Daughters of God uh uh I hope you see the the glory in that because beforehand we were not the Sons and Daughters of God before Grace came we were not children of God but we were children of Adam we were children of the Devil Himself Christ brings that language upon the unbelieving Jews in his context you're of your father the devil you're not sons and the Sons and Daughters of Abraham the Sons and Daughters of Abraham are those who are uh who have the faith of Abraham not the physical descendants but those who have the faith of Abraham who believe in god father Son and Holy Spirit and who before the coming of Christ anticipatorily if that's a word looked forward to the blessing bed Redeemer coming and those on this side of the coming reflect with great joy back upon the fact that he was born of a woman and born under the law to make us the Sons and Daughters of God what a a blessed thing that we have in this passage the the fullness of the times the sending forth of the Sun the born of a woman and born under the law and the Blessed meaning the best the Blessed purpose to come into this world Sinners to save you know it's it's one of those things where it I I think we as Christians just have to daily in on Sundays in a special way but just daily whether it's when we wake or when we fall asleep or throughout the day it is reflect with joy upon such a glorious salvation our wines can our minds can wander after so many things so many things can distract us the the the allures of the world can can you know bring our gaze to to land upon so many other things other than the Son of God who took upon himself flesh to redeem his people from their sins and uh upon the upon the mystery or with regards to the mystery of Christ and his condescension Nathan and Carla will know the poem that I'm about to read because uh Jim renahan read it down at the Southern California Reformed Baptist pastor conference and we'll close with with this but reflecting for a moment on and this is maybe contrary language the height of condescension the the glory of the condescension the the weight and the and and the the the depth and the the glory of the humility of the Son of God in coming down into our lower World Sinners to save the old boys would say that the very one who set the galaxies in their orbits takes upon himself the Flesh of his own cre creation the one who fixed the stars in place is fixed in place upon a tree the one who set the galaxies in place hangs upon his mother's breast the glory of the fact and the Mystery of the fact that the Son of God assumed Humanity for our Salvation listen to this this poem um and I could send it to you afterwards if you like but Jim renahan read it recently and it just resonates with this particular topic speaking of Christ the poet writes the maker of the universe as man for man was made a curse the claims of law which he had made unto the uttermost he paid his holy fingers made the bow which grew the Thorns that crowned his brow the nails that pierced his hand were minded in secret places he designed he made the forest from whence there sprung the tree on which his body hung he died upon a cross of wood yet made the hill on which it stood the sky that darkened or his head by him above the Earth was spread the Sun that hid uh from him its face by his decree was poised in Space the spear which spilled his Precious Blood was tempered in the fires of God the grave in which his form was laid was heu in rocks his hands had made the throne on which he now appears was his from Everlasting years but a new Glory crowns his brow and every knee to him shall bow amen what a glorious salvation that we have in Christ what a glorious Redemption what a glorious savior that we as Christians are in Union with he is our brother the scriptures say we are his Brethren and he's not ashamed to call us Brothers as we reflect upon Christ as we reflect upon Our Savior we're to reflect upon a one who is immense Eternal infinite Eternal and unchangable in all of his glorious Perfections who took upon himself our lower shame our Humanity in order to redeem us what a glorious savior Christians rejoice in him and unbelievers here tonight believe on him th this poem ends with every knee to him shall bow that knee bows either in a believing bowing that knee bends in a believing bending glorying in the son of God who took upon himself humanity and is now exalted as the Glorious rewarded mediator the the Christian knee bends joyfully but if you're an unbeliever here this evening if you're not if you don't confess Christ know that you will one day bendon but it will be a forced bending before the The Majestic one of Heaven and Earth casts you into the Lake of Fire reserved for the devil and his angels repent and believe in this glor glorious Christ who came down from heaven Sinners to save born of a woman born under the law to redeem guilty Sinners let's pray Heavenly Father we thank you for your word we rejoice in your truth to us we pray that you would help us to reflect with great Glory Upon Jesus Christ Our precious savior we know that blessed truth that the Son of God came into this world assumed our Humanity took upon himself our Humanity that he might live and die and Rise Again to bring many sons and daughters of God to Glory help us to reflect with great joy upon this go with us into the remainder of this day and into this forthcoming week and cause us to reflect with joy upon you our God Upon Our Christ and upon Amazing Grace and that we might conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of that Grace do go with us and might you receive all glory in the midst of this gathered assembly and we pray in Christ's name amen well we'll have a brief time of prayer it's the piano finish or when the piano finishes you're dismissed e e e e