All right, in Galatians chapter
4, 1 through 5, pay careful attention. This is a wonderful passage of
Scripture from Paul. Now, I say, the heir, as long
as he is a child, differs nothing from a servant though he be Lord
of all, but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed
of the Father. Even so we, when we were children,
were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness
of time came, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made
under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that
we might receive the adoption of sons. Look at verse 4 again,
that's where we begin. Made sent forth his son, made
of a woman, made under the law. Now, this is a great passage
of Scripture, as I said, spans both chapter 3 and chapter 4,
part of it, so we ought to get our contextual bearings so that
we might know whence we sail this morning. and that we might
reap the most benefit from this great text from Paul. This is
a unique text, and we can see that it is written by Paul to
address the particular situation of the Jew. And it takes us back
into that discussion in chapter 3, and particularly to the question
in chapter 3 and verse 19. What is the purpose of the law? Why was the law given? And the reason that the question
needs an answer to the Jewish mind is because of two things. Number one, because of the Jewish
false view of the law, the false view that they had fostered of
the law. And secondly, it needs to be
addressed for what Paul has written about the law. that in chapter
3 no one can be justified by the works of the law in the sight
of Almighty God, that it curses and that Christ must redeem us
Therefore, from the curse of the law, and what's more, Paul
said in chapter 3, the covenant made with Abraham and the promise
that was made unto Abraham was not through the law and not contingent
upon the law in any sense whatsoever. Hence, the author. might erase
the question in the Jewish mind as he hears that? Well, if that's
true, if it curses, if it cannot save, if it cannot justify, if
Christ must redeem us then from the curse of the law, what then
is the purpose of the law? What good is it and why was it
given? Why did it come? if this be the
case. Now, to answer the question,
Paul uses a couple of metaphors in chapter 3. One short, one
longer, more drawn out, and carries over into chapter 4. Now, the
metaphor in chapter 4 concerns an underage heir. an underage heir who is put under
the tutelage of a pedagogue. Literally, the word means a child
trainer, one that trains up children, one given almost complete oversight
and charge over a young heir of, in most cases, a well-to-do
family. To train, to prepare them for
the coming of age when they're no longer under a tutor, and
are in their full age and sonship. And that, says Paul, comes at
the time appointed by the Father. Galatians 4 and 2, we read it
there. And Paul notes that in such cases
that the young heir, the young child, even though he is an heir,
is in a similar situation to a slave. He differs not much
from a slave, Paul has written, being under guardians and under
stewards and under overseers, being held under, being restrained
by them, being trained and disciplined to prepare them for their full
status as a full adopted, our grown son. Let's listen to Paul
one more time in chapter 4 and verse 3, please. Even so we,
when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of
the world. Now let's pay attention and ask
ourselves, who is meant by we there in verse 3? It seems clear that Paul is including
himself, or he says, we were in bondage, etc. Who are the we? Does Paul mean
we Jews? Does he mean we Christians? Or does he mean more precisely
we Jewish Christians were at that time under the law? Or does
he include all Gentile believers in the we as well. Among the
many expositor, you will find one favoring this view and another
favoring that view. But let's run back over the previous
parts of the passage. We see that the we in verse 3,
corresponds with the we in chapter 3 and verse 23, we were kept
under, also corresponds with our in chapter 3. and verse 24,
the law was our schoolmaster. And the we in chapter 3, verse
24 and verse 25, and this situation that Paul is describing, held
under to faith, kept guarded under a schoolmaster, is certainly
unique to the position of the Jew prior to the appearing and
death of Christ. But notice that Paul uses here
this metaphor to illustrate the condition of their former time. of a youngster put under by his
father a pedagogue for a certain period of time until he is ready
to enter into full adulthood. And this pedagogue was a stern
pedagogue, as Spurgeon did call it. Then in chapter 4, verse
3 through verse 7, he applies that metaphor to their case and
situation, beginning with verse 3, even so we. And he limits it, if we notice,
to a specific or a particular period when we were children,
when we were young, when we were in our non-age, when we were
infants. This answers to, in verse 1,
as long as the heir is a child, in the metaphor. The word child,
in verse 1, and children, in verse 3, seem to be the same
Greek word, except it is singular in verse 1, and it is in the
plural in verse 3. a child and children. See how well the metaphor covers
the situation with corresponding parallels. Let's look at some
corresponding parallels. Here are some examples. at verse
1 and the words, as long as he is a child. Then look at verse
3, when we were children. Now that child was put under
as long as he was a child. when we were children. Here's another one. Look at the
second verse. It's under tutors and governors
by the appointment of the Father. Look at verse 3. We were in bondage
under the elements of the world. Again, look at the second verse.
Until the time appointed or set by the Father. Then verse 4. The fullness of time was come. God then acted. Now, here's one
more resemblance reflected in the metaphor. In chapter 4 and
verse 2, he is under tutors and governors. Dropping back to chapter
3, verse 23 and verse 24, We were kept shut up. The law was
our schoolmaster. And this clearly identifies the
schoolmaster. It is the law. The law was the
schoolmaster. The law served a dual purpose,
as Paul states here. A, it restrained them. It restricted
their movement. The word is like a military word. It garrisoned them on all sides. It kept them shut up so that
they could not escape. It kept them prisoners. It took
them into custody. That's the first thing that Paul
said. But then, B, he said, it served
an educational purpose unto them. It pointed them to the coming
Christ. It pointed them and readied them
for the coming of Christ, preparing them for what Paul calls the
coming of faith. And I don't think that's personal
faith, but something else. The appearing of the gospel dispensation. the coming or appearing of the
much fuller revelation, when the types and the shadows gave
way to the reality in the person of Christ the Lord, when the
law was superseded by the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Savior. Now, notice that Paul likens
this transition from a young heir under tutors, governors,
and overseers to a mature sonship, to the dispensational change
from the old covenant unto the new, from the law unto the gospel. Then the question becomes this. How is this liberation affected? How is it that they got free
of the tutor and the schoolmaster to be in the fullness of their
adoption as son? What is necessary to make this
effectual and to bring it to pass? Now, to reach what Paul
calls, in the fifth verse of our text, the adoption of sons. The adoption of sons. How does the child heir get free
of the pedagogue to the realization of his heirship? Or in the language
of Paul, in verse 7, when he is no longer in the likeness
of a servant, but of a bona fide son in every sense of the word. Now, with mundane cases of these
pedagogues and overseers, that is, among people of the earth,
with them it is the discretion of the Father. It is the Father
who sets the time under and when He shall be brought out and regarded
as a full son. The father appoints the time
and the restrictive oversight ends at and by the appointment
of the father. The father sets the time. The father sets a time. By the will of the father then,
the son at a certain age is free of tutors and governors and pedagogues
and overseers and such as that. But in spiritual adoption and
heirship and sonship, Paul reminds them again in verse 3, even so,
when we were children, we were in bondage. As John Eady said,
this is the duration of the Mosaic covenant that this was in force. Also, the full adoption was tied
to the time set by the Father according to His good will. Verse
4, when the fullness of time had come. And when it came, God
sent forth His Son. When the time was filled up so
that it was full, ripe, and ready, as Lightfoot wrote, the moment
had arrived which God ordained from the beginning and foretold
by His prophets and scripture of Messiah's coming." We can
take time here to make an irrefutable point, that is, that the incarnation
of our blessed Savior, as to its time, as to when He was born
of a woman, as to the time when He came and tabernacled on earth
among men, was determined by nothing but the sovereign good
pleasure of Almighty God. When our Lord would come into
the world, was appointed by none other than the Father. It was
appointed by Him by an immutable, unchangeable, unending decree. None could nor need ascend yonder
into heaven and bring down Christ from there. Romans 10 and verse
6. Nor could any bring Him down
by their prayers or by their devotion. None could hasten the
time either by devotion or by their apostasy. All things concerning
Christ were done according to the time appointed by the Father. In the fullness of time He came. In His hour He died upon the
cross. At the appointed time, three
days and nights, He lived again. You remember that they tried
but could not put the Lord to death because His hour was not
yet come. They made several attempts on
the life of our Lord, but they could not take Him and put Him
to death because, the Scripture said, the time was not yet. Nor could they keep him and seal
him up in the grave, though they tried to do so, because when
the time was come, God brought him forth again. Now, let's consider
another point concerning the incarnation of the Lord Jesus
and how it is set forth in Pauline theology or in the Pauline epistle. He speaks freely of this as a
fact. It is several times mentioned
in his writing. It is a fact. He believed it.
He taught it. That Christ came and He came
in the flesh. And yet let us note the way that
Paul does so when he mentions the coming or incarnation of
Christ. For example, here in our text,
he says simply, made of a woman, made under the law. That's Galatians
chapter 4 and verse 4. Hear him in Romans 1 and the
third verse, as he said, made of the seed of David according
unto the flesh. Again in Romans 9 and verse 5,
he says that he descended as concerns the flesh from the fathers,
that is, from the old Jewish father Abraham and Isaac and
so forth. In Philippians, the second chapter,
when he mentions it in verse 7, he said, He took upon Him
the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. How great and wonderful, he said. 1 Timothy 3.16, God was manifested
in the flesh. What a passage is that! God manifested
in the flesh. Hebrews 2, 14 through 17 speaks
about Him partaking of flesh and of blood. He took a special
kinship unto the seed of Abraham. Look upon Paul's word again. God sent forth His Son made of
a woman. Now my point is, He does not
give us the special particulars of this work like Matthew and
like Luke do, yet we're not at a loss because in Matthew 1,
18-25, and again in the Gospel of Luke 1, verse 26-35, which
we will consider later as to the incarnation of our Lord. What did God do? God sent one
forth. that one was His only begotten
Son, one to remedy the situation and to give us full adoption
of Son. In Ephesians 1.5, predestinated
to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. And here He said,
to bring us into that full adoption. Now, what God did, He sent one
to remedy. Secondly, let's look at who God
sent into the world for this remedy. He sent His Son. He sent His only begotten Son. In John 10.36, the Father sanctified
the Son and sent the Son into the world. In 1 John 4.14, the
Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. There have been those who say
that Jesus Christ is not God. There have been those who said
Jesus Christ is not and was not God. He was the Son of God. And that's the distinction that
some are making. But He is eternal. He was with
the Father from everlasting. And listen to Hebrews 1 and verse
3, being the brightness of His glory and the express image of
His person, having an exact likeness and resemblance unto God the
Father. Now the question is, how did
God send His Son into the world? It says, Paul, He was born of
a woman, made under the law. The manner of this we have in
the Gospels for Matthew 1 and verse 18 tells us very clearly. The birth of Jesus was on this
wise. Here is how it happened. It was thus. Here's how it came
to pad. The NIV renders it, this is how
the birth of Jesus Christ came about. And Matthew then will
tell us. The New Geneva Study Bible has
it, now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. And here's the story. When the
young virgin was espoused unto Joseph, the Jewish espousal was
much stronger than what we regard as an engagement. More binding
it was, meaning that to woo and to win, and he had done that
to her heart, then to be pledged and to be promised. Matthew tells
us that when Mary was espoused to Joseph, promised and pledged
to be his future wife, but before they came together, before they
came together as husband and wife, before they were intimate,
before Joseph knew her, Mary was with child. It became evident. It became known unto Joseph. You remember he made plans to
put her away privately, but he was a good and a just man. Dismiss
her quietly, but the angel stopped and intervened. But we've skipped
something very important, that her being with child was a direct
result of a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit of God. Matthew says it. She was found
with child of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, Matthew 1 and
verse 18. Now, if you don't believe that,
you just put your Bible down, go on home, because this is the
heart and core of Christianity, that Jesus Christ was God and
came in the flesh. It said the Holy Ghost had her
with child. Fear not, the angel said to Joseph,
to take unto you Mary to be thy wife, for that which is conceived
in her is again of the Holy Spirit." We should take notice of how
carefully this passage in Matthew, guards the truth of the virgin
birth, leaves no room at all for carnality in the virgin birth
of our Lord. Verse 18 said, her being with
child was from or by the Holy Spirit. Verse 20 said again,
of the Holy Spirit. Spirit was married with child. Verse 25 is clear. They delayed
their conjugal intimacy until she had brought forth her firstborn
son, who was then named Jesus. Now, switching to Luke's account,
which is also in chapter 1, he describes it as a one-of-a-kind,
never-to-be-repeated, supernatural work of the Holy Spirit of God,
found in Luke 1, 26 through 35. He tells us of a visit to Mary
by the angel Gabriel. who was sent from God. And the
angel says to the startled young woman as he appears and salutes
her and greets her, in Luke 1, And verse 30, fear not Mary,
don't be afraid, you have found favor with God. And in verse
23, the angel Gabriel says unto Mary, the Lord is with you. Now before we proceed, we ought
to be very careful here as to what is true concerning the words
of the angel Gabriel unto Mary. It is not that she was full of
grace for her to dispense unto others. No justification here
at all for calling her the mother of God. No justification at all
for claiming that she too was immaculately conceived. or that she too lived in perpetual
virginity. And though she and Joseph were
married, they lived together as brother and sister is the
view of the Roman Catholic Church. There's no reason here to pray
to Mary, none absolutely at all. What is said of Mary? You are highly favored. The Lord is with you and the
angel of the Lord in Luke 1 and verse 28. Later, her cousin Elizabeth,
mother of John the Baptist, said in Luke 1 and verse 42, speaking
under the unction and leadership of the Spirit of God, blessed
are you among women. not above women, but among women. And blessed the fruit of your
womb, that is, the one to whom you will give birth." Luke 1.28,
we note the words, highly favored. And if you look in the margin,
you see that it has it graciously accepted. Thou art graciously
accepted. To refresh our memory a bit,
the word used here in Luke 1 and verse 28 is one more time used
in the New Testament. And it's from Paul, and it's
in Ephesians 1 and verse 6. The only other time this word
is used is in Ephesians 1, 6, when Paul says he has made us
accepted in the Beloved. He has highly graced us. He has highly favored us. And that in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so of all the women in Israel,
of all the young virgins, God chose, God pitched upon, God
anointed this one called Mary to bear the humanity of the Messiah. And I want to say not because
of any superiority found in her at all over other women of the
world or at that time. She being an ordinary woman or
maiden in Israel, chosen by God to this extraordinary blessing
and favor. God pitched upon one man, Abraham,
to be the head of their race. God pitched upon one young maiden
to bear the humanity of the incarnate Son of God. I was reading Joseph
Hall's book, Contemplations, this week, and he wrote and described
this favor in these words, And I'm quoting, no mortal creature
was ever thus graced that he should take part of her nature
that was the nature of God. That he that made all things
should make his human body of hers. That her womb should yield
the flesh which was personally united to the Godhead, unquote. Ah, what a work! What a work
of our God! The angel, having assured Mary,
the vessel of the Lord's choice, that the Lord God had highly
favored her, then in verse 31 makes the annunciation to her. And let's look at it. Notice
what he says unto her. conceive in the womb, you will
bring forth a son, you will call his name Jesus. And in verse
32 and verse 33, an emphasis is put upon his greatness. What a great one he will be. Mary's question in verse 34,
is certainly understandable. She, knowing herself in her heart
to be a virgin, asked, How will this come to pass, seeing I know
not a man? She knew the law of natural procreation
from the union of a man and a woman. And since this was not the case
with her, then she asked, how shall it be? How shall I conceive
and bear a son? And I agree with the commentator
who said her question argues faith, being a sincere desire
for information and not doubt or rebellion or unbelief on her
part. For we note she does not say,
this cannot be. This cannot be and will not be. But in faith and submission,
she asks of the angel how it will be with no thought that
it would be from her future husband Joseph. That's not in her mind
at all. And Luke 135 is the verse that
with regard to the incarnation of the Son of God and how God
prepared Him a body, as stated in Hebrews 10 and verse 5. So let's again look there at
Luke 1 and verse 35. Thou shalt conceive the power
of the highest, shalt overshadow thee, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb and bring forth a son. Notice that it takes Luke but
one verse to give us an account of the manner of the Incarnation. What does he say? It would be
a work of the Spirit. Still, it would be a real, literal
conception. Verse 31, And in the ordinary
place it would be a conception. In thy womb, when the Holy Spirit
came upon her and overshadowed her, then she conceived the humanity
of the God-man, the Incarnate One. William Perkins in his old-time
commentary on Galatians said, and I'm quoting again, the manhood
of Christ was framed without natural generation by an extraordinary
work of the Holy Spirit. Because his humanity or his flesh
was made of a woman, but not begotten of a man, he therefore
had true human nature, but without the corruption and depravity
of the race of Adam. And though he was sent in the
likeness of sinful flesh, Romans 8 and verse 3, yet in him was
no sin. He had nothing in him for sin
and for temptation to work upon, nothing at all. They could not
make the least impression upon the mind or the soul of our Lord
and our Savior. You notice something in Luke
135, how he's described that holy thing, or someone said that
holy one, the thing being born. For only the humanity of the
Lord was conceived in the womb of the virgin and born of her. The Lord did not bring his human
nature with him from heaven. as some of the older heretics
have taught. It was not a phantom or an unreal
humanity, as the Docetists taught in years gone by, but only an
imaginary incarnation, they say. We dispute that. Some said Jesus
only passed through Mary like water passes down through a pipe,
and that he took nothing from the woman, they say. If not,
then how did he partake of flesh and of blood? How is he regarded
and called as a Jew after the flesh? His humanity was actually
and really conceived by the Spirit of God in the woman. Let's go
back now to Galatians chapter 4. Paul says a second thing about
the incarnation of the Lord, that in verse 4, He was made,
or born under, becoming under law. Not only was He born made
of a woman, but He was made under law. We again notice that Paul
is especially and particularly addressing the situation of the
Jew as addressed in the two metaphors. They were garrisoned in by the
law. They were subjected to a pedagogue
for a time which the law was and acted under them. Now to
Paul there was in this arrangement what is called a teleological
aim. Paul sees one here in this particular
place. That means he sees a purpose,
he sees a design, he sees a specific aim, he sees an end that is to
be accomplished, and that's clearly stated in Galatians 4. And verse 5, why Christ was born
of a woman and made under the law. Now look at verse 5, in
order that he might redeem them under the law. He was made of
a woman, made under the law, to the end that he might redeem
free, emancipate, liberate those who were under the law and deliver
them. Which he did by fulfilling and
by keeping the law and enduring its curse. This too had a teleological
end or an aim if we look at it. See the connection and the flow
of thought now. First, he was born under the
law that he might redeem them that were under the law. Secondly,
He redeemed them that were under the law that are in order that
we might receive the adoption of children. One precedes the
other. This answers the metaphor of
the schoolmaster, of the tutors, and of the governors. That is,
back in verse 3, when as Jews they were children. They were
then underage. They were then in their legal
minority. They were then in their immaturity,
or non-age as we say. They were in bondage to the extent
that they differed little or nothing from a servant or from
a slave. From this condition the Lord
delivered them, in that verse 5, they might receive the adoption
of sons or of children. And in verse 6, because they
were brought into the adoption of sons, God sent forth His Spirit
into their hearts, whereby they possessed the feeling of children,
the right and privilege of children, crying, Abba, Father, Abba, Father. Thus, the incarnation and the
death of the God-man served a two-fold end. It was a double remedy. Number one, to redeem the elect. from the condemnation and the
curse of sin and the law. And to do this, the appropriate
kinship must be taken by Christ. He must take an appropriate kinship
unto us, partaking of flesh and of blood. Secondly, to bring
the elect Jews from infancy to the full-fledged adoption of
children. They had lived under types and
shadows. They had lived under the figures
by means of the Mosaic law, knowing only the rudiments and the beggarly
elements of the world, wearing an unbearable yoke, as Peter
calls it in Acts chapter 15, and Christ did both fulfill and
abolish it. He ended Judaism with his death
and he brought them into the liberty and the light of the
gospel of Christ our Lord. And Paul likens it from underage
children tutored to full adopted children with all the privileges
of their sonship, and sending into their heart the spirit of
adoption where they cry out, Father, Father. What a wonderful
work has Christ done, bringing them out from under all of that,
into the full, mature sonship. Because ye are sons, full sons,
privileged sons, having access to the to the airship you are
by Christ brought from under that to under this." What a wonderful
thing made of a woman, made under the law. What a work Christ did
because of that.