1. But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son,
Made [born, John 1:14] of a woman,
made under the law,
To redeem [purchase] them that were under the law,
that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father.
Wherefore thou art no more a servant [doulos], but a son;
and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

2. What are We Celebrating at Christmas?
Galatians 4:4-7

3. #1 God’s Sovereignty

4. But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son,
Galatians 4:4
But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son,

5. This is what we do know—it was the right day.
Fact
We don’t know the exact date of the birth of God’s Son—It is not recorded in the Bible and God did not choose to preserve the exact day. But
This is what we do know—it was the right day.

6. “Fullness of Time” “The Right Time” This is Paul’s way of saying:
God is never early
God is never late

7. At Christmas Let’s Remember Isaiah 46:9-11
“God sent”
At Christmas Let’s Remember Isaiah 46:9-11

8. Mary’s Song of Praise
Luke 1:46-55

9. Sovereignty
Everything you can think of with regard to the “fullness of time” and God sending His Son to accomplish His will in the Son’s virgin birth, sinless life, crucifixion, tomb burial, and bodily resurrection validate God’s Sovereignty.

10. #2 God’s Coming

11. Galatians 4:4
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

13. Incarnation
John 1:14
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

14. Incarnation
Matthew 1:23
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

15. #3 Our Redemption

16. Galatians 4:5
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

17. Revelation 5:9
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

18. The word redemption comes from the Greek word agorazo and means “to purchase in the marketplace.” Frequently, it had to do with the sale of slaves in the marketplace. The word is used to describe the believer being purchased out of the slave market of sin and set free from sin’s bondage. The purchase price for the believer’s freedom and release from sin was the death of Jesus Christ.
Paul P. Enns

19. Question When was I a slave under bondage?

20. Answer
Galatians 4:3
Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

21. Matthew 1:21 for he shall save his people from their sins.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS:
for he shall save his people from their sins.

22. Mark 10:45
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

23. The price of redemption is His blood;
the scope of redemption is many;
the result of redemption is forgiveness.
Paul P. Enns
The Moody Handbook of Theology

24. #4 Our Adoption

25. God doesn’t leave us as redeemed free agents without a Father.
Glorious Fact
God doesn’t leave us as redeemed free agents without a Father.

26. Galatians 4:5 that To redeem them that were under the law,
we might receive
Indicates Purpose

27. Receive To come into possession of; to acquire “the adoption of sons.”
Galatians 4:5

28. Spiritual Adoption
The word adoption means “placing as a son” and describes the rights and privileges as well as the new position of the believer in Christ. The word is taken from Roman custom where, in a legal ceremony, the adopted son was given all the rights of a natural-born son.

29. In this rite, four things happened.
1] The adopted person lost all rights in his old family and gained all the rights of a fully legitimate son in his new family.
2] He became heir to his new father’s estate.
3] The old life of the adopted person was completely wiped out. For instance, legally all debts were cancelled; they were wiped out as if they had never been incurred.
4] In the eyes of the law, the adopted person was literally and absolutely the son of his new father.
Paul P. Enns

30. Spiritual Adoption
Now Paul describes something for which there is NO Roman or legal equivalent—look at vs. 6.

31. Galatians 4:6
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

32. Ezekiel 36:26
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

33. Galatians 4:6
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Aramaic
Word

34. Romans 5:5
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us.

35. The word Abba is a term of familial intimacy that can still be heard through the Middle East as a word of address used by young children to greet their father. Abba is an Aramaic expression that may have derived originally from the first syllables uttered by an infant (cf. the corresponding ʾimmā, “mother”). However, we oversentimentalize this word when we refer to it as mere baby talk and translate it into English as “daddy.” The word Abba appears in certain legal texts of the Mishna as a designation used by grown children in claiming the inheritance of their deceased father. As a word of address Abba is not so much associated with infancy as it is with intimacy. It is a cry of the heart, not a word spoken calmly with personal detachment and reserve, but a word we “call” or “cry out” (krazō).
The fact that this word is given here, and also in Rom 8:15, in both Aramaic and Greek indicates the bilingual character of early Christian worship. Throughout the history of the church various Christian groups have attempted to canonize one particular language as the authorized sacred tongue of religious discourse. Some Orthodox Christians have done that with Greek, traditional Roman Catholics with Latin, and certain Protestants with the English of the King James Version. However, the fact that in Jesus Christ there is no longer Jew or Gentile does not mean that we must stop speaking Hebrew/Aramaic or Greek. The Spirit who cries out “Abba, Father” from our hearts enabled the gospel to be heard in many of the world’s languages on the Day of Pentecost. The same Holy Spirit still blesses the translation of the Scriptures into the many diverse languages and dialects of the world today.
Timothy George, vol. 30, Galatians, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001),

36. Application
Why do two people who both claim to be saved have remarkably different loves for the Lord?
Answer
One is grieving the Spirit, and the other is not.
One is quenching the Spirit, and the other is not.
One is sealed with the Spirit, and the other is not.

37. #5 An Inheritance

38. Galatians 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant,
but a son; and if a son,
then an heir of God through Christ.

39. Heir by Faith
Hebrews 11:7
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

40. Freedom from the legal requirements of the Law
Declaration of Righteousness
Adoption into the Family of God
Indwelling of the Spirit
Eternal Life