Christmas in One Verse
There is one verse in the Bible that perfectly explains Christmas, and it is not even in the Gospels. (Galatians 4:4) I have marveled at this verse for a long time. I hope it will become one of your favorite Christmas verses, too.
"When the fullness of time had come," was just the right point in history when everything was ready for the Messiah to be born. People were expecting God to do something, the Roman Peace covered the world with safety for the message of the gospel to go out in the universal language of Greek.
"God sent forth His Son," was God coming down to this earth in the person of Jesus, who was the eternal God, the second Person of the Trinity. Only God could save the world from the problem of sin.
"Born of a woman" shows that Jesus also became fully human through the virgin birth. He had a human mother, but no human father, so He was flesh and bone, to be able to give His body and blood for our sins, and die in our place.
"Born under the law," refers to the fact that Jesus came as a descendant of Abraham to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies. He is the Only Person who ever kept the law perfectly, so there was not any reason for Him to die, especially on a cross. However, He did it willingly to fulfill God's plan of salvation.
"To redeem those under the law," means that He came for Jews and Gentiles alike. We all deserve death and hell, because none of us lives up to the law of God. We all fall short, and the wages of sin is death. However, by His blood He bought us back from Satan, sin, and death. He redeemed us by giving Himself as the Perfect Sacrifice.
"That we might receive the adoption as sons," is the ultimate purpose of God in sending Jesus. He wanted to restore our fellowship with Him which was broken by sin in the garden. Once sin's curse was broken, He could adopt anyone who trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior, by grace through faith, so that we could enjoy being His children, and He could enjoy being our Father.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Galatians 5-6 and Ephesians 1.
"When the fullness of time had come," was just the right point in history when everything was ready for the Messiah to be born. People were expecting God to do something, the Roman Peace covered the world with safety for the message of the gospel to go out in the universal language of Greek.
"God sent forth His Son," was God coming down to this earth in the person of Jesus, who was the eternal God, the second Person of the Trinity. Only God could save the world from the problem of sin.
"Born of a woman" shows that Jesus also became fully human through the virgin birth. He had a human mother, but no human father, so He was flesh and bone, to be able to give His body and blood for our sins, and die in our place.
"Born under the law," refers to the fact that Jesus came as a descendant of Abraham to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies. He is the Only Person who ever kept the law perfectly, so there was not any reason for Him to die, especially on a cross. However, He did it willingly to fulfill God's plan of salvation.
"To redeem those under the law," means that He came for Jews and Gentiles alike. We all deserve death and hell, because none of us lives up to the law of God. We all fall short, and the wages of sin is death. However, by His blood He bought us back from Satan, sin, and death. He redeemed us by giving Himself as the Perfect Sacrifice.
"That we might receive the adoption as sons," is the ultimate purpose of God in sending Jesus. He wanted to restore our fellowship with Him which was broken by sin in the garden. Once sin's curse was broken, He could adopt anyone who trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior, by grace through faith, so that we could enjoy being His children, and He could enjoy being our Father.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Galatians 5-6 and Ephesians 1.