There was this moment about 2000 years ago when everything was ready. God said, “now,” and the world has never been the same.
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This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is December 6, 2024 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called In the Fullness of Time. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.
Open up your Bibles to Galatians 4 please. I have a story in mind that will help us better understand our Scripture for Students today. There was this moment: at 1:59pm on Saturday, September 16, 2000, there was nothing left to do. The plans were all complete. Every check list had been checked, every order had been fulfilled, every decoration had been placed, and every guest had been seated. All that was left was for the lovely very-soon-to-be-Mrs. Whitacre to step through the doors, walk down the aisle, say I do, and become my beloved wife.
Think about what it took to arrive at that moment. Months of planning and preparation: hours spent in discussion over catering menus and floral arrangements. Long afternoons working on dress hems and song lists, late nights addressing envelopes and writing vows, all so that a wedding coordinator could smile, nod, and say “now.” And so much followed from that single moment: a whole life together. I’m focusing your attention on that moment because there was a moment just like that about 2000 years ago. Only it wasn’t just like that moment. This moment that we’re going to talk about today, wasn’t just for one man and one woman. What came after this moment mattered to the whole world.
The phrase that today’s Scripture for Students uses for this moment is, “In the fullness of time.” I’m going to read Galatians 4:1–7, but we’re going to especially think together about verse 4. Let’s read:
1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything,
2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.
3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.
Paul is making an analogy here that will help us to understand. He is saying that for thousands of years, Israel was like a son of a rich father, an heir to a great fortune. If this rich father died while his son was still young, the son wouldn’t receive all the wealth of his inheritance until he grew up and reached an age where he could handle that kind of wealth responsibly. Until then, he would be placed in the charge of servants: household managers who would look after him. Paul says that’s what the Law was until it was time for the riches of the gospel to be given. Jesus did not abolish or abandon the law but he fulfilled the Law.
Verse 4 is what really matters to us for Advent readings. This verse describes this moment when everything was ready for God’s people to receive their inheritance of the riches of the gospel. Paul describes this moment as the fullness of time. Like the moment before a wedding begins, everything was finally ready. God said “now” and the world has never been the same.
There are at least two ways to look at this.
First, everything was ready in the particulars. God ordered world history to prepare for this moment.
- It didn’t seem like a blessing to the Jewish people at the time, but might of Rome meant that there was peace in the land.
- The Roman armies built a network of roads so news could travel quickly. And thanks to Alexander the Great, virtually the entire world spoke Greek.
At the time, no one cared to spread the news about a Jewish baby born in a little country town called Bethlehem.
But soon, the good news that this baby grew up, died for sinners, rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven would fly throughout the empire on those Roman roads, under the safety of Roman peace, and in the common speech of the Greek language. The fullness of time made it possible for the gospel to spread incredibly quickly.
The fullness of time meant everything was ready in the particulars.
Second, the fullness of time meant everything was ready in the prophecies.
The Old Testament predicted the coming Messiah in many ways but no human could possibly foresee all the ways that these prophecies would come true in Jesus.
- The Roman Emperor, Augustus Caesar, wanted to make sure he was getting his fair share of the taxes, so he ordered a census be taken. Let’s count everybody, make them return to their ancestral home. And so Joseph took a very pregnant Mary with him to Bethlehem to fulfill Micah 5:2.
- And Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit to fulfill Isaiah 7:14.
- And Jesus was born in the line of David to fulfill 2 Samuel 7:12.
- Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Egypt to fulfill Exodus 13:8.
- And Jesus was born to die and through that bruising of his heel, Jesus would crush the head of the serpent, fulfilling Genesis 3:15.
And there are many, more like this! What a great discussion you could have at family dinner tonight. Start a list together and see how many prophecies you can think of that Jesus fulfilled. If you get stuck, check your ESV Study Bible. There is a great article in there called “Overview of the Bible: a Story of the History of Salvation.” It’s on page 23 in my copy. Pay special attention to the section in that article called “Christ in the Old Testament.”
That Jesus came in the fullness of time means that there is nothing haphazard or accidental about Jesus’s birth and life. God got everything ready and then said, “now.”
If God can bring together the millions of little details to make the Christmas story happen at just the right time and in just the right way, is it possible that there is any part of your life that is outside his ability?
When it seems like life is out of control or that God doesn’t seem to see or care, remember that Jesus came into the world in the fullness of time. And in the fullness of time, God will act for you as well. So trust him and pray while you wait.
That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.
This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!