Only Jesus
Galatians 4:4-7
By Lacey Komis
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Galatians 4 starts out reminding the church at Galatia of their identity and inheritance. The church was in the middle of a conflict. Some had started to listen and believe the false teachers that salvation is law plus grace. The people needed to be reminded of their good King Jesus. Jesus came to fulfill the law; and because of Jesus, they are now sons of God, joint-heirs with Christ. It is not law plus grace. It is only grace. Only Jesus.
I love how this passage starts, “but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son.” God, in His sovereignty, sent his Son at the most perfect time. It was a moment the people had long been waiting for. God incarnate had come. He was born of an ordinary woman. She wasn’t famous but ordinary. He came in the most humble way being fully God and fully man. He was born under the law, and He perfectly kept the law in every way. He subjected Himself to the same religious leaders his parents were under.
Why did He come to be born of an ordinary woman, live a life in subjection to His authorities, humbly serve others, and perfectly keep the law?
“To redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Nothing stands in our way. We now have Jesus! The church at Galatia needed to be reminded that they were no longer under the law. Jesus had come, and He fulfilled the law so that they might walk in the freedom of Christ. The same truth applies to us. We are no longer under the law, but we are covered with the blood of Jesus.
“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” God, three in one, is perfectly loving each other and actively working together in the salvation of those who believe. God gives us the Spirit to work in the hearts of His beloved children. John Gill notes that this is the same Spirit who “hovered over the face of the waters” (Gen. 1) and who filled the men of God who wrote Scripture (2 Pet. 1), who descended on Jesus as a dove when He was baptized (Matt. 3), and who “intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8). This same Spirit indwells every believer. All because Jesus came.
And that’s not all. We are now adopted into the family of God. We are joint-heirs with Jesus. What a gift He is! Christmas is a season full of hope and wonder. Let it be said of us that our hope and wonder is deeply rooted in the person of Jesus. The One who came to redeem His children. The One who came as a humble servant. The One who died on a cross for us. The One who came to give us eternal life. He is worthy of all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise.
Thank you, Abba Father, for sending your one and only Son, Jesus. Help us to remember that we need only Jesus and nothing else.