Celebrating Christ's Birthday
- Dr. Robert Condly
- Jan 10
- 3 min read
“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law” - Galatians 4:4
This verse sounds like Christmas, doesn’t it? It’s hard for me to interpret it any other way. Although the apostle Paul doesn’t mention the details of the birth at Bethlehem, he still draws our attention to that marvelous event.
“The fullness of the time” - the fulfillment of messianic prophecies
“Born of a woman” - Jesus delivered by the virgin Mary
“Born under the Law” - Jesus a member of a righteous Jewish household
It fits Christmas! And if anything describes what this season is all about, it’s the phrase, “God sent His Son.” Christmas is no ordinary birthday celebration; we honor the One who took on flesh for us and for our salvation.
But I wouldn’t want to limit Galatians 4:4 to Christ’s birth. It’s broader than that.
I say this because of the verb translated “sent.” The Greek word is exapostello which combines “out” (ek) and “send” (apostello). In general, it refers to the act of sending out, sending forth, or sending away.
It occurs 13 times in the Greek New Testament (10 times in Luke and Acts, so Luke must have really liked this word!). The verb is much more common in the Greek Old Testament, occurring 237 times in 225 verses. It’s found most often in the book of Exodus (41 verses) which makes sense because that book is all about the children of Israel getting out of Egypt.
So when God sent His Son, He sent Him out or away. From where?
From His place in heaven.
Jesus gave up glory to become one of us. God remained His Father, but Mary became His mother. He’s as human as she was, as you and I are.
But more than that, Jesus became an Israelite, one of the chosen people. Millenia ago, God had promised Abraham that He would make him into a great nation and as a result, all the nations of the earth would be blessed (see Genesis 12:1-3).
The Lord fulfilled this promise through His Son because through Jesus Christ, everyone, Jew or Gentile, can become a child of God.
God sent Jesus out.
Not banished.
Dispatched.
On a mission–to bring salvation to humanity by becoming one of us.
With this in mind, let’s reread Galatians 4:4, but let’s also include the verses that follow it.
“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters. 6Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba! Father!’.” - Galatians 4:4-7
As members of God’s nation, the Jews were obliged to keep the laws of the covenant. Unfortunately, they had what we can charitably call a mixed track record!
But where the people of Israel failed, Jesus succeeded. He was born, raised, and lived, under the guidelines and instructions that set apart the Jews as God’s distinct people.
How ironic that the very people who were to be agents of redemption for the world were themselves in need of redemption. But Jesus became a Jew to save the Jews.
And He was fully human so that He might save anyone who would call on Him.
Those who do receive a Christmas gift unlike any other–adoption.
Through faith in Christ, we join the family of God; we’re home!
But wait, there’s more!
God also gives us His Holy Spirit.
The Spirit makes our adoption certain; He removes any doubt. Through Him we can now address God as our Father and we owe it all to Christ’s gift of Himself for our salvation.
When we get the full picture, we realize Christmas is much grander than we could imagine. The divine plan is full–it involves Father, Son, and Spirit. It restores the relationship of God and people through the incarnate Son of God. And it breaks down the barriers that separate peoples and nations from each other.
This is why we celebrate the birthday of Jesus!
(Bible verses are from the NASB20 version.)
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