Chapter # 4 Paragraph # 1 Study # 5
July 8, 2012
Dayton, Texas
<188>
1769 Translation:
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
1901 ASV Translation:
4 but when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5 that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
7 So that thou art no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
- I. God Sent Forth His Son.
- A. Paul uses the "sent forth" terminology twice in Galatians.
- 1. 4:4 -- His Son.
- 2. 4:6 -- the Spirit of His Son.
- B. At stake: the redemption of Israel (them that were under the Law).
- C. What He actually did.
- 1. The issue is not, technically, a spatial/geographical change in location, but, rather, an alteration of activity.
- a. There are "change of location" issues often involved, but omnipresence pretty much precludes that for "the Son of God".
- 1) Omnipresence is pretty much a static "T"heological fact.
- 2) Typically, though, omnipresence does not involve personal interaction; it is more a concept of one-sided, divine, involvement without the participation of others.
- b. The real issue is an alteration of "highlighted focus" with certain activities in view. Yahweh was very much spatially present at, and after, the Exodus, but the pillar of cloud (during the day) and the pillar of fire (during the night) put a high focus upon that reality. (Exodus 13:21). In other words, what was true became visible to the eyes so that the truth was more readily impressive (if not "more believable" -- faith is not a visibility issue; many remained unbelieving in spite of the visibility factors). One result is undeniable: visibility diminishes excusability (Romans 1:20).
- 2. This "sending forth" had a particular "action-focus": redemption.
- a. In theory, "redemption" could have been accomplished in the third heaven with little human involvement, but human faith in redemption would have been significantly more problematical.
- 1) The issues of "redemption" are two: actual accomplishment in the realm of bringing creation into harmony with the divine nature -- allowing both Justice and Mercy to fully function; and persuasion in the realm of men giving God credit for such an accomplishment as well as having them to become interested in participating with Him in its fruits.
- 2) The realm of the accomplishment of redemption is identified by Paul as "born of a woman, born under the law". This, in effect, means that the realm is "this worldly" and has to do with actual "connections" between the "Son" and "humanity" and the "Son" and "the Law".
- b. In the New Testament revelation of "redemption", there are two major elements: revelation regarding the actual qualifications of a woman-born "Son of God" to be any kind of "Redeemer" so that human beings can have a valid basis for "faith" in His accomplishment (this revelation focused primarily on His demonstration of miraculous power); and the actual performance of the requirements of "redemption" -- the offering of Himself as an atonement for sin in the form of "the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world".
- 1) The second of these issues has enormous overtones in respect to "believability": how does even the most visible demonstration lend itself to the generation of "faith" when the demonstration itself flies in the face of everything men hold to be true? Our apostle himself said that the Jews found it extremely difficult to believe and the Greeks were not even particularly interested (1 Corinthians 1:23).
- 2) Paul's point, then, must be that God's "sending forth" of His Son was more "necessary" than "convincing".
- D. What this means.
- 1. Clearly, the "sending forth" by God is to be seen in the light of an "intentional function"; i.e., God commissioned His Son to accomplish a specific task.
- 2. The "realm of function" is secondary; i.e., the "sending forth" does not mean the Son has to leave the presence of the Father (a presence that the Son clearly indicated was available to Him in prayer at any time or place), or that He has to "go" to some place He is not already in.
- 3. The point is fundamental: God determined to commission the Son to address the alienation of the human race in terms that could/would bring about a reconciliation. Thus, the "sending forth" is far more about "a commission to a task" than it is about "going somewhere". This is a most fundamental declaration of the Love of God.
- II. The Descriptors.
- A. The sent Son was "born of woman".
- 1. The Scriptures are clear that the birth of the Christ was deliberately "manless".
- 2. By the same token, those Scriptures are just as clear that the Christ was a "man".
- 3. There has to be a sufficient reason for the inescapable insistence that Christ be "human" without being "of Adam" in any direct way.
- a. The facts are these: Eve was "of Adam" -- bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh (Genesis 2:23); no offspring of humanity was ever produced -- until the Christ -- that did not have the DNA and genetic roots of both male and female; every offspring of Adam is constituted a "sinner" by some means that inevitably results in personal choices to sin regardless of any and all outside factors -- Romans 5:19 -- so much for "free" will.
- b. By being restricted to the DNA and genes of "woman" apart from "man", Christ was born free of the taint of "loins" (Hebrews 7:10) as well as the inner compulsions of Sin that, until He came, was absolutely dominant in every human being ever born.
- B. The sent Son was "born under Law".