Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
May I invite you to return with me to Syrian Antioch and the little house where Paul is writing his first letter we today know as Galatians, in our Bible. I left you yesterday reflecting on one very, very powerful statement which Paul wrote: “When the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” (Gal. 4:4,5) Today let’s dig into the last phrase of that powerful statement.
The word “redeem” means purchase or rescue or deliver and in this case, it defines the PURPOSE for which God sent His Son to earth. Jesus came here not only to live among us as the God-man, not only to explain God’s truth to us, but Jesus came to DIE, paying the full ransom price for every sinful human being! Now I doubt any of us can fully comprehend that statement! God Himself, the creator of the universe and the creator of every human being, this Holy, Almighty, Infinite, Eternal God, came here to the earth He had created, to live among the sinful people He had created, knowing He would be rejected and ultimately executed by angry people. Why? Because God’s law is clear: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) “The wages of sin is death.” (Rom. 6:23) That is why Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) Jesus came here to live and ultimately to die a sacrificial death.
You see, as Jesus’ was dying on the cross, His atonement death would pay the ‘ransom price’ God had set for humanity’s rebellion against God! Because every person is a sinner, none of us can pay with our death for another person’s sin, for we all deserve to die for our own sin. But God could accept Jesus’ death as payment in FULL for the sins of any person, because Jesus is Holy, sinless, God incarnate! And when God does in fact accept Jesus’ death as payment in full then that person would then be declared by God “redeemed from under the law”! They would be forgiven, pardoned by God for their sin because their sin was atoned for by Jesus’ death.
But here’s an important key my friends… the sinful person MUST acknowledge their sin and their inability to earn their forgiveness, that’s Confess. And the person must turn from their sin and from trusting themselves, to trust Jesus to be their Savior and that’s Repent! And the confessing, repenting person must then trust Almighty, Holy God to do what He has promised… to accept Jesus’ death payment as payment in full for that person’s sin debt and then declare the sinner forgiven!
But that’s not all my friends, for God then does something even more radical. God takes the sins of the repentant person and places them on Jesus, and God takes the Holiness of Jesus and places it on the repentant sinner. God’s legal term for this amazing spiritual exchange is JUSTIFICATION! (2 Corinthians 5:21 & Romans 5)
So, we understand now what Paul is talking about when he writes: “…to redeem those under the law…”. (Gal. 4:5), but what about the very last phrase: “…that we might receive the full rights of sons.” That my friends is the great miracle of ADOPTION! John the disciple wrote about it in his Gospel account of Jesus: “Jesus was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. Jesus came to those who were His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to ALL who received Him, to those who believed in His name, Jesus gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, but born of God.” (John 1:10-13) John is talking about the miracle of the Holy Spirit birthing a new spiritual nature in a person who trusts Jesus to be their Savior, as Jesus described to Nicodemus in John 3:3-7. But more than that, John is describing that God then ADOPTS that forgiven sinner with a new spiritual nature into HIS family, as God’s son or daughter!
And did you notice Paul used some very specific language to be sure we understand it is a full, spiritually legal adoption with all the rights and benefits God entrusts to us! Paul writes these words: “…to redeem those under the law that we might receive the FULL RIGHTS of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out “Abba Father”. So you are no longer a slave but a son, and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir!“ (Galatians 4:5-7) This means God ADOPTS the redeemed, regenerated, repentant person into His family as His son or daughter and provides them with the ‘full rights of sonship’! WOW! The FULL Rights means at least these things:
1. We have the right of entry into God’s Presence, His Throne Room, at any time, day or night, from anywhere on the face of this planet, in any language known to man. Because… God is our heavenly FATHER! We enter freely, without appointment and without payment of an entrance fee, because JESUS has earned our right of entry into God’s Presence, and we are His son or daughter! Hebrews 4:14-16; 10:19-23 make this right and promise very, very clear!
2. We have the inheritance of heaven awaiting us at the moment of our earthly death. That’s why Paul referred to death as “departure” twice, in Philippians 1:23 & 2 Timothy 4:7,8. When we breathe our last here, we will be instantly transferred by God Himself, directly into God’s Heaven!
3. We have God’s promise of ETERNITY with Jesus as our inheritance! (1 Peter 1:3-5)
4. We have God’s promise that His Holy Spirit will live within us from the moment of our Redemption and Adoption, until the moment we arrive in heaven! Now think of that my friends. God Himself, living inside you to assure you of His love, to guide you and to teach you and to empower you to live a God honoring life! That my friends is one of the greatest realities of our inheritance as a son or daughter of God.
Oh, there are many more, but I think I’ll stop right there for now. Oh, my friends, do you grasp the outrageous, enormous, amazing, mind-blowing reality of this powerful statement from Paul and the implications for you and me and potentially every human being in the world? Let’s hear it one more time, it is so wonderful, and let’s embrace it as God’s great promise available to you and me… “When the time had fully come, God sent His Son [Jesus], born of a woman [Mary], born under the law, to redeem those living under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons! Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of HIS Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out ‘Abba Father’. So you are no longer a slave [of sin] but a son of God; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir! (Gal. 4:4-7) I suppose that none of us, even if we lived 100 more years on this earth, could fully comprehend this powerful statement. But I assure you my friends, after we’ve been in heaven with Jesus for about 100 years, we will finally begin to comprehend this magnificent, amazing, miraculous promise of God.
My only question as I close today is this: Have you placed your unwavering, confident, full trust in the truthfulness of this God statement and are you confident it is ALL being accomplished in you and in your relationship with God the Father, and God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? Oh my, it’s time to worship our heavenly Father… and here’s a song to help you!
Today’s Scripture is Galatians 4:4-7.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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