When the right time came, God sent forth His Son from heaven into the world. He was born of a virgin and was made subject to the requirements of the law. Jesus was sent at a specific time. His entrance from the heavenly realm into this world was not haphazard or random. Some things had to take place before Christ could come to earth and redeem man. God sent His Son to the earth at the earliest possible time.
God’s purpose for sending His Son into the world was twofold. First, Jesus came “to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:5). Jesus did this by perfectly keeping the law, fulfilling its requirement, and fully paying for its curse (Matthew 5:17, Galatians. 3:13). We cannot keep the whole law perfectly. If we fail in one area, we fail all of it (James 2:10). Christ delivered us from the law's curse. He delivered us from our inability to live a righteous life. He gave us a new life of righteousness we could never earn (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21).
Secondly, Christ gave us the position of sonship with all its inherent rights. In Paul’s day, the Greek word, “agorazo” was often used to describe the ransoming of slaves from the market. Not only were we ransomed from the bondage of the law, but we were redeemed from our orphaned status into sonship.
Many people stop at redemption, only realizing what they were delivered from and not what they have inherited. Praise Jesus, He has redeemed us, and we have the promise of eternity! But we have also been adopted as sons and daughters by God! Jesus came to give us abundant life (John 10:10). Our abundant life in Christ is found in realizing the full benefits of the inheritance He has redeemed for us.
When we agree with God’s Word and believe it in our hearts, we can live the abundant life God promises no matter what attempts to come against us. Jesus has “recreated” us in God’s righteousness—He has “restored” us to a right relationship with the Father so we can walk in the assurance of our sonship. He has given us “the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19). We don’t walk by sight. We walk by faith in the authority Jesus has given us. We walk in the truth of the relationship Jesus has purchased for us with His precious blood.
God created us for Himself but we sold ourselves into slavery to the devil. God bought us back through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. No amount of effort, human works, or man's own righteousness could bring the divine favor that we needed. It took the actual life of God (Leviticus 17:11) to purchase our redemption.
Love is God's gift. His life for ours. Could there be any greater gift this Christmas season? And what is our response to His gift? Do we open His gift and receive Him in our hearts? Or do we let Him remain unwrapped and unknown?
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