Galatians 4:4-5

Well, please turn back to Galatians 4, if you have a Bible.

The perfect gift, I don't know if you give gifts at Christmas, if you're into that kind of thing, but the perfect gift is a gift that is given in just the right place at just the right time.

I've told this story before, but I think it's worth telling again, the story of passengers who are waiting to board a flight to Toronto in Canada.

They waited in the departure lounge, and as they waited, they were asked on a survey, what would be your ideal Christmas present?

If you could have anything, what would it be? That was the simple question.

But what they didn't know, filling out this questionnaire, was that the airline, in a publicity stunt, during the flight, was going to track down every single item that people wished for, that they dreamed of.

And then in the exact place, at exactly the right time, the gifts would be delivered, just as the passengers got to luggage reclaim, you know, with the conveyor belt coming around.

Instead of suitcases and bags, they see boxes with wrapping and ribbons and name tags moving along, mobile phones and a snowboard and free flights for the family.

One family got a 4K 50-inch plasma screen TV.

And people were elated getting the right presence in the right place at the right time.

Apart from one sceptic who regretted his choice after telling the questionnaire, he simply wanted a pair of socks.

And he was absolutely kicking himself.

Because a gift was being prepared, just what they'd always wanted, that would be in the right place, just at the right time.

Just right.

The best kind of gift.

It's a really cheesy story, isn't it?

But that is Paul's take on the incarnation.

And I want to focus in on chapter 4, verse 4 and 5 this morning.

Just those two verses.

Because in that passage, Paul, in his treatment of the birth of Jesus Christ, says that the gift God gives is perfect.

It is just right.

It is given to fulfil our needs perfectly because it's given at the right time.

And it's given in the right place.

They're my two points this morning.

It was given just at the right time.

Given just at the right time.

There are stories over the internet of births with the most incredible timing.

One couple celebrated the birth of their daughter on the 10th of the 10th month, 2010.

But the amazing thing was that their second child, so the one born before that child, was born on the 9th of the 9th, 2009.

That was their second child.

Their first child, believe it or not, yes, you know where this is going, was born on the 8th of the 8th, 2008.

The timing was incredible.

It was impeccable.

And Paul says that the gift was even more perfectly timed than that.

Look at verse 4.

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman.

The gift, it came just at the right time, Paul says.

There was something very timely about his birth.

The timing was almost incredible.

If you think about it, what we know about the birth of the Lord Jesus, it came, didn't it?

He came as the Roman Empire brought a unique window in history for the Gospel to travel.

There was the Pax Romana, the kind of peace of the land in the Empire.

There was a good transportation system.

And like never before, the Greek language was the common language.

So that the message of Jesus' ministry could spread throughout the known world.

It was a unique window of opportunity in history.

And it was finely tuned as we read the Gospel accounts of the birth.

It just so happened that a decree from Augustus, Caesar Augustus, was sent out.

Meaning that Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to be registered, fulfilling the word of the prophets.

All of the elements in time came together just at the right moment, didn't they?

When Herod, that paranoid madman, just happened to be on the throne.

That he might force the exile of the young Jesus to Egypt, fulfilling the scriptures.

God's timing, as you read the Gospel accounts, there's more, isn't there?

It was, and is, and will always be perfect.

His gifts are not given one day late, or one day early.

God timed it to perfection for all these political and cultural and linguistic and prophetic elements to align purposefully.

And when we read the Gospels, we say, don't we, you are kidding me.

This is impeccable timing.

It's incredible timing.

He is a master of timing in the giving of his gifts.

But there is more to this than even all of that.

The timing of the gift was more rich than that, Paul says.

And do you remember, in this section of the letter, the timing here is much deeper and it's much more spiritual, actually.

I don't know if you've ever thought about the question of why Jesus was born when he was born.

Sort of in the whole timeline of God's people.

Why now?

Why not send Jesus the day after Adam and Eve sinned?

Why not?

Jesus could have been born, couldn't he?

He could have been crucified on that first week after the fall.

Couldn't he?

He could have died for sin then.

Why wait this long to send Jesus?

Or, why not wait even longer?

Why has he already come?

Why not just send him just before Jesus comes back?

He could have sent Jesus, I don't know, on the Monday, couldn't he?

Jesus could have died on the Wednesday and then ascended and come back on the Friday.

It could have all happened in one week.

Why this timing?

Why these gaps?

Because for Paul, the timing is more than just matching up the events in the Roman Empire,

although that is amazing, isn't it?

It is actually about the real purpose of time in the life of God's people.

Where the timing is just right for them to receive the gift.

They needed to be in arrivals at the right time as the gift emerged.

We saw last Sunday, didn't we, how the time before the birth, Paul says, was a time under captivity, under the law.

The people of Israel, they were kept by the law.

For they were waiting for a perfect man to fulfil it for them.

In faith.

That was what the Lord drew them towards.

Faith in God to send this person.

They were waiting for freedom from its demands.

And then in chapter 4, Paul uses another analogy of waiting, doesn't he, in verse 1.

He says, I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave.

Though he's the owner of everything, but he's under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.

A child in a family needing to wait until a date set by dad before he comes into an inheritance.

Until then he's under guardians, isn't he, and managers.

And so he's saying, Jesus' gift, the gift of Jesus was timed.

He didn't come until now.

Because in God's timing, he knew that something needed to happen with his people.

They needed to grow up.

Like a child, God's people needed to come of age, spiritually.

I remember growing up in our house, mum and dad kept a box on top of the wardrobe.

And in that box was a gift for me.

It was going to be a gift.

I knew what it was going to be, a train set, but I didn't know what that meant.

But I'd never seen it fully.

And I had to wait until I grew up.

That's what they always used to say.

Wait until you grow up.

And I thought it was so unfair.

Why not now?

Why not today?

Why can't I have this gift now?

But when the day eventually did come, I understood,

just looking at the intricacy of the railway,

and the workings of the carriages and all the rest of it,

and the expense and the value of the gift.

It just needed time.

I needed time in the longing and the looking up

at the unreachable heights of the wardrobe.

To receive it with a joy and a fuller thanksgiving,

the timing had to be just right.

And Paul says God's people for their childhood were imprisoned

until the coming faith would be revealed.

And under managers until the date set by the Father.

We, as God's people, needed to understand

what it was going to cost God to be our God.

We needed to learn the nature of our sins over time.

We needed to be humbled as a people by our own weaknesses.

And so his timing isn't just practical and kind of pragmatically,

perfectly aligned.

It is parental timing.

God doesn't send Jesus too early,

so that we could learn throughout an age of this captivity under the law,

about his grace and his forgiveness and his long suffering,

and this preparation time,

and what it would mean to give his son for us in this way.

And he doesn't wait too long either,

lest God's people should fall under absolute despair and disappointment.

But God knew we needed time.

And so he designated that period of salvation history

for his people to be under guardians in this world,

to receive the gospel message,

and to look to him by faith,

to understand what on earth, literally, he was going to do,

to appreciate what he was going to do.

And he knows that we need that too.

God never does things too soon.

He never does them too late,

in my life and in your life.

And when we long and when we look upwards,

we can be sure, can't we,

that his gifts, all of them,

are given at the right time.

B.B. Warfield said that each event

falls with exact precision

into its proper place

in the unfolding of his eternal plan.

Nothing, however small, however strange,

occurs without his ordering,

or without its peculiar fitness

for its place in the working of his purpose.

I don't know if you give presents on Christmas Day,

but growing up,

it always had to be timed properly.

I don't know if it's just tradition,

but there was always a time

to do the presents.

You know?

Not too early,

kind of spoil the mood

with too many things,

too many toys around,

but not too late,

so that the kids weren't half asleep.

So we would exchange gifts

after lunch,

at three o'clock.

Three p.m.

My dad had it all worked out,

and he would sit next to the Christmas tree

and divvy out the presents.

Dad knows best

with these kind of things,

I learnt.

And it's as if God operates

a bit like that,

isn't it?

He chooses the timing

for the gift giving.

He parentally sets the routine.

He asks, doesn't he,

how long should they wait?

How long is too long?

My people need a period

of humbling,

and of understanding,

and of learning,

and of training,

and of captivity

under this law,

that they need to know

this needs to be fulfilled

in some way,

and what that is going to mean.

And when the time is right,

I will send this gift.

When will they be ready?

He asks those questions,

doesn't he?

So that they will see

and understand

my glorious generosity

much better,

when they will be humbled,

and they will be hopeful.

But notice how he describes

the timing of the gift

in verse 4.

He says,

when the fullness of time

had come,

God sent forth his Son.

When the fullness of time

had come.

One way of measuring time

is to pour

a kind of liquid

or something

from one container

into another,

isn't it?

So think of an hourglass

where sand drops

into the bottom bit,

or you could drip,

drip, drip some water

into a bucket,

couldn't you?

And that would take

a certain amount of time,

and you can measure it.

And Paul is saying here,

time works like that

in God's schedule,

in God's mind.

Time is not just

this sort of endless thing

that is out there

that we can kind of

fit around and play with.

Time is a created thing,

and it's measured out,

and poured out,

and apportioned to

all of history,

and measured back to God.

There is a beginning

of time,

isn't there,

in Genesis 1,

and there is an end

of time in this world.

And as the water

drip, drip,

drip,

drips,

day after day,

and month after month,

and century after century,

God is the one

who is filling

his bucket of time.

And as Jesus arrives,

the drips,

Paul is saying,

are reaching the brim

of the bucket.

It's like one of those

infinity pools,

isn't it,

where you can't see

the edge anymore.

You can't see the brim anymore.

Time itself,

in the giving of this gift,

in an absolute sense,

is drawing to a close.

It's full now,

Paul is saying.

And so we see,

can't we,

that time,

that history itself,

is marked,

beginning,

middle,

and end,

by what God

is planning to give

to his people.

Do you see this connection?

All of history

is God's Christmas

family gift schedule.

Where time

is not marked

by geological ages,

or periods of technology,

Bronze Age,

and Iron Age,

and Information Age,

or Enlightenment Age.

They're not important

to God, actually.

All the ages,

and all time,

is simply

before or after

three o'clock

in the afternoon.

Gift-giving time.

That's how he measures it.

And so now

the gift has been given,

the whole bucket

of history

is filled.

And it's filled,

all of it,

for this moment.

All of the waiting,

and all of the training,

and all of the captivity

under the law,

and all of the learning

fills this bucket

all time.

And all times,

good or bad,

fill this bucket.

So that we would learn,

as a people,

how desperately

we needed this gift.

That we would learn,

through backsliding,

and through judgments,

and through

disappointments,

and encouragements,

and exile,

how much we needed it.

But this is

the whole purpose

of history.

To time the gift.

3pm.

God doesn't just choose

the most suitable time

to send his son,

does he?

Neither does he

sort of sit around

twiddling his thumbs,

waiting for this date

that he's set,

sometime in the future.

That night in Bethlehem

was about parental timing.

In the Christmas

family gift schedule.

Time to get the box

down from the wardrobe,

God said.

And as we reflect on that,

we realise, I think,

three things here.

We realise that God

is the perfect giver

of gifts.

Not only does he know

what we need,

but when we need it.

Aren't much of our lives

spent asking

that question,

how long,

oh Lord?

How long?

But we realise,

don't we,

he is a God

who gives

at the right time.

Just think of

the Lord Jesus

meeting with

his disciples

on that last

moments together

before his crucifixion.

he says to Peter,

the bemused Peter,

as he washes

Peter's feet,

doesn't he?

What I am doing

to you now,

you don't understand,

but afterwards

you will understand.

we might think,

might we,

why did this

happen

now?

Of all the times

this could have

happened to me,

why now?

Why not then?

And why can't

that thing

I want

happen now?

But we remember

that God

is the one

with the bucket,

with the gift-giving

family schedule,

and Dad

knows best.

Spurgeon said,

those who have

hope

can wait.

It's true,

isn't it?

We realise

that he is

a great giver

of gifts,

and then we realise

how much

he loves

his people.

Because all

of history,

everything that

happens,

leave or remain,

war or peace,

winter or

summer,

all of it

is designed

for the gifts

of God

to be

manifest

and enjoyed

at the right

time,

and for him

to be praised

for that.

Just fancy that,

just think of that.

Romans 8, 28,

Paul says,

we know that for

those who love

God,

all things

work together

for good,

for those who

are called

according to

his purpose.

And we see

that all of

history is

centred on

this giving

of a gift.

gift.

We see that

God marks

time and

measures it

with a view

to the salvation

of his people,

and he cares

that much.

That all of

history is

about the

church,

his people,

and his glory

within it,

and then

receiving gifts

from him.

And then

thirdly,

we realise

that the

time is

full.

God sent

his son

in the

fullness of

time,

when the

bucket was

at the

very brim,

the top.

Folks,

this is

nearly it.

With the

birth of

Jesus,

the bucket

is nearly

over-spilling

in all of

history,

and what a

time to

live in.

If Abraham,

the father

of faith,

were here

right now,

he would

be absolutely

blown away.

At the

knowledge,

and the

perspective

that we

have on

salvation

history,

that he

would get

to eat

and drink

with the

risen Lord

Jesus,

the one

that he

had faith

in,

without

knowing it

explicitly.

What a

time to be

in.

And with

all that

history behind

us,

and with

all that

collective

experience,

and we

are closer

now than

we ever

were to

that last

day of

his

return.

And so

the gift

was given

at just

the right

time,

in the

fullness of

time,

but secondly,

it was given

in just the

right place.

It was given

in just the

right place.

What do I

mean?

It was given

in Bethlehem,

in Judea,

that's where

he was born,

in the place

that God

had worked

in and

dwelt in,

and we

could list

again,

couldn't we,

all the

prophecies and

fulfilments of

how the

Messiah was

to be born

in that

place.

We can

see God's

placement is

just perfect,

just as his

timing is.

Jesus

travelling to

Egypt and

growing up

in Nazareth,

all part of

being in the

right place

for Jesus'

lowly

ministry.

Paul,

though,

again,

sees a deeper

perfection in

the placing of

the gift.

Just look at

verse 4 again

there.

God sent

forth his

son,

born of

woman,

born under

the law,

to redeem

those who

were under

the law.

Paul says

that is the

place where

Jesus was

born.

He is born

in a stable,

he is born

in this world,

he comes to

us in the

place of

human flesh,

and all of

those things

are true,

but it's so

that he

could be

born in

this place,

under the

law.

Under the

law,

which binds

human beings,

which makes

demands of

us,

right demands,

which because

of our failure

it brings

condemnation

upon us.

God's

holy law.

Remember

that Paul is

talking here,

isn't he,

about the

accumulation of

ceremonial

and religious

laws,

which signified

for God's

people their

imperfections,

and their

inability to

save themselves,

and Jesus is

born into a

situation of

bondage,

he is born in

a place of

imprisonment,

he is brought

up,

isn't he,

behind bars,

under means

to be subject

to something,

to be a

servant of

something,

he is servant

of the law,

and where

you are born

determines how

you are going

to live the

rest of your

life,

doesn't it?

It determines

what you will

do,

and what job

you'll have,

and how you'll

live,

and he is born

in that place

of submission

to the law,

and this

will be his

whole life,

this is his

vocation,

to live a life

of perfection

and submission.

It is such

unexpected behaviour

for a king to

have,

isn't it?

To be born

in a prison,

to be subject

to something.

It's told the

story,

and I don't know

if it's true,

but it's a great

story anyway,

of King Henry VIII,

he once dressed

up as a commoner

to have a

night-time walk

in London,

but at one time

two police

constables mistook

him for a

vagabond,

and arrested

him,

throwing him

into prison.

The police

were mortified

when they

found out

who he was,

expecting the

worst kind

of reprisals.

We've just

put King Henry

VIII in prison,

but he chose

to stay in the

cell for the

night,

and he rewarded

the police

constables for

their efforts.

It's a pretty

unusual behaviour,

isn't it?

And it is such

unusual behaviour

that God the

King comes

and willingly

stays in prison,

stays in the

prison,

he comes to

be a man

in the

prison for

a time,

he comes

with his

eyes on

those who

are under

the law

to share

that prison

with them.

And so

he is a

King who

is not

aloof

from where

he rules,

he rules

next to the

people in

their prison

with them,

he comes

in our

flesh,

and experiences

our temptations,

and he feels

our prison,

he is with

us in that

sense.

But not

just so that

he can give

us some

company,

being born

of woman,

being born

under the

law,

not just so

that he can

say,

I know what

it's like to

be human,

although he

can say that

to us.

I know what

it's like to

face temptation,

I know what

it's like to be

limited and

mortal and

weak and

imprisoned,

it's not just

so that he

can do that,

no,

he is with

us in the

prison,

so he can

get us out

of the

prison.

He is born

under the

law,

verse 5,

to redeem

those who

were under

the law.

The whole

purpose of

his slavery

is to get

us out of

it,

and to

release us

from it,

to redeem

us from

it,

and make

us graduate

from being

slaves,

to being

sons,

adopted sons,

and receiving

all of those

privileges.

God,

the king,

comes and

willingly stays,

he comes to

be with men

in the prison,

to redeem

those who

are in the

prison.

I was trying

to find a

good analogy

of this,

and I realise

actually the

best analogies

are in the

Bible itself,

aren't they?

Because the

story of

Joseph is

just perfect

here,

isn't it?

This is what

happened to

him.

He is the

guy,

isn't he,

who is always

in the wrong

place at the

wrong time

growing up,

isn't he?

He's thrown

into a pit

by his

brothers,

he's sold

into slavery,

he's falsely

accused,

and he ends

up in prison

for two years.

But isn't it

in the very

fact of his

slavery,

that brings

rescue for

his brothers,

and for all

the people

of Egypt.

It is his

very imprisonment

that leads to

the redemption

of his brothers,

and the giving

of food in the

famine.

He even

saves those

people who put

him in prison

in the first

place,

doesn't he,

his brothers.

And that

would have

never happened

had Joseph

remained outside

of the pit,

or outside

of the prison.

He needed

to be

imprisoned to

redeem his

brothers.

This was

his reason

for living.

Not just

his birth,

not just

his death,

but all he

did as a

man was

part of this

vocation of

being under

the law.

And if you

think about it,

the visible

place of

Jesus' birth

matches the

invisible

place,

doesn't it,

of his life.

He was born

in a cattle

shed,

placed in a

manger with

the muck

and the mess.

He is born

as a lowly

outcast.

He's born

not in a

palace to be

a proud

king,

but in a

stable to

be a servant

king,

to be a

slave king,

to redeem

those who

are slaves

under the

law with

him.

Some might

have thought

might may

with the

sending of

the son,

as they

looked at

him there

in the

manger,

this king,

surely he

is in the

wrong place

at the

wrong time

here.

Well,

hindsight is

a wonderful

thing,

isn't it?

God was

preparing the

perfect gift,

that all

of history

would vow

to his

plan for

the giving

of it,

for his

gifts are

given at

just the

right time

and in

just the

right place

for us

and for

our salvation,

for the

coming of

age of

his church

and for

his praise

and for

our

thanksgiving.

I think

the hard

thing in

the Christian

life is

that we

have to

wait and

maybe more

it's the

question while

we wait,

why are

we waiting?

And so

often we

just have to

say, I

don't know

actually why.

We want to

try and

guess and

measure God's

bucket of

time, don't

we?

But all we

know is

that Dad

knows best.

And we

as those

who have

hope,

we can

wait.

We can

wait.

We can