Galatians 4:4-6

Well, will you turn in your Bible to the passage that we read in Galatians 4 and we're going to read verses 4-6.

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Now this morning we were thinking about the baptism of Jesus and how what happened at his baptism was actually an act of anointing.

Of consecration and of empowering.

And it was an act of the triune God.

God the Father anointed, God the Son in the person of Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.

And of course if our Gospel and if the work of salvation are the work of God,

of course it is rooted absolutely in who and in what God is.

So lying behind everything that we have in the Gospel is this great doctrine that our God is one God and our God is three.

And that same background is before us in the words of our text.

Because in this remarkable passage in which Paul is telling us that if we're in Christ we are the sons of God,

then behind that, lying back of that, again, is the work of the triune God.

God sent forth his Son.

So by implication, the sending God is God the Father and the sent God is God the Son to redeem us.

And having redeemed us and adopted us into his family, God the sending Father,

now sends, same word in the Greek, his Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of his Son, into our hearts.

So this remarkable phenomenon of how we actually come to experience the salvation that God has won for us in Jesus Christ

is again rooted and grounded in the doctrine of the Trinity.

Now let's just take a moment to reflect on the context of this epistle in which this remarkable teaching is set.

In this letter to the Galatians, Paul is talking about the gospel.

And he's encouraging us, as well as his original readers, to defend the one gospel that there is.

I mean, we marvel that there is a gospel at all.

And the gospel is what God in Christ has done for us and for our salvation.

But then, as now, that gospel is open to corruption and to compromise in a thousand different ways.

So Paul actually invokes the curse of God on anybody who alters the gospel.

The gospel is what Jesus did in his life and death and resurrection and ascension for us and for our salvation.

And the moment we add to that gospel, we have compromised it and we have changed it, in Paul's language,

into another gospel that is no gospel at all.

So if you want to make sure that it's the gospel you're preaching, the good news of God's salvation,

you need to make sure, according to this epistle and indeed the whole testimony of the Bible,

that you are preaching Jesus only as the Savior of sinners

and Jesus' work only as the basis of my acceptance before God.

There were teachers in the regions of Galicia who were compromising that by saying,

yes, we believe that Jesus lived and we believe that Jesus died and we believe that we need to believe in Jesus.

But in addition to that, you must keep all the extraneous requirements of law and ceremony

and you must in some way supplement what Jesus did by your own obedience.

Well, Paul's great argument here is that an addition to the gospel is actually a subtraction.

And the moment you try to supplement Jesus Christ with anything,

the moment you bring a plus into it,

is the moment you're subtracting and actually denying the gospel of God's grace.

And it really doesn't matter what your plus is.

If your message is Jesus plus your church attendance,

or Jesus plus your religious knowledge,

or Jesus plus your theological orthodoxy,

or Jesus plus your law-keeping,

or Jesus plus your experience,

you are actually degrading the gospel of God's redeeming grace.

Now, I'm not for a moment decrying or undermining the necessity of experience,

or orthodoxy, or church attendance, or law-keeping.

But you make sure that you put them all in that proper place,

and see them in that proper context,

because at last, the whole of the gospel

is in the exclusiveness and the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, as he expounds this great theme in Galatians,

Paul comes to give us the great motto of his life,

and it should be written over the life of every one of us,

and over all our churches,

God forbid that I should glory,

except in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let that be my gospel.

Let it be what Jesus did in his life,

in his law-keeping,

in his experience,

so that in Luther's great words,

the gospel is outside of me.

It's the very opposite of the world's philosophy.

The world will tell you tonight

that all your problems are outside of you.

They're in the world around you,

and the challenges that you're presented with every day.

That's where your problems are.

And your solution is inside of you.

So, all you need to do is tap into your inner resources,

and you'll soon find an answer to life's challenges and problems.

And the gospel comes and says the very reverse of that.

The problems are inside of you,

and the solution is outside of you.

And it's outside of you,

you must look to Jesus,

and to Jesus only.

And so, when anybody comes to you and says,

what must I do to be saved?

You answer the way Paul answered.

You believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,

and you are saved.

And faith comes,

I think St. Clapper doesn't say somewhere,

it is active, but non-contributory.

In other words,

when I believe,

I'm not contributing anything to my salvation.

I'm simply coming,

and I'm taking what's there.

With an empty hand,

taking from the riches of Christ,

and I'm made all the richer.

You go for your shopping into the supermarket,

and nowadays,

you need to take your shopping bag with you.

Because if you're going to take the plastic bag from the shop,

you're going to have to pay five pence.

At least that's the cost in Scotland.

So you spend £100 on your weekly shopping,

but you grudge that extra five pence for the carrier bag.

So you make sure that you take your shopping bag with you.

Your shopping bag doesn't contribute anything to what you've purchased.

It doesn't make the food you've bought any sweeter to your taste.

It doesn't do anything to what you're going to make of the food.

But if you don't have it,

you'll struggle to carry what you've bought,

and take it home.

And faith is a bit like that.

It's your empty shopping bag

that you take to the marketplace of the gospel,

where the bread of life is there for the taking,

and you need the shopping bag to take it home.

So you come with your faith,

and you fill it with Jesus,

and with Jesus only,

and you carry it with you,

and you feed on him everywhere.

And I want you to know tonight

that the gospel is as simple as that.

I want you to go into this world

and say to sinners,

you are in need of saving.

Here is the gospel.

You believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,

and you will be saved.

I need you to know that.

But I want you to know

that undergirding

that simple message of Jesus only

is this magnificent,

multidimensional work

on the part of the Triune God.

Because Jesus only

is the Jesus sent by the Father.

Jesus only is the Jesus

who has been commissioned

for a specific purpose.

Jesus only is the Jesus

by whom it is possible

for you to have

the Holy Spirit in your heart.

So I want to explore that tonight

as we come to these

magnificent words of Paul.

And Paul, of course,

is operating here

in terms of transitions.

You know, he's talking about

transitions in history.

He's talking about a long, long time

when the church was under ceremony

and under laws

and civil requirements

that are no longer enforced.

Transitions now

to the simplicity

that there is in Christ.

He's also paralleled with that

and intertwined with that.

He's talking about transitions

in experience.

He's talking about

coming to faith in Christ

led by the law,

our schoolmaster,

schoolmaster,

to bring us to Jesus.

So there's a point in history

when God's way of dealing

with the word changes.

But there's a point

in our experience too

when God brings us at last

through all of these things

simply to close in

with the Lord Jesus Christ.

So I want to ask

three very basic questions tonight.

I want to ask,

what did God the Father do for me?

To give me Jesus only.

And then I want to ask,

what did God the Son do for me?

To give me Jesus only.

And then I want to ask,

what does God the Holy Spirit do for me?

In order to give me Jesus only.

And when I ask these questions,

I'm conscious all the time

of the limitations

of our own minds and intellect.

Because we're making distinctions

where there is no separation.

Now if you know anything about theology,

you know that

that is the fundamental rule

in theology.

There are some things

that must be distinguished

from each other

but must never be separated

from each other.

And the persons of the Godhead

are where we begin.

We must distinguish them.

The Father is not the Son.

The Son is not the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is not the Father.

These persons are to be distinguished

but not separated

because there is only one God.

And the fullness of God

is in each person

in his own way.

So the fullness of God

is in the Father.

And the fullness of God

is in the Son.

And the fullness of God

is in the Holy Spirit.

So I react very strongly

against theologians

that write about

the members of the Trinity

as if the Trinity

was some kind of club

comprised of three members.

Because the matter

is much deeper than that.

So I just prefer

the old theology

that speaks about

three persons

in the Godhead.

And I speak more

than I can possibly

ever know.

Because I don't understand

in order to believe.

But I do believe

in order to understand.

So I come before

the triune God

of Scripture

and I say

what does this God

do for me

in the person

of the Father?

And my text tells me

that God the Father

is the sending God.

He sent

the Son

forth.

He sent him

out.

He

ex-apostulated him.

I'm making up

that word.

But it really

is what the Greek

says.

His Son

is an apostle

and he is

sent out.

So he's

the sent

Son.

Sent forth

from God.

And the same language

of course

is used here

of the Spirit.

Sent forth

from God

into our hearts.

So God the Father

for me

and for my salvation

is the sending

God.

He sent

his Son.

When did he

send his Son?

Well he sent

his Son

according to my text

when the fullness

of the time

had come.

God

never does

anything

that is not

at exactly

the right time.

And

Christ

came

into the Word

at exactly

the right time.

And God

had been

preparing

the ages

for that

time.

That's why

I love

the way

John

struck

his

gospel

with all

his references

to the

hour.

So you

study

John's

gospel.

Look at

how often

John talks

about

the hour.

He begins

his miracle

working at

Cana in

Galilee

at the

marriage

and uses

that language

his hour

my hour

has not

yet come.

My hour

has not

yet come.

My hour

has not

yet come.

And then

we hear him

praying in

chapter 17

and saying

now

the hour

has come.

And he's

conscious

all the

time

that he's

moving

towards

the hour

that heaven

had set.

And in

eternity

where there

are no

hours

time

was invented

in the

mind of

God

and an

hour

was set

on the

calendar

of history

and God

drew the

timeline

and every

event that

would take

place on

the timeline

of history

and marked

the spot

and the

very hour

at which

the sun

would be

sent forth

into the

world

by the

father.

And so

he comes

when the

fullness of

the time

had come.

I'd rather

like to

think of

it in

terms of

the building

of a

grand

theatre.

You're

about to

build an

extension to

this building.

I hope it

will be a

grand

theatre.

I hope I'll

see it one

day.

We had a

new school

built in

our district

and it

was great

just walking

into the

pristine

new school

the time

had come.

I mean

you looked

at the

whole

building

program

and process

and you

thought that

it would

never come.

You'll think

that too.

You'll think

we'll never

ever finish

this project.

But I

tell you

this,

the last

day always

comes.

Whether it's

the last

day of

term or

the last

day of

the year

or the

last

day of

the holidays,

the last

day always

comes.

And the

last day

of preparation

will come

and you'll

enter into

your grand

new theatre.

which is

only for

us

Presbyterians

a plain

meeting

house.

It's not

the church.

So God

is busy

all through

the Old

Testament

building a

theatre.

He begins

in Genesis

1,

doesn't he?

When he

makes the

world,

he's got his

plan,

he's laying

the foundations

of the earth

life.

And it's

his grand

project.

And the

triune God

is making

this word.

I mean,

who made

the word?

Well,

God made

the word.

But John

tells us

that the

creation is

actually the

act of the

word,

who is God

and with

God.

By him

all things

were made

and without

him nothing

was made

that was

made.

Because he's

the unmade

maker of

all things.

And the

triune God

is making

the world.

And as

Shakespeare put

it all,

the world

is a stage.

And that's

what God

is making.

He's making

a stage on

which at

the last

his great

drama of

redemption

is going

to be

enacted.

And

suddenly,

one day,

his design

is perfected

and the

principal

actor of

the drama

walks onto

the stage.

And it's

actually the

designer and

the builder

of the stage.

He takes

the principal

role in

this dramatic

work of

redemption.

The triune

God in

the person

of Jesus

coming onto

the stage

to be the

great worker

of my

salvation.

and the

fullness of

the time

had come.

Everything

ready.

The stage

is set.

And now

God sends

him into

this one.

That's when

he came.

And how

did he come?

Well, he

didn't come

to a fanfare

of trumpets

and choirs

of waiting

angels.

I know

that we

have that

idea, you

know, in

Luke chapter

two, that

the shepherds

were treated

to some

kind of

remarkable

choral

performance

by the

angels when

Jesus was

born.

But you

get that

from your

storybooks.

That's not

what the

Bible says.

They didn't

sing glory to

God in

the highest

because it

was some

kind of

polished

performance

of the

heavenly

hallelujah

chorus.

Who did

the singing?

the hosts

of heaven

did the

singing.

That word

hosts is

the Old

Testament word

for armies,

not for

choirs.

It's the

anthem of

heaven's

infantry and

of heaven's

soldiers.

And

actually what

they're

singing is

the anthem

that is

appropriate

because their

commander-in-chief

has actually

come into

the field

of battle

where as

the captain

of our

salvation

he's going

to wage

war with

the devil

to crush

him and

to defeat

him so

that we

might be

saved.

Glory to

God in

the highest.

Let's go

to Bethlehem.

That's where

the king

is born.

And

Jesus is

born in

Bethlehem

because David

was born in

Bethlehem,

the great

captain of

the Lord's

hosts.

Actually it's

the other way

around.

David is

born in

Bethlehem

because Jesus

was born

in Bethlehem.

But that's

for another

day.

Now on

the fields

the shepherds

hear the

not the

massed

choirs of

heaven but

the combined

armies of

heaven and

they're standing

to attention

and they're

singing glory

to God

in the

highest.

Now there

will be peace

on earth

because the

king has

come.

Who is

this king?

This king

of hosts?

It's the

Lord mighty

in battle

and it's a

warrior king

that appears

for us and

for our

salvation.

And he is

sent but

you would

never know

him as

the warrior

king because

he is simply

born of

a woman.

And he's

there born

in some

cave somewhere

don't sanitize

it.

He's there

in some

cave somewhere

and Mary

gives birth

with all

the pains

that the

curse

pronounced

because

this is

the

defeater

and

reverser

of the

curse

coming.

And he's

made under

the law

there's his

subjection

and he's

come as

the obedient

one

simply saying

not my

will

but your

will be

done.

God

sends

his son.

God the

father

is also

going to

send God

the Holy

Spirit

into our

hearts.

And when

does he

do that?

He does

that when

the fullness

of the

time

comes.

He sends

the Spirit

into your

heart when

your

own has

come.

The

glorious

sovereignty

of God

in our

salvation

means that

he determines

the point

of our

regeneration.

Glory be

to him

that's on

his timeline

too.

It's on

his list

of things

to do.

He's

going to

bring us

into a

place

where his

Spirit will

be sent

into the

hearts of

his people

and melt

these hard

hearts

so that

we will

close in

with Jesus

only.

And we

will be

born not

of woman,

not of the

will of man,

not of the

will of the

flesh,

but of God

because God

the Father

does the

sending.

What does

God the

Son do

for me?

Well,

he comes.

He comes,

doesn't he?

He simply

obeys the

commission.

He comes

into the

word and

he takes

my nature

and he

is under

God's

law for

me and

he does

that according

to my

text for

two distinct

reasons.

Distinct but

inseparable.

He does

it first of

all to

redeem me

because I

need

redeeming.

That word

redeem and

redemption

that are so

much part of

the vocabulary

of an

evangelical

gospel

theology.

It's

actually a

word,

as you

know,

from the

word of

the marketplace.

When you're

redeem,

you are

buying.

You have

to part

with your

money.

You can't

keep it

clenched in

your fist.

You have

to part

with your

money and

buy something.

I don't

know that

there is a

greater

illustration

of that

than what

happens in

the book

of Hosea.

You know

the story

of Hosea

who was

commanded to

marry a

woman who

would be

unfaithful

to him.

Remarkable

providence.

And he

had to

love her

fiercely and

vehemently and

uncompromisingly.

Even to the

point where

when she had

prostituted

herself and

become a

slave,

he had to

go down

to the

marketplace

where slaves

were stripped

naked and

were put on

show and

sold to the

highest bidder.

And Hosea

is watching

just to buy

his wife

Gomer from

those who

were selling

her as a

slave.

And the

bidding begins.

What will I

make for

Gomer?

Somebody

say I'll

give you a

handful of

barley

fire.

And so

the bidding

continues until

Hosea at

last goes as

far as he

can, gives

possibly all

that he

has.

A homer

and a

leite of

barley and

measures without

them and

the auctioneers

say sold.

Hosea you've

bought her.

And now that

language comes

into the

New Testament.

It's already

of course been

so much part of

the Old

Testament's

theology but

Hosea says I

bought her for

myself and I

said to her

now I've

bought you,

you belong

to me.

And Christ

has come in

order to pay

the price of

my liberation

out of

slavery and

set me

free.

All that's

necessary, he

has outbidded

everyone my

great, here

is my

redeemer, he

has come into

this one and

has given his

very life as

the price of

my redemption.

The son of

man came not

to be served

but to

serve and

to give his

life as

a ransom.

So now in

the great

words from

the book of

Job, God

looks at the

cross and

simply says

of his people,

deliver them

from going

down to the

pit.

I have

found a

ransom.

the price

is paid

in the

finished

work of

Jesus Christ.

It is

done, the

great

transactions

done.

It is

finished.

That part

of his

work that

Jesus could

only do

on earth,

he finished

on earth.

before the

eyes of

the word,

like the

priest officiating

at the

outward

altar in

the temple

courtyard,

in the

tabernacle,

Jesus has

officiated at

that altar,

offered the

sacrifice,

paid the

price,

and it is

finished.

He came

to redeem.

But if that

was all he

did,

what hope

could I

have that

I was

saved?

You see,

something else

happens that

is distinct

from redemption

but inseparable

from it.

God sent

his son to

redeem those

who were

under the

law so

that we

might receive

adoption

as sons.

He had

one son

and gave

him so

that he

might have

many sons

through the

giving of

that one.

And so

I'm

redeemed

and bought

from my

slavery so

that through

Christ I

might be

brought into

the family

of God.

That's my

ultimate security,

isn't it?

That having

been purchased

by him,

I will

not be

lost by

him.

I love

these great

words in the

drama of

the Joseph

story in

the book

of Genesis.

Who was

the most

important of

the sons

of Jacob?

That's a

great question.

And if you

say Joseph,

you're wrong.

I don't

think Joseph

was the

greatest of

the sons

of Jacob,

not in

the redemptive

history of

the Bible.

Because the

Messiah was

going to

come from

Judah,

not from

Joseph.

And

sometimes I

think that

the only

reason Joseph

is where he

is in

Egypt is

just to

keep Judah

alive.

And I

think that

that's one

of the

reasons why

the sordid

stories of

Judah are

there in

the book

of Genesis.

To remind

us that it's

not according

to our

righteousness,

because we

have none,

but the

sheer sovereign

grace of

God that

provides us

savior even

against the

backdrop of

our sins.

Judah is

there right

at the

beginning of

the story.

Let's not

kill Joseph.

Let's sell

him as a

slave, he

says, because

he's our

brother.

Can you hear

the irony in

that?

We'll not

kill him.

He's our

brother, so

let's just

sell him

as a

slave.

But

Joseph is

spared.

And then

of course

everything

happens, and

the famine

happens, and

the brothers

have to

come down,

and Jacob

is willing to

let them all

come down

except

Benjamin.

He's already,

as he thinks,

lost the

son of

Rachel that

he loved.

Joseph is

not going to

let the

other one,

Benjamin,

go.

But Joseph

knows what

he's doing.

Engineers it.

Read it if

you don't know

it.

Engineers it so

that at last

Benjamin has to

come.

There's no

other option.

He has to

come down.

Jacob says,

no, no, no,

you've already,

you've already

been, I'm already

bereft of

everyone.

I'm not going

to let

Benjamin.

Judah says,

I'll be the

pledge of

his safety.

I'll look

after him.

My life

for his.

Let me

stand in

his place.

So off they

go down to

Egypt with

Benjamin.

And then

there's that

whole business

of the cup

of Joseph

found in

Benjamin's

sack.

So Joseph

says,

okay,

I'm going

to keep

Benjamin

here.

We can

all go

back home.

Genesis

Genesis 44 · chapter mention

chapter 44,

the longest

single speech

in Genesis,

Judah steps

forward.

Pleased

with Joseph

for the

life of

Benjamin.

I promised

my father

I would be

a pledge

of his

safety.

Please

keep me

and let

him go.

He began

selling

the son

of Rachel

as a

slave.

Now he

wants to

make himself

a slave

for the

other son

of Rachel.

How can

I go

back to

my father

if the

boy is

not with

me?

And I

seem to

hear in

the

gospel

a

greater

than

Judah

saying

and doing

exactly

the same

thing.

Jesus

has come

to be

the

pledge

of my

salvation

and will

not go

back to

his father

without

me

because

I am

his

brother.

And he

came to

be like

me,

born of

a woman

who was

all

together

unlike

me in

his

sinless

perfection.

But he

did all

of that

so that

I might

receive

adoption

into his

family.

And my

brother

now,

Jesus

now,

stands

before

God

and says

I am

not coming

back to

heaven

without

the children

that you

gave me.

They are

yours and

you gave

them to

me.

and the

words that

you gave

to me

I have

given to

them and

now in

the glory

of this

great

work of

redemption

he makes

me his

brother and

is not

ashamed to

call me

such.

And is

himself the

pledge of

my eternal

salvation.

So that's

what the

son does

for me.

He comes

to redeem

in order

that I

might receive

sonship

into the

family of

God.

And that

is good.

It's good.

But how do I

know it's

true?

How could I

ever have

that assurance

that I've

been adopted

into the

family and

redeemed

by Christ?

I'll tell

you how.

because in

this remarkable

tie in

salvation

the

completeness

comes

when God

who sent

the son

now sends

the spirit.

And where

does he send

the spirit?

He sends

the spirit

who is the

spirit of

his son

into the

hearts of

his people.

That's

why

you're

described

as a

new

creation.

A new

theatre

for God's

glory to

be displayed.

That old

heart of

yours on

which was

transacted

and enacted

all kinds

of sinful

business and

gave no

glory to

God.

He has

now made

into a

theatre

prepared for

his own

divine

drama of

redemption.

In the

theatre of

history,

he

accomplished

that

great

work

in the

theatre of

your heart.

He now

applies that

work and

makes it

personal to

you.

So the

God who

sent his

son in

history,

sends his

spirit in

history,

not two

thousand years

away from

where you are

and not

thousands of

miles away

from where

you are,

but right

now where

you are

sends the

spirit into

your

heart.

And how

do I know

he's there?

Because

I cry

Abba

father.

And I

use the

same

language of

God

that the

son uses.

He

calls

God

father

and so

now

do I.

So this

is not

some kind

of

hallucination

this thing

when you

say,

well,

God is

my God

and I

want to

pray to

him.

It's

real.

There is

a real

person,

a divine

person

in the

hearts of

real people,

sinful

people,

and

where the

spirit is,

God

is.

Christ

says,

doesn't

he,

that he

will send

the

comforter,

he will

dwell with

you forever,

the spirit

of truth,

and the

spirit

comes into

the hearts

of his

people

and

Christ

says,

we

will

come

to that

person.

So where

the spirit

is,

the whole

of the

Godhead

is.

And if the

spirit is in

your heart,

the triune

God

is there.

God

is faithful

who

called

us

into

the

fellowship

of

his

son.

And just

as the

word

was with

God in

the

beginning,

so we

are with

God

in Christ

Jesus

now,

and shall

be with

God

forever

and

ever.

But Paul

doesn't say

when we

have the

spirit,

we say,

Abba,

Father.

What he

says is,

when we

have the

spirit,

we cry,

Abba,

Father.

in his

book on

the

Holy

Spirit,

Sinclair

Ferguson

draws

attention

to this.

It's a

book that

I commend

to everyone.

When they

ask me,

what would I

take with

me to

a desert

island?

Some

people might

think I'm

there already,

but when

I go to

a desert

island,

I'm going

to take

Sinclair

Ferguson

on the

Holy

Spirit.

If I

can't just

take Sinclair

Ferguson,

of course.

And he

deals with

this text,

and he

says,

this is

the word

of intense

emotion that

we hear when

the boy with

the epileptic

fits is

possessed,

and he's

screaming.

That's the

word.

He's

screaming.

It's the

word of the

shout of

Bartimaeus

when he

shrieks over

the crowd to

Jesus.

It's the

word that's

used of

Christ on

the cross.

with a

loud voice

at the

very end.

He cries

out.

The

atmosphere

here,

says

Ferguson,

is not

tranquility,

but crisis.

the usage

of this

word in

the

gospels,

it's a

cry at

critical

moments.

No other

hope,

no other

place.

It's the

scream of

sheer

abandonment,

and of

sheer hope

in God

alone.

God has

sent the

spirit of

his son

into my

heart,

so that I

shriek to

heaven,

and I

say,

thou

must

save,

and thou

alone.

It's an

amazing use

of child

language,

isn't it?

Abba,

father.

But don't

let's think

of it merely

in terms of

intimacy and

security.

All of these

things are in

it,

certainly.

The emphasis

is on the

relationship

that is

absolutely

fundamental

even at the

most critical

moments of

our experience.

And when

I'm stripped

of everything,

the spirit