Food For Your Soul
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When the time had fully come…
When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. (Galatians 4: 4) [KJV]
This statement by the apostle to the Gentiles refers to what the theologians have agreed to call the protoevangelion, that is, the very first gospel, the very first “good news” to be announced, when God said to the Snake who deceived Adam and Eve: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
The connection between the two texts (Galatians 4:4 and Genesis 3:15), subtle as it may be, is nevertheless very real. The Seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15 is the Son, born of a woman in Galatians 4:4, which was to bruise the head of the Serpent and redeem mankind. That means that Galatians 4:4 is in a way ascertaining the fulfillment of the prophecy in Genesis 3:15. The Seed of the woman that was promised right after the Fall was sent when the time had fully come.
Between the prophecy and its fulfillment many millennia have passed during which the entire human race was yearning for the coming of Him that the prophet Haggai (2:7) called the Desire of all the nations (according to the Latin Bible and some English versions, among which are the KJV and the NIV).
The prophet Isaiah (64:1) expressed the eagerness with which the coming of the Redeemer was awaited in the world, when he cried out, “Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down!” God took heed of that cry when in the first Christmas night an angel of the Lord said to the shepherds in Bethlehem, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)
But why mankind was to wait so long before the fulfillment of the promise made right after the Fall? Galatians 4:4 is the answer to that question: God was preparing the world for the coming of His Son during all those millennia; and when the time had fully come, the Seed of the woman was born as promised. So, when Jesus was born in the first century AD, the world was ready to receive its Redeemer.
This preparation of the world to coming of the Redeemer took on two aspects, which we want to take some time to consider: a political aspect and a cultural one.
I. POLITICAL PREPARATION
The most important thing worth mentioning in this aspect is the establishment of the Pax Romana, that unprecedented period of peace experienced by the Roman Empire between 27 BC and 180 AD – say 200 years of relative peace. Caesar Augustus, after he had defeated his rival Antony, established in the vast Roman Empire a reign of peace and prosperity that had positive repercussions in the following areas:
- Commerce and international trade intensified due to the very developed road network constructed by the Romans.
- Traveling from one end of the Empire to the other was made possible since the roads were rid of the thieves they were infested with, and the pirates who were making traveling by sea a dangerous adventure were destroyed by the Roman fleet.
The benefits for the nascent Christian faith were immense. Thanks to the tranquility that reigned on land and sea, the Gospel of Jesus Christ in less than half a century was preached in the remotest reaches of the Roman Empire. Let us bear to mind that the first missionaries were also great traders! They not only traded their economic goods, but they also had the opportunity to share with their clients or trade partners the goods infinitely more precious they possessed: the forgiveness of their sins and the eternal life they found in Christ.
Without all those advantages resulting from the Pax Romana, Christianity could not have spread so fast in so little time. But God prepared the way, made the paths straight from the political point of view, so that the world could receive the promised Redeemer when the time had fully come.
II. CULTURAL PREPARATION
In the political aspect of the preparation of the world, it is fitting to mention that the problem of the diversity of languages was partly solved. That doesn’t mean that people went back to the situation that existed prior to the Tour of Babel, when the whole world had one language; but the Greek language was understood and spoken throughout the Roman Empire, so much that it was dubbed the Koine or “common language.” It was therefore an international language.
This common language was the result of the conquests of Alexander the Great whose unique ambition was to Hellenize the entire world, that is, to propagate everywhere the Greek culture. He thought he was carrying out his own plan; actually he was, unbeknownst to him, an instrument in the hands of God, preparing the world for the coming of the Redeemer.
The benefits for world evangelism were incalculable. The Christian missionaries were able to easily communicate the message of the Gospel in the Koine. That was especially true for Paul, this instrument chosen by God to carry His name before the Gentiles and their kings (Acts 9:15). The account of his missionary journeys in the book of Acts shows us how well he fulfilled that mission.
Moreover, the Greek language, as a vehicle of the mind, gave a great advantage to Christianity. Greek was indeed a language full of nuance and sensibility, a language that lent itself to the expression of the most profound and most elevated ideas. Let us not forget that for centuries the greatest minds of the West, such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, had expressed their ideas in Greek. Thus, this language was the ideal medium to convey the Christian theology ─ a very complex and profound theology. A great scholar like Paul would be uncomfortable if he were to express his ideas in a more rigid and less nuanced language.
God, in His providence, led Alexander the Great to propagate the Hellenic culture in the whole Greek Empire, making it possible for the message of the Gospel to be transmitted without the agency of interpreters.
So, when the time had fully come, that is, when the world was sufficiently prepared to receive the Redeemer, God sent His Son, born of a virgin, to redeem those who were enslaved in sin.
What are the conclusions to draw from all that ? At least two:
1. God is the sovereign Lord of times and of men. He holds both of them in His hands. Caesar Augustus – the one who established the Pax Romana – thought he was carrying his plan; but he was, without realizing it, a puppet in God’s hands fulfilling the purposes of the Almighty. When the time came for Jesus to be born, he would once again become the instrument of God’s sovereign will. His decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world forced Joseph and Mary to leave Nazareth in Galilee to go to Bethlehem in Judea where Micah’s prophecy, many centuries before, said the Messiah would be born.
God led Alexander the Great and Caesar Augustus to create the conditions favorable to the coming of His Son in the world. Now, God doesn’t change. He is still the sovereign Lord of all things. Whatever in our time men can do – whether good or evil – will contribute to another fullness of time that will bring about, this time, the glorious return of the Son of God.
2. God’s promises will never fail. They will be fulfilled, though they may take a long time coming. Mankind had to wait for millennia before it could see the fulfillment of the promise of the Redeemer made in the garden of Eden. But God kept His word; He sent the promised Savior when the time had fully come.
We have now the promise of a second coming of the Lord. There are now scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this coming he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” (2 Pi. 3:4) But if the prophecies relative to the first coming were fulfilled in spite of the long delay, it will be the same for the second coming. When the time will fully come, God will send His Son for a second time. But He will not come again in the weakness of a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. He will come again as a glorious King to establish reign on the earth.
As His first coming terrified a man like Herod and filled with joy a man like Simeon, so it will be at His second coming, which will bring joy to some, sorrow and the gnashing of teeth to others, depending on the disposition of our heart toward His coming.
When the time will fully come, the Lord will come again as certainly as He came when the time had fully come. Are you ready for that second coming? May God help you to get ready for it, by receiving as your Savior this Son God sent to the world so that, through Him, we receive the adoption as sons, that is, we become children of God (cf. John 1:12)
Pastor Hubermann Larose
Associate Pastor
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