Here are the sermon notes for my Advent sermon preached on Gal 4:4-5 at Cross of Christ Fellowship in Naperville.
Advent 2023 WEEK 1: The Wonder of the Incarnation (Gal 4:4-5)
INTRO: What are you most looking forward to this Christmas? Presents? Food? Family? Time off?
-For Christians, the greatest wonder of Christmas is the wonder of the incarnation.
-INCARNATION= God became man (God the Son became a human).
-MAIN IDEA: The real wonder of Christmas is the wonder of the incarnation!
-In Advent we intentionally pause to reflect and remember the glorious incarnation
TODAY: We begin a 4 week sermon series in Gal 4:4-5.
-Each week we’ll take part of these verses and ponder them together.
-Today, we focus on Gal 4:4a—and behold the wonder of the incarnation.
1. The WONDER of God’s Timing; 2 The WONDER of God’s SON; 3 The WONDER of God’s ACTION *The real wonder of Christmas is the wonder of the incarnation!
1 The Wonder of God’s Timing: “WHEN THE FULLNESS OF TIME HAD COME”
Other day a friend at meetup asked, ‘Why did Jesus come when he did? Why not earlier?’
-It is an interesting question. We actually don’t have all the reasons from God spelling it out (though we have clues)
-But, today’s passage show us this: God acted at just the right time when he sent his Son into the world.
-God acted at just the right time: “fullness of time”
-God’s wise ordering of salvation in relation to time
-Prophesied in the OT, but fulfilled in the arrival of Jesus
*Connecting/Illuminating Scriptures: “Proper Time”:
-1 Tim 2:5-6: which is the testimony given at the proper time. (“Proper time”)
-Titus 1:1-3 at the proper time manifested in his word (“Proper time”)
*John Gill on “FULNESS OF TIME” “The time agreed and fixed upon between God and his Son from all eternity, in the council and covenant of peace, when the Son of God should assume human nature; which time was diligently searched into by the prophets, was revealed unto them, and predicted by them; as more generally that it should be before the civil government ceased from Judah, and before the destruction of the second temple; and more particularly by Daniel in his prophecy of the “seventy weeks”, towards and about the close of which there was a general expectation among the Jews of the Messiah’s coming.”
DOXOLOGY/APPLICATION: The Wonder of God’s Timing!
-God is amazing in knowing just the right time to act and bring about salvation through Jesus
-Human perspective: we see Romans Roads, Pax Romana, Universal language,
-We can trust God’s timing with the future and with our own lives.
-God knows what’s best for the human race and for our us individually: Romans 8:28
*The real wonder of Christmas is the wonder of the incarnation, which took place at just the right time.
2. The Wonder of God’s Son: The Wonder of “HIS SON”
KIDS: Who is Jesus? How would you answer that question?
-For many people, he just a good teacher.
-The Bible shows us something else: Jesus is God! (Particularly, he is God the Son)*JOHN GILL: “”his Son”; not by creation, as angels, Adam, and all men are the sons of God; nor by adoption, as saints are; or by office, as magistrates be; or on account of his incarnation or resurrection from the dead, for he was the Son of God before either; but by divine generation, being the only begotten of the Father, of his divine nature and essence, equal to him, and one with him”
-DEITY of God the Son: John 1:1-3, 14; Phil 2:5-8
-Arius (Nicholas punching Arius)
-Athanasias vs Arius: Athanasian Creed (READ)
-This sets Christianity apart from Islam, JW, and Mormonism
DOXOLOGY/APPLICATION:
-Jesus is God the SON! Worthy of worship and adoration.
-Here the wonder of Christmas: God the SON came to Earth!
-C.S. Lewis: Lord, Liar, Lunatic.
-Jesus, as God, is the Savior we need! NCC 23: “Why must the Redeemer be truly God?”
“The because of his divine nature his obedience and suffering would be perfect and effective; and also that he would be able to bear the righteous anger of God against sin and yet overcome death.”
–*The real wonder of Christmas is the wonder of the incarnation, when God the Son came to earth!
3 The Wonder of God’s Action: “GOD SENT FORTH HIS SON”
When we think about God, we must clear away from our minds any notion of God as merely an idea, or static concept.
-Our God is a God who acts. He acted in Creation. He acts in ruling the universe. He acts in answering prayer.
-In the incarnation we see the action of God in salvation.
-In this, we behold the wonder of God’s action. -We see the gracious, loving act of God sending forth his Son to save lost sinners.-God Took the INITIATIVE:
-If God did not act, we would have no hope (we’re dead in our sin!)
-How God SENT FORTH THIS SON INTO THIS WORLD:
-John 1:9-11 “9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the
world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not
receive him.” (Already in the world in one sense, but arriving in another)
-1 Tim 1:15 “15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (The reason Jesus came was to save us!)
-THIS ACTION WAS LOVING: John 3:16
*JOHN GILL: “was “sent” by him, not out of disrespect to him, but love to us; nor without his consent or against his will, he readily and
heartily agreeing to it;
-THIS ACTION WAS GENEROUS: Rom 8:32
*DOXOLOGY/APPLICATION: The WONDER of God’s Action.
-Behold the wonder of God’s love in sending his Son to save us.
-If you wonder whether God really loves sinners, look at the incarnation and the cross.
-Roman 5:8
-CONSIDER: Only God’s way of salvation can save us.
-We NEED to be saved from the power and penalty of sin
-This salvation is received by grace as a gift through faith: Eph 2:8-9
CLOSING APPLICATION: The real wonder of Christmas is the wonder of the incarnation!
-We behold the WONDER of God’s timing to save us.
-We behold the WONDER of God’s Son, who is truly God and came to Earth
-We behold the WONDER of God’s action, in love he sent his Son to save us.
