It is the study of God that is revealing history and is recorded in the Bible. History recorded where we can study God. There is the gospel and what we are studying is history in theology this morning. I pray that you bear with me. We will be looking. and quite a number of scripture texts. I trust that you will return your Bibles whenever the text is announced. As we heard earlier, that we would search the scriptures to see if those things are so. We turn our attention to the book of Galatians, chapter four, verses four and five. But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we, notice the them, that we, the believer might receive the adoption of sons. Let's consider this text today, but before, let me begin this message by saying that chapter three closed by showing the privileges of sonship in the Lord's people. One of those gracious privileges is being an heir of God and his eternal inheritance. This is God's salvation described as an inheritance. If you make heaven, Galatians 3 29 concluded by saying, and if you are Christ, Then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. The promise in view is the covenant of grace that was made years ago to Abraham. Paul likened it to an inheritance back in Galatians 3 verse 18. I want to give a little attention to the concept of an inheritance, if you don't mind a little, because it will help us understand the nature of God's redemptive plan and promise. Throughout the New Testament, we read of an inheritance and how one becomes an heir of God's inheritance. One of the clearest passages Ephesians one thirteen and fourteen. I encourage you to turn to it. Let's speak of this inheritance. Verses eleven through fourteen. There we read. In whom Christ also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated who work of all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ, in whom he also trusted. heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom, notice the antecedent all the time that refers to Christ, in whom also after that ye believe, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest or the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory. The purchased possession is the believer. The body and the soul of the converted sinner was purchased by God. The apostles speak. of disinheritance saying it was a result of God's sovereign purpose who works after the counsel of his will. It's like somebody making a will and they bypass certain people and they name others as the beneficiary and then there's a big fight. But that person, out of their sovereign will, decided that this one is the one I set my love on that will have my inheritance. Sometimes it caused a big fight, but that's humanly speaking. God is like this also. Paul speaks of the inheritance as a result of God's sovereign purpose blessing is granted to those who trust in Christ after hearing the gospel. The gospel is the vehicle that explains the inheritance whereby the sinner trusts, turned from their sin, trusts in Christ. They are guaranteed of this inheritance by the sealing, the giving of the Holy Spirit, who convicts us of sin, who brings Christ to our minds, who shows us the scriptures, who guides us into truth. And brethren, if we don't have these things, we're not ready. We should pray. You sit here, you should pray. We read again in 1st Peter. I'm telling your Bible, see your New Testament, because we'll be in the Bible today. In 1st Peter chapter 1 verses 3 through 5. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. The Apostle Peter says that this inheritance is given to those who are begotten, born again, born from above. He says it is kept by God's power through faith and will be revealed at the end of time. These are very clear teachings. A verse that I call to mind is Proverbs 13. You don't have to turn to it. Verse 22, it says, a good man leave off an inheritance for his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. Now many, many people, Only consider these words in the moral meaning. A good man leave of inheritance for his children's children. But these words have a gospel meaning. Every man can't leave an inheritance. He may be poor. He may not have anything. He might have been a spentriff, owe everybody when he died. God has concluded that no man is good. The good one who leaves an inheritance to his children's children is God. He is good. It is a spiritual inheritance that we all should be striving for. And that's why the Lord Jesus said, do not labor for the meat, that perishes, but labor for that meat that endures the eternal life, which the Son of God shall give for him of the Father's seed." That's the inheritance we talk about, brethren. It's eternal life. It's salvation that is found in Christ. Now back in Genesis, God promised Abraham and his seed the land of Canaan for our inheritance. But remaining in that land was conditioned by their obedience to God. God tell them that. If you don't obey, I will drive you out. And so true. They were rooted out. In 1948, Over there in Europe, they get together and brought Israel back in their land. And people look at that as though it was a big deal. That's not the land that God has promised us, brethren. It was a shadow type of the inheritance God has given his people. It was a shadow, a picture. There's no condition attached to God's covenant of redemption. It is given by grace and Christ has fulfilled all the demands of the covenant. He's the heir that inherited God's promises and has made his people join heirs with him. And thus we can be called heirs. And this is what the apostle is so wonderfully discussing in his word. It calls for time to study. It calls for prayer. A whole day in the study and you're still grappling with one word. You go home with a piece of paper in your pocket. You haven't gotten anything. But you study to show yourself approved unto God. This is the subject that the apostle discusses in chapter four, where he uses two allegories. The first in verses one through seven, where the apostle likens an heir to a father's inheritance. to an heir to God's spiritual inheritance. He's condescending in legal terms to explain the gospel to these Galatians. Now, these Galatians were not foolish. They were under Roman dominance, and they knew about Olil, just like some of us today. The heir owns everything the father has. but he has to lay an appointed time. You don't give an inheritance to a 12-year-old unless you're foolish. They have to submit to civil, parental, and religious laws or authority. Paul calls this being under tutors and governors. The heir has to learn the fundamental principles of life until the appointed time. And that's why some dads would single out one of their children out of six. Because he knows that A, B, and C are squanderers. The apostle also gives a second analogy in verses 22 through 31, and you can study these for yourself. Ishmael, two children, was born to Hagar. Isaac was born to Sarah. Ishmael represent those who are seeking salvation by works. Isaac represents those who are saved by grace based on the promise that God made before either one was born. That's salvation. And Paul uses these analogies, not me. Our message today will come from the first. on the three parts. One, we will consider, as you have in your bulletin, the illustration. Second, we will look at the comparison. And third, the application to the illustration that was made. Very simple in this passage. First, the illustration, verses one and two. No, the apostle says, no, this is what I'm saying. He's talking, he has come down to our level. No, this is what I'm trying to tell you in chapter three, that the heir, as long as he's a child, does not differ anything from a servant, though he is Lord of all, but is only tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Now, an allegory is an illustration that reveals moral or spiritual truths. The allegory has to fit the actual truth presented. You know, false allergies. Verses 1 and 2 is an earthly illustration of a spiritual truth. The air, as you know, was generally the firstborn. And this is a title that is ascribed to Jesus. He is the firstborn of many brethren, not chronologically speaking, but because of entitlement. That's what the word firstborn means, and I hope you get this clear. The firstborn doesn't mean in time because Jesus had no beginning actually but entitlement what he deserves what he owns and that's why he's called the firstborn. The first person Paul has in view in describing the heir is the Son of God and the Bible says that Mary brought forth her firstborn son. It does not only mean that Jesus was but it was he is the firstborn of many creatures well let's get this square in our thinking we think oh it is their first child is my first God doesn't use it that way when he speaks of the firstborn so you can challenge me later and I'm willing to debate with you if you want to debate with me I'm here firstborn in rank And that's why he was able to take on the scribes and the Pharisees, who thought he was a little young boy, not knowing he owns everything. Even the very synagogue was his. Now we learn a little bit of this firstborn in Deuteronomy 21. Turn here with me. In Deuteronomy 21, and you should be there in a minute, You shouldn't be turning pages, going through your Bible. You should be able to find Deuteronomy quickly. And I'll read a little bit about this firstborn. Deuteronomy 21, verses 15 through 17. There we read, if a man have two wives, one beloved and another hated, and there have born him children, both the beloved and the hated, And if the firstborn son be hers that was hated, then it shall be when he make of his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son hated, which is indeed the firstborn. But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated, for the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he have, for he is the beginning of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his. Before I explain that, I remember Jacob. Jacob loved, it was, ooh, it was Rebecca, if I can remember. It was Rebecca, right? Huh? Rachel. Oh, I'm losing it. He loved her to death. But Jacob had a child from Bilhah. Reuben. And whenever you read, Jacob says, Reuben is my firstborn. Even though he loved Rachel, who bore Joseph and Benjamin. So actually, Jacob recognized this command. Reuben is my firstborn, the beginning of my strength. These same words, we say, but often go back. He's applying a principle. And Deuteronomy supplies us with a moral and a spiritual principle. First, the moral principle is easy. If a man happened to have two wives, back then, by the way, they did it in Old Testament times, like Elkanah. Remember, you read these things in the Bible. You just rush over them and gone, never get back to them, never stop to study them. Elkanah had two wives. But if a man happened to have two wives, the son that born first is entitled to the inheritance regardless of whether the wife is hated or beloved. That's the moral principle. But this law was also acknowledged by God. Spiritually speaking, God had married to the nation of Israel. He became her husband. You know this. You've read this. I don't have to explain it. God married to national Israel, but they became adulterers, and he put them away. He divorced them. And that's why he introduced the law of divorce, by the way, because he wanted to fulfill that himself. That law has been rescinded in the New Testament. Israel became the hated wife. God later united with the church, which where he promised never to leave or forsake, that is made up of Jew and Gentile. But though Israel became the hated wife, Israel produced the firstborn, Christ. And God honored his law. And it shows you the love The love and the faithfulness of God is elect. Oh, brethren, this passage takes time to execute. The grace of God, he obligated himself to the law and you and I trample on God's law. We trample on the sanctity of marriage. We trample on God's law. And yet God Almighty honors His law. I tell you what, we would be held accountable for quite a number of things. And if Christ is not our Savior, we will perish. Psalm 89 also says, where Jesus is prefigured throughout that psalm, I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers, verse 26. He shall cry unto me, thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him forevermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him, the Son of God. Another well-known verse that describes Jesus as firstborn is Colossians 1, Colossians 2, 18. He's the head of the body, the church, the beginning, firstborn from the day, and in all things he might have preeminence. Hebrews 1, 2, God having these last days spoke unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom he made the words. Now these words are quite clear as I try to show you the allegory Christ is this firstborn that Paul has in view. He is the heir of all things. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the day, that all things he might have preeminence. Scripture is replete by showing us who this firstborn is. So man is not the firstborn. Believers' right to be heirs of God's inheritance is because of adoption. Adopted in the family of God. All the rights that Christ owns, you and I, if you are a believer, you own. This is what the Bible teaches. This is salvation. Romans 8 says he's the firstborn among many brethren. The statement suggests that if he's the firstborn among many brethren, his brethren also are firstborn. The Bible teaches this very clearly. This is the illustration Paul gives, verses one and two. Look at it again. Now I say, now what I'm saying is, the heir, as long as he's a child, doesn't differ at all from the slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. Now Christ, in his humanity, lived out this principle as the heir, as the firstborn. It's recorded in the New Testament. He lived as an ordinary man. Under Jewish laws, he went to synagogue on the Sabbath. Tell us this. He celebrated the feast days as commanded. He was on the tutors and governors, though he had the rights of the firstborn. He submitted to his earthly parents and his religious authorities until the appointed time. They told him, Luke, When the days of his purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem and presented him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that opened up the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. Mary, in her obedience, brought this boy eight days old. kicking and screaming to be circumcised. He was submitted. He was under tutors. The law is taken from Leviticus 12, 2 and 3, where God said, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a woman hath conceived seed, and born a man, child of Jesus, was on the mind of God from eternity. Then she shall be unclean seven days. According to the days of the separation for her infirmity, shall she be unclean of his, the child, shall be circumcised. You think Jesus might just get up suddenly and say, I'm gonna get me circumcised. You think so? No, no, no. Obedience. And some of you parents have a hard time bringing your children to hear the gospel. No wonder our churches do what it is. The Lord fulfilled this law to the letter. At eight days old, he was brought to the temple where Simeon, an Old Testament believer, a Christian, a born-again man, took up this child and said, Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace. For my eyes have seen thy salvation, which All people be ye led. A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. Jesus submitted himself, and in Luke chapter two, verse 51 and 52, He said, and he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus, increasing wisdom and stature in favor with God and man, son of God, brethren, was also subject to government. The scripture says, though he were a son, yet learned he obedience. by the things he suffered. So the illustration the son, the heir, subject to the law until the appointed time of the father, waited until every jot was fulfilled, Christ, the firstborn, our savior, perfect savior. Point number two, the comparison, verses three through five. The comparison that is being made in Galatians 4, 5. I read verse 3. Even so we, notice the comparison, when we were children were in bondage under the elements of the world. The phrase even so we refer first to the Apostle who groups himself with those in the Galatian Church. We who had become children of God, but these words also apply to everyone else that knows the Savior, not those who belong to the church, those who are converted, those who are born of God. Even so we, they applied to those ones. Just as Jesus was subject to the law, we in our natural lives were in bondage to the law's curse. We were children of wrath, even as others. Not Jesus, but we. Unlike the Lord Jesus, we were slaves to sin. He, Jesus, was never a slave. He was the son. He was the natural son. Believers are adopted sons in all of our misery and all of our sin. Just get that. God made his people heirs. How can anyone not appreciate salvation? How can anyone treat the Lord the way they do? It baffles me. Because we are not taught what a Christian is. Some men come here and say you accept Jesus and you're in. You're not in! Until you believe on the side. You're not in, don't kid yourself. And you struggle, the poor minister struggles All of his ministry, because they are all converted. Not a semblance of obedience is seen in them. But study the scriptures. You will see what salvation is and what it is not. Comparison made. Sons of adoption. Children. The Bible says, when we were children, verse three, this word is transmitted, infants. This word also describes an unbeliever. When we were infants, when we were at the stage of unbelief. Nepios is the Greek word. You can look up that word and see it always relate to unbelievers. You heard me say this dozens of times already. This is the word here. Paul says, when I was a child, I thought I was a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things. Verses four and five continues. But this book is very theological, and it is painstaking. I hope that you are able to bear up on this book. Verse 4 and 5 continues, For when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive. Here's the word, adoption of sons. The fullness of time can be understood in two ways. I'll explain it. For the Son of God, the heir, The fullness of time refers to his first coming, his death, and his resurrection. After the cross, Jesus earned the right to inherit the throne. He had to go through the rigors of the cross. And that's why at the end he says, all authority is given to me in heaven and in earth. He earned the right. after the resurrection. Second, the fullness of time can also refer to the time one becomes converted. When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son made to you, made under the law, to redeem you that was under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. It can be interpreted that way too. The cross and the resurrection has a spiritual effect in the lives of God's children. And that's why Colossians 3 verse 1 says, if then you be risen with Christ, seek those things that are above. Not the things on this earth. Mad about little piece of property, crazy, bent out of shape. Seek heavenly things. And these are legal terminologies where our citizenship is. We live on this earth, brethren. We have to live on this earth. But we don't live on this earth grabbing everything we get our hands on. somewhere like that in the church. Verse four and five gives at least five teachings that I'm going to run through quickly about God's salvation in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's look at this text carefully. The first teaching we see in verse four is the timing of the Lord's coming. But when the fullness of time was come, the timing of Jesus coming was precise. Not a day early, not a day late. Now commentators make much about the historical side of the fullness of the Lord's coming because God had prepared the world. The world basically speak, apart from the Jews, two languages, Latin and Greek. You know, Alexander, if you read any history, Alexander the Great conquered the world a few hundred years before Jesus came. And God used him to prepare the world for great... And guess what the Bible, the New Testament was written in? Fullness of time. God was about to evangelize the world. And bring certain government in place. Roman and Greek. But they make a big deal of it. I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time on it. But in a sense, it was the fullness of time for the Lord historically. God appeared in the world after he had prepared the world. He had prepared the world when they had the census, when Jesus came to Nazareth. He came in the fullness of time. The timing of His coming was precise. Just as He came in the fullness of time in His first advent. Remember, He will come in the second advent in the fullness of time. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. Second, verse four shows the origin of His coming. It says, God sent forth his son. This speaks of his deity. If you know what that word means, Vilna, speaks of his deity. And you can go home and ask your parents, what does it mean? God sent forth his son. You see the origin of his coming. For one to be sent, for one to be sent forth, mean that they were already in existence. You can't send somebody who ain't with you. And here you see the deity of our Lord. It shows his eternal, as Brother Collin rightly said, his eternal existence. Micah 5, too, but thou Bethlehem, Apatha, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me. That is to be ruler in Israel, who is going forth, hath been from of old, from everlasting. The three men, or the Magi that came, were sterile. But the kingdom that Christ came to rule, he shall be the ruler over my people. and the church. He's the ruler over his people. He leads his people. We submit to him. And some of us don't even want to be under the rulership of a man, far less the Lord Jesus. You don't want to submit to him, but the Bible says he should be ruler over my people. Let me ask you, are you an unruly Christian? There are a lot of them here. Mary was told that which was to be born in her is the Son of God. Mary bowed, bowed, my soul magnifies the Lord. Read that. And she called Him, her Savior. Mary, the one that the Catholics make a big deal about, my soul rejoiced in God, my Savior. She called Jesus God and her Savior. She is correct in her theology. He's the Son of God. Another great truth, Thor, is the manner of his coming. Look at the text. The manner of his coming, made of a woman. He came, as I said, as an ordinary man, made of a woman. This shows, of course, his humanity. It also shows the virgin birth. Women do not produce seed. Seed is issued from the male. Woman can't produce seed on her own unless she do something crazy like what they're doing now. Next thing you know, they got six babies. Because anything goes now. You don't even have to have a husband. You can borrow some sperm. He's sick. The media likes this nonsense. Talk about it. See this issue from the mail. You see, though Jesus was fully God, he was fully man. Born of a virgin. Our verse also shows another thing, the limits or the limitations of his coming. made under the law. As a human, Jesus was under the restraints of the law. He was under the restraints of the law of nature, gravity. If he jumped off of a building that Satan wanted him to do, he would break his legs. And he said to Satan, you shouldn't tempt the Lord, you're a God. Jesus could have jumped off of that building. But if he had done that, he would have been submitting to Satan. So he submitted to the law of gravity. Yeah, he could jump off, but he don't tempt the Lord. He limited himself as God. The limits of his coming made under the law, assuming Jesus was under the restraints and the constraints. Occasionally, Jesus would set aside those laws to perform a miracle, like the changing of water into wine. Like the appearance after the resurrection coming through a wall. But generally, he didn't live like that. And the fifth teaching is, of course, the effect of His coming in the vocalization text, to redeem, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption. You see, adoption comes after redemption. If you are not redeemed, you're not adopted. You're a child of the devil. This is theology. And this doesn't really change people, but to the believer, to the Christian, there's a sense of appreciation for these things. The them that were under the law refers to those who were once in a lost state, whether Jew or Gentile. that has come to know grace. So this passage gives this beautiful allegory or analogy or illustration. Paul shows the comparison in the lives of God's people. But finally, there is an application in verses six and seven. And we've gotten there. The application. And because you are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a Son, then an heir of God through Christ." As I said, there is a fullness of time for every person. who has become, or there was a fullness of time for every person who has become saved. You know, sometimes you and I pray for people for a long time, and nothing ever happens. And then when we are dead and gone, God saved them. I remember I used to be told by, I think it's by my uncle, You know, you're just like my grandmother." I said, well, so what was wrong with your grandmother? This was before my time, before my grandmother. She died before I was even born. What do you mean by that? Oh, you're on this Bible. He said, oh, yeah, that's who started it. That's who was praying. And I don't know who it is in your life that was praying and was seeking God. But the fullness of time only comes when you become comforted. God sent forth his son. It is God who appointed from eternity past. It is Jesus the son who came in time. It is God, the Holy Spirit, who applies salvation. God sent forth His Spirit. Here we see the Trinitarian work of salvation. In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son. Not you. that you should receive the adoption of sons. Where are you in the fix? Where are you? It says, and because you are sons, God again has sent forth the spirit of his son. Who do you think salvation is? I don't know. Notice where salvation is wrought. In the center, the text says, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts. Conversion is a matter of the heart, not the head. How many of us know a little too much in this place for me? I don't want to hear what you know. I don't want to see the fruit of the Spirit. We know a little too much. God gives a Christian a new heart. One that will love him. One that will love the people of God. One that would love the things of God. God does that. Sometimes you go to visit people and you ask them, are you reading the scriptures? Oh, sometimes. I am worried about that. It gives me cause to worry. is the heart that reflects a disposition of love and service. To cry, Abba, Father, is to show the true believer has the right to call God his Father. I see Ezra looking at Mother Neal. And he's all on fire, he's all alive. I don't know why, but I ain't seen nothing of him to be so alive and alert about. But that's the nature of a son who sees his father. Something different. He's moved, he's driven by love. God, that's the application. Sorry, there's a text. I told you that this Colossians passage is deep, deep infield. I didn't know we were getting into it. Version. The priest is not the father. Jesus says, don't call any man father. And I hate to hear people, sometimes people in Africa call me father. They say, don't call me that. Call me Brian. Some people will go and kiss his hand and call him father. He's not the father. So the church must announce this gospel because faith comes by hearing the word of God. Remember in Acts 13, I think it's Acts 13, 48, when the Bible says, and when the Gentiles heard this, the gospel, They were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And the text says, and as many as were ordained to eternal life, believe. And as many as were ordained to eternal life, believe. God in eternity passed. But then the fullness of time came and the gospel was prayed. And God sent his spirit. they believe. Let me ask you, was there a fullness of time in your life? Or are you still wasting time? Was there a time in your life when you came knowingly to Christ for forgiveness? Today can be your time. Today can be your time. J.C. Ryan says, tomorrow is the devil's time. Apostle Paul set forth this illustration, and you can't want it any plainer than this, seven verses. He wants us to understand this illustration of the covenant that he has made. He gives us this allegory He makes this comparison and then he shows the application in the lives of the child of God. I close this morning with the text from John and this is the record. I remember Tom Harris, a young giddy head boy at this basketball marathon. that I was invited to in Percocet, Pennsylvania, didn't know that this young man, Tom Harris, my first pastor, that's how I met him, asked the question, I can show you how you can know if you are saved. All I had was a little New Testament, a little Gideon New Testament. I opened up my New Testament to this verse. and this is the record that God hath given us eternal life. And this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the son of god first john 5 11 through 13 brethren this is the gospel we preach may god be pleased to bless it Lord, we are bound to give thanks to you, for you have from the beginning chosen us unto salvation. Oh Lord God, we have disappointed you so many times. We have failed to love you. We have failed to love our brethren. We pray that you will help us to be faithful servants in transporting this message to a lost world. Prepare us, O God, to be your servants again. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.