🎄Christmas According to the Apostle Paul

 

Key Text: Galatians 4:4–5

 

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

 

Devotional: The Purpose of His Birth

 

This is Paul’s only direct reference to the birth of Christ — and it is anything but sentimental.

 

Paul does not speak of shepherds or angels.
He does not mention a manger or a star.
He tells us why Christ was born.

 

Christmas, according to Paul, is not about atmosphere.
It is about timing, incarnation, law, resurrection, redemption, and adoption (our position).

 

“When the Fullness of the Time Had Come…” — God’s Perfect Timing

 

Christmas did not happen randomly.

 

It happened at the precise moment God had ordained — after:

 

• the promise in Genesis 3:15
• the covenants with Abraham and David
• centuries under the Law
• the silence between the Testaments

 

Every prophecy, covenant, and historical movement converged at one point in history.

 

Christmas declares that God is never early, never late — always exact.

 

“God Sent Forth His Son…” — The Eternal Son

 

Paul does not say God created His Son.
He says God sent Him.

 

This confirms what the series has shown all along:

 

• the Son existed before Bethlehem
• the Son is eternal
• the Son willingly entered time

 

The One born in Bethlehem is the same One “from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

 

“Born of a Woman…” — Fully Human

 

Here is Genesis 3:15 in Paul’s words.

 

The Seed of the woman had arrived.

 

Jesus was truly human — not an appearance, not a myth, not a spirit.
He entered the world the same way every human does — through birth.

 

This qualified Him to represent humanity.

 

“Born Under the Law…” — Fully Accountable

 

This phrase is crucial.

 

Christ was not born outside the Law.
He was born under it.

 

That means:

 

• He submitted to it
• He obeyed it perfectly
• He fulfilled it completely

 

He did what no son of Adam ever could.

 

Christmas places Jesus inside humanity’s problem, not above it.

 

“To Redeem Those Who Were Under the Law…” — The Mission

 

This is the heart of Christmas.

 

Jesus was not born merely to teach.
Not merely to inspire.
Not merely to model obedience.

He was born to redeem.

To buy back.
To pay in full.
To satisfy the demands of the Law.

To satisfy the will of the Father.

 

The manger points forward to the cross.

 

“That We Might Receive the Adoption as Sons” — The Result

 

Redemption was not the end goal — relationship was.

 

Because Christ fulfilled the Law and paid sin’s penalty for all mankind, God has opened the door of heaven and is now pouring out His grace on all—Jew and Gentile alike, with no distinction—in the form of a free 🎁gift: salvation apart from the Law, received simply by believing (faith alone) the gospel—”good news” of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection:

 

• we are no longer slaves
• we are no longer condemned
• we are no longer outsiders

 

We are sons.

 

Christmas ends not with fear, but with family.

 

Encouragement for this Christmas Day

 

Galatians 4:4–5 reminds us that Christmas is not about what we feel —
it is about what God accomplished.

 

The birth of Christ means:

 

• sin has been addressed
• the Law has been fulfilled
• redemption has been secured
• adoption has been granted

 

If Christ was born exactly as promised, 
and died exactly as required,
then every promise that remains will also be fulfilled.

 

Final Reading Plan

 

• Genesis 3:15 — The promise of the Seed
• Isaiah 53 — The purpose of the suffering
• Luke 2:1–20 — The birth itself
• Galatians 4:4–5 — The meaning of Christmas
• Revelation 19:11–16 — The return of the King

 

Closing Thought

 

Christmas is the moment God stepped into history to rescue those trapped under sin and the Law.

 

Born of a woman.
Born under the Law.
Sent to redeem.
Raised to adopt. (Resurrection Power)

 

That is Christmas.

 

And that is the gospel.

 

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