In the Fullness of Time

But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son

Galatians 4:4

The events of history moved according to an invisible sequence of order, known only to the Creator of heaven and earth, the God of this Universe. His name is I AM, the self-existent One, the One who owes His existence to no one, and who depends on no one for His existence, for He is the Great I AM. God who is all-present, is here now, yet He is present in the past and He is present in the future. This great truth indicates that He is outside of time, and cannot be limited or bound by time. Because of His omnipotence, He controls time, and does all things according to the pleasure of his own will and counsel.

The salvation of all men was initiated in the Garden of Eden, when the Lord God told Adam and Eve that the seed of the woman will come and destroy Satan’s work in the lives of men in this world. For centuries, men waited for the coming of this Seed, known in the Scriptures as the Shiloh (Genesis 49:15), the Star of Jacob (Numbers 24:17), Ruler in Israel (Micah 5:2) and the Saviour (Luke 2:11). Men waited, and passed away, just as the Israelites waited for a deliverer from Egyptian bondage for 430 years. Though there was suffering and pain, the deliverer came, for God led them out Egypt through Moses. Over the many years, the Jewish teachers taught the people of the coming of the Messiah. Though the time appears to be delayed in the eyes of sinful impatient men, the appointment was accomplished in the fullness of time. The Lord Jesus, the Saviour of this world, was born of a woman, in the fullness of time. The phrase ‘fullness of time’ refers to the time when all things that need to be completed are completed; the events that need to be accomplished for a plan to be come to pass are done. When there is a adequate moisture, sunlight, and soil, a seed will grow in the fullness of time, subject to the conditions surrounding its development. Similarly, when the surrounding events were suited to the coming of Christ, God sent forth His Son. No one can adequately explain these events that were accomplished in order for the Son of God to be revealed to this sinful world, yet the Lord Jesus came of a virgin into this world 2000 years ago to live among men, die, and then to be raised again for the justification of many by faith. It was all done in the fullness of time.

Dear believer, do you realize the awesome truth in this verse? Your salvation, your life, your coming into this world, were all calculated according to the timetable of the Creator, Who sees what will happen, and moves events and situations that will favour our welcoming of the Saviour into our hearts. He, knowing the end from the beginning, works all things for good to them that love Him, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Our families, our friends, our careers, and our direction are all accomplished in the fullness of time. Our hurts, our pain, our losses are all centered in the will of Him who loves us and who gives Himself for us. God, being the Lord, does not need to give a reason for our hurts and pain but He has promised to walk through this pathway with us when we will choose to give our choice to Him.

Dear friend, your presence is not a coincidence today because God wants you to know of His great love and that we are sinners by birth and by choice. Yet He still chose to come and be born in a smelly stable, live a poor life and die in an awful death, shedding His precious blood for us, so that we can know His love, His grace and, most importantly, the forgiveness of our sins and the cleansing from sins that would have condemned us to vanity in this life and hopelessness in the next. God loves us and does all things in the fullness of time. Whhen He does that, He hath made every thing beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Let us learn to trust in the Almighty providence of His hand. For He loves us dearly.

Blessed Christmas!