The Good News of Christmas
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
Galatians 4:4-6
For many in our culture, the wonder of Christmas is separated from the larger reality of the gospel and the Christian life. The birth of the Messiah was the world-altering event in which the God of creation took upon himself a fully human nature while retaining all the attributes of his deity. But how do we keep in view the wonder of Christmas, the beauty of his death and resurrection, and our personal salvation?
At just the right time God the Father sent forth his Son, Jesus. Jesus was born of a virgin and lived a perfect life in fulfillment of the entire law. His perfect life and sacrificial death paid the penalty for all of our sins and redeemed us from sin so we are now God’s possession. We are not only forgiven for all our sins, but we have been adopted into his family as his sons. Just as both men and women are the “Bride of Christ”, so too both men and women are “sons of God.” This is not to obliterate the distinctions between men and women but points to the legal rights the son had as an heir of the father. We, both men and women, stand in line as the full heir of all of God’s promises because we have been adopted into sonship. Sonship then points to the legal rights we have as God’s children and the affectionate intimacy he has with each one of us as a believer. So we are sons and daughters of God adopted into sonship with our Heavenly Father.
The good news is that we are no longer slaves to sin but have been freed from the penalty and power of sin and brought into God’s family. As his children we have become the object of his affection, and he has pledged to care for us as his precious children. We do not have a distracted or uninterested Father, but one who hears our cries and answers our prayers. We are in Christ, and because we are, the Father loves us like he loves his Son.
The word “Abba,” is difficult to translate, so much so that Paul brought it over from the Hebrew and did not translate it into Greek. It is difficult to translate it into a single English word because “daddy” seems too trite and lacks the honor God deserves but translating it as “father” does not carry the full weight of tenderness and affection that the word conveys. Suffice to say, our Heavenly Father is intimately acquainted with you and rejoices over you in love. We should not miss how the birth of Christ ties into the rest of Jesus’ life including his death and resurrection as well as our adoption into God’s family as his precious children.
