December 23

⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. ⁶And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our^* hearts, crying, ‘Abba!^* Father!’  ⁷So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

Galatians 4:4-7

The Apostle Paul called this moment, “the fullness of time.”  At the precise right time, in the full ripeness of history, God himself broke into time and space.  The timeless God stepped into time.  The Eternal One submitted himself to the human condition and law.

The Son took upon himself our full humanity along with the curse of the law upon humanity’s disobedience.  He took it all as his own.  He did this, so that we might “receive the adoption as children.”  He who is eternally the Son of God came to “adopt” us as God’s children and to partake of his glory.

Only Jesus is the Son of God by nature, monogenes.  Only Jesus has the same “genetic” makeup or nature as God.  But Jesus came on a mission of making us sharers in his divine nature.  And here is the staggering Good News — that by God’s grace we might become the children of God and share with Jesus in his life and glory. What Jesus is by nature, he imparts to us by grace!

In this text Apostle Paul tells us that not only did God send his Son for us, but he also sent the Holy Spirit for us.  God sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts to empower us to cry out with Jesus, “Abba!  Father!”  The word “Abba” was the Aramaic word for “Daddy,” and was among the very first primal sounds a little child would babble, “Abba!  Abba!”

The word “Abba” bespeaks childlike trust and intimacy with Father which the Holy Spirit gives to us and moves us to say to God: “Abba!”  Jesus came to draw us into the same intimacy and warmth with his Father that he has forever enjoyed.

Ponder the wondrous truth that the Apostle Paul reveals:

¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba!^* Father!’ ¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness^* with our spirit that we are children of God. Romans 8:15-16

Read, Reflect, Respond, and Rest with both of today’s scripture texts
and today’s devotional.

Today’s Moments of Diaphany

• an answer to prayer
• evidence of his love and care
• evidence of his creative power and wisdom
• his help to do his work