Dear Christian friends:

The lessons for the Christmas season inspire us with the amazing, fantastic love of God. His kindness to us is unlimited. He gives us a “full cup and running over." He gives us two coats when we really deserve none, and can only hope for one. Our text for today is one more example of God doing more for us than we can expect or wish. He not only gives us His Son, but gives us His Spirit too.


Our text tells us that the God who loves us sends His Son to us. We read, "When the exact time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law." (verse 4a)

Last Sunday and again on Christmas Eve we heard the wonderful story of how God's eternal Son came from heaven to earth. "He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary," as we confess each Sunday when we here in church join together and say the Creed.

God loved us and sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. Everyone born of a woman is also born under the law. What does that mean, "born under the law?" It means that a person must obey the law, and if he breaks the law, he must accept the punishment of the law.

Why should God send His Son to do such a strange thing? How does this show God's love to us?

We find the answer to that question in our text: "to redeem them that were under the law, that we might become His sons." (verse 4b)

Through Jesus' birth from a woman under the law we are freed from the demands of the law and the punishment of the law. God loved us sinners and sent His Son to keep the law for us and to suffer the punishment we had deserved by our law-breaking. Jesus perfectly obeyed the law for us and He also suffered the punishment of the law for us when He died upon the cross. When we confess that we are helpless sinners and then look to Jesus for salvation, we are accepted into God's family. "We become His sons and daughters."

"Jesus serves that I a lord can be,
A great exchange indeed!
Could Jesus' love do more for me
To help me in my need?"
(TLH 105, Praise God The Lord, Ye Sons Of Men verse 7)

The God who loves us sends His Son, but He does more than that! He also sends His Holy Spirit to us!

We read in our text, "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, the Spirit who helps you say "Dear Father." (verse 6)

The Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and helps us do as a real son or daughter of God. He helps us stop fearing God. He seals and guarantees to us that we are God's children through faith in Jesus Christ. He leads us to pray to God and worship God, calling Him “Dear Father."

"Thou Holy Spirit, Guide Divine,
Oh, let the Word of Life shine!
Teach us to know our God a-right
And call Him Father with delight."
(TLH 224, Come Holy Ghost, God and Lord verse 2)

And because we are God's children we are also heirs of God. (verse 7) We read in our text, "Because you are a son, God has made you an heir."

We, the children of God, are also heirs of God our heavenly Father. Our names are written in His will or testament to receive all His riches! The Holy Spirit living in our hearts is proof to us that we will one day in the future inherit all the riches of our Father in heaven.

What are these riches? They are not the same as the riches of this world such as money, land or houses. They are spiritual riches: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

In heaven we will love God perfectly, and also love one another perfectly. We will always do right and good. There will be no sin or wrong doing and no evil. Selfishness will be gone! We will seek to honor and please others, especially our God and Jesus our Savior. Our greatest pleasure will be to honor and worship our God who has loved us so much in giving us His Son and sending us His Spirit.

And because we hope to inherit these riches of God one day, we should even now, while living here on earth, begin to enjoy these riches. Paul writes, "You are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, because all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, because you are all one family in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's children, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:26-28)

Now we can begin to love one another as God's family and really help one another. Here in our church we come from various families and nations. But this should not separate us. We are all brothers and sisters in Jesus, and God is our Father.

We need not feel alone or sad or depressed or afraid in the New Year. Why? Our God who loves us has sent His Son and His Spirit to us! He guarantees to us that we are His children and heirs!

Amen.