The Ohio Independent Baptist, December 2000

The NewsletterPromotingInterdependenceWithin The OhioAssociationo/RegularBaptistChurches Vol. 73 No. 6 December 2000 God Sent Forth His Son...and Spirit .. - - - -- t 's Christmas in the year 2000. Let s think about it from a s lightly different perspective– Paul s. God sent forth His Son at the time we call Christmas and He also sends His Spirit into the heart of all who believe in His Son. The comi ng of the Son makes way for the coming of the Sp irit. "But when the fullness ofthe tilne had come, God sent forth His Son, born ofa woman, born under the la1v, to redee111 those who were under the la1,v, that \Ve might receive the adoption ofsons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit ofHis Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir ofGod through Christ" (Galatians 4:4- 7). This fami liar Christmas text actually detail two sendings for us- fir t , the sending of the Son and second, the sending of the Spirit. The sending of the Son signal s a tremendou change internationally whereas the sending of the Spirit signals a tremendou change individually. The Son arrived at the time we call Christmas and the Spirit at the time we de ignate a conversion. The Son arrived in the home of Jo eph and Mary and the Spirit ar1·i e in the heart each believer. When seen together, the e two con1i ng are very significant for u . The Two Comings Mark A Tinie OfGraduation Graduation is a time of coming of age, growing up, a radica l change of tatu . Before the Father sent the Son He had been relating to Old Testa1nent believer a to little children. They were kept under the elementary tutelage of the law of Mo es the AB ' of God's will and way. According to Ga lat ian 4: 1-3 the Old Testament a int were treated as children wi th minority tatus and wi thout inheritance rights. Thi i why there were so many rules and regulations governing their lives. With the coming of the Son, however, that childi sh statu vva changed forever. Now believers in hrist are adopted into God's family on a totally new level, that is, graduated into adult status- from the first minute they believe the gospel. Now they enjoy full inheritance rights as adu lt children in the family. alati an 4:5-7 con tras ts harpl y the 'term, son," with the tenn , ·'chi ldren," u ed in 4 : 1-3. ven in our day n1in r children cannot inherit from thei r parents until they attain lega l tatu as adu lts. Ye5, God the Father decided to "graduate,, the hun1an race and to treat thcn1 on a new plane, and the day 1;e "pulled it off" is the day \Ve celebrate as hristmas. TJ,e Two 0111i11gs Mark a Ti11t e ofLiberatio,, " o redeern them out from under the law" these words state one of the n1ain purpose~ behind the coining of the Son and the p1r1t. Both the . on and the ~ p1r1t have con1e to redeetn Ul:) out from under the law. With th t! con1ing of 'hrist \Ve ,verc r leased fron1 Moses' law 111 principle, with the corning of the piril we are rclcascc.l fron1 tl 111 prac tt <.:l! . Chri t fulfi lled the law in Hi life and nailed it for u to Hi cro (Colo sian 2: 11-15). The Spirit take up permanent re idence in a be liever heart and enable him to wa lk accord ing to a n1uch higher law. To speak of· liberation from law" can sound like a risky concept, but in actuality it i both biblical and afe. We have been released from the law of Mo es so a to be attached to the h;gher law- the law of hri t, which i the law of love. The beli ever who "\valk in the Spirit' actually fulfi II the law of Mo e ~ automatically and almo t incidentally. Spirit-filled belie er fu lfill the ri ghteou require1nent of the law according to Paul ( ee Ron1an : 1-4 and 13: - 10). Being liberated from the law of Mo ' e · i a.kin to getting 1nan·ied to the man you love. A.s one tocy goe , a ,nan lo t hi , wife earl y on in their marriage and needed a hou ekceper to con1e in daily and care for the chore . ach n1on1ing he wo·uld lea e her a list of th ing: to be done, which he vvould dutifully check off v.ihen ~ he had co,npl ted each task. O er the pas ·age of tin1c the t,vo r , 11 in love with each other, n1arried, and, you guessed it . that ,vas the end of the li t. Her lo e for her husband 1not1vated her to do n1uch more than any list ·oul i e er ini tiate... o, too, \vith the la,, of Mo es. Our I ve for C"hrist n1oti, at~s us lo do f~1r n1orc than anv ()Id f cstan1t:nt ~ list could ever initiate in our hearts. To be free fron1 that h1," is a grand liberation .... to a higher plane of Ii, 1ng ,, h1ch lln,, ~ fron1 a deeper level of n1oti, at 10 11 . T/1e Tu 1 0 Co111i11~s Jlarh a J'i111e of ( 'e/ebratio,, l~olh graduat 1011 .,nd Ii b('rat 1011 .11 L' happy tt:rn1s I hl'), 1nd1L'.lll' c losutt' .1nd success I he rt: 1" a L'L' rltttn fO\ th,ll (,·011tillll t'tf, JIUJ<t' ])