King's Business - 1936-12

December, 1936

T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S

4M

T O B L E E D \

B O R N

By W . M. ROBERTSON* Vancouver, B. C.

dium of thought ever known, had made the people, in a great measure, a people of one tongue. The way was thus prepared for the dissemination of the gospel. Prophetically, it was “ the fulness o f the time.” There was the expectation, throbbing intensely in the heart of every devout Jew, of a Deliverer, the Messiah, who should come and fulfill the promises made unto the fathers. Simeon was typical o f others who looked “ for the consola­ tion of Israel.” A ll of the voices of the prophets had pointed to the coming o f One— the Desire of all nations and the Glory of His people Israel— in whom all the fam­ ilies of the earth should be blessed. That was the point on which the expectation of devout Israelites, possessing the oracles of God, was fixed with an intense and earnest longing. It was to this intense and passionate expectation of the people that John the Baptist addressed himself when he bade them repent, for the kingdom of heaven was at hand. This same intense and passionate longing, the ful­ fillment of all types and prophecies, and the drift of all prior revelations, Christ claimed to satisfy in Himself, when He came forth and preached that the time was ful­ filled and the kingdom of heaven was at hand. The veri­ fication of prophecy was thus complete. It was “ the fulness o f the time.” Morally, it was “ the fulness of the time.” A t the birth of Christ, the moral condition of the world was deplorable in the extreme. The dreadful picture of human depravity, given us in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, is no darker than that given by pagan writers. Some there are who affirm that Paul was guilty of gross exaggeration in depicting human nature in such terrible colors in the first chapter of his Roman Epistle, but an appeal to pagan writers confirms the view of the apostle. Moralists like Seneca, satirists like Juvenal, historians like Tacitus, agree that human nature at that period had sunk to the lowest levels of degradation and vice. On that hard pagan world, disgust and secret loathing fell; Deep weariness and sated lust made human life a hell. Mankind has never shown a truer instinct than when it has agreed by common consent to make the birth of Christ the era of its new life, which marks off all the ages that went before as the “ O ld W o rld ,” and dates its existence thenceforth as the “ New W o rld .” Living in the full light of Christian truth, under institutions which have been formed and molded by the influence of Christian teaching,

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might re­ ceive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4 :4 , 5 ). T HESE words give us a concise yet comprehensive summary of the great doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ. They are a Spirit-inspired compendium of saving truth. Though enshrining truths of the most pro­ found character, the language is such that even a child may understand. Th e simplicity, however, is not the sim­ plicity o f superficiality; it is the simplicity o f sublimity. Everything necessary for the experience of salvation is con­ tained therein. In days when the real purpose of Christ’s coming into the world is in large measure obscured, it is well to hear again in the most plain language what the Spirit has to say on this all-important matter. T h e P eriod "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son." “ God sent” is the most frequent form o f speech with reference to the Incarnation and indicates the mission from the Father which the Son undertook. W h ile this is the most common form of speech with reference to the In­ carnation, it in no wise implies any thought of reluctance on the part of the Son. “ I came forth from the Father” (John 16 :28 ), is His own declaration concerning His ad­ vent into the world. His was a glad and willing obedi­ ence. He delighted to do the Father’s will. Some have asked the question, “ W hy did not Christ come sooner?” A t first sight it does seem strange that centuries of human history— and such a tragic history— should pass, before the Redeemer should come. But God has a wise purpose in seeming delay, and man has had opportunity to demon­ strate his utter incompetence to unravel the enigmas of his existence and free himself from the bondage and burden of sin. “ In due time Christ died for the ungodly.” There was perfect suitability in the time chosen for the advent of our Lord. Everything was ripe for the Redeemer. Politically, it was “ the fulness o f the time.” By means o f the Roman Empire, the world was under one govern­ ment. Under the Roman authority, intercourse between all parts o f the world was established and thus facilities were available for the spread of the message about to be proclaimed. The Greek language, the most perfect me- * Pastor, Metropolitan Tabernacle.

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