January 1927
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
14
In the Fulness of Time He Came T homas F itzgerald .. Gal. 4:4, 5.-
C hain of P rophecy C oncerning C hrist There are , certain definite .promises made as revelation developes, forming a complete chain, concerning the coming Redeemer, which, traced through the Scriptures, give us a com plete image, of His Person-:— (1) The original announcement’ o i the Redeemer in Gen. 3 :15' describes Him as-“the'Seed of the woman.” Of human birth— a man, not an angel. (2) He is the “seed of Abraham,” to bring blessing to all the nations of the earth (Gen. 22:18; Gal. 3:16). A Hebrew, not a Gentile: : ' . . (3) He came through the line of Isaac, and Jacob, not the line of Ishmael or Esau (Gen. 21:12;' 28 :14).", ' (4) He belonged td the tribe of JUdah-j-R/eiD/not a Levitc (Gem 49:8-10; Matt. 1 :3; Heb, 7:14). (5) He was of the royal family of David. The line.nar rowed down to a single .family— Kingship (2 Sam. 7 :12, 13; Psa. 132:11 ; Jer. 23:S:; ‘Rom. 1 (6) ' He was to "be miraculously born of- a -Virgin— Sinless (Isa. 7 :14; Matt. 1 :18-25). His Humanity.. (7) He Was of the "Q'odhe'ai' ((Isa. 7:14). Immanuel—His Deity: . These are the lineaments gradually drawn throughout many centuries, and seen at last in the full-length portrait of Him, “of whom Moses in the Law; and the Prophets, did write, Jesus: of Nazareth.” What thoughtful man or woman, endowed with reason, and having an honest desire after truth, can resist the force of, such cumulative evidence of an unseen controlling power, bringing to pass such stupendous happenings on the stage of human history ? L eading up to F ulness of T ime “From the original announcement of redemption recorded in the-third chapter of Genesis, down to the accomplishment of redemption by our Lord, the MeSsidhic idea was in .process of formation-. At first vague and general, it gradually became pre cise and well defined. In the first announcement there were dis closed two elements which were permanent,- that the redemption was to be accomplished by a Person, and that this Person was to be human. “It was, the work of slowly-evolving ages to develop this, germ, and to.;elaborate a tolerably:' complete, image of the Person and Work of the Redeemer. The first long-and little-understood period of human history left as its result a broad distinction -in character between three races of men; and revelation, keeping step with history then disclosed from which ;of these races the Redeemer was to spring. A shorter period sufficed to narrow down the expectation to a single nation. As time went on, a single tribe, and then a single family, was indicated as that from which the Redeemer was to arise.” “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 receive the adop tion of sons” (Gal. 4:4, 5). . This One, whom we have seen from the Scriptures.was promised and long expected, at last appeared, according to God’s appointed time and purpose. He came to accomplish all the will of God. “Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou
This is the first of a series of four articles by Mr. Fitzger ald, covering “The Fulness of Time;” “The Fulness of the Gentiles ;” “The Times of the Gentiles,” and “The Dispen sation of the FulneRs of Times.’’ These articles, in more complete form, may be procurred in >a nevi hook “The Four Cycles”. (85c—Biola Book Room). A LL God’s purposes had their origin in the counsels òf the Godhead, in the Eternal Past, but have been made known to man in Time, so that wé may trace the unfolding, of them in human history. We are able to see from the study of the Holy Scriptures and of history that God -has well-defined purposes, which He is carrying out in spite of the opposition of men and, demons : even causing His enemies to further His plans, and so defeat themselves: “Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain” (Psa. 76:10). See also Acts 2:22-24 ; 3:13-18; 4:24-29. Each of the.Four Cycles' which we are to ^consider has à starting-point (historically), followed by a progressive course of events, leading up to a terminus, thus indicating definite purpose and design. The words of Gal. 4 :4 fconvey thoughts that are momentous and profound. They have the. stamp of Deity :upon them, sur passing all mere human conception. Notice the terms used : (1) “Fulness” (Gr. pleróma)—end or completion ; (2) “Time” (Gk. chronos)—a fixed, appointed period ; (3) “Was come,” or- “came”—arrived, reached. We may therefore read the passage thus : “But when the completion of the fixed, appointed period arrived, God sent forth His Son.” The hour in God’s chronology, had now arrived, not a ifiçment before or after, but at the’time designed, purposed, appointed, the long-expected One came forth from God, to bring to man a final message, and to accomplish the mighty work, of Redemption. “God sent forth His Son to redeem.” S tarting .P oint of the C ycle We would further suggest that the starting-point may be found in the germinal promise of Gen. 3 :15: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel,!’ and the terminus may be found in the triumphant words of John 19 :30: “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar; He said, It is finished : and He bowed His head, and gave up the Ghost”— words upon which, during nearly two thousand years, many a sip-stained, weary, fallen child of Adam has rested for salvation and peace. Many a dying head has been pillowed upon that fin ished work, and has rested upon the bosom of the Redeemer, “who bore our griefs” ;"“who bare our sins in His own body on the tree.” In tracing the course of events, between the starting-point and the terminus of this First Cycle, we discover that all past periods leading up to the coming of Christ in the flesh are- marked By the progressive operations of God, during which He was preparing the way for the incarnation of His Son. These operations, or dispensations, reveal how God had been testing man, to bring out what was in man, and at the same time to, reveal to man His own character and purposes. In the Scrip tures recording these preparations, and the various ways of God, the Writers Were separated, in some cases, by many hundreds of years, so that there could be no possible collusion between them.
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