God is a missionary God. Christmas reveals that He sends Himself on a marvelous, dangerous, impossible mission that no one else could accomplish

One of my favorite Christmas passages is Galatians 4:4 – 7.

“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."

This missionary God is Trinitarian in his "sending." God the Father "sent his Son." When the time was right the Son of God was sent on a mission, undercover, into a hostile world. Deity was "born of a woman." And the Deity who gave the law, was "born under law." And his threefold purpose was to secure the legal rights of his people: Redemption. Justification. Adoption. "To redeem" means to pay the terrible price to deliver us from slavery. "To justify" means to secure the forgiveness of our sins from our transgressions of "the law," and to present us as righteous in God’s sight. “Adoption” means that his mission was to round up orphans and free slaves and legally to secure them into the family of God. What an amazing mission the Son of God was sent to accomplish! Do you know if he has done this in your life?

But that's not all. There is a second "sending" announced in the text. Who is sent? The Holy Spirit! The third person of the Trinity. "The Spirit of his Son" is sent into our hearts! What a mission he has! His job is to apply this accomplished redemption, justification and adoption, personally, into our hearts. And it causes our hearts to sing "Abba, Father!" Without the Spirit of Christ in our hearts we might know the words and the theology of the gospel, but we will never hear the music of the gospel. Have you heard the "music of the gospel" that causes your heart to soar with joy and gratitude?

Listen carefully, the Bible says God rejoices over you "with singing." He has joy and he wants you to hear and feel and experience his joy in you. And the child of God who hears this heavenly music says, "You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound." Christian - Believe that He is rejoicing over you, right now, with singing, and ask Him to flood your heart with joy in knowing Him as your Heavenly Father. He sent his Son for you. He sent his Spirit into your heart.

But there is one more "sending." Jesus said, after his resurrection, "as the Father sent me, so I send you." That's right. This missionary God now has a missionary purpose for you. It may seem like "Mission Impossible." But it is not. Following our text in Galatians 4, the apostle remembers the agony and the ecstasy of preaching the gospel to the church in Galatia. And you will remember the agony and ecstasy of sharing the truth of the gospel and displaying "the music of the gospel" to the people around you. It's not easy. But it is your mission.

I recently read of a survey published by Arizona Christian University that discovered that "less than half (49%) of American Christians believe it is their responsibility to share their faith with someone who might be interested." Is that really true? Are there Christians reading this post who think that God does not want them to share the words and the music of the gospel?

God is a missionary God. That's what Christmas is all about. To whom is God sending you? If He sent his Son for you, and if He sent his Spirit into your heart, then certainly He has the right to send you to the lives of other people – to bless them and to call them to to Himself, just as he has done for you. You are sent, too! Let his love pulse to you and through you. Watch what His Spirit does in the lives you touch!

Musings from Pastor John, December 6, Click to Email Pastor John

Click Below for Pastor John’s sermon from December 6, God Sent, Then Sent again, Now Sends, Yet Again - Galatians 4:4-7