When the fullness of time had come
Sat, 18 March, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.
1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
What is the purpose of the Old Testament sacrificial system? What was it supposed to accomplish, and why don’t we have to follow it? Paul explains in today’s passage.
What do we learn from this?
The purpose of the Old Testament sacrificial system of worship was to act as a guardian or tutor. The sacrificial system was only a temporary institution until the fullness of time came and Jesus Christ would come to fulfill it, freeing us from the obligation to continue to keep it. Christ’s redemption is now complete, and we are treated as sons who have come of age. We don’t have to go through all the bloody sacrifices and the ceremonial law in order to approach God in worship. We are freed from that as a child is freed from a tutor when he comes of age.
Where is Christ in this passage?
The Old Testament sacrificial system has served its purpose. It was to point us to Christ. Every time someone would come to the temple, bringing an animal, confessing their sins over that animal, and then killing it, they were acting out a picture of what Jesus Christ would do for them as their true Substitute. They were showing their trust in God’s provision for their salvation, which ultimately wasn’t the animal they were offering up, but was the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ Himself.
Now that the perfect sacrifice has been offered, we no longer offer any more.
