In The Fullness Of Time

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”

— Galatians 4:4

Have you ever noticed that God has perfect timing? Sometimes we have to look back to discover how God worked things out for us, but when we do, we can always find His hand moving just at the right time.

Just as God uses perfect timing in our lives, He carefully planned the timing of Christ’s birth. According to Scripture, Jesus came “in the fullness of time.” We can see that, before Christ came, the entire history of humankind had been a preparation for His Advent. God even used pagans to prepare the world for Christ. For example, when Jesus came, the whole civilized world spoke one language. Why? When Alexander the Great conquered the world, he conquered it linguistically as well as physically. The world was unified by the koine Greek language, and the apostles wrote the New Testament and preached the Gospel in this language.

As well, the entire world had come under the one government of Rome—a single citizenship— prior to Christ’s coming. Paul and the early Christians could thus travel the length and breadth of the Roman Empire, from North Africa to South Brittany, from Palestine to Spain, to share the Gospel. This would never have been physically possible if the Romans had not constructed their roads, an incredible accomplishment for that period. Not until the latter part of the nineteenth century did modern civilization equal that achievement.

So with a single language, a single citizenship, and roads connecting every part of the empire, the physical world was prepared for the coming of Christ, and Caesar Augustus could order a census of the entire Roman world. And so Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem where, as prophesied, the virgin would give birth to the Messiah in the city of David.

As you wait for Christmas this season, and as you wait for God to work in your life, remember God’s perfect timing in sending His Son. Thank Him for His wisdom and His ability to perfectly order the events of your life, including the most important event: Christ’s coming.

“When the Christian religion first appeared upon earth,
Providence, by whom the world was doubtless prepared for
its coming, had gathered a large portion of the human race,
like an immense flock, under the scepter of the Caesars.”
Alexis De Tocqueville