Andrew Murray explains, “God waited four thousand years, until the fullness of time, before He sent His Son. Our times are in His hands. He will avenge His elect speedily. He will make haste for our help and not delay one hour too long.” Galatians 4:4-5 reads, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Let’s note three things in this passage.

First, there is the promise of God’s salvation. Galatians 4:5 reads, “to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” God’s plan to redeem man was not an afterthought. Genesis 3:15 reads, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” This verse is called the protoevangelium, where God gives the first promise of His gospel plan to redeem humanity from sin and to defeat the devil through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Second, there is the process of God’s suspense. Galatians 4:4a reads, “But when the fullness of the time had come.” Someone explains, “‘God’s suspense’ refers to the biblical theme of divine delays, patient waiting, and unfolding plans, where believers experience uncertainty but trust God’s timing for eventual, often greater deliverance highlighting faith over immediate answers and finding God in the present, not just in the future. It’s the tension between human impatience and God’s slow, purposeful work, revealing His character and power as His plan matures.” Paul also writes in Ephesians 1:9-10, “having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him.”  God acts at just the right time, not ahead of it or after it. 

Third, there is the provision of God’s Son. Galatians 4:4b reads, “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.” In "Mere Christianity," C. S. Lewis succinctly states: “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” John 3:16-17 reads, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Acts 4:12 reads, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Only God can make the provision for salvation, you must take the provision for yourself or be forever lost.

Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, of Robertsdale, is the author of "Don't Miss the Revival! Messages for Revival and Spiritual Awakening from Isaiah.