Page 27 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

CH A P T E R 2

The Time

Had

Fully Come

od’s calendar is precise: He is never early or late; He is always
on time. His plan of redemption is perfect. The apostle Paul said
G it like this: “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under law, that
we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4–5). Mark also
noted that the earth was prepared for the coming of Christ (Mark 1:15).
Since Christ is the founder of the church (Matthew 16:18), it is important
to understand a few things about the time in which the gospel was born.
There were three major influences on the world in which Christ and His
church were born: the Jews, the Greeks, and the Romans.

The World of Judaism

Historian Earle Cairns states: “Judaism may be thought of as the stalk
on which the rose of Christianity was to bloom” (1996, 44). When the
apostle Paul used the phrase “under the law” in Galatians 4:4, he was
referring to Judaism. The mystery of the church was concealed in the
Old Testament but revealed in the New Testament. The apostle wrote:
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the

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