The phrase “fullness of time” refers to God’s perfect timing in sending Jesus Christ to earth to accomplish the work of salvation. It indicates that Christ’s coming was part of God’s complete plan from the beginning and happened at just the right moment in human history.
The apostle Paul uses this phrase in Galatians 4:4-5, writing, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” This indicates that Christ came at the precise time ordained by God the Father.
So what does it mean that Jesus came at the “fullness of time”? Looking at the state of the world during the first century A.D. gives us some understanding of the significance of this timing.
The World was Primed for the Spread of the Gospel
One aspect of the “fullness of time” was the primed state of the world for the spread of the gospel. First, the Roman Empire had united much of the known world under one government, bringing stability and allowing freedom of travel and trade. This enabled the apostles and early disciples to spread the message along Roman roads and sea routes.
Secondly, the Greek language was well-established as the common tongue throughout the empires of Alexander the Great and his successors. Even under Roman rule, Greek continued to be used as the language of commerce and communication. This common language would propel the spread of the Christian message with Greek becoming the language of the New Testament.
Finally, the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the Roman world meant synagogues dotted the landscape. Christian apostles and evangelists often started proclaiming the gospel in the local synagogue. Thus, centers for preaching Christ were already in place throughout the empire.
Political Turmoil Created Openness
Not only was the Roman world primed for change, but people were actually looking for new solutions and meanings in life. The Pax Romana period of peace meant trade and economics thrived. However, the ruling class imposed oppressive taxes and persecution on the lower classes.
Zacharias prophesied in Luke 1:79 that Christ would come “to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.” The brutal tyranny and corrupt rule of Roman procurators like Pilate highlighted the deep spiritual darkness shrouding the ancient world. People longed for a message of hope.
Religious Longing for a Messiah
Apart from political turmoil, many in the Roman world were spiritually hungry. The traditional Greek and Roman religions failed to offer a personal connection with deity or a moral compass for life. Mystery cults promising secret knowledge, rituals, and initiation into a deity’s blessings attracted some.
Others turned to philosophical contemplation, following prominent teachers like Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics. Still others looked to astrology and magic for spiritual insight.
For the Jewish people, centuries of biblical prophecy pointed toward an Anointed One who would deliver and rule over God’s people. Groups like the Pharisees and Saducees hotly debated the biblical prophecies, looking for the promised Messiah. John the Baptist sparked messianic fervor as people wondered if he might be the Christ (Luke 3:15).
So in the fullness of time, people had a spiritual longing for revelation, truth and meaning that Christ perfectly fulfilled.
God’s Schedule is Perfect
Looking at the state of the first century world, we see ripe conditions for the gospel to thrive and deep spiritual longing for Christ to fulfill. Yet while the timing clearly worked to spread the good news, we shouldn’t think human conditions ultimately determined Christ’s coming.
Galatians 4:4 states emphatically that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son.” The conditional clause hangs on God’s divine timing, not human events and cultures. As Revelation 13:8 declares of Jesus as the Lamb who was slain, He was chosen before the foundation of the world.
God authored the grand narrative of redemption in which Christ would come. Every human culture and civilization has been ordained by the Creator to play its role. No historical events take God by surprise or thwart His purposes.
The fullness of time came because God appointed the precise moment for His Son to enter the world. It came about “when the time had fully come” (NIV), meaning when the complete time had arrived and the clock had run out on the former age.
In his sermon at Pentecost, Peter declares, “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:23). Christ died according to God’s definite plan and foreknowledge, though human hands played their sinful role.
The Father who set the date for Bethlehem did so with perfect wisdom and sovereignty over human affairs. The fullness of time came when God’s timeline for Messiah’s arrival coincided exactly with humanity’s need for a Savior.
The Fullness of Time Points to Christ’s Unique Status
In addition to showing God’s sovereignty, the timing of Christ demonstrates that Jesus fulfilled a unique role in God’s plan that no other could fill. Paul says the fullness of time came about so that we might receive adoption as sons of God (Galatians 4:5).
Jesus was not one more prophet or teacher, but the only begotten Son sent by the Father at the appointed time to redeem us from slavery to sin. The writer of Hebrews says, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:11-12).
No matter how desperate the times or how much people longed for redemption, no human mediator could do what only Christ could. The fullness of time means that before Christ, the time was not yet complete for this salvation to come. The Father sent the Son because Jesus alone could accomplish the necessary work.
Old Testament Prophecy Points to Christ
Another indication of the meaning of “the fullness of time” is how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah. God gave prophecies about the Savior’s birthplace (Micah 5:2), lineage (2 Samuel 7:12-13), betrayal (Psalms 41:9), manner of death (Isaiah 53:5), and resurrection (Psalm 16:10). Jesus fulfilled them all in the fullness of time.
The timing allowed people steeped in knowledge of the Old Testament prophecies to readily identify Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. From a human perspective, people were anticipating the Messiah during that generation. From the divine perspective, God sent His Son when the perfect time had come.
In the Fullness of Time, Sin Had Reached its Full Measure
As Galatians 4:4 says, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.” Some scholars suggest a key aspect of the fullness of time was the complete fruition of sin under the law.
Paul hints at this in writing, “Now the law came in to increase the trespass” (Romans 5:20), and “if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin” (Romans 7:7). The Law defined God’s standards but could not redeem. The sacrificial system could only partially atone because it consisted of mere shadows of Christ (Hebrews 10:1).
But when Jesus came and offered himself up for sin once for all, redemption was accomplished completely (Hebrews 10:10). In God’s perfect timing, Christ came when sin had reached complete fruition, so God could condemn it fully through Jesus’ sacrificial death (Romans 8:3).
The Fullness of Time Brings Completion of God’s Plan
Ultimately for Paul, the fullness of time represents the completion of God’s redemptive plan for humanity through Jesus Christ. In writing to the Ephesians, Paul outlines God’s complete timeline:
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:7-10)
From before time began, God ordained that the climax of history would come when the Son accomplished salvation for us through the cross. When God incarnated in Christ, the clock struck fullness. The appointment set from eternity arrived, issuing in adoption, redemption, and restoration.
So in Christ, we receive the fullness of God’s grace, love, mercy and power to deliver us from sin and death. The fullness of time means we live after the completion of God’s greatest mission. We look back in awe that Christ has come and accomplished completely all we needed.
The fullness of time gives perspective to see God’s hand across history to bring salvation. And it gives us assurance of God’s wise timing in the future unfolding of His purposes, until Christ comes again in the fullness of glory.
