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The expression in Gal. 4: 4, "the fullness of the time" refers to the glorious
complement, the generation which should bring in the glorious readjustment by the birth,
death and resurrection of the One Who was then born.
"We beheld His glory . . . . . full of grace and truth . . . . . and of His fullness have all
we received, even the grace of the gospel for the grace of type and shadow (the
pleroma)" (John 1: 14-16).
The reader will observe that there, where "the fullness of the time" is mentioned, we
have the repudiation of the elements of the world, "days, months, times and years", as
religious observances, and there also we have the parallel with John 1: 14, the Word
made flesh, for we read that in the fullness of the time, God sent forth His Son, made of a
woman.
If we further pursue our investigation we shall observe the same features in the
corresponding section, Col. 2: 9-23. When John wrote his Gospel, all ceremonial
observance was finished. The epistle to the Hebrews had been sent to those who were
involved in the transition; the epistle to the Colossians had demonstrated once and for all
the completeness of the believer in Christ, and even John, though he ministered a
message of "life" to the "world" and had no commission to speak of the mystery and its
blessings, could not and would not put upon the "other sheep" the bondage of ceremonial,
now removed by grace. This is made clear in John 4: 20-24, but we must leave
consideration of its message until we reach that chapter.
In all testimony, especially where change, opposition, and contention are involved,
there is danger of leaving a wrong impression by over or under stating the truth or by
omitting some feature, so well known and so fully believed, as to appear to be in no need
of vindication. We want, therefore, to avoid the slightest appearance of evil, and evil it
would be if but one reader suspected that we belittled the inspiration and moral glory of
the law given by Moses. We will therefore quote the thirteen references in the Gospel of
John to Moses, and thus complete the presentation of the truth.
Moses in John's Gospel.
"For the law was given by Moses, but true grace came by Jesus Christ" (1: 17).
"We have found Him, of Whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write" (1: 45).
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up" (3: 14).
"There is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed
Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me" (5: 45, 46).
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but My
Father giveth you the True Bread from heaven" (6: 32).
"Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why do ye
go about to kill Me?" (7: 19).
"Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it was of Moses, but of
the fathers) and ye, on the sabbath day, circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath day,
receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken (or without breaking
the law of Moses); are ye angry at Me because I have made a man every whit whole on
the sabbath day?" (7: 22, 23).