Fullness of Time
“Fullness of time” refers to the moment God appointed in his redemptive plan for decisive action, especially the sending of his Son. In the New Testament it highlights God’s wise timing in salvation history.
At a Glance
“Fullness of time” refers to the moment God appointed in his redemptive plan for decisive action, especially the sending of his Son. In the New Testament it highlights God’s wise timing in salvation history.
Description
“Fullness of time” is a biblical way of describing the divinely appointed moment when God brings a stage of his redemptive plan to fulfillment. Most notably, Galatians 4:4 says that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son,” stressing that Christ’s incarnation took place neither by accident nor by merely human timing, but according to the Father’s purpose. Scripture does not spell out every factor that made that time “full,” so interpreters should be careful not to be overly specific beyond the text. The safest conclusion is that the phrase refers to God’s perfect timing in salvation history. A closely related idea appears in Ephesians 1:10, where God’s purpose for the “fullness of times” looks ahead to the summing up of all things in Christ. Together these texts show both the historical arrival of Christ and the final completion of God’s plan under Christ’s lordship.