FULNESS OF TIME. This expression (Gal 4:4) indicates the “right” or “proper” time for Christ’s advent. The expression does not mean the “full term” of pre-natal human life (“born of woman”) but rather the right time chosen by the Father (“God sent forth”). This “right time” was determined by God’s plan of redemption prepared for by historical developments: the completion of the OT era, Messianic expectation, cultural, political, and religious factors in the Rom. world. This provided fertile soil for the ministry of the Messiah, the founding of the Church, and the rapid spread of the Gospel.