The Virgin Birth
It is important to believe in the Virgin Birth because:
A. The Bible clearly teaches it
Matthew 1:18-25
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Luke 1:26-38
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
37 For nothing is impossible with God.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
- Luke 3:23 ‘as it was thought, the son of Joseph’
B. It is entirely consistent with all the Bible teaches about Jesus
1) Who he is
Emmanuel – God with us (Matt. 1:23)
The Son of God (Mark 1:1)
The Son of the Most High (Luke 1:32)
Christ, the Lord (Luke 2:11)
The Word
who was in the beginning with God
who was God
through whom all things were made (Jn. 1:1-3)
2) The miraculous events that surrounded his life
Angels
The star
Water into wine
Fed 5000
Walked in water
Controlled the winds and waves
Healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, raised the dead
Raised from the dead
Ascended into heaven!
C. We could never have been saved without it
We are sinners – we are helpless, unable to save ourselves.
Only GOD could save us.
Because he loves us he wanted to save us
Because he is righteous, he must punish our sin
How could he do it? BY TAKING THE PUNISHMENT HIMSELF!
Our salvation depends on our saviour being both GOD and MAN.
Only GOD can save us, but it is MAN who must be punished.
In becoming MAN in the person of Christ, GOD both punished sin and took the punishment himself.
How else could Jesus be both God and man, if he were not born of a virgin? Mary was his human parent. God was his divine parent.
- It is a wonderful illustration of how we ourselves can become children of God.
Jesus said that if we are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we must be born from above, born again.
Like the Virgin Birth of Jesus, this is:
- Impossible for us, but possible with God (cf. Luke 1:37)
- Initiated by God and not by us (cf. John 1:13, not of a husband’s will)
- A supernatural act of God the Holy Spirit
- Something which can only be received in humble dependence on God’s grace (cf. Mary – favour with God – I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said).
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www.davidpetts.org – Great Bible Truths with Dr David Petts – what the bible teaches and its importance in the life of every Christian