The
Virgin Birth 2
For this morning, we will be
completing our look at the virgin birth of Christ. We had begun this study, yesterday, by
examining the Old Testament prophecies concerning His birth. Now let’s look at the New Testament
fulfillments to these prophecies. Our
Lord, in His Word, makes it plain that
the virgin birth is a reality that has historically taken place.
May the Lord bless us and show us the true identity
of Jesus as we complete our study on the virgin birth of the Messiah, the Sent
One from God….
THE SCRIPTURES:
Gen 3:14-15 (KJV)
14) And
the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above
every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat
all the days of thy life:
15) And I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise
thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Isa 7:13-16 (KJV)
13) And
he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; [Is
it] a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
14) Therefore the Lord himself
shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel.
15) Butter and honey shall he
eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
16) For before the child shall
know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest
shall be forsaken of both her kings.
Jer 31:22 (KJV)
22) How
long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created
a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.
Matt 1:22-24 (KJV)
22) Now
all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by
the prophet, saying,
23) Behold, a virgin shall
be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Emmanuel, which being interpreted
is, God with us.
24) Then Joseph being raised
from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his
wife:
Luke 1:26-38
(KJV)
26) And
in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee,
named Nazareth,
27) To a virgin espoused to a
man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name [was] Mary.
28) And the angel came in unto
her, and said, Hail, [thou that art]
highly favoured, the Lord [is] with
thee: blessed [art] thou among women.
29) And when she saw [him], she was troubled at his saying,
and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30) And the angel said unto
her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31) And, behold, thou shalt
conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32) He shall be great, and
shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him
the throne of his father David:
33) And he shall reign over
the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34) Then said Mary unto the
angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35) And the angel answered and
said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the
Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36) And, behold, thy cousin
Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth
month with her, who was called barren.
37) For with God nothing shall
be impossible.
38) And Mary said, Behold the
handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel
departed from her.
Gal 4:4 (KJV)
4) But
when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman,
made under the law,
THE STUDY:
The virgin birth of Christ is a very
important subject that is of vital importance for us to understand. We fine that the virgin birth is directly
linked to the divinity of Christ. In
Matthew 1:23 we read… “Behold, a virgin shall be
with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us.”
The virgin birth is one of the strongest evidences
God has given to mankind to prove beyond a doubt that Jesus Christ was not
simply a man, but God come in the flesh.
It is with this spirit of soberness and seriousness that we approach the
historical record that proves to us that Jesus was born of a virgin…
THE PROPHECY:
For a look at the prophecies of the
virgin birth found in the OT, please refer to the previous lesson in this
series.
THE FULFILLMENT:
Matt 1:22-23
In Matt 1:22-23 we find that Jesus is clearly
declared to be the fulfillment of the prophecy found in Isa 7:14… “Now all this was done,
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us.”
In the context of this passage, an angel sent from
God appears to Joseph in a dream. In
this dream the angel is explaining to Joseph that the pregnancy of Mary was not
due to unfaithfulness, but as a result of a miraculous act of God.
What is meant by the term “virgin”? In today’s world, we find many who try to
explain away the virgin birth by saying that the term virgin simply means
“young lady” or “young servant”. The
Greek word that is translated virgin in this passage is CLEARLY used to
describe a young lady who had never had relations with a man a majority of
times in the NT. In a few instances, it
COULD mean “young lady”, but it could also mean “virgin” in these same
passages. So based upon the Greek term for virgin, there
is no reason to undo the “virgin” translation.
But if we remember the context, it dictates that
this word MUST refer to a “lady who has never had relations with a man”. Remember, the angel is making an argument to
Joseph to persuade him not to divorce Mary due to unfaithfulness on her
part. At this point in time Mary is
pregnant. The only possible translation
that makes any sense is the translation “virgin”. If this word simply means “young lady” the
angel is saying that Mary’s pregnancy is a result of her fulfilling an OT
prophecy that said that a young lady will conceive (the implication is that the
conception would be the result of an intimate relationship with a man). If this were the case, the angel would be
making the case for Joseph to divorce Mary.
Following the receipt of the dream Joseph comes to the conclusion that
Mary is innocent of adultery, and therefore, should not be divorced. He could only come to this conclusion if the
angel told him that His espoused wife was pregnant due to a divine miracle, not
a normal intimate relationship with another man.
Also, please remember that the angel links this
miraculous birth to Christ being “Immanuel” or “God with us”. If the Lord was born through a natural union
between a woman and a man, then the assumption would be that Christ is like all
other men born into this world. But,
here, the angel is clearly saying He was God, Himself, born into the midst of
man. How can this be? It is because, through the miracle of the
virgin birth, we have God Himself being conceived in Mary’s womb and coming
forth into this human world.
Luke 1:26-38
In this section of
Scripture, we find the Word declaring that Mary was a virgin at the time of
conception and afterward… “And in the sixth month the
angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name [was] Mary.”
But in this same passage we find Mary, herself,
declaring her virginity in verse 34… “Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” The angel
proceeds to explain to her how a virgin could become pregnant in verse 35… “And the angel answered and
said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of
God.” Once again,
please notice that the virgin birth sets Jesus apart from all other men….
Jesus, and Jesus alone, can be called “The Son of God” or “The One that
proceeds from God” or “One that is born of God”.
In this text we have “all the bases covered”
concerning the virgin birth… we have three clear declarations that cannot be
denied… the Word describes Mary as a virgin; Mary, herself, declares her
virginity; and the angel explains how the virgin birth took place. Based upon these three witnesses (the Word,
Mary, and the Gabriel), we have clear proof beyond doubt that Mary was a virgin. Keep in mind that the Word is clear that “at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall
the matter be established.” (Deut
19:15)
Gal 4:4
In Gal 4:4, we will find
the virgin birth being referenced by the Apostle Paul…. “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law”
Paul is explaining to us four different truths
about Christ that we can learn through His birth…
His conception/birth was a part of God’s sovereign
plan and took place in His timing… “when the fulness of the time was come”; His came from heaven and was sent with a
ministry to fulfill… “God sent forth his Son”; He was conceived without a man’s intervention,
proving He was God Himself… “Made of a woman”;
He was not only God, but man as well…. “Made under the law”.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION:
In our study of the NT record of His
virgin birth we learn much about Jesus ….
1.
He is God Himself, come into this world as a man through the physical
birth process
2.
His virgin birth was proven by the testimony of three witnesses (the Word,
Mary and the angel Gabriel) thus legally establishing the validity of the claim
3.
He is the One that was sent in the timing of His Father’s plan
4.
He proceeded from God, sent on a specific mission
5.
He was God Himself, proven by His virgin birth
6.
He was genuinely man, living under the responsibility to keep all the
laws of God, His Father.
As we come to an understanding of all
the ramifications of His virgin birth, may we all praise and honor Him as God,
Himself, and re-dedicate ourselves to His allegiance.
If there is anyone who has never
trusted in Christ, through these truths of His virgin birth, may you come to a
saving faith in Him….
If you have any questions about
salvation you are welcome to email me at settledinheaven@gmail.com. I’ll be more than happy to answer any
question you may have.
Also, if you look at my blog page “How To Have A
Relationship With God”. On this page,
you will find several blog entries explaining the way of salvation and
important truths about salvation.
Please visit the
“Settled In Heaven Ministries” homepage –
My Main Blog
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may your soul’s salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in
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