August 1924
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
487
and could not rule In Judah, sitting on the throne of David. Admit His virgin birth and everything is simple. Deny His virgin birth and all is confusion and contradiction. The Problem of the Two Genealogies In perfect harmony with this plan Matthew begins with these words: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son (Uios) of David, the son (Uios) of Abraham.” Is it not strange that Matthew never let his pen slip once and called Him the seed (Sperma) of David or Abraham, but always the Son (Uios) of David and Abraham? Matthew gives the genealogy of Joseph because he says “ Jacob begat Joseph.” He could have only one father that begat him. Luke says “Joseph was the son of Heli” (Luke 3 :2 3 ). But this may mean, and certainly does mean here, that he was only the son-in-law. Since he was mar ried to Mary he had a father-in-law, i. e. Mary’s father, whose name was Heli. This solves the problem of these two genealogies. Luke establishes His descent from David through Nathan which is not the line of succession at all. But still this makes Him the seed of David in His humanity as was promised (Psa. 89 :36 ). In Matthew the wise men ask the question, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews” ? (Matt. 2 :2 ). Christ was the only person that was ever born a King. Joseph was still living when He was born, but as we have seen, he could not occupy the throne. But Christ had every right and no bar, so He was born a King. Nathanael was right when he said, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” (John 1 :4 9 ). Be assured that He could not be the King of Israel if He were not the Son of God, born of a virgin. When Pilate asked Him “Art thou the King of the Jews” ? (Luke 2 3 :3 ), He answered “ Thou sayest it.” Since Luke gives His genealogy from Mary declaring His humanity, we would expect His introduction to be dif ferent, and so it is. “And, lo, the angel said unto them, Fear not; for behold, I bring yon good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2 :1 0 ,1 1 ). In Matthew, He is pre-eminently the Son of David, and King of the Jews, and His ministry is to that people. Mat thew calls Him “ the Son of David” eight times, and it is as Son of David that He says, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” (Matt. 15 :24 ). He must first offer Himself to God’s chosen people and this He does in person and through His disciples. (Matt. 10:5, 6). In Luke, He is the Seed of David, born of the Virgin Mary and therefore a Saviour to all people. This is the line of Paul’s ministry. After His complete rejection by the nation of Israel, Paul is called to proclaim the grace of God without distinction to sinners, whether Jews or Gen tiles. (Rom. 3 :22 ; Gal. 1 :1 1 ). Paul never speaks of Christ as the Son of David because he is not presenting him as the King; but refers to Him as the Seed of David, because he is proclaiming Him as the Saviour. (Rom. 1 :3 ; 2 Tim. 2 :8 ). But Paul also again and again proclaims the Deity of Christ and preaches the necessity of His virgin birth. Strange that any one would contend that Paul never taught the virgin birth, when his whole plan of redemption requires it and he implies it every where. III. The Last Adam: According to Paul’s gospel, all mankind sinned in Adam, (Rom. 5 :1 2 ; Cor. 15: 22). Adam was the federal head of the race and when he fell the whole race fell with him. Adam was also the natural head of the race and every one
descending from him by natural generation has partaken of his sinful nature. (Rom. 5:18, 19; Eph. 2:3, etc). There fore, the apostle teaches that if we are ever to be saved there must come someone into our race that, while truly a man, has not descended by natural generation from Adam, and therefore has not inherited Adam’s guilt and sinful nature. To be a substitute for us, He must be a real man; but to be an adequate substitute He must be “ holy, harm less, undefiled and separate from sinners.” (Heb. 7 :2 6 ). How often does the Apostle refer to our Lord in this aspect of His unique personality. “The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam a quickening Spirit. The first man is of the earth, •earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.” 1 Cor. 15:45, 47. Does not this teach His Deity? How could He be Deity if He was the natural seed of Joseph? “What the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and as an offering for sin, condemned sin in the flesh,” etc. Rom. 8 :3 . Does not this teach the pre-existence of Christ before He came into this world? Does it not also teach that He did not inherit our sinful nature, since He did not have sinful flesh? How could this be if He was born like any other man with a human father? “But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Gal. 4 :45. Here we have His pre-existence as the eternal Son and His sinlessness in His Humanity; for how could He pay our debts if He were not sinless? And how could He be sinless if he was an ordinary man like ourselves with a human father; or worse than that, according to the opposers of His virgin birth, the illegitimate child of an impure woman? “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Heb. 2 ; 9. Here we see Him who was higher than the heavens, made lower than the angels, i. e., He became a man in order that He might die in our stead and save us. (Heb. 2:16, 17; 2 Cor. 5 :2 1 ). Such Scriptures could be greatly multiplied. See Phil. 2 :5 -8 ; 1 Tim. 3 :16 ; Rom. 1:3 etc., etc. Three things are established by these Scriptures: 1. That Christ was God the Son from eternity, and apart from His birth of the virgin Mary. 2. That He was truly (a) man, without partaking of our sinful nature, and therefore without descending by natural generation from Adam. 3. That He must have these qualities in order to save us. If such is not the case, we Christians have no more of a Saviour than Buddhists or.,Mohammedans; and all the millions of the saints that have died with the comforting assurance of being absent from the body and present with “ the Lord that bought them,” have been deceived. My last word is, if belief in the Virgin Birth is a delusion, God give us more of it; bathe us in it; overwhelm us with it! (* ) N o te 1 : The word “ sperma” is not, of course, the word used in the original Hebrew of Gen. 3:16 and Jer. 22:30; but it is the word used in the Septuagint (Greek) translation, and is the o n ly word that gives the Greek meaning of the Hebrew word. <**) N o te 2 : A fter Jeconiah (or Jehoiachin) was carried to Babylon, Zedekiah, his uncle, was placed on the throne by Nebuchad nezzar and reigned eleven years, but he was not in the true line of succession and all his children were slain, so he could have no successors. It is therefore, correct to say that Jecon iah was the last king of Judah in the royal succession. Prom him the Jews dated their captivity (2 K ings 24:17, 18; Hzek. 1:2; 33:21, Also Jer. 52:10).
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