1119 His miracles, His resurrection and His ascension, harmonize with His super natural birth. If, therefore, Christ was not born of a virgin, or was the natural son of Jos-> eph and Mary, as some scandalously as sert, Matthew and Luke were liars; the angel was a liar; the prophet Isaiah was a liar; Joseph was a liar, for he ac knowledged the testimony of the angel by doing as he was commanded; John was a liar in claiming that Christ came down from heaven; Paul was a liar in asserting that Christ was made in the likeness of men and became of a.woman; the Christian church in all ages has been a liar. For our part we believe that Matthew and Luke, John and Paul, the prophet Isaiah, the angel and the Christian church have better credentials of knowledge and truthfulness than the skeptical theologians, philosophers and scientists who refuse to believe in a God greater than the world of sense and rationalism in which they live and move and have their being. The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ is one of the best attested facts in all his tory, and is itself a bulwark of Christ ian evidence. n . The Setting of the Birth of Christ It has a distinct historical setting. “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman.” (Gal. 4:4). Movements great and small prepared the world for this stupendous event. The Roman power had given access to all ports of the earth, and the Greek language had become a well-nigh perfect medium of communication. Even the decree of Augustus that the world should be taxed brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, that the prophecy of Micah might be fulfilled. Christless civiliza tions, with their laws and letters, arts and military power, had been weighed in the balances and found wanting. A glimpse into Pompeii will show their
THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NESS tied Himself, taking the form of a ser vant, being made in the likeness of men.” (Phil. 2:6). “Being made,” or, as it may be translated, “becoming,” im plies pre-existence, and the process by which He came into the likeness of men. Again, He was “born of the seed of David according to the flesh,” is ren dered by Dr. James Orr, “He became of the seed of David,” also implying pre existence. 2. *ihe angel. The angel said to Jos eph, “Take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” (Matt. 1:20). In Luke’s Gospel the angel says to Mary, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall over shadow' thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke l: 35). This messenger from heaven knew more about the birth of Christ than all critics, ancient and modern; and his tes timony is therefore weighty. 3. The prophet Isaiah. “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.” (Matt. 1:22-23; Isa. 7:14). 4. The Church of Christ from the Apostolic times to the present. Of course there have been those who de nied the Virgin Birth, from the days of Cerinthus, contemporary with the Apostle John, to the days of the Higher Critic and the New Theologian. All who deny the supernatural in Christian ity, of course, deny the supernatural in the birth of Jesus; but they do not now and have never represented the Church of Christ, but only the portion of it that has apostatised from apostolic faith and practice. The claim which some of them make that faith in the‘ Virgin Birth is not essential to Christianity is simply a plea for unbelief in the realm where faith is requisite. The super natural works of Christ, as expressed in
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