INCARNATION RADIO SERIES
THE VIRGIN BIRTH
iif 0x JttaqetJ . ûndaMon
T here is only one starting point in considering the virgin birth of pur Saviour. The place at which our discussion begins is the Word of God. If God has spoken, and He has, then we must find out what He has said and believe what He has declared. If Christ was a mere man, born only of a human mother and father, like our selves, then He was also a member of a sinful fallen race. In essence, He would also need to be saved. How could one sinful man save another? Yes, it is vital and essential to know whether Christ was virgin born. In Matthew 1:16 we find the gen eration of Jesus Christ. Notice the little word “begat” in this section. Then see how suddenly use of it ceases and parenthood changes to the mother in verse 16. This is most sig nificant as Mary is brought into focus. Joseph is -not called the father of Christ. Before the marriage was ever consummated, Mary’s condition was discovered (vs. 18). There was no marital relationship until after Jesus Christ was born (vs. 25). Joseph knew he was not Jesus’ father. He first thought Mary had been unfaithful to him. He was about to put her away. Then God sent His angel to bid Him to marry the virgin. Look at the ex pression in Luke 3:23. The public knew no better but the writer did. He was directed by the Holy Spirit. Other Scripture verifies this great cardinal doctrine. See Gal. 4:4; John 1:1; 1st Tim. 3:16; and others. We do not necessarily use Christ’s miracles as proof of His virgin birth. Elijah and other men were given divine power also. We look at mar velously fulfilled prophecy such as Isa. 7:14. Consider the language of Luke 2 :15, for it was not a vain curiosity which led the shepherds to Bethlehem. This
was an order from heaven to investi gate and to ascertain God’s good news. It is our privilege to accompany these shepherds as well as the later wise men. We, too, behold a striking display of divine truth. Here was God’s chief promise given to man. What a w ande rfu l assurance it brought. It was first given centuries before, after the fall of man into sin (Gen. 3:15). While many years went by before the fulfillment, God always keeps His Word. There are many interesting details of the promise God gave concerning the birth of Christ. The Messiah was to come from a particular nation, Jew ish; a particular tribe, Judah; a par ticular family, David; a particular mother, a virgin. The failure to ful fill any one of these predictive pro nouncements would prove God to be a liar. Every single promise concerning His coming was literally fulfilled to the minutest detail. Such prophecy had been recorded for ages. None of these circumstances were accidental. Joseph and Mary were residing at Nazareth. Judea had been under the Roman dominion. Caesar Augustus wished to know the number and wealth of his own subjects. Had Mary been delivered a few days sooner Christ would have been born else where. The Word of God would have been of none effect. Prophecy would not have been fulfilled. While all of these occurrences may have seemed unusual on the surface, yet they were not so to God. He knows all His works from the beginning. These were living links forming a great and wonderful chain of truth. These promises of God were the pivots upon which everything was turning, the center in which everything was united, the end to which everything was rooted. We shall be considering more of them in our future studies. 5
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter