Published / updated: 09 December 2006 | Author: Dele Oke

The virgin birth

Matthew chapter 1 - 2, Luke chapter 1 - 2

Mary was privileged to be trusted with bringing up our Lord Jesus Christ. She was the only person who was present at His birth and death.

Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (NKJV)

Prophecy had made reference to the virgin birth. Jesus was to have been born by a virgin. It need not have been Mary, but God found a willing vessel in her.

When Mary was found with child, Joseph, who was already engaged to her, planned to end the affair privately. In those days engagement was as good as marriage. Mary would have been treated as an adulterer.

We all know the story. God sent the angelic forces into action. A brisk visit from an angel during his sleep was enough to convince Joseph of the divine nature of his wife's pregnancy.

The virgin birth presents us with three vital truths

1. God loves us

God loves us so much He took on human flesh (John 1:14). The name Immanuel means God with us. Why else would God, the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the almighty God, everlasting Father and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) take on human flesh? His love enabled Him. He, who knows no limit, limited Himself to the human body. It is no miracle that God almighty could take on and live within human flesh. That is well within His ability. However, it is of great significance that God would bother to live in human flesh. What a gracious loving Father we serve.

He eat our food, spoke our language and lived among us. He was subject to the laws of the earth. God was tempted in every way as we are yet was without sin.

Only heaven will reveal the full extend of Christ's suffering for us. He who made the universe constrained Himself to human flesh because of us. The virgin birth was God putting on human flesh. It speaks volumes about God's love for us.

2. Fellowship.

The virgin birth allowed God to live in human flesh (1 Timothy 2:16).

Of course God did not need to become man in order to appreciate our weaknesses. But in becoming a man, mankind finds it possible to comprehend the fact that God cares about us, loves us, and understands exactly what we are going through. Fellowship with God is possible as a result of the virgin birth.

No other religion can claim such a powerful truth. Then Christianity is more than a religion. The virgin birth saw to that. The virgin birth brought man to God and started a whole new relationship.

Now we know that not only does He love us but He has also cherishes to have fellowship with us.

3. Reconciliation with God

If Christ were not born via a virgin the cross would have not been possible. Indeed there would have been no Christ in human flesh to shed his blood on the cross for us. God could not have come out of the sky and straight to the cross. The blood of Christ washes away our sins and allows us to be reconciled to God

Reconciliation between God and man would not have been possible if not for the virgin birth. Christ was our Passover lamb. All God's judgement passes over us once were appropriate the blood of Christ.

Thank God for the virgin birth.