Fundamentals - Virgin Birth
Fundamentals of the Faith • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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TEXT: Luke 1:34-35
This was one of the most-discussed doctrines in 20th-century American evangelicalism, especially in its fundamentalist context. Fundamentalism itself was a response to the skepticism engendered by the rise of historical-critical scholarship coming out of Europe. Many leading Christian scholars were doubting not merely six-day creationism but also classic Christian doctrines like Jesus’ bodily resurrection and his virgin birth, that is, the miraculous in general.
The core fundamentals of the faith as outlined by other writers and organizations of that era were numbered in various configurations, but all seemed to include these beliefs:
The divine inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture,
The deity of Jesus Christ,
The miraculous stories in the Bible, including six-day creation,
The virgin birth of Christ,
Christ’s substitutionary atonement on the cross,
Christ’s literal, bodily resurrection
Christ’s bodily return
For the fundamentalists, the Virgin Birth is a consequence of belief in inerrancy, Christ’s deity, and the belief in the miraculous. This is one large reason why it was singled it out for defense. A lot depended on this doctrine.
Stated simply the Virgin Birth is the statement that Jesus had no earthly father. Rather he was conceived of the Holy Ghost in the womb of a woman that new no man.
Why do we hold to the Virgin Birth:
There are three major ideas that Christian doctrine generally attributes to the virgin birth:
To demonstrate the purity of Jesus from the effects of Original Sin.
Jesus did not have a human father and therefore God was his father.
In fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14.
Conflict:
The main lines of liberal argument against it were:
Paul never mentions it...
They way that the liberal says it… Paul was “unaware of it”.
Matthew and Luke misunderstood Isaiah...
Matthew and Luke were using a faulty translation (the Septuagint) of Isaiah 7:14, which in the original Hebrew did not predict that a “virgin” would conceive a coming messiah, but only a “young woman” would. Thus they either made up the story or shaped it according to their misunderstanding.
The Virgin Birth is a Trope of pagan beliefs...
It imitates pagan and Jewish myths that credit virginal conception to spiritual heroes. This is the idea that the virgin birth was tacked on to the end of the Story of Jesus after the fact. By early Christian teachers.
4. The Body only reproduces by intercourse...
It’s not possible for a human being to be conceived outside of intercourse between a man and a woman, and that’s the only way God providentially designed humans to be fruitful and multiply. To state this question another way… “Where did mary get the Y chromosome?”
5. John was “unaware” of Virgin Birth and even promoted an illegitimate birth...
Some say that Jesus made up the virgin birth himself. That he was upset with his birth because he was illegitimate with Mary and a Roman soldier. In John they said he was a Samaritan a half breed Jew.
Perversions:
Sadly, it is evident that History has perverted the teaching of Virgin Birth...
It is this idea that Sin cannot be passed down by any other means that a father that became a point of conflict in Early Christian History. Some acknowledge that sin was connected to birth from a woman.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity;
And in sin did my mother conceive me.
How then can man be justified with God?
Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?
Ignoring that this is not a way for the Bible to say how sin was passed on but rather a way of saying all humanity for all time.
From this mis interpretation springs Mariolatry.
Mary was also born of a virgin
Mary also was without sin in her person.
So as to keep Jesus clean the Catholic church cleaned up Mary and in so doing venerated her to be worshipped as well. Ignoring the fact that Scripture treats her any other sinner.
Biblical Teaching:
The angel Gabriel visits the Virgin Mary to bring her the news that she would be the mother of the Messiah. Notice Mary’s Question:
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Gabriel’s reply indicates the miraculous nature of the conception:
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.
The angel points not to any human act but to the Holy Spirit and the power of God as the agency of Jesus’ birth. Jesus would properly be called the Son of God.
Gabriel later repeats the news to Joseph, betrothed to be married to Mary:
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Joseph needed this information because,
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Accepting God’s word on the matter, Joseph proceeded to take Mary as his wife, but she remained a virgin until after Jesus was born:
And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
Luke mentions that Jesus was “the son (as was supposed) of Joseph”
And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
Matthew carefully avoids calling Joseph the father of Jesus;
And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Notice the Apostle Paul takes the same careful tack:
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
This flies in the face of those that think Paul was ignorant of our Savior’s Miraculous birth.
The virgin birth of Jesus Christ was predicted in the Old Testament:
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
And shall call his name Immanuel.
There is manufactured controversy here...
Matthew and Luke used a faulty Greek translation of the Hebrew. Which states only “a young maid”
The Hebrew word in Isaiah 7:14 is “almah,” and its inherent meaning is “young woman.” “Almah” can mean “virgin,” as young unmarried women in ancient Hebrew culture were assumed to be virgins. Again, though, the word does not necessarily imply virginity. “Almah” occurs seven times in the Hebrew Scriptures (Genesis 24:43; Exodus 2:8; Psalm 68:25; Proverbs 30:19; Song of Solomon 1:3; 6:8; Isaiah 7:14). None of these instances demands the meaning “virgin,” but neither do they deny the possible meaning of “virgin.”
Notice that Matthew and Luke don’t rely solely on the prophesy but rather line it up with the announcement of Gabriel...
Also note that Isaiah’s point is that something supernatural is coming as a sign. Remember that sign’s were miraculous events. I don’t know if you connect the dots here but young maids getting pregnant is a product of biology. Virgins giving birth is a product of Miracle.
Moses prophesied this as well:
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.
The argument of Preexistence...
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
And the government shall be upon his shoulder:
And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
The Bible teaches the preexistence of the eternal Son of God. In Isaiah 9:6, the child who is “born” is also the son who is “given.”
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The virgin birth is important because that was the means by which “the Word was made flesh” (John 1:14). The incarnation is when the eternal Son of God took on human flesh; without losing any of His divine nature, He added a human nature. That miraculous, history-changing event took place in the Virgin Mary’s womb.
Impossible made possible
Notice that Jesus was not mirroring the ancient Gods’ but rather since antiquity has been demonstrating his coming through Scripture. God was not drawing on Mythology he was drawing on his own revelation.
Sarah was past years
Rebecca was barren
Rachel was barren
Samson’s Mother
Hannah
Elizabeth was past years
According to Got Questions ministries.
In the virgin birth, the immaterial (the Spirit) and the material (Mary’s womb) were both involved. Just as, at creation, “the earth was formless and empty” and dark (Genesis 1:2), Mary’s womb was an empty, barren place. And just as, at creation, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2), the Spirit of God came upon Mary (Luke 1:35). Only God can make something out of nothing; only God could perform the miracles of creation, the incarnation, and the virgin birth.
The virgin birth is important in that it preserves the truth that Jesus is fully God and fully man at the same time. His physical body He received from Mary. But His eternal, holy nature was His from all eternity past (see John 6:69). Joseph the carpenter did not pass on his sinful nature to Jesus for the simple reason that Joseph was not the father. Jesus had no sin nature (Hebrews 7:26).
Unsurprisingly, Jesus’ enemies among His contemporaries denied His virgin birth. They went so far as to publicly accuse Jesus of being a Samaritan, i.e., a person of mixed race (John 8:48). Those today who would deny the virgin birth contradict the clear teaching of Scripture, call into question other miracles recorded in the Bible, and open the door to a denial of Christ’s full deity or His full humanity.
One more concern:
What of John 8.41
Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Context bears out that this was a defence of opponents of Jesus when Jesus was teaching that they were of the devil not of God. Their attack was one of Jesus’ legitimacy as a Jew. They will call him a Samaritan to point out that they think he is a half breed.
The reason that John or Paul for that matter didn’t or the early church writers.
because it was not controversial. There was no reason to argue for it because no one doubted it.
question:::
In short, the question raised by the early rumor of Jesus’ illegitimate birth is this: Is the virgin birth story a fiction meant to cover-up the sordid details of Jesus’ illegitimate birth, or is the rumor of an illegitimate birth a slander meant to discredit Jesus as Messiah and as Son of God?
This is the nature of this Fundamental. To help us place Christ where he ought to be. To remember that you are not worshipping some small town man from Galilee. You worship the timeless Son of God who surrendered himself to plan of his Father the God of Heaven. To be born of a virgin, to be doubted, to be mocked, to be shamed, to be accused, to be Crucified. And to the pleasure of his father is exalted today...
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/december-web-only/virgin-birth-whats-problem-exactly.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/virgin-birth.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/virgin-or-young-woman.html