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“Behold! The Virgin Shall Conceive!”
Categories: Eric HallIsaiah 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.
The virgin birth of Jesus has long been a source of debate. Some reject it outright, others downplay its significance, while others view it as important but oddly disconnected from all else that we know about Jesus. Each of those views is wrong.
The virgin birth of Christ is central to the deity of Christ. We know that Jesus is both man and God. Not half man and half God, or man some of the time and God some of the time. Jesus is both man and God — 100% man and 100% God.
How can that be explained? The only answer is the virgin birth. The only answer is that Mary was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). The only answer is that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman” (Galatians 4:4). Christ’s deity demands Christ’s virgin birth.
The virgin birth explains the significance of the name Immanuel — God with us (Matthew 1:23). The virgin birth explains how Jesus is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16). The virgin birth explains Jesus’ statement that “before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). The virgin birth explains how Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” by whom “all things were created, in heaven and on earth” (Colossians 1:15-16). The virgin birth explains how “there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). None of these things can be explained or understood apart from the virgin birth.
The virgin birth of Christ was prophesied in Isaiah 7, it happened in Matthew 1, and the attributes and work of Christ absolutely and fundamentally require his virgin birth. Let’s proclaim the virgin birth, and let’s thank God for the virgin birth!
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
