The Virgin Birth - The Miracle of Christmas

Contrary to much popular lore, “The Miracle of Christmas” is not food for the hungry, or shelter for the homeless (though, of course, those are indeed wonderful things). “The Miracle of Christmas” is the Virgin Birth—better yet, “The Virginal Conception”—of Christ.

It is through the Virginal Conception that God became man while remaining fully God. Without the shedding of blood is no remission of sin. This is the blood of the eternal Son of God. Pastors are “to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood?” (Acts 20:28).

The first proclamation of the Gospel hints at the Virginal Conception. God said to the serpent, “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” (Gen. 3:15).

Whenever Scripture speaks of descendants as “seed” it speaks of the male’s seed, i.e., “the seed of Abraham” (Gen. 17:7). It is “Abraham’s seed,”not “the seed of Sarah.” It is “David’s seed,” not “the seed of Bathsheba.” But Genesis 3:15 speaks of “her seed.” Here is a wonderful intimation that the woman’s seed would be virgin born.

Perhaps the central passage presenting this subject is Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a Virgin [Heb.: almah] shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

There has been needless confusion over the word “Virgin.” Is this really a virgin, or is it just a young women who is of the age of marriage?

Normally, a young woman who is of the age of marriage would be a virgin in ancient Israel. However, comparing Scripture with Scripture removes all doubt. In Genesis 24:43 we read of Rebekah: “Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin [almah] cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink…”

In verse 16 of chapter 24 this virgin is described as “a virgin, neither had any man known her.” Jesus was virgin conceived. It was done by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20 makes it clear: “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.”

There are two unfortunate trends regarding Christmas. There is an effort to secularize it; and there is an effort to mythologize it. The former is seen in the mad-cap spending and wild parties. The latter is seen in ecclesiastical leaders who tell us that the virgin birth never really happened. “But,” they tell us, “it is nevertheless true in the collective consciousness of mankind.”

Such intellectual gobbleydegook will only be accepted by those whose minds are blinded by their belief that they are the final arbiter of truth.

From the Eagle Newsletter