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May 11th | Week 3

The Miracle & Meaning of the Virgin Birth

What do Christians really believe about the virgin birth—and why does it matter? In this message, we explore the powerful truth behind the phrase in the Apostles’ Creed: “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.” Some claim the virgin birth is just a misunderstanding of prophecy or a borrowed myth—but the Bible tells a different story. We’ll look at what Scripture teaches, why the virgin birth is essential to the gospel, and how it reveals both the sinlessness and humanity of Jesus. Most of all, we’ll see how this doctrine should shape how we follow Christ with surrendered hearts and incarnational love.

Notes

What do I really know about what Christians believe?

Creeds are not replacements for Scripture—they’re faithful reflections of it. Creeds were created to help guard the gospel, articulate truth, and pass the faith from generation to generation.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary

ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE VIRGIN BIRTH

Argument One: The Isaiah Prophecy

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.

Almah: damsel, maid, virgin

Old Testament Usage of Almah

Almah (Hebrew) was translated as Parthenos (Greek) in the Septuagint.
Parthenos: a woman who has never had sexual relations

Argument Two: Christianity Copied Pagan Myths

If you remove the supernatural, you don’t get a more reasonable Christianity—you get no Christianity at all.


WHY THE DOCTRINE OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH MATTERS:

1. The Gospels Clearly Teach It

Luke 1:26-35

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus….” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

Luke 1:3

I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,


Why We Can Trust The Bible Message

2. The Virgin Birth Preserves The Sinlessness Of Christ

Hebrews 4:15

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.

Psalm 51:5

Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

All those born after Adam were born in sin and cannot escape the guilt and punishment that sin earns- apart from the freedom found in Christ.

By the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus entered the human race without inheriting its corruption.

3. The Virgin Birth Confirms Jesus’s True Identity: Fully God, Fully Man.

The virgin birth uniquely secures both truths:

Jesus was fully human, born of Mary, and fully divine, conceived by the Holy Spirit.

It is Biblically wrong to think of Jesus as merely God or merely man. It is wrong to think of Him as half God and half man (or any other percentage split). It is wrong to think of Him as “man on the outside” and “God on the inside.” The Bible teaches Jesus is fully God and fully man, that a human nature was added to His divine nature, and both natures existed in one Person, Jesus Christ. - Guzik

The gospel isn’t the gospel without God himself entering into our condition, becoming like us in every way (except sin), in order to save us. 

1 John 4:2-3

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist

 

Why Jesus’s Humanity Matters:

A. Jesus had to be fully human to redeem us.

B. We have a God who can relate to us.

Hebrews 2:17-18 

For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus doesn’t just sympathize from afar—He empathizes from experience.

In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who is immune to it?  - Stott 

How the doctrine of the virgin birth goes from a truth we know to a truth we trust:

1. Pray for a heart like Mary’s - Surrendered.

Luke 1:38

Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.

2. Imitate the Incarnate Christ - Enter Someone’s World.

Philippians 2:4-8

not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!