04 - The Explanation as Set Forth in the Scriptures
Chapter Four THE EXPLANATION AS SET FORTH IN THE SCRIPTURES
OUTLINE I. THE OLD TESTAMENT
1. The Creation of Man 2. The Fall of Man 3. The Promised Messiah 4. The Messianic Concept of Israel 5. The Voice of the Prophets II. THE NEW TESTAMENT
1. Introductory 2. The Gospels 3. The Acts of the Apostles 4. The Epistles of Paul 5. The General Epistles 6. The Book of Revelation III. SUMMARY OF THE TEACHINGS OF THE SCRIPTURES
1. The Son of Man 2. The Eternal Son of GOD Becomes the Son of Man by Means of the Virgin Birth We should make the general statement and say that there is not one single, direct or indirect, suggestion anywhere in the Bible that can be used as a contradiction to the doctrine of the Virgin Birth.
Both Testaments, the Old and the New, and every book in the Old and the New, are written upon the assumption that GOD would come or had come in the person of His only Son, JESUS
CHRIST.
Every doctrine, reference and illusion in the Bible confirm and reaffirm the doctrine as set forth by Matthew and Luke that JESUS was conceived by the HOLY SPIRIT and born of a virgin. No other suggestion is made in the Bible other than the Virgin Birth.
J. THE OLD TESTAMENT The Virgin Birth did not happen just incidentally as a parenthesis in the whole sentence of revelation. It is the whole reason for revelation. We can see the foundation and the roots of the matter by a few brief observations from the Old Testament.
1. The Creation of Man Man is creation’s crown and goal. Looking forward from the last stage prior to man, we should expect man to appear. Science and Scripture agree in placing man at the end of the series of gradations in nature. All the lower stages precede man in the account of Genesis. Man was not an afterthought, but a forethought of GOD. In man creation attains a moral and spiritual level.
Thus, we are warranted in making the following assertions about man: (1) Man consists of a physical and spiritual part, body and soul (2) Man is the connecting link between the physical and the spiritual universe (3) The spiritual nature of man is sometimes referred to in the Scriptures as both “soul” and “spirit” (4) The biblical account makes it entirely clear that man was created by GOD in the divine image a. Man resembles GOD in his possession of a rational nature b. Man is like GOD in that he has a moral nature c. Man resembles GOD also in the possession of an emotional nature d. Man is made in GOD’s image in his possession of will e. The divine image in man appears in his original freedom from sin and inclination to righteousness f. Another mark of the divine image in man is the dominion over the lower orders of creation, given him by GOD g. Immortality is a further mark of the divine image in Man 2. The Fall of Man “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Genesis 3:6) Sin here was the perversion of the good: the desire for food, the craving for knowledge, and the love of the beautiful. As we have seen, GOD created man in His image as a free, moral, and intelligent being. He had capacity for independent action in the exercise of his freedom. The capacity for sinning was an element in his freedom. The actual commission of sin was not necessary to freedom, but the ability to make an evil choice was necessary. The alternatives were:(1) To create man without the capacity for discerning good and evil, which would have left him on the level of the lower animals, with instinct merely as his guide. (2) To create him with capacity for moral and spiritual discernment, but with no capacity for evil choices, which would have been enforced righteousness. This would have left him without real freedom and responsibility.
Moral freedom is the mark of man’s elevation in the scale of being. Sin and the fall were not made necessary, but they were made possible. A universe in which they were possible was better than a merely mechanical universe in which free action of the creature had no place. Only in such a universe could a moral kingdom arise, possessing the highest manifestations of GOD’s grace and human attainment.
Sin and the fall afforded an opportunity for GOD and for man. For GOD in that His grace alone could meet the situation. Through sin and the fall the depth of the riches and glory of the divine nature became manifest. The fall afforded man an opportunity to respond freely to the call of GOD, and to yield to His grace. It is now possible for him to choose freely the divine righteousness which would entitle him to an eternal reward.
3. The Promised Messiah As soon as man sinned, there was a gleam of light that broke through the clouds in the form of a promise to the woman - a promise that has its fulfillment only in CHRIST. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
Notice here that Satan was cursed, but not Adam and Eve; for they were candidates for restoration - restoration to be effected through a Mediator who should unite in Himself both the human nature and the divine in order that He might reconcile GOD to man and man to GOD.
Three things are here given concerning CHRIST: (1) His Incarnation (2) His sufferings and death (3) His victory over death 4. The Messianic Concept of Israel A fact of history that will forever challenge the student of ancient religion is the Messianic expectation of the Jewish people just prior to the first century of our era. The Jewish concept of the Messiah was one who would come as a deliverer to free the nation from the yoke of foreign domination, establish a universal kingdom with the throne of David as the seat of government.
5. The Voice of the ProphetsThe prophetic stream that carried this expectation throughout the Old Testament must be reckoned with in any intelligent study of the history of religion or of the history of Israel.
Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.”
II. THE NEW TESTAMENT
1. Introductory We can never understand the book called the New Testament until we appreciate a few common facts which serve as principles of interpretation. Some of the facts are: (1) GOD SPEAKS. In the New Testament, GOD is revealing Himself, His plan, and His program. To do this, GOD must speak. (2) GOD SPEAKS THROUGH MEN. Every revelation from GOD found in the New Testament has an actual historical context growing out of a historical occasion. GOD speaks only through life. (3) GOD NEVER ACTS WITHOUT A REASON, WITHOUT A CAUSE OR WITHOUT AN OCCASION. “In the fulness of time” GOD sent forth His Son. Likewise, in the fulness of time, came the New Testament. (4) THE MESSAGE OF THE LIVING CHRIST CREATED THE OCCASION AND DEMAND FOR THE WRITING OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. CHRIST had fulfilled His earthly mission and had been back in Heaven for twenty years before the first line of the New Testament was ever written. When the proper circumstances arose in life which could be used to illustrate and interpret the plan of GOD for the ages, the HOLY SPIRIT capitalized upon these events and miraculously inspired men to record and preserve them. Thus, the Bible is not a dead book written in a mechanical vacuum, but a book of life from life and for life. This makes divine inspiration mean something. It means that GOD was working behind, in and through history to make Himself known. But GOD can make Himself known only as a man responds and receives. Therefore, when GOD received the proper response from the stream of history He was working upon, it was then and there recorded and preserved and given to the world. A brief outline and arrangement of the New Testament is here given to illustrate the WHY of the writing of the various books of the New Testament. (1) The Writings of an Expanding Gospel What was done during the ministry of CHRIST on the earth was a matter of oral repetition until the necessity came for an accurate record of the life and teachings of this man that had extended throughout the known world. Therefore, we have such books as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John written to meet this demand. It appears that several uninspired written accounts were being circulated at this time. “Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed” (Luke 1:1-4). (2) The Writings of a Growing and Thriving Church The story of the Gospel referred to above resulted in the establishment of various churches over the country. The experiences of these churches soon demanded divine orders as to why, where, when and what with their affairs. Therefore, we have such books as I and II Thessalonians, I and II Corinthians to the churches and the books of Timothy and Titus to the ministers of the churches.
GOD, sin, temptation and the devil never change. Christian churches face the same problems today as the churches at Thessalonica and Corinth faced. GOD’s ministers face the same problems as Timothy and Titus faced. The Christian message has the same opposition today as that faced in Hebrews and Colossians. (3) The Writings of Theology As we noted above, the oral teachings demanded the Gospels. The Gospels produced churches. The churches produced a theology. Therefore, such books as Romans, Galatians and Ephesians were produced to explain the theology of the church. (4) The Writings of Controversial Teachings As to be expected, this new message from the churches as mentioned above produced a controversy when it clashed with opposing systems such as Mysticism, Gnosticism and Judaism.
Therefore, a need for teachings to help the Christian believers in this controversy arose. We have Hebrews, Colossians, I, II and III John. (5) The Writings of the Persecutions It will be noted that we have now passed from oral speaking to the recorded Gospels, to the instruction to the churches, to the expression of their theology and their writings on the controversial systems, and this leads inevitably to outward clash and open persecution. Thus, we have the writings of Jude, I and II Peter, and the book of Revelation all written about, for and to the persecuted follower of CHRIST. In the book of Revelation, we have the beast which is false government and the false prophet which is false religion, and Satan which is the devil. The devil, false religion and false government constituted the opposition in John’s day, and these three factors constitute the opposition in our day. The New Testament is the result of the divine Spirit of GOD recording actual history as He revealed His will and way. Under the above five headings every book of the New Testament falls. When they are read and studied in the light of this background and development, immediately the New Testament becomes alive. The situations and experiences of the New Testament were actual and historical events as recorded, but they can also represent the universal experiences of the human race around the world.
Therefore, as we read the sacred pages of the New Testament, let us not assume that we are reading fiction which was recorded in a mechanical vacuum centuries ago, but let us realize that its messages are alive and as fresh as the morning dew and we can find our own selves in every page.
2. The Gospels GOD inspired each of the Gospel writers to record for a specific need. Therefore, we have the Roman Mark, the Jewish Matthew and the Greek Luke viewing the same truths from different angles and recording them according to the needs of their subjects. (1) Matthew Matthew, or Levi, left his office of publican, or tax collector (Matthew 9:9), and became the disciple of JESUS. The material of his Gospel is put down in a very systematic way, but there is no attempt to arrange it in chronological order. He lays great stress on the Kingdom of CHRIST, and gives us much that is official and organic in connection with it. It is clear from the sixty-five Old Testament prophecies quoted by him, and by his constant use of terms appreciated by them (such as “Holy City,” “Son of David” and “City of the Great King”), that he wrote especially for the Jewish readers. In addressing himself primarily to the Jews, Matthew’s purpose is to prove to the unbelieving Jews that JESUS was the MESSIAH long foretold in Hebrew prophecy. Matthew is more Jewish than any of the Gospel writers. He writes a source book of recorded promises which have been brought to pass in the life of JESUS. Twelve times he cites proof from the Scriptures with the same explanation, “That it might be fulfilled” as it was spoken through the prophets. Therefore, when Matthew mentions the Virgin Birth, he not only emphasizes the miracle of Mary being conceived of the HOLY GHOST, but his main emphasis is to trace JESUS back to David and Abraham through whom the Jews expected the Messiah to come. (2) Mark The author was not one of the apostles of JESUS, but was probably a convert of Peter (1 Peter 5:13) and a companion of Paul (Acts 13:5; Acts 13:12; Acts 13:25; 2 Timothy 4:11), and was with Peter when he wrote his first Epistle (1 Peter 5:13). He wrote a Gospel of great vividness and detail and gave special emphasis to the activity and energy of JESUS. He magnifies CHRIST’s power over devils and sees Him as the one who works wonders. He evidently wrote to non-Jewish readers and seems to have made a special appeal to the Romans.
Mark does not directly spell out the method of the Incarnation of JESUS, but on every page he pictures JESUS as being the supernatural Son of GOD. Mark’s Gospel is all focused on the needs of the Romans to whom he evidently addresses himself. (3) Luke Luke was not a personal disciple of JESUS while he was on earth. He was a physician (Colossians 4:14) and first appears as a companion of Paul in Acts 16:10 and other “We” sections of Acts. His Gospel is filled with much that has to do with prayer and song and praise. It gives a prominent place to woman, and shows special attention to the poor and outcast. It is clearly intended for the Gentiles, and more particularly, for the Greeks who would be attracted by both its beauty and its universality.
Luke has not only written the longest Gospel, but he also wrote the book of Acts which means he wrote two-sevenths of all the New Testament. His purposes, sources, methods and characteristics are all clear. His purposes are multiple. In his preface he states that he is writing in order that the truth concerning JESUS might be confirmed. He is our greatest Christian historian. The infancy stories of Luke stand out because of their unusual insight and written style. Luke has written the most complete Gospel about both the life and the teachings of CHRIST - THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD. Every generation throughout the ages must always accredit Luke with the greatest story ever told, and I can do no better than let him speak here.
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them” (Luke 2:1-20).(4) John John was one of the first five disciples of JESUS (John 1:35-51). He became an apostle (Matthew 10:2) and was called the disciple “whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23). His writing is characterized by parallelisms, repetition, sameness and simplicity. He made much of the Jewish feasts and the events connected with JESUS’ visits to them. His purpose was to prove the deity of JESUS and to lead men to salvation by faith in Him. His method was to introduce worthy testimony concerning CHRIST and to show the blessings of belief in Him. He wrote a spiritual Gospel for all.
John was the last of the four Gospel writers to record his material and his is the most universal Gospel. He does not address himself primarily to the Romans, Jews or Greeks, but to the whole world. He says, “These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31). Again, he said in John 1:14, “We beheld his glory.” The burden of John’s message is that the Son of GOD had become flesh. Therefore, He could actually be seen, heard and touched by men who lived with Him upon the earth. No book in the Bible lays greater stress upon the plain testimony of the senses than does John. He claims to be an eyewitness of the incarnate Word and upon that claim he bases his faith.
John’s Gospel does not begin with details as does Luke’s, but begins with a summary of the facts which are necessary to the incarnate life of the Eternal Son of GOD. It would seem that since Luke and Matthew’s writings have already been read before John speaks. Instead of rehashing what they have already said, he goes beyond and gives supplementary information which has always satisfied every man of faith. John’s Gospel certainly repudiates any theory of “Adoptionism” or “Progressive Incarnation.”
3. The Acts of the Apostles As we mentioned above, Luke who told the “greatest story ever told” concerning the Virgin Birth in his Gospel also wrote the book of Acts. Therefore, the detailed account of the Virgin Birth is not mentioned in Acts. Why should it be? After all, people do not like to hear a preacher preach the same sermon all the time, even if it is on the Virgin Birth. The burden of the book of Acts is to present JESUS to a heathen world as the only Saviour of mankind.
4. The Epistles of Paul The critics of the Virgin Birth continue to remind us that Paul never spelled out the details and methods of the Virgin Birth. But they usually omit what he did say, such as, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law” (Galatians 4:4-5 a); and “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power” (Romans 1:4-5 a). When we compare these scriptures with the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke, we see how they supplement and harmonize with each other.While we concede that Paul did not spell out the methods of the Incarnation or the Virgin Birth, it is clear throughout his teachings that he regarded CHRIST as no mere product of what had gone before Him. But rather, Paul regarded CHRIST as an entirely new beginning in humanity, the second Adam, the founder of a new race. Could such a person have been produced by mere human beings who had gone before? Certainly not. Every page of Paul’s writings reflect the fact that Paul believed implicitly and profoundly in the Virgin Birth of JESUS CHRIST. The fact is that the Virgin Birth was so universally accepted that Paul felt it needed no defense.
5. The General Epistles “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow” (1 Peter 1:11).
“Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:20). The question of the Deity of CHRIST in the New Testament does not depend upon the meaning of one particular word or passage in the text as much as it does the whole spiritual attitude that the New Testament takes toward JESUS.
We must remember that the writers of the New Testament were strictly Jews. Uncompromising monotheism had been taught and ground into their thinking from their earliest days. It was part of their national and religious atmosphere in which they were born and bred.
Yet, their whole attitude toward CHRIST is one that could not be described by any other term than “CHRIST is divine.”
They worshiped, trusted and served Him as men can only worship, trust and serve a GOD. And what is true of them is true of thousands of men and women in every generation, from the New Testament age down to the present age. Millions will continue going on doing so.
CHRIST is the object of faith in the New Testament. This is true in every one of the books from the synoptic Gospels on to the book of Revelation.
6. The Book of Revelation The critics keep yelling at us that the Virgin Birth is not mentioned in the Book of Revelation, but they fail to remember that the Book of Revelation is not written to establish any new truths, but rather is a source of encouragement and comfort to those who believe in JESUS with all their hearts, including belief in the Virgin Birth. The Book of Revelation is a great drama giving the story of the conflict between the sovereignty of GOD and the sovereignty of Satan. The thoughts of the birth and infancy of JESUS are all absorbed in Revelation with the vision of His heavenly glory. Praises concerning CHRIST pass upward from point to point until He is identified with the Godhead and fills a divine place. His power is far superior to angels. Omnipotence and omniscience and eternity are ascribed to Him. He is the “Divine One” whose conquest of the grave gave Him the “keys of death and hell. He is the source and end of all existing things. He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Praises of His divine Sonship and personality echo throughout the book. The Virgin Birth is not the topic in the Book of Revelation. In the book of Revelation John records his vision of the glorified CHRIST in the first chapter (Revelation 1:10-20). He appears in His majesty and power. His feet that had been pierced are now feet of burnished brass. The strength of the sun is in His countenance. He holds the messengers of the churches in His hands and walks in majesty among the churches. A sharp, two-edged sword proceeds out of His mouth. The Son of GOD goes forth to war. The Book of Revelation gives us a view of the war that He conducts against darkness and sin. That war never ceases until sin is vanquished and righteousness and truth rule in GOD’s world.
It would be interesting to notice how this thought of the exalted CHRIST is treated in the book of Hebrews and other places in the New Testament. But these passages are sufficient to show that the thought is fundamental in the thought of the New Testament writers. Christianity is not a religion that looks back simply to the historical CHRIST. It looks up to the glorified CHRIST and worships Him. In His glorification He rose above the limitations of time and space. He came back into the state of glory that He had with the Father before the world was (John 17:5). His limitations of knowledge and power were removed. He is now spiritually omnipresent (Matthew 18:20; Matthew 28:20), His spiritual power and omnipresence can be tested out in experience, and have been myriads of times. Every time a sinner turns to Him in penitence and finds in Him the forgiveness of sins, moral transformation, victory over the power of sin, he realizes the moral omnipotence of JESUS. There is done for him only that which GOD can do. Again, He is the unseen but universal Companion of His people. As they go out to extend His kingdom in the world, they realize His presence with them in fulfillment of His promise; and in that presence they find their joy and inspiration in His service.
III. SUMMARY OF THE TEACHINGS OF THE SCRIPTURES
1. Son of Man It seems strange that anyone would have ever questioned the humanity of JESUS. This was done, however, by the Docetics who held that the body of JESUS was not real - that He was not real man, but only GOD appearing in human form.
Many preachers have emphasized the Deity of CHRIST to the extent of creating a chasm between GOD and man and therefore, practically nullifying the human life of JESUS. We should not begin with the abstract question of how we get Deity and humanity both together in the person of CHRIST. To begin with the abstract and deductive method, we will never solve the question. The New Testament tells us how JESUS was born and had family connections, lived in His home at Nazareth, was subject to His parents, rejoiced, was tempted, craved human sympathy, prayed, was obedient to GOD, had a body, mind, soul, suffered, died and arose again. The Gospel tells us He became flesh and dwelt among us.
2. The Eternal Son of GOD Becomes the Son of Man by Means of the Virgin Birth Matthew and Luke represent that JESUS was born of Mary without a human father. According to their account, He was begotten by the HOLY SPIRIT. There seems to be enough difference between these two records to show that they are independent accounts; neither writer has borrowed from the other. The fact that the other New Testament writers do not mention the Virgin Birth is no proof that it did not take place. Possibly the other writers did not know about it, or if they did know about it, did not see fit to mention it. We can understand that such a topic would naturally be handled with great reserve among the early disciples. Hence it may not have been known outside a small circle of friends of the family, and if the other New Testament writers did know about it, naturally such a topic would not be a matter of common conversation and men would not write about it unnecessarily. Mark begins his account of the life of JESUS with the public ministry.
What John says about the eternal Logos as becoming flesh would fit in with such an idea. So would Paul’s doctrine of the pre-existent CHRIST as coming in human form (Philippians 2:510).
It is not a sufficient explanation of these accounts to say that they are due to the influence of certain Old Testament passages which seem to expect a virgin birth, such as Isaiah 7:14. These prophetic passages are not clear enough in predicting the Virgin Birth to account for the New Testament passages unless the New Testament passages had a basis in fact. On the other hand, we can see how with knowledge of the actual Virgin Birth of JESUS before them the New Testament writers would interpret the Old Testament passages in that sense. To explain those accounts on the ground that they are due to the influence of certain stories of Gentile women who gave birth to heroes or gods without human father is greatly to exaggerate the influence of non-Jewish religious beliefs on the New Testament account.
If JESUS was sinless, then we have already a supernatural element in His life. In the moral realm He has already transcended the limits of ordinary human life. A moral miracle is the greatest of all miracles. As the sinless One, GOD must have been present in His life in a unique way. Here is surely a new order of humanity - one that is above any ever known before on earth.
If it is true (as usually held in Christian theology) that man inherits an entail of moral disability from his progenitors, then there needs to be some explanation of the fact that JESUS transcends that condition. He was without sin, yet He came into a sinful race. We do not mean to say that the Virgin Birth explains, on the basis of the laws of heredity, the sinlessness of JESUS. On the basis of such laws there is no explanation of His sinlessness. What we are saying is rather that the Virgin Birth was GOD’s method of transcending the law of heredity. The Virgin Birth was a miracle. To assert a miracle is to say that something takes place in a manner that is above and beyond natural law.
It is frequently asserted that the Virgin Birth is a matter of no religious significance. Some deny it, while others say that it is a matter of indifference whether we believe it or not. It certainly is not a matter of indifference whether or not we believe in the sinlessness of JESUS. If He was a sinner like the rest of us, then He can do nothing to save the rest of us from sin. But if He was without sin, then the Virgin Birth fits in with His sinless life. Luke 1:35 indicates that there was a connection between the holiness of JESUS and the fact that Mary was overshadowed by the power of the Most High. And it is easier to believe that one who lived a supernatural life in the moral realm had a supernatural origin. The supernatural origin helps to explain the sinless life, and the sinless life makes it easier to believe in the supernatural birth.
One need not assert that it was necessary in the sense that GOD could have become incarnated in a human life in no other way. But one is safe in saying that, if GOD was to become incarnated in a human life, it is difficult, if not impossible, to think of a more appropriate way. The writer is inclined to believe that ultimately the ideas of the Incarnation and the Virgin Birth will stand or fall together. The CHRIST of the New Testament came to identify Himself with a sinful race for its salvation.
He must become one with that race. This He did by being born of a woman. But to be a Saviour He must also transcend the race. This He did by being the supernaturally begotten Son of GOD. His supernatural birth made it possible for Him to transcend the life of the race in a sinless life.
Thus He was one with man, but also above man. His coming into the world was essentially a creative act on the part of GOD. With Him GOD began the recreation of Adam’s fallen race. He became the head of a new race. To do this He must reach down and lay hold on the sinful race, but He must not become sinful with the race.
How one views the Virgin Birth will likely depend, to some extent at least, on how he views the saving work of CHRIST and how he thinks of the Virgin Birth in relation to His saving work. If one regards JESUS as a divine Saviour, as the Son of GOD in a peculiar and exclusive sense, as Son of GOD in a sense that no other has been or ever will be, then he will likely regard the Virgin Birth as the fitting manner in which this supernatural Saviour came into the world. But if one regards Him as being the Son of GOD in a sense only in which others are, then he will doubtless deny the Virgin Birth. We are not asked to believe in the Virgin Birth of JESUS as a bare and unrelated marvel; we are rather asked to believe in it as one item in a program of redemptive activity on GOD’s part on behalf of a sinful race. As such, it fits in with the whole New Testament picture of CHRIST, and to take it out mars the picture.
“One day when Heaven was filled with His praises, One day when sin was as black as could be, JESUS came forth to be born of a virgin Dwelt amongst men, my example is He!
“Living, He loved me; Dying, He saved me; Buried, He carried my sins far away; Rising, He justified freely forever, One day He’s coming O glorious day!
“One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountainOne day they nailed Him to die on the tree; Suffering anguish, despised and rejected Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He!
“One day the trumpet will sound for His coming One day the skies with His glories will shine; Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing Glorious Saviour, this JESUS is mine!”
~ end of chapter 4 ~
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