Wierwille, V.P.-The Conception of Jesus Christ

The Conception of Jesus Christ

Another Study in Abundant Living by VICTOR PAUL WIERWILLE This book is in the public domain. For more teachings by V. P. Wierwille, E. W. Bullinger and others, go to: www.eternallyblessed.org The Scripture used throughout this study is quoted from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Any explanatory insertions by the author within a Scripture verse are enclosed in brackets [ ].

Many people both inside and outside the Church reject the divine conception of Jesus Christ. They have even suggested that the statement in the Apostle’s Creed, "Conceived by the Holy Ghost," be deleted. It was not without reason that the Church of the early centuries included this clause in the creed. The record of the conception and birth of Jesus Christ is clearly set forth in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 1.

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.

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 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. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. Matthew 1:18-25.

There is no question about the Bible teaching the divine conception. The question is only of the accuracy of the Bible. Is the Bible accurate when it states that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, God, and born of Mary who was a virgin at conception, but not when Jesus Christ was born? This study on the accuracy of the Bible should prove beyond any question and doubt that Jesus the Saviour could be born in no other way than the way the Bible describes. The Bible teaches that Jesus was a sinless man. Other parts of the Bible teach that all men from Adam on are born "dead in trespasses and sin." How can we account for the sinlessness of Jesus? Hebrews 2:14 gives the answer: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same." The children of Adam, and all children are of Adam, partake of Adam’s flesh and blood. The word "partake" is the Greek word koinōneō and means to share fully. So all of Adam’s descendants share fully in his flesh and blood and the sinfulness imparted to all Adam’s children. When we read that Jesus "took part" of the same, the Greek word is metechō which means to take only a part, not all. Jesus took some part, but not all. Ordinarily all children share fully in Adam’s flesh and blood, but Jesus shared only in Adam’s flesh. According to the flesh He was like Adam, but the life in the blood of Jesus came by way of the supernatural conception of the Holy Spirit, God.

If Jesus had been conceived in the ordinary human way in which children are conceived, He would have been as sinful as any other child that is born of the seed of Adam, and would have shared fully in Adam’s flesh and blood. But, since soul life is in the blood and not in the flesh, and comes with and in the male sperm, Jesus had a body born of the flesh of Mary but no sin, for His soul life was from God. The soul life in the blood of Jesus came to Him not through Mary but by way of the creation of soul life by the Holy Spirit, God.

Natural life, which is called soul life, is in the blood. "The life of the flesh is in the blood" (Lev. 17:11). "For the life of all flesh is the blood thereof (Lev. 17:14). Sin is transmitted through the blood and not through the flesh. The soul life in the blood of an unborn baby’s arteries and veins is not derived from the mother, but is produced by the introduction of the male sperm. The mother’s blood does not enter into the unborn child’s arteries or veins. The blood is produced within the embryo itself and that only after the ovum has been fertilized by the sperm. The mother provides the unborn, developing infant with the nutritive elements for the building of that little body within her. The placenta forming the union between mother and child is so constructed that although all the nutritive elements and even antibodies pass freely from mother to child, and the waste products of the child’s metabolism are passed back to the mother, normally no actual interchange of blood occurs. All the blood which is in that child is produced within the child itself.

Howell’s Textbook on Physiology, second edition, pages 885 and 886, "The foetal and maternal blood do not come into actual contact. They are separated from each other by the walls of the foetal blood vessels and the epithelial layers of the chorionic villae." In the third edition, page 133, of William’s Practice of Obstetrics, "The foetal blood in the vessels of the chorionic villae at no time gains access to the maternal blood in the intervillous spaces being separated from one another by the double layer of chorionic epithelium."

Page 136 of the same recognized text book: "Normally there is no communication between the foetal blood and the maternal blood." From the Nurses Handbook of Obstetrics by Louise Zabriskie, R.N., fifth edition, page 75, "When the circulation of the blood begins in the embryo it remains separate and distinct from that of the mother." On page 82 of the same standard text book it sums it all up saying, "In other words, no maternal blood actually flows to the foetus, nor is there any direct foetal blood flow to the mother."

How wonderfully God prepared for the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ from the beginning. When He formed and made woman He made her so that no blood should pass directly from her to her offspring.

Adam is the head of all the races of men on earth, and Jesus had to be of the line of Adam. God, in order to produce a sinless man and yet be of Adam, had to provide a way that Jesus would have a human body derived from Adam and yet not have soul life from Adam’s sinful blood.* Jesus was sinless because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, God. Therefore, Jesus had no sin in Him, yet was born of Mary with a body of flesh, as all mankind.

* God created soul life in the sperm that impregnated the ovum (egg) of Mary in the Fallopian tube. This created sperm carried only dominant characteristics and did what ordinarily any sperm would do to an egg.

Conception by the Holy Spirit was the only way Jesus Christ could be conceived. Mary contributed the body of Jesus and He became the seed of Adam and David according to the flesh. The Holy Spirit contributed the soul life in the blood of Jesus by way of the sperm. In His arteries and veins there was sinless blood. When Judas betrayed Jesus he confessed according to Matthew 27:4, "I have betrayed the innocent blood." Sin made the original human blood corruptible. The original sin of Adam and Eve was a blood poisoning and since we are partakers of the flesh and blood of Adam and Eve our lives are contaminated to the extent that there is no hope without a Saviour who had sinless blood; Jesus Christ purchased us with His own blood, who in Himself was deathless until He took the sin of others upon Himself and died their death.

All of this because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of Mary. The teaching of the divine conception of our blessed Lord and Redeemer through the power of the Holy Spirit can be substantiated in fields of scientific accuracy.

Having conceived by the Holy Spirit, Mary was taken to wife by Joseph and lived with him as a wife during her pregnancy with Jesus. Joseph had intercourse with her, but Mary did not conceive by him until after the Lord Jesus Christ had been born. In Luke we read: And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man [anēr — husband] whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. Luke 1:26, 27. The word "virgin" means unmarried woman of marriageable age, while "espoused" may mean "wife," or it may mean "committed"’ Luke 2:5 says that Mary was Joseph’s "espoused wife." The word "espoused" applies to the first day of the ten days of the wedding and continues to include the whole first year of marriage. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? Luke 1:28-34. The reason Mary had not known a man was that Joseph and Mary had not yet come together to have intercourse. The coming together was determined by the priest and elders of the city, taking into consideration the birth-dates of the bride and groom. This coming together would take place some period of time after the ten-day wedding ceremony according to the time previously set by the priest and elders. Logically we will have to admit that no father and mother would negotiate a marriage unless their son and daughter would be permitted to come together in a relatively short period of time after the ten days of wedding ceremonies. 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. Luke 1:35. The word "overshadow" means to be covered: "the power of the Highest shall cover thee." In the animal kingdom we speak of a bull covering a cow, meaning the sexual relationship for conception. The same meaning is evident in human beings.

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda. Luke 1:36-39.

We need to note in verse 39 that there is no implication Joseph did not go to the residence of Zachariah and Elisabeth.

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. Matthew 1:18. The word "espoused" does not mean engaged in the sense we in the Western world think of it. Mary was Joseph’s wife legally. "Before they came together" means before Joseph and Mary had their first intercourse. In the latter part of verse 20, the angel said to Joseph, "Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife." "To take unto thee" means to draw close or be intimate in sexual relationship. In verse 24, the last phrase says, "took unto him his wife," which means that Joseph had intercourse with Mary. They lived together as husband and wife, but Mary did not conceive by Joseph until after Jesus Christ was born. A pregnant woman can and does fulfill the role of a wife. The word "found" denotes finding without any action on the part of Joseph.

Joseph and Mary came together and had intercourse some time after the ten-day wedding period. It is significant that The Word says, "before they came together," and not, "before he knew her." If the word "knew" meant only intercourse, as almost everybody has usually thought of it, then it is singularly significant that it does not say "knew her" but "before they came together."

Then Joseph her husband [it says plainly that Joseph was her husband], being a just man [one desiring to obey the law], and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily [secretly]. But while he [Joseph] 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 [by] the Holy Ghost [Spirit]. Matthew 1:19, 20. The "take unto thee" literally means to take her as a wife, not just to take her and watch over her until the baby is born, pay the bills and get ready for the birth. "Take unto" means to live with her as a wife. Mary is already the wife of Joseph so the instruction to "take unto him" would mean something more; it means intercourse. It means the bringing together in that first sexual relationship. If the words in this verse said, "take unto thee, Mary, to be thy wife," it would be different. But it says, "take unto thee thy wife" — "Mary is thy wife."

How did Joseph know that Mary was pregnant? God told him or Mary did. If God could tell Mary, He could certainly tell her husband, Joseph. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife. Matthew 1:21-24.

Joseph now carries out exactly what the angel told him. He "took unto him" simply means he had intercourse with her. And [but] knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. Matthew 1:25. In verse 24 we are told Joseph took unto him his wife, according to what the angel had told him to do. We know that according to the Eastern custom and ceremony, Mary was already Joseph’s wife because it says in verse 19 that Joseph was her husband. But even though Joseph took unto him his wife "he knew her not," which specifically has to do, not with sexual intercourse alone, but with sexual intercourse producing pregnancy. Even though Joseph had sexual relationships with Mary while she was pregnant with Jesus, Mary never conceived by Joseph until after Jesus Christ was born* (Matthew 13:55, 56).

* It is possible for a woman to be pregnant and become pregnant again during the early days of the first pregnancy. This verse contradicts this possibility even though Joseph did have intercourse with Mary she did not conceive by him until after the birth of Jesus Christ.

"Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel... had bidden him, and took unto him his wife." It was the night that they were supposed to "come together" after the ten-day wedding ceremony. If Joseph knew that Mary was with child and they had not come together, it would be a good reason why he could not take her unto himself, because the tokens of the marriage were not evident yet.* *Note Deuteronomy 22:15 and 24:1.

Joseph knew that Mary was pregnant and he would not take her unto himself. To "know" your wife is not just to have sexual intercourse with her, but to have sexual intercourse to the end of conception.

Some of the Eastern religions teach that Thomas Didymus was the twin brother of Jesus, that they looked enough alike to pass for each other, and that after Jesus Christ was crucified the apostles declared Thomas Didymus, his twin brother, as Jesus. The Word takes care of this point by saying "He took her" but "knew her not" until after Jesus Christ was born.

Matthew 1:23 says, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son." Some commentaries and theologians declare that Mary as a virgin brought forth the son. Mary brought forth Jesus, not as a virgin, but she was a virgin when she became pregnant according to verse 23: And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived and bare Enoch. And Adam knew his wife again [after the death of Abel, years later]; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth. Genesis 4:1, 17, 25.

If "to know" a wife is simply to have intercourse then these records are ridiculous. In Genesis 19 we read, And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. Genesis 19:5, 8, 31, 32.

These verses relate themselves specifically to the subject we are considering. In Genesis 19:5 it says, "that we may know them," meaning, homosexually, which is the wrong usage of sex, a perversion. But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. Judges 19:25.

Here again we have a perverted usage of sex in the form of rape like we had homosexuality in Genesis. The first chapter of the book of Romans sets forth the greatest degradation mankind can sink into, men having relationships with men, and women with women. This is mankind reaching the lowest stage of life.

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. Romans 1:21, 24, 26, 27. In Genesis 19:8 it says, "I have two daughters which have not known man." The phrase "known man" again means that these daughters had not conceived. They were married and they had had intercourse.

It mentions two daughters in verse 8, and sons-in-law in verse 14, And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters. But verse 8 says that these two daughters "had not known man." They had had intercourse but had not conceived. Thus we conclude that these two daughters are the same ones referred to in verses 31 and 36. The next reference we need to study is Genesis 24:16. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. Genesis 24:16. This usage of "virgin" and "known" emphasizes her purity. The word "know" again refers to not having been married to the end of having a child. In Genesis 38 we note the record of Judah who thought the woman which he went in unto was a harlot, but it was his own daughter-in-law.

What pledge [plight] shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he [Judah] knew her again no more. Genesis 38:18, 26. To "come in unto" does not mean the same as "knowing" her. Judah did not "go in to her" for the purpose of "knowing" her but it turned out that way in this incident. The Word states, "He knew her again no more," meaning that Judah never had another child by this woman. That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice. Genesis 39:14.

"To lie with me" infers intercourse, with or without pregnancy. And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me. Genesis 39:17. The queen accused him saying "he came in unto me," but it was not "to know," for she did not intend that type of relationship.

Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man [has conceived] by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known [that have not conceived] a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. Numbers 31:17, 18. The instruction, "to kill every woman that hath known man," means that at that time they were pregnant or had had children. It implies that you could lie with man without "knowing him." They had to be able to discriminate which women had or had not "known man."

If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid:

Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel’s virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate. Deuteronomy 22:13-15. The primary purpose here again was not to have sexual intercourse, but to have sexual intercourse to the end of producing a child. And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. Judges 21:12.

"Four hundred young virgins, that had not known man" does not mean they had not had intercourse, but they had not had intercourse which resulted in pregnancy. This is the third time we have come across the words "had known no man by lying with any male" or words to that effect. Either these are redundant statements or they definitely fortify the truth that "known" means intercourse to the end of conception. And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Raman: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her.

Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord. I Samuel 1:19, 20. The implication is clear and plain that when "Elkanah knew Hannah his wife" she conceived. In Matthew 1:20 the angel says to Joseph "fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife." In verse 25 he "knew her not till she had brought forth her first born son." The priest and elders would know when they were supposed to come together, so the date was set to have their first intercourse. If Mary was pregnant before this time, the priest would know that the conception had taken place at the wrong time and Jesus was conceived in fornication (John 8:41) and thus demand that Jesus be taken to the Temple in his 12th year instead of the age of 13 (Luke 2:42).

Considering all the scriptures in the Bible dealing with the subject of "to know" we can only conclude that biblically "to know" means to have intercourse producing a pregnancy. A few important Scripture passages pertinent to this study: Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:11, 14; Acts 17:24-26; 20:28; Hebrews 9:22; Romans 3:25; 5:9; I Peter 1:19; I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; 5:9; 7:14; 12:11.