Conceived of the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary

Today, we continue in our study of the Apostle’s Creed. We’ve been considering the character of God the Son. We’ve seen him as Messiah, the only begotten Son, and the Lord of Lords. Now the creed shifts from his character to his works by moving to his incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth. So, let’s begin today by reciting the Apostle’s Creed together.

This morning, I want to focus on the clause, “Conceived of the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary.” For whatever reason, belief in the virgin birth of Jesus proves to be a challenge for many. I served in another church where one of the prominent members insisted that this very clause of the Apostle’s Creed was not necessary to believe. Thankfully, he was not denying it himself, but he was defending friends he knew who did deny it. Apparently, there are many who claim to be Christian, and yet find a belief in the supernatural conception and birth of Jesus to be a bridge too far. Others deny Christianity altogether, and they use the Virgin Birth as a prime example of why Christianity is outlandish. Every year, the History Channel runs a Christmas special in which they do everything they can to deny the supernatural birth of Christ. In one such special that I watched, a so-called scholar explained that the only Gospel that records the virgin birth is Luke. Luke was a Greek, and the Greeks already had virgin-birth myths in their belief system, so it was obvious to this scholar that Luke imported that belief into his story of Jesus. There is only one problem with this scholar’s theory: Luke is not the only one to record the virgin birth! In Matt. 1:20, the angel tells Joseph “That which is conceived in Mary is from the Holy Spirit.” Then, Matthew (a Jew) goes on to quote Isaiah 7:14, which says, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son.” This scholar had obviously not done his homework. As Jerry Clower would say, “some people are educated beyond their intelligence.”

As the Apostle’s Creed affirms, belief in the virgin birth is an essential Christian doctrine. To deny it is to walk outside of the bounds of Christianity. This morning, I want to give you three problems with the rejection of this doctrine, and three reasons why this doctrine is important to our salvation.

First, to reject the Virgin Birth is to deny the truthfulness of Scripture. As I’ve already stated, two of the four Gospels explicitly record the virgin birth (one could argue that John does too). Beyond that, the prophecies of Isaiah point to it as well. The virgin birth is clearly an important part of the story of Jesus, so to deny it is to deny the Word of God. Now, there are certainly things in Scripture that are hard to understand. There are things revealed there that are mysterious. There are things that we may not ever understand this side of glory. Yet, faith in the Word of God as the Word of God is an essential aspect of saving faith. To deny the Word of God is to be something other than Christian.

Second, to reject the Virgin Birth is to deny the power of God. Most people hang up on the virgin birth because it just seems so far outside of the natural order of things. After all, a virgin birth is just down-right impossible! But, as we’ve already studied, to believe in God is to believe that he is Almighty. God is not bound by the natural order of things. To deny the virgin birth would call into question all of the miraculous works of God: his creation of this universe from nothing, his judgment of the world in a flood, his plagues on Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the heavenly fire that consumed Elijah’s offering, among other things. Most importantly, to deny the virgin birth is to deny the resurrection of Jesus, which calls into question the whole of our salvation. If God is not able to miraculously form Jesus within the womb of Mary, then he is not able to raise Jesus from the dead. The virgin birth and the resurrection are a package deal. Deny one, deny them both.

Third, to reject the virgin birth is to deny the two natures of Jesus Christ as Son of God and Son of Man. The only alternative to the virgin birth is to say that Jesus was just a really good man that God chose. Some would say that Joseph and Mary had illicit relations and then covered it up with the virgin birth story. Others suggest something even more sinister – that Mary had an affair with a Roman soldier (where they get that, I have no idea). In either case, Jesus would be merely human. To be merely human would deny the prophecies of Isaiah, that the Messiah would be “Mighty God, Everlasting Father.” To be merely human would deny the testimony of John that the eternal Word became flesh and dwelt among us. To be merely human would deny the witness of Mark, that the Son of God had authority to forgive sins.

So, now that we understand what it means to reject the virgin birth, let’s consider three reasons the virgin birth is essential to our salvation. First, the virgin birth is the beginning of the new creation. There is a beautiful poetry that exists behind the scenes of the virgin birth. Think of the story of the Fall – how did sin and death enter the world? Through the disobedience of the first woman, Eve. Now, how does new life enter the world? Through the obedience of a virgin, Mary. As the ancient church father, Irenaeus said, “For just as [Eve] was led astray by the word of an angel, so that she fled from God when she had transgressed His word; so did [Mary], by an [angel], receive the glad tidings that she should sustain God, being obedient to His word.” The virgin birth is God’s answer to the Fall. In it, he begins something new through the womb of Mary. As 2 Cor. 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Second, the virgin birth affirms the divine nature of Christ. The Creed states that Jesus was “conceived of the Holy Ghost”, which points to the fact that Jesus is the perfect union of God and man. To see that from Scripture, let’s read Hebrews 1:1-4 together. Notice two important facts about the divine nature of Jesus. First, in verse 1-3, we see that Jesus, as the Son of God reveals who God is. The writer says that God has revealed himself at various times and ways through the prophets. But, in Jesus Christ, he did something different. In Jesus, God reveals himself directly and personally. In Jesus, God spoke to us directly as the Word made flesh. In Jesus, the disciples saw the very radiance of the glory of God and exact imprint of his nature. Also, in the second half of verse 3 we see that Jesus made purification for sins. Jesus, as the Son of God, can forgive sins. In Mark 2, where Jesus healed the paralytic who was lowered from the roof, the scribes hear Jesus forgiving the paralytic’s sins and they question in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that. He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” The scribes have it right – no one can forgive sins, but God. So, if our sins are to be forgiven, God must do it. If a sacrifice is to be offered to cover our sins, God must offer it. And so, Jesus must be fully God, “conceived of the Holy Ghost”, or your sins are not forgiven.

Finally, the virgin birth affirms the humanity of Jesus Christ. Yes, Jesus is fully God, but he is also fully man. To see why this matters, consider Hebrews 4:14-16. Here, the writer of Hebrews wants us to understand that Jesus is our great high priest. Jesus has ascended into heaven where he is ever present before the altar of God, interceding for us. Then, in verse 15, he explains why Jesus is the priest that we need. He says that he understands our weaknesses because he was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Jesus knew the hardships of humanity. He suffered the cold of a stable. He cried for the comfort of his mother. He felt the strain of hard labor with his father. He hungered as he traveled dusty roads. He wept over the death of his friend. He mourned the hard-heartedness of his people. He winced at the thorns in his brow. He screamed at the pain of the nails. He labored to breathe as he hung on the cross. He longed for water as his life drained from him. Jesus knew the burdens of this world, yet he did not sin.

Not only did he know the sufferings of this world, but he knew its temptations, too. After his baptism and forty days of fasting, Satan came to tempt him. In those three temptations we find a parallel to the temptations of the fruit in the garden of Eden. As the serpent in the Garden distorted the Word of God by asking, “Has God really said”, so in the wilderness, he distorted Scripture to tempt Christ. As Eve saw that the fruit was good for food, so Satan tempted Jesus with his own hunger – “if you are the son of God, turn these stones into bread.” As Eve delighted in the beauty of the fruit, so Satan tempted Jesus with the delight of power, offering him the kingdoms of the world over the glory of God. As Eve thought that the fruit could make her wise without God, so Satan tempted Jesus to question the wisdom of God’s plan. Yet, where Adam and Eve failed, Jesus was faithful. He was obedient to God in all things and offered that obedience for all of mankind.

So, Jesus is able to save us because he is fully God and fully man. He can forgive our sins because he is the offended party – God himself. And, he can offer himself as an obedient sacrifice because he represents the offender – mankind. This is why Peter would say, in Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Friend, you can only be saved through faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man. So, won’t you trust him today?

Brother and sisters, we are reconciled to God by our Lord Jesus Christ, who was conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. May we affirm and defend this essential doctrine as we live in faithfulness to our Lord.