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Born of a Virgin

Prophecy: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

Fulfillment: "But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:20-23) CNN Talk show host, Larry King, was once asked who he would most want to interview if he could choose anyone from all of history. He said, 'Jesus Christ.' The questioner said, 'And what would you like to ask Him?' King replied, "I would like to ask Him if He was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that question would define history for me'."

The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is the root from which everything the New Testament says about him grows. ... Both of the birth narratives, Matthew and Luke, state it up front as a fact. That fact explains the amazing things he said and did. The virgin birth is at the heart of the nature of Jesus. He is God in the flesh. To deny the virgin birth is to deny the very essence of our Christian faith. The foundation of incarnational - missional living is in this great doctrine of our faith. God became man. The Word became flesh and "dwelt" among us. "He moved into the neighborhood" as the Message Bible puts it. This advent season let's embrace this truth and move into the neighborhood with the revolutionary love of Jesus. "Joy to the world the Lord has come!"

In His grip of grace,

Rex