THE IMPORTANCE OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH

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LUKE 1:26-38
Lesson #03
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH

• Memory verse: Isaiah 7:14
• Six months after Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, he appears to Mary.
• Read Luk 1:26-38
  • In verse 26, Doctor Luke tells us twice that Mary was a virgin.
    • Biologically it is impossible for a woman to give birth to a baby without having had a sexual relationship with a man. Doctor Luke would know what being a virgin means!
    • Therefore, Doctor Luke is describing a unique miracle of God.
  • The virgin birth was important to Luke. Why is it important to the Christian?
    • Equally as the resurrection is the basis of our eternal life through Jesus Christ, the virgin birth is the basis of our relationship with God, the Father. Why?
    • If Jesus Christ was born in the same way as every other human, He would have the same sin nature as every other human.
      • What is the sin nature? It is man’s tendency to commit sin.
      • Read 1Cor 15:21-22
        • God created man with a 3 part nature of body, soul, and spirit.
        • A description and definition of body, soul, and spirit:

The Soul of Man: (Gen 2:7 Pro 23:7 Psa 103:1-2)

Gen 2:7 says “breath of life” = life is plural in the Hebrew to indicate “breath of lives” (spiritual life and physical life)

The word soul is nepes in Hebrew, psyche in Greek (Pro 23:7 “heart”).

The soul is the seat of self-consciousness.

It is that part of us that lives forever (Mat 10:28).

It is the ego and the personality. It is what makes each person a unique one of a kind.

The soul consists of 3 aspects:

=1= The mind = intellect, reason, and memory.

=2= The will = free choice (Psa 24:4 Eph 6:6).

=3= The emotion = love, hate, etc. (Psa 86:4).

The soul consists of 3 levels:

=1= A conscious awareness (Phi 4:8-9).

=2=A sub-conscious level: This is the memory bank of information.

=3= The unconscious level: A sum total of every experience.

The Spirit of Man:

Man’s spirit is ruah in Hebrew, pneuma in Greek = breath, life

It is the seat of God-consciousness.

It is that part of us that makes us aware deep within that there is a God out there somewhere.

Our spirit enables us to comprehend God (Luk 1:47 Mat 26:41)

Our spirit houses:

Our conscience

Our creativity (1Cor 16:18)

Our insight (Joh 13:21)

Our motivation (Act 17:16; 18:25)

Our sensitivity (Mar 2:8 Joh 11:33)

The spirit of man is that part of us that receives Christ and the Holy Spirit of God when we are born again. (Rom 8:16 Gal 6:18)

The soul is that part of us that lives forever. (Luk 8:55)

The Body of Man:

The physical body is the seat of sense-consciousness.

It is physical flesh and bone.

The word for body is basar in Hebrew, soma in Greek.

The body was created (molded) from the dust of the ground like a potter would mold clay. (Gen 2:7)

The physical body is that part of man which physically dies, but will be transformed into a new incorruptible body one day if the person has received Christ into his heart. (1Cor 15:42-52)

• • • • • The three-part nature of man:

The nature of man was different after Adam and Eve sinned than it was before the sin of Gen 3.

Man before the fall: (Gen 1:27 Joh 4:24 Gen 2:7)

Before the sin of Adam and Eve, man had a close relationship with God. Therefore, man’s spirit was the predominant part of man’s being. The next dominant part was man’s soul.

Man’s body was least important. How do we know this? Adam and Eve were naked but were not ashamed until after the sin. (Gen 2:25)

Man after the fall: (Gen 2:16-17)

After the sin of Adam and Eve, man’s fellowship with God was broken. He now had a relationship with Satan.

As a result, man’s spirit became less aware of God and was no longer the most dominant part of man’s being. Instead it became the least important. Now the physical body, its desires and needs became the most important part of man.

The spirit of man that once was the highest part of man’s complex nature, no longer dominated man’s nature after the fall into sin. It fell below the level of the soul, so that now it is difficult to discern the difference between soul and spirit. (Heb 4:12) the body and the soul now dominate man.

• • • Because Jesus was born of a virgin, He did not have the sin nature. Therefore, unlike all of us, He was without sin.
      • In verse 35 Luke says she would give birth to “that holy thing”.
      • Read Rom 5:12
      • Read 2Cor 5:21
      • Read Heb 4:15
    • The virgin birth means He was born of God and not of man, without sin, with the ability to pay for our sins.
      • Because Jesus Christ was without sin, He could pay for our sins. (Gal 1:4)
      • Therefore, our forgiveness of sin in Jesus Christ is based on His virgin birth.
  • The role of Mary:
    • The Bible tells us that Mary was “highly favored” and “blessed among women”. (28)
    • It does not tell us that she was blessed above all women. In other words, she was favored but not raised to a sinless position above any other woman.
      • Death entered into the world because of a woman (Eve) gave into the temptation to sin.
      • Life entered into the world because a woman (Mary) gave birth to Life (Jesus Christ) in the flesh. (Joh 11:25)
  • The name Jesus:
    • Gabriel told Mary to name the baby Jesus. (31)
    • The name Jesus was not, and is not, an unusual name.
      • The name means = Jehovah saves.
      • We find the name in the Old Testament. The name Joshua has the same meaning in Hebrew.
    • However, it is Jesus Christ that makes this name above every other name.
      • Read Phi 2:9
      • His name contains supernatural power.
  • Confirmation of who Jesus is:
    • He shall be great. He is the second member of the Holy Trinity. Nothing and no one is greater than that.
      • “Son of the Highest” (32)
      • This title means that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
    • “The throne of his father David” (32)
      • In the Old Testament in a covenant that God made with King David, He promised David that his son would reign as king over an eternal kingdom.
      • Read 2Sam 7:12-13
      • Jesus Christ is descended from King David and fulfills this prophecy as the promised Messiah that will reign forever.
    • “And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever..” (33)
      • The genealogies in the book of Matthew and the book of Luke prove that Jesus Christ descended as a Jew from Jacob through the tribe of Judah from David.
      • Gen 49:10 tells us that the Messiah king will come from the tribe of Judah.
  • The miraculous birth of John the Baptist
    • The birth of John the Baptist is also miraculous but not in the same way as Jesus.
    • Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, was beyond the age of child bearing.
    • The pregnancy of Elizabeth was to be a confirmation to Mary that God has the power to do miracles.
      • “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (37)
      • If God determines by His will that an event is in His plan, He will bring it to pass.
  • Mary’s submission of obedience to the will of God. (38)
    • Mary’s attitude of submission to God’s plan is the attitude that the believer in Jesus Christ should have.
    • It is this submissive attitude to God’s will that makes Mary a model for us.
• Application:
  • The resurrection of Jesus Christ and the virgin birth of Jesus Christ are uniquely tied together.
    • You cannot deny the virgin birth and believe in the resurrection.
    • You cannot deny the resurrection and believe in the virgin birth.
  • These two concepts are the basis of the New Testament gospel on which the believer in Jesus Christ has an eternal relationship with God through the forgiveness of sin.

HOMEWORK
Luke 1:39-56

• • Application of Luk 1:26-38
    • How does belief in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ affect your faith personally?
  • Preparation for Luk 1:39-56
    • Read Luk 1:39-56
      • What did Mary understand about the child she would bring into the world?
      • Find words and verses that tell you about Mary’s character and attitude. (46-56)
• Memory Verse: Luk 1:47