Daily devotion – Tuesday 20th July 2021
Isa 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.
The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is one of the key foundational doctrines taught in the Bible. The Virgin Birth was the means of the Incarnation. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ, God taking on the form of a man, is a lasting state for our Lord.
It began at His birth and continues (albeit in a resurrection body now) forever! The Virgin Birth was an event that lasted only a matter of hours.
When Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear the Messiah, she protested that she would need a husband. The angel’s response was in essence, you won’t need a husband, because the Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you – Luke 1:35.
Matthew carefully guards the fact of the Virgin Birth in the genealogical table of our Lord (Matthew 1:16). He records that Joseph was the husband of Mary, but that it was by Mary only that Jesus was born.
What was the purpose of the Virgin Birth and why is it significant?
It need not be the necessary means of preserving Christ sinless, since God could have overshadowed two parents so as to protect the baby’s sinlessness had He so desired.
It served as a sign of the uniqueness of the Person who was born.
Why did God send His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh?
1. To reveal God to us.
2. To provide an example for our lives.
3. To provide and Effective Sacrifice for our Sin – Without the Incarnation we would have no Saviour. Sin requires death for its payment. God does not die. So, the Saviour must be human in order to be able to die. But the death of an ordinary man would not pay for sin eternally, so the Saviour must also be God. We must have a God-Man Saviour and we do in the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. To be able to fulfil the Davidic covenant.
5. To destroy the works of the devil.
6. To be able to be a sympathetic High Priest.
7. To be able to be a qualified judge.
How wonderful is God’s plan for us! How personal is God’s plan for you!
Mat 1:23 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.