Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; Luke 1:30, 31, 34
Do you believe in the virgin birth of Jesus? And why would a virgin birth even be necessary? I’ll tell you why.
When God created Adam and Eve and put them in the Garden of Eden, He gave Adam dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26). They were to rule it (Psalm 8:6-8). Yet by choosing to believe the serpent rather than God, they sinned and yielded their God-given authority over to Satan, the ultimate con artist. Instead of ruling as God intended, they became slaves of sin (Romans 6:16). And to everyone who came after them, they passed down the same sin nature: “For since by man came death…. For as in Adam all die….” (1 Cor. 15:21-22).
But why does all that require Jesus to be born of a virgin? How is it connected? Because if Jesus had been born of an earthly father, he would have inherited the same sin nature as his natural father, a son of Adam, and been just as much a slave to sin as Adam was—and as we all are until we are born again.
Jesus came to earth as a man, but not one with Adam’s sin nature. Because the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, and the power of God overshadowed her, Jesus was born with the sinless nature of His Father, God.
Our authority on earth was lost by a man, Adam. Jesus came as a man, born of a virgin, to redeem us and to win back that lost authority. This is the reason for the virgin birth.
Read Philippians 2:5-8 and meditate upon what Jesus Christ did for you.
LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers
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