Why a Virgin Birth? Luke 1: 26-38

1. Why a Virgin Birth?Luke 1: 26-38 • The Incarnation  God Visiting Us • Review: Reasons for the incarnation: • 1. He sympathizes with our trials of life and intercedes for us • 2. He shows us what God intended true humanity to be • 3. He is an example of how we should live for God

2. 4. He demonstrates that God wants to be close to us • 5. He is our perfect substitute who died for our sin • How did the incarnation take place? • The Virgin Birth of Our Saviour. • Why is it significant that Jesus was born of a virgin?

3. Mary  a poor, young, Jewish girl living in the obscure town of Nazareth • She was going to give birth to the Son of God • She would remain a virgin because God would be the Father of this child through the Holy Spirit. • Modern scholars want to deny the virgin birth. • What is the significance of the virgin birth?

4. 1. The Authority of Scripture • The virgin birth is a historic fact • To deny it undermines the authority and integrity of Scripture. • We would question other miracles like the resurrection. • 1 Corinthians 15: 13,14 [NIV] – “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

5. There is also prophetic significance to the virgin birth. • Isaiah 7:14 [NIV] – “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” • Matthew 1: 22-23 [NIV] – “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”

6. 2. God’s Power & Sovereign Control Over Nature • God intervenes in nature to demonstrate His power. • God is not limited by natural laws and forces of nature because He made them and He is sovereign over them. • God also demonstrated His power over human physiology

7. Great leaders of the Old Testament born through miraculous circumstances: • Isaac • Joseph • Samuel • Luke 1: 36,37 [NIV] – “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age” • Luke 1: 38 “… nothing is impossible with God.”

8. The virgin birth of Christ gives us hope that God can do the impossible in our lives as well. • Ephesians 3:20 – “…[He] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” • Trust Him with all your impossibilities!

9. 3. Salvation is Supernatural • The virgin birth of Christ reinforces the truth that our salvation comes from God alone. • John 3:5-6 – “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” • To be born again is an act of God’s Spirit regenerating our heart

10. John 1: 12-13 – “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” • The virgin birth points us to the helplessness of humanity to even start the process that leads to salvation. • It had to start with God! • Salvation is a supernatural gift from God alone.

11. 4. The Deity & Sinless Nature of Jesus • Luke 1: 31,32,35 [NIV] – “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High…The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” • This special child to be born was God Himself.

12. The virgin birth also reinforces the sinless nature of Christ our Saviour • He was “the holy one” – unique among all humanity because He had no sin. • 2 Corinthians 5:21 [NIV] – “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” • Sin is not hereditary • Through the virgin birth, God was breaking the cycle of the sin nature that originated in Adam as head of the human race.

13. Christ brought about a new beginning for humanity • Romans 15:17 [NLT] – “For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” • 1 Corinthians 15:22 [NIV] – “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

14. “Adam's sin was not imputed to Jesus because Jesus was not "in Adam." He was the new Adam, a new head, a fresh start for the human race… [the virgin birth] was a sign that the link with Adam had been broken. Jesus was not born of a virgin so he could be sinless; he was born of a virgin to show he was sinless. …Jesus was the seed of the woman, but he was not the seed of Adam. He was the new Adam, a fresh start, an alternative head for humanity. • Dr. Donald T. Williams • The virgin birth does not prove that Jesus was sinless • The virgin birth is important so we can know that Jesus IS the sinless Son of God

15. 5. Salvation is a Gift of God’s Grace • Luke 1: 28-30 [NIV] – “The angel went to [Mary] and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you…Do not be afraid…you have found favor with God. • There was nothing really special about Mary • She was a humble woman with a strong faith in God • Mary became the object of God’s wonderful grace.

16. God is extending the same grace to you today • Ephesians 2: 8,9 [NIV] – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” • Salvation is a gift of God’s grace. • God’s grace is reaching out to you this morning offering salvation • Let’s also extend grace to others this Christmas!