Jesus is 100% percent God. We’ve talked about this here and here and here. Jesus, though, was also fully man, and the starting place in any discussion of the humanity of Christ has to begin with how Jesus came to be human. So let’s talk about the Virgin Birth.
The virgin birth, of course, is actually the virgin conception. It isn’t that Jesus’s birth was a miracle (of course, every birth is a miracle). It was Jesus’s conception that was the miracle.
Some people at this point think of something called the “immaculate conception.” No, I’m not talking about a famous pro football play in 1972. That’s the “immaculate reception.” I was watching that game on TV when it happened, and I still think the ball hit the offensive player’s hands first. But that’s an argument for another day.
We’re talking here about the immaculate conception. Lots of folks think the immaculate conception and the virgin birth are the same. That isn’t the case. The immaculate conception is a Catholic doctrine that refers to the conception of Mary in her mother’s womb, and it teaches that Mary was free from original sin. The problem with this doctrine is that it isn’t taught in the Bible. That’s why it’s rejected by most folks who are not of the Catholic faith.
So then what do we mean by the idea of the virgin birth, or “virgin conception”?
This doctrine teaches that Mary did not conceive Jesus as the result of a sexual relationship. Mary was a virgin at the time of conception and stayed that way to the point of birth, and the conception of Jesus was brought about through the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.
Two primary passages teach this important truth:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25)
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And 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 bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38)
The Bible teaches, then, that Jesus was born to a virgin and he was conceived through the Holy Spirit.
Why is this doctrine so important? Why is it important for Christians to believe the doctrine of the virgin birth? Here are three reasons:
First, the virgin birth is a reminder that our salvation has nothing to do with our effort or accomplishment. Not only can we not save ourselves, but humanity couldn’t even take the first step in salvation: conceiving the child who would grow up to become the Savior. The virgin birth reminds us that salvation is completely the work and the initiative of God.
Second, the virgin birth reminds us that no one ever lived who compares to Jesus. It is not only the means of how Jesus became human, but it also clearly points to his deity. God could have done all of this differently. Jesus could have just suddenly appeared on earth as an adult with no parents, but then we would tend to think of him as God but not man. Or Jesus could have come to earth by being born to two parents without the virgin conception, but then we would tend to think of him as a man but not God. By being born to a virgin by miraculous conception, however, we can see that Jesus is both God and man.
Finally, the virgin birth explains how Jesus was born without having a human sinful nature. All humans are born with the guilt of Adam’s sin (Romans 5:18-19) and are thus born sinners. So how was Jesus born without inheriting this sinful nature? It’s because of the virgin conception. Unlike every other human, Jesus did not descend from Adam.
People often ask whether a person can be a Christian and not believe in the virgin birth. I would have to say the answer is yes, but in the sense that I became a believer when I was ten years old, and I had no idea what a virgin was. I just thought it was some kind of olive oil. Also, when a person first hears the gospel, that individual does not have to understand and agree with this doctrine before they can be saved.
Let’s be realistic, though. We aren’t children forever. We aren’t new believers forever. So while we could say that a person could be a Christian without believing (or understanding) the virgin birth, a true Christian cannot deny the truth of this doctrine. Simply put, to deny that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit is to deny his deity.
Rejecting the virgin birth is also rejecting the authority of Scripture. God decided in eternity past that Jesus would be born to a virgin, and he made the decision that two people would write this story in the Bible. If we ignore what these two passages in God’s word tell us, then we’ve opened the door to deny whatever parts of the Bible we don’t like. And that’s a very dangerous road to travel.