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What the critics have not realized is that sin and death are passed on to the next
generation through the male seed, not the female. Although in point of time, Eve was the
first to sin, Scripture never ascribes the terrible blemish to her but to Adam:
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin: and so death
passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Rom. 5: 12).
So it was absolutely necessary for the Lord Jesus to be born without a human father.
No one but God Himself can become the sinner's Saviour:
"I, even I, am the Lord (Jehovah); and beside me there is no Saviour" (Isa. 43: 11).
And yet as God, death is impossible, for He is immortal. The only way was to link
humanity to His Godhead in order to be able to die and bear the penalty for sin Himself.
To fully comprehend what was involved in all this passes human comprehension. Great
indeed is the secret of godliness, "God was manifest in the flesh" (I Tim. 3: 16), and the
truth is not altered if one reads "He Who was manifest in the flesh", for the pronoun "He"
cannot refer to any created being. It can only refer back to God Himself in this context.
So the virgin birth was the work of God in His almightiness, limitless wisdom and
love. And it was therefore with truth that the angel said to Mary:
". . . . . therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of
God" (Luke 1: 35).
The Infant Christ is the only holy baby that has been born since the fall of man. For a
fuller treatment of this theme both Scripturally and scientifically we strongly recommend
Dr. A. Custance's fine treatise, The Seed of the Woman.
No.4.
1: 18 - 2: 15.
pp. 33 - 37
The Birth of Jesus Christ (cont'd).
Verse 19 of chapter 1: shows us the conflicting thoughts of Joseph as he faced up to
Mary's condition. We are told that he was a "just man". The word means "law-abiding",
that is he was a faithful adherent to the law of God given through Moses. That law, as we
have seen, contained the command of death for unfaithfulness. At the same time Joseph
was a merciful man, and loving Mary, he wished to spare her embarrassment and
suffering. He therefore decided that divorce, kept as private as possible, was the answer
to his problem.
However, he received valuable instruction from God which gave him the guidance he
needed so much at this most difficult time: