A Study of Theology III – Part 4
THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY
Jesus
Incarnation
Jeremiah 22:24-30
A Study of Theology III – Part 4 (Dr. Thomas Figart)
The Incarnation of the Son of God includes everything from his birth through his ascension.
A Study of Theology III – Part 4
Dr. Thomas Figart
- The Saviour (con’t)
- The Incarnation of the Son of God. This includes everything from His birth through His ascension, in ten aspects of truth.
- The Virgin Birth of Christ
- The Supremacy of the Virgin Birth. It is important to distinguish miraculous births from the uniqueness of the Virgin Birth of Christ. Miraculous births include Isaac, Samuel, Samson and John the Baptist, but there was only one Virgin Birth!
- The Necessity of the Virgin Birth.
1). It by-passes the curse on King Jeconiah, Jer. 22:24-30. This helps to explain the two genealogies in Matt. 1 and Lk. 3.
2). It makes possible the mediatorship of Christ.
a). If He had two human parents there would be real humanity, but no deity. The nearest comparison would be to have deity come upon a mere human and giving miraculous powers, as in the case of Samson.
b). If He had no human parents there would be real deity but no humanity. The nearest comparison to this would be deity appearing as human, as the Angel of Jehovah, in the O. T. (Cf. Gen. 32; Josh. 5).
c). Neither a) nor b) would be a real incarnation, but with one human parent it was possible to fuse the human with the divine; thus Job’s desire for a “daysman” (9:33) was fulfilled, I Tim. 2:5. Therefore, anyone who rejects the Virgin Birth of Christ, or considers it unnecessary, cannot receive Him as mediator, and thus is not saved!
- The Agency of the Virgin Birth.
1). The humanity of Jesus was generated by the Holy Spirit, not by Mary alone, yet the Holy Spirit is never called the father of Jesus. Matt. 1:20; Lk. 1:35.
2). Jesus was truly born of a woman (Gal. 4:4), possessed a true human body (I Pet. 2:24), human soul (Matt 26:38) and human spirit (Lk. 23:46).
3). The conception by the Holy Spirit guaranteed His sinless humanity (Lk. 1:35); therefore, it was not necessary that Mary be born sinless. The immaculate conception of Mary is not found anywhere in Scripture.
- The Prophecy of the Virgin Birth.
1). The prophecy in its local setting. Isa. 7:14.
a). To King Ahaz it was a sign of deliverance from his enemies, which came to pass in two years.
b). The virgin: The woman about to become Isaiah’s second wife. Cf. Isa. 8:3-4.
c). The child born: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
d). The signs: Specifically, the names of Isaiah and his sons, (8:8,18).
e). By comparing the wording of 7:14-16 with 8:3-4, 18 this near-view interpretation becomes evident.
2). The far-view fulfillment. Matt. 1:21-23.
a). To the Jews it was a sign that their Redeemer was born.
b). In Matt. 1:23 the strict word for virgin (parthenos) is used, removing any doubt of the true virginity of Mary at the time of the birth of Jesus.
c). By interpreting the Isa. 7:14 passage in both near and far views, the integrity of the O.T. and the N.T. is preserved.
- The Integrity of the Virgin Birth. The “perpetual virginity” of Mary is not valid. Matt. 1:24-25. Three facts make this clear, from 1:25:
1). “And he knew her not” The imperfect tense of “knew” signifies that “he was not yet in the habit of knowing her.” If Matthew had wanted to make it positive that Joseph never “knew” Mary, he would have used the aorist tense.
2). “till” The fact that Joseph knew her not till the child was born, indicates that there were normal marital relations after the birth of Jesus.
3). “her firstborn son” The word postulates a second born, third born, etc., and Matt. 13:55-57 names the other children born to Mary and Joseph after Jesus. If Matthew had wanted to say that Jesus was her only child, he would have used “only begotten” (monogenes) as in John 3:16.
