Do you believe that Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary?
Was Mary a virgin when she conceived and bore Christ?
Answer:
The United Church of God certainly believes and teaches that Jesus was born to Mary, a virgin at the time of His conception and birth. Isaiah 7:14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
See All... foretold this momentous event in history. The angel who spoke to Joseph declared: "Do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:20But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
See All...).
Earlier the narrative tells us that "before they [Mary and Joseph] came together [prior to any intimate marital relations], she was found with child of the Holy Spirit" (verse 18). God was Jesus' Father through the agency of the Holy Spirit. Jesus "was the only begotten of the Father" (John 1:14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
See All...).
Prior to these events, when an angelic messenger revealed to Mary that she would conceive and have a Son named Jesus, her immediate question was: "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
See All..., New Revised Standard Version).
Then the angel explained to Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest [God the Father] will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (verse 35).
Clearly Mary was a virgin (verse 27) and did not have normal marital relations until after the time that Jesus was born. Joseph "did not know her [intimately] till she had brought forth her firstborn Son" (Matthew 1:25And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
See All...).
Some believe, however, that Mary remained a virgin for the rest of her life. This idea is disproved by the Bible.
The word "firstborn" in Matthew 1:25And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
See All... clearly implies that Mary bore other children later. We find four brothers named and other "sisters" (plural) mentioned in Mark 6:3Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
See All.... Thus Joseph and Mary had at least six other children born to them who were Jesus' half brothers and half sisters.
The apostle John reveals yet another part of the story. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . ." (John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
See All..., 14). Jesus was God in the flesh as well as a human being. He existed for past eternity with the Father and was the one through whom God created all things including mankind (verse 3). To understand more about Jesus Christ, please request our free booklet Jesus Christ: The Real Story .
.
No comments:
Post a Comment