The Doctrine of Holy Ground - The Virgin Birth of Christ

Temple Baptist Church - 12-17-2023

Matthew 1:18-25

Introduction: 

 

A.  At least once a year, especially around the Christmas Season, I preach on the precious doctrine of the Virgin Birth of Christ. 

 

1.  The Virgin Birth of Christ is often called “The Doctrine of Holy Ground!” 

 

2.  The virgin birth of Christ is the pivotal point between Promise or Prophecy and Performance. 

 

a)  The Prophecy of Israel’s Messiah looked forward to His First Advent.

 

b)  The Performance of the birth of Israel’s Messiah was the Fulfillment of that Prophecy.

 

B.  The Book of Matthew portrays the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the coming of the King of Israel. 

 

1.  Matthew 1:1-17 shows the lineage of Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.  In these verses, we find the names of men who “begat” sons divided into three time periods. 

 

2.  From Abraham to David, from David to the Babylonish Captivity, from the Babylonish Captivity to Christ.

 

C.  In Matthew 1:18, we find the words: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise.”  Showing a deviation, a differentiation from the natural births of the last 42 generations mentioned where the seed of men begat men.

 

“Espoused wife” and “before they came together” declares a birth like none that preceded it and none that would come after it. 

 

D.  The word “espoused” in Matthew 1:18, speaks of Mary’s relationship to Joseph and is also found in Luke 1:27 and Luke 2:5.  Espoused means betrothed or engaged to. 

 

1.  Well explained within Matthew’s context:

 

Matthew 1:18 - “before they came together”

 

Matthew 1:23 “a virgin shall be with child”

 

Matthew 1:25 - “and knew her not till”

 

2.  The Virgin Birth is further explained in Luke’s Gospel.  Luke 1:34  Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

 

E.  The Virgin Birth of Christ is a doctrine both sweetly adored and severely attacked.  Love by God’s people and hated by Satan’s people. 

 

A birth like none other.  There has never been nor will there ever be another virgin birth. No man or woman since Adam and Eve, except for Jesus Christ, came into the world through a virgin birth or without the seed of man involved. 

 

F.  The Virgin Birth of Christ is the mystery of mysteries, the jewel of all ages, the hope of mankind, and the love of God manifested.  It was a miraculous event.  A miracle is a phenomenon that cannot be explained outside the realm of supernatural intervention. It is an event that supersedes natural law.

 

1 Timothy 6:16  Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

 

1.  The immortal became mortal that the mortal may become immortal.

 

a)  Immortality or eternality is an attribute of God.  1 Timothy 6:16a “Who only hath immortality” 

 

b)  Mortal becomes Immortal in Christ.  1 Corinthians 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

 

2.  The untouchable became touchable.

 

a)  The untouchable God – 1 Timothy 6:16b  “dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see”

 

b)  Became the Touchable Saviour – Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

 

1 John 1:1  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;.

 

G.  The Virgin Birth was necessary because:

 

1.  The Child born was the God-Man.  100% man on His mother’s side and 100% God on His Father’s side.  As the Trinity is represented by 3 distinct Persons, Jesus Christ is represented by 2 distinct persons.  Uniting full humanity with full deity. 

 

2.  The Child was born the sinless Son of God.  Sin came through Adam’s seed, but Christ came through the Woman’s Seed without Adamic sin.  Sin came through Adam’s seed, not Eve’s.

 

3.  The Child was virgin born to guarantee that salvation would come through Christ alone and not man.

 

H.  The Virgin Birth Prophesied.  Genesis 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

 

Isaiah 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

 

J.  The Virgin Birth Performed.  Matthew 1:18  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.  (“On this wise” sets the birth of Christ apart from the “begats” of the first 17 verses!)

 

K.  The Virgin Birth Purposed.  Matthew 1:21-23  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 

 

a.  The Virgin Birth of Christ was about Sin.  Disobedience to God and God’s hatred for sin.

 

b.  The Virgin Birth of Christ was about Sinners.  God’s love for the sinner despite sinfulness.

 

c.  The Virgin Birth of Christ was about Separation.  Man hiding and God seeking.

 

d.  The Virgin Birth of Christ was about Substitution.  The innocent died for the guilty that the guilty could become innocent.

 

e.  The Virgin Birth of Christ was about the Saviour.  The coming of Messiah, Christ Jesus, the Saviour of the world.

 

f.  The Virgin Birth of Christ was about Salvation.  Free to all who would repent and believe.

 

g.  The Virgin Birth of Christ was about Security.  Eternal restoration, eternal life, eternal joy.

 

L.  Dr. Herbert Lockyer said it this way, “The incarnation is the most stupendous miracle comprehending and involving all other miracles, and because it is a theme both deep and delicate, infinite and incomprehensible, how about “finding out acceptable words”.  The ground we approach is holy calling for the putting off of our shoes.”

 

M.  G. Campbell Morgan said that in the presence of such a holy miracle “there can be no fitting attitude of the human intellect save that of acceptance of the truth without any attempt to explain the mystery.”

 

N.  One writer expressed it this way, “I will seek to believe rather than to reason, to adore rather than to explain, to give thanks rather that to penetrate; to love rather than to know; to humble myself rather than to speak.”

 

                    The Ancient of Days became a babe at Bethlehem.

          He who thunders in the heavens crying in a cradle.

He who gives to all their meat in due season, nursing at his Mother’s  breast.

                    He who made all flesh now made of flesh.

He who could summon legions of angels, while wrapped in infant’s clothes.

                    The mighty God, now a helpless child

          God and man became one Person.

.

Conclusion:  The Virgin Birth was an event beyond human comprehension!  The Seed of the Woman: a conception and birth without man.  The God-Man, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ The Lord

Temple Baptist Church - 12-15-2019

Luke 2:1-14 (vs. 11)

Introduction: 

A.  This morning, I want to look at the Person of Incarnation.  In Matthew 16:13-16, Jesus asked his disciples a question concerning His Person and Peter gave one of the most quoted statements in the Bible. 

Matthew 16:13  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Christ – “The Anointed One”  The Christ, not a Christ!  There were many anointed men in both the Old and New Testaments, but this verse is in reference to “The Anointed One,” One of a kind, the very Son of God!

B.  Who was that Babe that was born in a manger so long ago?  The world is certainly confused concerning His Person. 

2 Corinthians 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 

C.  The world is blinded to the “glorious gospel of Christ” which pictures the incarnation, life, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

1.  Religion tries to change Him.

2.  The world tries to ignore Him.

3.  The atheist tries to do away with Him.

4.  As S. M. Lockridge so eloquently said, “You can't get Him out of your mind.  You can't get Him off your hands.  You can't outlive Him, and you can't live without Him.”

D.  What does the Bible say about Him?

1.  The Bible declares that He is God!  He is not angel; He is not a son of the gods; He is not a son of God; He is the only begotten Son of God; He is Almighty Jehovah God!

John 1:1-4  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 10:30  I and my Father are one.

John 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

2.  The Bible declares that He is the eternal God!  He did not begin at the creation as He was not created; He was the Creator; He did not begin in the womb of Mary as He created both Mary and the womb that bore Him; He always was and always will be Almighty God!

Psalms 90:2  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Micah 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Revelation 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

3.  The Bible declares that He is the unchanging God!  He does not change in His Person; He does not change in His Performance; He does not change in His Purpose; He does not change in His Promises; He is and forever will be the same for He is the immutable God!

Hebrews 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Psalms 102:27  But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

Malachi 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

4.  The Bible declares that He is the Only Saviour!  He is not a Savior; He is not a Way; He is the Saviour and the only Way to Heaven!

Isaiah 43:11  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

5.  The Bible declares that He is the sovereign LORD!  He does as He wills and asks counsel of no man!  He knows the end from the beginning and, therefore, needs no advice or guidance!  His purposes and promises are always fulfilled because He is a sovereign LORD!

Romans 11:33-36  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

6.  The Bible declares that He is One of a kind!  There has never been a God before Him; there is no God with Him; there will never be a God after Him!  He is self-existing and He is eternal!

Isaiah 45:5-6  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

Isaiah 45:18  For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

7.  The Bible declares that He is everything that this world needs!  For without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5); but with Him, we can do all things (Philippians 4:13)!

Isaiah 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

a.  He is the Reason of my Praise – “Wonderful”

b.  He is the Remedy of my Problems – “Counselor”

c.  He is the Resource of my Power – “The Mighty God”

d.  He is the Righteousness of my Permanence – “The Everlasting Father”

e.  He is the Reality of my Peace – “The Prince Of Peace”

When The Word Became Flesh

Temple Baptist Church - 12-2-2018

John 1:14

Introduction:

A.  Christmas is almost upon us once again and our hearts turn back to Bethlehem and the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

B.  I want to look at these verses considering His First Advent.  These verses are so profound as they give us valuable insight into who Christ was, what He became, and why He came.

C.  In these verses, we see:

1.  The Eternality of Christ – Verse 1 — “In the beginning was the Word.”  1 John 1:1  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;  (The Gospel of John and the Book of 1 John begin with the same truth concerning Christ’s eternality.  The great “I AM THAT I AM,” the self-existing One, the Everlasting Father of Isaiah 9, the Eternal God.  A truth to be believed though a truth that cannot be comprehended.  He was, He is, He always will be!)

2.  The Union of Christ – Verse 1 – “and the Word was with God.”  1 John 5:7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.  (John 10 says, “I and the Father are one!”  God is one God, manifesting Himself in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.  All three are co-equal in all power and attributes.  Perfectly one in person, one in purpose, and one agreement.)

3.  The Deity of Christ – Verse 1 – “and the Word was God.”  Titus 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;  (The great Jehovah God of the Old Testament; LORD God.  Essential to our ability to glorify God is the knowledge of God’s person.  There are so many names given to God in the Old Testament that give insight concerning His person, position, and power.  El Shaddai-Almighty God, El Elyon-the Most-High God, El Olam-The Everlasting God, Yahweh-the Existing God, Adonai-Master. 

4.  The Creation of Christ – Verse 3 – “All things were made by Him.”  Ephesians 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:  (Everything that exists came by Christ, through Christ, and belongs to Christ.  God said it and it was done!  The universe, this world, and everything in them belongs to Him.)

5.  The Life of Christ – Verse 4 – “In Him was life.”  John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  (Man cannot give life.  Only Life can beget life and that Life comes from God.  Plant life, animal life, fowl life, and the life of man came from God.  THE life, not a life.)

6.  The Illumination of Christ – Verse 4 – “and the life was the light of men … which lighteth every man.”  John 1:9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  (With man’s life comes the “light” of the knowledge of God.  Every man is born God conscious, not atheistic.  Atheism is learned from other atheists.  Theism is inherent in man.  God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the “breath of life.”  God’s life, eternal life.)

7.  The Will of Christ – Verse 7 – “that all men through Him might believe.”  1 Timothy 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.  (God is not willing that any perish.  God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.  To die without Christ is to die out of the will of God.)

8.  The Rejection of Christ – Verse 10-11 – “the world knew Him not … His own received Him not.”  John 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.  (The world wants no God.  The world wants to be their own personal “god.”  No God, no accountability; no God, no purpose in life; no God, no life after death.  BUT, we are accountable, we do have purpose, and there is life after death.  “The fool hath said in his heart, there is not God.”)

9.  The Incarnation of Christ – Verse 14 – “And the Word was made flesh.”  1 John 1:2  (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, andbear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)  (The “seed of the woman” was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago.  The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”  That is the Reason for the Season.  “For God so loved the world!”)

10.  The Purpose of Christ – Verse 12 – “But as many as received Him.”  1 John 3:23  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. (Receiving the promise of God: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”)

Conclusion:  The greatest Gift ever given was the Gift of God’s Son.  Receive Him and have eternal life in heaven; reject Him and have eternal life in hell.