An important aspect of Christâs nature is that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a woman. For Christ to be both God and man, He must fully possess both the divine and human natures without confusion or blending. This means that He is not partly God and partly human. Nor is only His Spirit divine while the rest of Him is merely human. Christianity teaches that Christ is fully God and fully man, inseparably united in one person. The Athanasian Creed expresses this truth clearly.
âFor the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and made of the substance of His mother, born in the world. Perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood. Who, although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ. One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the manhood into God. One altogether, not by the confusion of substance, but by unity of person.â (Athanasian Creed)
Christ was conceived in the womb of a woman by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is God and is the power of God that brings forth life. Everything that God creates is given life by His Holy Spirit. The Bible says God breathed life into man.
âThen the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.â (Gen 2:7 NAS)
âFor as long as life is in me, And the breath of God is in my nostrilsâ (Job 27:3 NAS)
âThe Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.â (Job 33:4 NAS)
The Holy Spirit brings all of creation to life and existence. The trees, animals, humans, nature and all things that exist in Godâs creation come into being by the Holy Spirit.
âThou dost send forth Thy Spirit, they are created; And Thou dost renew the face of the ground.â (Psa 104:30 NAS)
Because the Holy Spirit breathes life into all things, it is no mystery why the Holy Spirit would cause the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary. Jesus is the substance of the Father and the mother. The Athanasian Creed expresses this truth clearly.
âGod of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and made of the substance of His mother, born in the world.â (Athanasian Creed)
Jesus is God and was made human. The Son of God is the Word of God, begotten from the Father from eternity.
âAnd the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.â (John 1:14 NAS)
The Son came from eternity into creation by the means of the virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit is the âpower of the Most High.â He conceived Jesus Christ from the substance of the Father and the substance of Mary.
âThe Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.â (Luk 1:35 NAS)
âBut when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, âJoseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.â (Mat 1:20 NAS)
It is critical to the Christian faith to believe in Godâs Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows the depths of God, which is impossible unless the Holy Spirit were God.
âFor to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.â (1Co 2:10 NAS)
The unity of the Son of God as being fully God and fully man is one of the most important teachings in Christianity. The unity of the Son of God, the Spirit of God and God the Father is the essence of the unity in trinity.
It is necessary that Christ was born from a virgin.
The Bible clearly teaches that Christ was born of a virgin woman, and this truth was affirmed without confusion by both Scripture and the early Church Fathers. The Westminster Shorter Catechism says,
âQuestion. 22. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?
Answer. Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to himself a true body, and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin.â (WSC Q# 22)
Christ needed to be born of a virgin to accomplish His mission of saving His people from their sins. As the Lamb of God, He had to be entirely without sin. In the Old Testament, only a spotless male lamb could be offered by the priests for a sacrifice to be acceptable to God.
âIf his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD.â (Lev 1:3 NAS)
In order for Christ to fulfill this requirement, Christ had to be born of a virgin and be the son of God. Isaiah prophesied the messiah would come from a virgin.
âTherefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.â (Isa 7:14 NAS)
The word âImmanuel,” means, “God with us.” The apostle Matthew teaches that Isaiahâs prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Matthew wrote,
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.â (Mat 1:23-25 NAS)
The apostle Luke also taught that Mary was a virgin when Christ was conceived. Luke wrote,
âAnd the angel said to her, âDo not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. âAnd behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. ⊠And Mary said to the angel, âHow can this be, since I am a virgin?â And the angel answered and said to her, âThe Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.â (Luk 1:30-35 NAS)
If Mary was not a virgin, people could object to Christâs claim that He is the Son of God. If Christ is a son of Adam, Christ would be a sinner and incapable of acting as a substitute for the sins of His people as the lamb of God.
Christ is the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.
Christ must be the Son of God and born of a virgin in order to be sinless and without blemish. John the Baptist identified Jesus as the lamb of God.
âThe next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!â (Joh 1:29 NAS)
All the descendants of Adam are under the condemnation of sin. Christ is the Son of God the Father and is not under the condemnation of Adamâs sin.
âTherefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned⊠For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.â (Rom 5:12-17 NAS)
Death and condemnation spread to all the descendants of Adam because of Adams sin. Because Christ is the Son of God, He is born without sin. Christâs human nature was conceived by the Holy Spirit from the substance the woman. The messiah had to have all the essential requirements of any ordinary human. Christ experienced hunger, physical pain and all discomforts that accompany being human. The Westminster Larger Catechism says,
âQuestion. 48. How did Christ humble himself in his life?
Answer. Christ humbled himself in his life, by subjecting himself to the law, which he perfectly fulfilled; and by conflicting with the indignities of the world, temptations of Satan, and infirmities in his flesh, whether common to the nature of man, or particularly accompanying that his low condition.â
(WLC Q# 48)
It is necessary that Christ be human in order to be our High Priest.
Christ is the High Priest of His people.
Jesus experienced the same struggles in life that all humanity experiences. He is capable of standing before God the Father on our behalf.
âTherefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.â (Heb 2:17-18 NAS)
âFor we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.â (Heb 4:15 NAS)
We believe that God became a man to go through the same physical struggles we face and to live in perfect obedience, just as God requires from all people. This makes Christ a perfect substitute as the lamb of God on our behalf. Christ perfectly fulfilled the law and lived a sinless life. This is possible because Christ is the Son of God the Father and not merely the son of a sinful earthly father.
The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is a foundational truth of the Christian faith. It upholds the doctrine that Christ is both fully God and fully manâconceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a womanâwithout sin or blemish. This miraculous conception ensured His qualification as the spotless Lamb of God, capable of bearing the sins of the world. By taking on human flesh, Christ fulfilled the law, experienced the struggles of life, and became our faithful High Priest who intercedes for us. The unity of His divine and human nature confirms Him as the only true Mediator between God and man. Through Him alone, salvation is made possible.