He Was Conceived By The Power Of The Holy Spirit And Born Of The Virgin Mary
Bible Study
Another Look At The Apostles' Creed
I Believe; Help My Unbelief
The emphasis on the tension between the divinity and the humanity of Jesus continues as we look at the second statement in article two of the Apostles' Creed. Remember, in Hebrew thinking a paradox often carries the deepest truth of all. Two things which at first glance seem mutually exclusive are sometimes both true. To say that Jesus "was conceived by the Holy Spirit" would be easier to maintain if we did not immediately add, "and born of the Virgin Mary." The Bible and Christian orthodoxy call us to keep these two truths in tensions.
Saint Paul, writing to the Galatian Christians, put the paradox this way: "... When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman ..." (Galatians 4:4). We see the paradox of the divinity and humanity of Christ in this assertion. We also see the concept of God's timing. The Greek word behind the English translation "time fully come" (in NIV) is kairos. Kairos means right or ripe timing as over against chronos which means chronological time. At just the right or ripe time, "the fullness of time" (as the NRSV puts it), God sent his Son.
There was a "ripeness" in the Greek world of the time. Alexander the Great had conquered the ancient world. The Greek language was used everywhere. When the New Testament came to be written, it was written in the Greek language of the common people. The gospel could spread far and wide because the Greek language was used everywhere in the western world.
There was a "ripeness" in the Roman world of the time. Despite all of the negatives related to the Roman conquering of the ancient world and the Roman persecution of Christians, the Romans made a contribution to the spreading of the gospel. To their credit, the Romans built roads to all parts of the Empire, from India to Great Britain. The gospel could be carried to all parts of the known world because of the Roman roads.
There was also a "ripeness" in the Hebrew world of the time. The prophets of old had foretold the coming of the Messiah. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). The Jewish people of Jesus' time were looking for the Messiah, thinking him to be the one who would free them from Roman oppression. The Jews were wrong about the purpose of the coming of Christ, but their anticipation meant that the Hebrew world was "ripe" for the coming of Christ.
The Bible maintains that with God's timing, "in the fullness of time," Jesus was born. He was both God's Son and Mary's son. This paradox is repeated and summarized in the second article of the Apostles' Creed: "He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary."
Conceived By The Holy Spirit
Jesus was divine. He was God's only Son, conceived not by flesh and blood but by the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:30-38 describes the birth of Jesus like this:
... The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God...."
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
The Bible expresses this truth of the conception by the Holy Spirit in a variety of ways. Jesus, being in very nature God, took the form of a servant (Philippians 2:5-8). The Word who was God became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1:1-14). The power of the Most High overshadowed Mary, and she gave birth to the Son of God (Luke 1:35).
The Gnostics taught otherwise. They said that the Spirit entered Jesus at his baptism, not before. They maintained that all matter was evil and that God would never enter the world directly. Some of them taught that there was never a man Jesus at all, but only the appearance of a man, through which the wise teachings of God were given.
Against this heresy, orthodox Christians affirmed that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, thus denying the Gnostic heresy that the Spirit was not with Jesus at the beginning of his life. Jesus was viewed by orthodox Christians as divine from the beginning. The divinity of Jesus is affirmed in the Bible and the Creed at all stages of his life, including his birth and his resurrection.
In one of Jesus' resurrection appearances, Thomas, the doubter, expressed the divinity of Jesus in a very direct way. Thomas had not been present when Jesus first appeared to the other apostles. They told him about it, but he refused to take their word for it, saying, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it" (John 20:25). A week after the first appearance Jesus appeared again. This time Thomas was present. Jesus said to him, "Put you finger here; and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe" (John 20:27). Thomas confessed, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).
When the Apostles' Creed asserts that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that means that Jesus was divine from the beginning to the end of his life. He was also human.
Born Of The Virgin Mary
Jesus was a human being. He was born to Mary. His ancestors included both Abraham and David (Matthew 1:1-17). The Bible goes to great lengths to show the humanity of Jesus, as well as his divinity.
Both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke show the human side of the story by giving us details about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. They want to show that the birth event was grounded in history, and was not some esoteric spiritual principle or idea for the elite (as the Gnostics later contended). This birth was no philosophical principle, but practical, historical reality. As mentioned earlier, the concrete, specific, and physical are all categories of Hebrew thinking.
Luke 2:8-20 is a good example of an historical setting to show the human side of the birth of Jesus, even though we get a bit of divinity in the song of heavenly angels.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby (near Bethlehem), keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Jesus was the Son of God, but he was also the son of Mary. Jesus' human side attracted people. People were touched by his human love. That love was unconditional and selfless. They were amazed by his compassion. You could warm your hands in it. People started out saying, "This is a very good man. We have never seen a man like this before." Later, the apostles raised the question of his being more than a man. When Jesus stilled the storm, the apostles cried out, "What kind of a man is this that even the wind and the waves obey him?"
The Apostles' Creed maintains the human aspect of Jesus by saying that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. At the time the Apostles' Creed was being written, various ideas about the divinity and humanity of Jesus were being advocated by different groups. We have looked briefly at the Gnostics who taught that God could never be involved with the evil world. The Gnostics were declared heretics; so were the Ebionites who taught that Jesus was only man, not God. The Docetists taught that Jesus was not really human. They believed that Jesus' body was just a cloak for God. The Nestorians separated Jesus' human and divine natures. At times, they taught, he was human; at other times he was God. All of these groups were declared heresies by the early church as it hammered out the paradox of Jesus who was both God and man. The early church clung to the orthodox teaching that Jesus was "God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary."
Questions For Personal Consideration And/Or Group Discussion
1. Immanuel (Isaiah 7:4) means "God with us." The name Jesus means "God saves." Christ means Messiah. If you are in a group, discuss this statement: "The Messiah saves us and is with us at all times."
2. Consider God's timing (kairos) in the coming of Christ and in your own life.
3. How would you describe Jesus in earthly terms to a friend who is an unbeliever?
4. How is a heretic different from someone who is an agnostic or an atheist?
Digging Deeper
Biblical And Historical Background
1. The Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John do not mention the birth of Jesus as Matthew and Luke describe it. Mark begins with the ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus. John speaks of the Word made flesh. Each Gospel has its own purpose.
2. That Mary was a virgin is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. The Hebrew term in this passage can also be translated "young woman." Matthew 1:23 is based on the Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. In the Septuagint the word parthenos, meaning virgin, was used. Some scholars question the virgin birth of Jesus, but there are substantial reasons to believe it. It is taught in Scripture. It is a part of the Christian tradition. It shows that Jesus was from God, not just from man.
3. Consider Saint Paul's insights into God who wants all people to be saved through Jesus, the mediator who is both God and man. See 1 Timothy 2:1-7.
4. The Gnostics were agreed that the orthodox Christians were wrong in supposing that God had taken human nature or a human body. Some of them distinguished between Christ, whom they acknowledged to be in some sense divine, and the man Jesus, who in their minds was at most an instrument through whom the Christ spoke. Other Gnostics maintained that there was never a man Jesus at all, but only the appearance of a man, through which appearance wise teachings were given to the first disciples. Against this, the orthodox Christians maintained that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
For Further Insight
1. John 1:14 says that "Jesus pitched his tent among us." What difference does that make?
2. Consider Micah 4:2. How does this compare with the Luke 2:4-6 and Matthew 2:1?
3. The literal meaning of the term "disillusioned" is "freed from illusions." Illusions are false ideas. What are some of the false ideas people have about Jesus?
For Further Application
1. The next time someone says, "I don't believe in God," you might ask him or her to tell you about the God he or she does not believe in. Chances are, the God he or she describes will not be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. What are some of the highlights of your past Christmases?
3. Do you have any special plans for the next Christmas celebration?
Saint Paul, writing to the Galatian Christians, put the paradox this way: "... When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman ..." (Galatians 4:4). We see the paradox of the divinity and humanity of Christ in this assertion. We also see the concept of God's timing. The Greek word behind the English translation "time fully come" (in NIV) is kairos. Kairos means right or ripe timing as over against chronos which means chronological time. At just the right or ripe time, "the fullness of time" (as the NRSV puts it), God sent his Son.
There was a "ripeness" in the Greek world of the time. Alexander the Great had conquered the ancient world. The Greek language was used everywhere. When the New Testament came to be written, it was written in the Greek language of the common people. The gospel could spread far and wide because the Greek language was used everywhere in the western world.
There was a "ripeness" in the Roman world of the time. Despite all of the negatives related to the Roman conquering of the ancient world and the Roman persecution of Christians, the Romans made a contribution to the spreading of the gospel. To their credit, the Romans built roads to all parts of the Empire, from India to Great Britain. The gospel could be carried to all parts of the known world because of the Roman roads.
There was also a "ripeness" in the Hebrew world of the time. The prophets of old had foretold the coming of the Messiah. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). The Jewish people of Jesus' time were looking for the Messiah, thinking him to be the one who would free them from Roman oppression. The Jews were wrong about the purpose of the coming of Christ, but their anticipation meant that the Hebrew world was "ripe" for the coming of Christ.
The Bible maintains that with God's timing, "in the fullness of time," Jesus was born. He was both God's Son and Mary's son. This paradox is repeated and summarized in the second article of the Apostles' Creed: "He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary."
Conceived By The Holy Spirit
Jesus was divine. He was God's only Son, conceived not by flesh and blood but by the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:30-38 describes the birth of Jesus like this:
... The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God...."
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
The Bible expresses this truth of the conception by the Holy Spirit in a variety of ways. Jesus, being in very nature God, took the form of a servant (Philippians 2:5-8). The Word who was God became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1:1-14). The power of the Most High overshadowed Mary, and she gave birth to the Son of God (Luke 1:35).
The Gnostics taught otherwise. They said that the Spirit entered Jesus at his baptism, not before. They maintained that all matter was evil and that God would never enter the world directly. Some of them taught that there was never a man Jesus at all, but only the appearance of a man, through which the wise teachings of God were given.
Against this heresy, orthodox Christians affirmed that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, thus denying the Gnostic heresy that the Spirit was not with Jesus at the beginning of his life. Jesus was viewed by orthodox Christians as divine from the beginning. The divinity of Jesus is affirmed in the Bible and the Creed at all stages of his life, including his birth and his resurrection.
In one of Jesus' resurrection appearances, Thomas, the doubter, expressed the divinity of Jesus in a very direct way. Thomas had not been present when Jesus first appeared to the other apostles. They told him about it, but he refused to take their word for it, saying, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it" (John 20:25). A week after the first appearance Jesus appeared again. This time Thomas was present. Jesus said to him, "Put you finger here; and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe" (John 20:27). Thomas confessed, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).
When the Apostles' Creed asserts that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that means that Jesus was divine from the beginning to the end of his life. He was also human.
Born Of The Virgin Mary
Jesus was a human being. He was born to Mary. His ancestors included both Abraham and David (Matthew 1:1-17). The Bible goes to great lengths to show the humanity of Jesus, as well as his divinity.
Both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke show the human side of the story by giving us details about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. They want to show that the birth event was grounded in history, and was not some esoteric spiritual principle or idea for the elite (as the Gnostics later contended). This birth was no philosophical principle, but practical, historical reality. As mentioned earlier, the concrete, specific, and physical are all categories of Hebrew thinking.
Luke 2:8-20 is a good example of an historical setting to show the human side of the birth of Jesus, even though we get a bit of divinity in the song of heavenly angels.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby (near Bethlehem), keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Jesus was the Son of God, but he was also the son of Mary. Jesus' human side attracted people. People were touched by his human love. That love was unconditional and selfless. They were amazed by his compassion. You could warm your hands in it. People started out saying, "This is a very good man. We have never seen a man like this before." Later, the apostles raised the question of his being more than a man. When Jesus stilled the storm, the apostles cried out, "What kind of a man is this that even the wind and the waves obey him?"
The Apostles' Creed maintains the human aspect of Jesus by saying that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. At the time the Apostles' Creed was being written, various ideas about the divinity and humanity of Jesus were being advocated by different groups. We have looked briefly at the Gnostics who taught that God could never be involved with the evil world. The Gnostics were declared heretics; so were the Ebionites who taught that Jesus was only man, not God. The Docetists taught that Jesus was not really human. They believed that Jesus' body was just a cloak for God. The Nestorians separated Jesus' human and divine natures. At times, they taught, he was human; at other times he was God. All of these groups were declared heresies by the early church as it hammered out the paradox of Jesus who was both God and man. The early church clung to the orthodox teaching that Jesus was "God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary."
Questions For Personal Consideration And/Or Group Discussion
1. Immanuel (Isaiah 7:4) means "God with us." The name Jesus means "God saves." Christ means Messiah. If you are in a group, discuss this statement: "The Messiah saves us and is with us at all times."
2. Consider God's timing (kairos) in the coming of Christ and in your own life.
3. How would you describe Jesus in earthly terms to a friend who is an unbeliever?
4. How is a heretic different from someone who is an agnostic or an atheist?
Digging Deeper
Biblical And Historical Background
1. The Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John do not mention the birth of Jesus as Matthew and Luke describe it. Mark begins with the ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus. John speaks of the Word made flesh. Each Gospel has its own purpose.
2. That Mary was a virgin is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. The Hebrew term in this passage can also be translated "young woman." Matthew 1:23 is based on the Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. In the Septuagint the word parthenos, meaning virgin, was used. Some scholars question the virgin birth of Jesus, but there are substantial reasons to believe it. It is taught in Scripture. It is a part of the Christian tradition. It shows that Jesus was from God, not just from man.
3. Consider Saint Paul's insights into God who wants all people to be saved through Jesus, the mediator who is both God and man. See 1 Timothy 2:1-7.
4. The Gnostics were agreed that the orthodox Christians were wrong in supposing that God had taken human nature or a human body. Some of them distinguished between Christ, whom they acknowledged to be in some sense divine, and the man Jesus, who in their minds was at most an instrument through whom the Christ spoke. Other Gnostics maintained that there was never a man Jesus at all, but only the appearance of a man, through which appearance wise teachings were given to the first disciples. Against this, the orthodox Christians maintained that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
For Further Insight
1. John 1:14 says that "Jesus pitched his tent among us." What difference does that make?
2. Consider Micah 4:2. How does this compare with the Luke 2:4-6 and Matthew 2:1?
3. The literal meaning of the term "disillusioned" is "freed from illusions." Illusions are false ideas. What are some of the false ideas people have about Jesus?
For Further Application
1. The next time someone says, "I don't believe in God," you might ask him or her to tell you about the God he or she does not believe in. Chances are, the God he or she describes will not be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. What are some of the highlights of your past Christmases?
3. Do you have any special plans for the next Christmas celebration?
