As soon as Adam and Eve fell from grace, before they were cast out of the Garden of Eden, God promised that a Redeemer would someday be born on earth. Centuries later, God chose for Himself a covenant people whom He prepared to receive this Redeemer. Throughout the history of the Hebrew people, God renewed the promise of the Redeemer.
1. God’s Promise:
From the seed (descendants) of the woman will be born an adversary to the devil.
The Lord said to Satan, And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed (Gen. 3:15). This refers to a human being, a man, a Deliverer / Redeemer, descended from this first woman who will oppose Satan and his seed (those who yield their lives to satanic influence). Her seed also refers to all the redeemed throughout history — those who will yield their lies to this Deliverer / Redeemer. They also will oppose Satan and his seed.
Gods’ Fulfillment:
The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil (I Jn. 3:8). Every time Jesus encountered demonic presence in people, He cast it out. When He encountered brokenness in bodies and minds, He brought healing. Against the lies and darkness of false teaching, He taught truth. But it is also true of His seed — the redeemed — that Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). Jesus continues His opposition to Satan through His redeemed church.
2. God’s Promise:
This Deliverer / Redeemer will deal a mortal blow to the power of the devil:
God said to Satan, He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel (Gen. 3:15). To bruise the head of the serpent refers to a mortal wound, defeat. To be bruised on the heel refers to a wounding but not final defeat.
Gods’ Fulfillment:
Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death (Hebr. 2:14). Jesus took our humanity upon Himself so that He could take our sin and death upon Himself, thereby breaking the power of Satan off of the lives of all who trust in Christ.
He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross (Col. 2:14,15).
The Romans would nail the charges aganst a criminal onto his cross. Paul uses figurative language to express this truth — Jesus took our sin upon Himself on the cross, thereby disarming Satan of his accusation against all who trust in Christ. In His atoning sacrifice, Jesus took our sin and death upon Himself, thereby dealing a mortal blow to Satan. On the cross, Jesus triumphed over Satan and all the powers of darkness.
Jesus understood this and as the time for His death drew near, He declared, The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out (Jn. 12:31).
In John’s vision of the glorified Christ, he heard Jesus say, I am the living One. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave (Rev. 1:18). Holding the keys of death and the grave refers to authority. Jesus dealt a mortal blow to the power of the devil, as was promised in Eden.
3. God’s Promise:
The Deliverer / Redeemer will be both human and divine:
Therefore 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 (Isaiah 7:14).
It was necessary that the Redeemer be born of a woman so that He could share the same human nature as those whom He came to save. But it was equally necessary that He be perfectly God, for who but God could offer a perfect sacrifice for sin? Thus Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin, without a human father. Therefore He will be Immanuel, which means, God with us.
There are those who argue against the virgin birth of Christ by reminding us that the Hebrew word alma may be translated maiden, which would read, A maiden will be with child. But how would that be a sign from God? Young women, maidens, have babies every day. The word alma is usually translated virgin and must mean that in this context or it makes no sense that God would use it as a sign. God would not say, Behold, a maiden will bear a son. That is not a sign. It is a normal, every day occurrence.
Gods’ Fulfillment:
Matthew, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, testifies, Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18).
Joseph was quite distressed because he know he was not the father but then we read, An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit … Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son and they will call His name Immanuel’ which translated means, ‘God with us” (Matt. 1:20,22,23).
Joseph and Mary, though betrothed, had not yet come together in intimate union. The angel informed Joseph that the Holy Spirit conceived the child in Mary’s womb. Matthew then quotes from a Greek translation of Isaiah 7:14, The virgin shall be with child and he uses the word parthenos, which refers to an unmarried daughter who has not had sexual relations —- a virgin (Matt. 1:23)
Luke, also writing in Greek, testifies that the angel Gabriel came to a virgin ... and the virgin’s name was Mary (Luke 1:27). The word which Luke uses, parthenos, is normally translated virgin. The angel tells Mary, a virgin, that she will conceive and bear a son.
Mary then asked, How can this be, since I am a virgin (since I know no man)? (Luke 1:34). The angel replies, The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Mary was told that she will conceive without a man because God the Holy Spirit will conceive this life in her — a life both human and divine — Son of Man and Son of God, perfectly human and perfectly divine; two natures, one Person.
It was necessary that the Redeemer would be born of a woman and yet also be divine — the God / Man. Therefore He had to be conceived by the Holy Spirit and yet born of a woman. There is nothing ambiguous or unclear about the testimony concerning the virgin birth.
4. God’s Promise:
The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem yet He will exist before His human birth:
But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His times of coming forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity (Micah 5:2)
Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, Micah prophesies that a ruler will be born in an obscure Judean village, Bethlehem, yet His origins are from the days of eternity. Isaiah also prophesied that the coming One would be eternal, everlasting (Isa. 9:6).
Gods’ Fulfillment:
In Luke 2:1-7 we read that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in clear fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy. Remember, though, that Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, not Bethlehem. In order for Micah’s prophecy to be fulfilled, God moved a Roman ruler, Emperor Augustus, to call for a world wide census to be taken. People had to return to their ancestral home to register. This required that Joseph and Mary journey to Bethlehem, a distance of about 70-90 miles, while she was in the final days of pregnancy. God used a pagan ruler, who knew nothing of God or Messianic prophecy, to fulfill the words of Micah.
Though Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Micah and Isaiah prophesied that the coming Messiah would exist from eternity. This was Jesus‘ testimony, Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am (John 8:58).
John also testifies of Jesus, He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being (Jn. 1:2,3).
5. God’s Promise:
Messiah’s rule will not be established through military conquest. Rather, He will be like a shepherd, establishing peace with humility and yet His rule will be extended to the ends of the earth.
And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. This One will be our peace (Micah 5:4,5).
He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young (Isa. 40:11).
Gods’ Fulfillment:
Jesus said, I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep (Jn. 10:11).
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand (Jn. 10:27,28). As the prophet promised, They will remain.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matt. 11:29).
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, it was not as a conquering general but humble, riding on a donkey (Matt. 21:5). He conquers, establishing peace with love and grace. But His kingdom extends to the ends of the earth as He testifies, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).
John heard loud voices in heaven proclaim, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever (Rev. 11:15). As the prophet promised, He will be great to the ends of the earth. So it will be.
6. God’s Promise:
Messiah’s peace will be established through His atoning sacrifice in which He carried our sins and God’s judgment against our sin.
“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him … My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities (Isa. 53:4-6,11).
Gods’ Fulfillment:
The Apostle Paul proclaims, Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1). We are assured that Jesus made peace through the blood of His cross (Col. 1:20). To be at peace with God is to be reconciled to Him, Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ … God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them (2 Cor. 5:18,19).
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
It does not say that God did not count our sins. Rather, He counted our sins against Jesus who on the cross offered Himself as the perfect, all-sufficient sin sacrifice on our behalf thereby establishing peace with God for all who trust in the redeeming work of Jesus.
7. God’s Promise:
The sacrificed Messiah will rise from the dead.
The Old Testament saint Job declared, As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth (Job 19:25).
King David declared, For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay (Ps. 16:10).
Gods’ Fulfillment:
Peter, preaching on that first Pentecost Sunday, quoted Psalm 16:10 and then said, Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to Him with an oath to seat one of His descendants on His throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses (Acts 2:29-32).
Paul said to the church, And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus (Acts 13:32,30). He then quoted Psalm 16:10, that God will not let His Holy One see decay.
On Easter morning, an angel met the women at the tomb and said, He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying (Matt. 28:6).
The risen Lord said to His disciples, These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day’ (Luke 24:44-46).
8. God’s Promise:
Messiah will be born in the royal line of King David and His reign will endure forever.
It was necessary that Jesus was descended from King David because the Messiah had to be of royal lineage. As Isaiah prophesied, For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us and the government will rest on His shoulders ... There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore (Isa. 9:6,7).
The prophet Daniel saw in a vision the glorified Son of Man (the Messiah), And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed (Dan. 7:14).
Gods’ Fulfillment:
The angel said to Mary, He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:32,33).
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phlp. 2:8-11).
John testifies, And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever’ (Rev. 5:13).
Summary of the historical truth regarding Jesus:
1. Jesus was born in the fulness of time:
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law (Gal. 4:4,5).
The word fullness could be used of a vessel filled to the brim. God, who works all things according to the counsel of His will, who alone governs the times and seasons of all events, sent forth His Son into the world at the hour in human history which perfectly fulfilled His purpose.
2. Jesus was born of a woman (Galatians 4:4)
This refers to His human inheritance. All that it means to be human, apart from sin, He inherited from His mother. Humanly speaking, she was fully His mother and He was fully her Son. This was necessary because Jesus was born to be the holy Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In order to be the substitute for sinful humanity, that is, in order to bear human sin and the wrath of God as our Substitute, Jesus had to be fully human, though without sin.
3. Jesus was born under the Law (Galatians 4:4,5)
By virtue of His birth to a Jewish mother and into a Jewish home, Jesus was born into the yoke of the Mosaic Law so that He could redeem humanity from the curse of the Law. By obeying the Law perfectly, sinlessly, He was qualified to be the sinless Sacrifice for sin.
4. Jesus was born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7)
To restate what has been said, Jesus was fully Man. The word likeness — homoioma —refers to something that not only appears to be like something else but is of the same reality. Jesus was truly, genuinely, human, having all the attributes of a man. This was obviously true because most people did not recognize Him to be anything other than a man and rejected His claim to be the Son of God.
As a baby He needed the same care and protection from His parents that any infant requires. As a child He grew, In wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52). He became weary, hungry, thirsty. He was subject to death.
He experienced temptation though without sin (Hebr. 2:18 also Matt. 4:1-11). The writer to the Hebrews says that Jesus was tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Hebr. 4:18). Jesus was perfectly human, though sinless.
5. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20, Lk. 1:35 )
In a manner unexplained but merely stated as fact and truth, we are told that the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, enabled Mary to conceive. God Himself, the sovereign creator of the universe, overshadowed Mary’s being with His life and creative power. As God encompassed Mary in the womb of His glory, He conceived in her womb the life of Jesus. For that reason, because of this divine creative miracle, The holy offspring shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35).
The eternal Jesus was conceived in time, in history, by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. The eternal God fit Himself into time as perfect God and perfect man.
The traditional, orthodox position on the nature of Christ, first formulated at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, states that Jesus was truly God and truly man, possessing two natures, both human and divine. As the Son of God, He existed with the Father before time and as the Son of Man, He was conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit at a particular time and place in history. Both divine and human natures are distinct but united in one Person.
There is an erroneous teaching that because Jesus had a human mother and not a human father, He bypassed the sin nature, as if the sin nature is passed genetically through the father. That’s not true. There’s nothing in Scripture or medical science to indicate how the sin nature is passed on — you can’t find it in DNA but women and men do transmit the sin nature. We don't know how but we do know that it is passed from generation to generation.
David said, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me (Ps. 51:5). He did not mean that his mother conceived him through an immoral act but that from the time of conception he was a sinner. David was born with a sin nature, a will to sin.
The Apostle Paul speaking of the original sin of Adam says, For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous (Rom. 5:19).
Because of Adam’s sin, all are born with a sin nature. However, Jesus, though born of a woman, was sinless because that’s the way God created Him — sinless from conception. The child in the womb of Mary was untouched by sin. He was a holy offspring, as the angel said to Mary, The holy child shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35).
This does not man that Mary was without sin as is taught in the false doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. To the contrary, in her song of praise, Mary said, My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior (Luke 1:46,47). Mary confessed that she was in need of a Savior.
Son of God (Luke 1:35) means that God Himself created this child in the womb of Mary. He was God’s Son, not Joseph’s Son. Jesus is the Son of God with all that this implies in terms of His nature, His essence. Jesus Christ was God in human flesh as Paul declares, For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form (Col 2:9).
He is also the Son of Mary, conceived and nurtured in her womb.
Jesus is also the Son of David, of royal descent because Mary was from David’s line (the genealogy in Luke 3 is considered to be Mary’s lineage). He is the Son of David legally because His father Joseph, though not His birth father but His father by human family identity, was also a descendant of David (Matt. 1:6,16). So Jesus inherited David’s royal line from His father, David’s royal blood from His mother. This is why the angel could say to Mary, And the Lord will give Him the throne of His father David and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever (Luke 1:32,33).
Jesus was Son of Mary in His humanity, Son of Joseph in the legal sense, Son of David in royal lineage and Son of God in His divine nature and essence. Son of God and Son of Mary. Great David’s greater Son. God in human flesh, the God / Man.
God promised to Adam and Eve a Deliverer / Redeemer and through the centuries this pledge was renewed through prophetic utterance. Every promise concerning the Messiah has been fulfilled with the exception of the one regarding His return. Why would any reasonable man or woman doubt that promise?