virgin birth
The miraculous conception of Jesus without the participation of any human father, but by a work of the Holy Spirit, so that his mother Mary remained a virgin at the time of Jesus’ birth; a better term is virginal conception, since it is Jesus’s conception that is unique in history.1
- From scripture:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:18-21 ESV)
- From The Heidelberg Catechism:
Question 35. What is the meaning of these words “He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary”?
Answer: That God’s eternal Son, who is, and continues true and eternal God, took upon him the very nature of man, of the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, by the operation of the Holy Ghost; that he might also be the true seed of David, like unto his brethren in all things, sin excepted.
- From Systematic Theology by Robert Letham, on the significance of the virginal conception:
1. There are two sides to the virginal conception—Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary but conceived by the Holy Spirit. There are a normal gestation and birth but also a dimension beyond our knowledge, an act of God as Creator. Biological questions will produce only biological answers.
2. The virginal conception comes in the context of the incarnation and is to be seen in connection with the resurrection. Both events are like bookends enclosing the events recorded in the Gospels and pointing to the sovereign creative power of God. Christ’s birth is not something under human power. It is the union of God and man achieved entirely by God.
3. Christ’s birth displays his true humanity—he was born of a human mother after a normal period of gestation. The docetists, in the process of opposing the full humanity of Christ, denied the virgin birth.
4. It indicates that human capacity is disqualified and that salvation is from the Lord. The initiative is God’s. Mary is believingly receptive (Luke 1:37). She is a picture and pattern of God’s grace in regeneration and faith.
5. The virginal conception is a new creation—a renovation of the old (Luke 1:34-35). As in the original creation and the resurrection, we understand by the Holy Spirit in faith, not by a process of human logic and argumentation, even though it can be logicall defended.
Learn more:
- David Mathis: The Virgin Birth
- Al Mohler: Must Christians Believe in the Virgin Birth?
- Kevin DeYoung: Is the Virgin Birth Essential?
- John MacArthur: Foundations of the Virgin Birth and Fallacies About the Virgin Birth (audio)
Related terms:
Filed under Person, Work, and Teaching of Christ
1Systematic Theology by Robert Letham, page 481
Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured as a Theological Term of the Week? Email your suggestion using the contact button in the navigation bar above.
Clicking on the Theological Terms button will take you to an alphabetical list of all the theological terms.