Virgin Birth

Pastor Martin opens the second major section of Christology by establishing the importance of Christ's true humanity. The doctrine is of saving significance — without a true body and a reasonable soul, Christ could not be our Mediator. He then traces the Old Testament period of preparation, showing how the promise of the coming Deliverer is progressively narrowed: the seed of the woman, then of Abraham, then of Judah, then of David, and finally the virgin-born child who is also Emmanuel.

Pastor Martin opens the period of manifestation in the Gospels, demonstrating that Jesus Christ is truly man as witnessed in his conception, birth, infancy, and growth to manhood. He expounds Luke's record of the virginal conception, the normal pregnancy and birth, and the boyhood years in which Jesus genuinely grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and men. The sermon insists that the Gospels portray a real human development without halo or shortcut, then applies this with wonder at Christ's love and consolation that our salvation rests on a true and sinless humanity.