“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
(Isa 7:14, KJV)
In the previous teaching we came to the conclusion that the seed of the man is contaminated whilst the seed of the woman is not, and that God made a pertinent promise that He would bring forth the Redeemer from the seed of the woman. We also learnt that God made a promise to Abraham, the father of our faith, that the Redeemer would come from his seed. This Child who would be born, would be fathered by God – “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” This prophecy, together with the central Scripture stated above, was fulfilled approximately 700 years after it was prophesied.
In Jesus’ case there was no male sperm cell that penetrated Maria’s egg cell, thus conceiving a child. Unlike normal pregnancies the fertilized egg did not move down the fallopian tubes, into the uterus. Maria “conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:21)! The Word explains it thus – “And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’” (Luke 1:35). According to Strongs overshadow can also be read as “to invest with preternatural influence”.
Here’s the crux: In his book The chemistry of blood Dr. M.R. de Haan explains that “The blood which flows in an unborn babe’s arteries and veins is not derived from the mother but is produced within the body of the fetus. Yet it is only after the sperm has entered the ovum and the fetus begins to develop that blood appears.” The mother provides no blood to the embryo or fetus! (Louise Zabriskie: Nurse’s Handbook of Obstetrics). Thus Maria could contribute the uncontaminated seed, but without the contaminated blood of Adam! Sela.
But what was the seed from which she conceived? What was the seed that was invested with preternatural influence? 1 Pet 1:23 makes it clear – the uncontaminated seed of God is “the living word of God”. Remember from Day 228 – The physical manifestation of God is named the Word. When He made himself manifest to Hagar, physically appearing before her, “(she) prayed in the Name of the Word of the Lord, who had been manifested to her”. The Word is the invisible God made manifest in light and glory. John 1:14 – “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” In Him, and in his uncontaminated seed, it became possible for man to regain the light and glory which Adam had lost in the paradise. Immanuel – God is with us.
- Sela: Explain this concept of Christ’s conception to another.
- Lees: 1 Chr 27; Ecc 1; 2 Pet 3
- Memorise: 2 Pet 3:9
- For a deeper understanding: Read chapter 20 of Phillip Yancey’s Reaching for the invisible God.
