Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.highlandparkbaptist.net/sermons/98906/the-virgin-birth/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] The Virgin Birth That is the Virgin Birth. [0:32] But possibly you've not thought it all the way out to discover, biblically, just why we ought to believe it. [0:43] Why it is important. And so I would ask, was Jesus born of a virgin? Alright. I'm not going to ask for a show of hands, those who don't believe that. [0:55] I wouldn't embarrass you in that way. Well, yes, He was. Is it absolutely necessary? This may be a deeper question, more significant question, because the answer is significant. [1:07] Is it absolutely necessary that a person believe in the virgin, and I'll add this, virgin conception and birth of the Lord Jesus Christ? [1:20] And I put it that way because Mary was a virgin even after Jesus was conceived in her womb and was a virgin up to Jesus' birth and after His birth. [1:35] Now, she's not a perpetual virgin, as the Catholics believe and teach, because she did have other children. We know that from Scripture. [1:46] But, getting back to the subject, is it absolutely necessary for a person to believe in the virgin conception and birth of Jesus Christ? [1:57] And the answer is yes. Yes. And that's what we want to deal with tonight. Theological liberalism, which flourished in our country in the early 1900s, to be replaced eventually by what was called neo-orthodoxy, which was about as bad, and in many respects just as bad. [2:18] But the liberals of that day, influenced by German theologians, and that's, you know, neither here nor there, but they sought to, among other things, to demythologize the Bible. [2:36] Demythologize it. That means to take out of it, extract from it, what they believed to be myth. Myth. And for theological liberals, that included quite a number of things in the Bible, and you might guess what they would be. [2:54] You could start there at the beginning of the Bible and take Genesis, the Genesis account, the account of the creation. In fact, the first 11 chapters of Genesis was, is, to liberals, theological liberals, is, by and large, myth. [3:12] Just myth. All be it maybe of some spiritual value, but nonetheless, myth. And not only Genesis 1 through 11, but they would go a little further, you know, in Exodus, and we have the parting of the Red Sea, and a number of other miracles that are given, that we have the accounts of in the Scripture. [3:33] They would say that maybe there's a spiritual significance to these, and it's all right for you to believe it, if it helps you, but it's just myth. These are not facts. [3:44] These didn't really happen. And in the New Testament, they would, of course, highlight about every miracle that Jesus performed, but even before Jesus performed any miracles, they love to have in their crosshairs the virgin birth. [4:00] And most theological liberals, in fact, all theological liberals, and even some that would call themselves moderates, deny the virgin birth, that it would be factual. [4:15] And again, they would say, if you want to believe in a virgin birth and believe it to be truth, if that helps you spiritually, then, okay, go ahead and believe it. That's your belief. [4:27] I have my belief, and so forth. And so they would remove the virgin birth. Now, let me ask you a question. I've already asked a couple. This one, I might even let you respond. You know, sometimes preachers ask questions, and then they just go on, and they'll let you answer. [4:41] And if you're a guy like Wes, you get an answer in there somehow, you know. Okay. But here's the question. Can you tell me why there is such a resistance to the virgin birth of Jesus? [4:58] Can you tell me why? Anybody? It makes it what? [5:12] Alright, that's what the virgin birth does. Why would we deny it? Why would someone deny the virgin birth? That's exactly right. That's what you're saying too, Mike. And it takes your father to clarify it a little bit. [5:27] Yeah, he knew. He knew the answer even before I finished the question. You know, and you did too. And that is the deal. There is a resistance. [5:40] Yes. He said it denies the deity of Christ. Alright. Now, we'll get more to that in a minute. That's why the liberals want to call them that, or even moderates, those who would question the inspiration of Scripture and would question certain features in Bibles, certain points of revelation as myth, and especially the virgin birth, they do so, because if Jesus was born, not born of a virgin, then he is not God. [6:17] Plain and simple. And so, if he is born of a virgin, as the Bible clearly teaches, and I hope you're convinced of that, and if not, will be before you leave here tonight. [6:29] If Jesus was born of a virgin, then he is God, and if he is God, then everything he said is not only true, but authoritative. [6:42] That's why there is a resistance by many to believe in the virgin birth, and even an overt attempt to destroy that belief, to explain it away. [6:57] Because if it's true, then Jesus is God, and if Jesus is God, then everything he said is true. Everything he claimed is true. And everything he demands of us is true. [7:12] And he is completely authoritative. Let me ask you another question. Why would that be such a problem to many people? The answer to that is pretty obvious, isn't it? [7:22] Because, you know, if Jesus is God, and if what he said is authoritative, then everyone must live according to what he said. And obey him, and follow him, and live according to what he said. [7:40] And not just what's printed in red in the Bible. There's some who would say, well, preacher, I do believe everything Jesus said. [7:51] You know, and that's all the red stuff in the Bible. We're not just talking about that. In fact, there are those who would say that even some of what is printed in red he didn't really say. [8:03] In fact, a group some years ago got together and decided to vote on that. You know, which of the many things we have printed in red in the Bible that supposedly were said by Jesus, which of those many things actually were said by him, and which were not. [8:20] And maybe a certain category of those that we're not really sure about. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. Ridiculous. We're not talking about that. We're not just talking about what's printed in the red. We're talking about the whole of the Bible. [8:32] Because Jesus affirmed and upheld the authority of all of God's Word. And so if Jesus is virgin born, then he's God. [8:43] And if he's God, then what he said is authoritative. And many do not like that because they do not want to live according to what Jesus said. And so what better way than to just destroy the Christianity from the very beginning? [9:00] Before it gets going. That is, destroy the virgin birth. Unregenerate man does not want to live according to the teachings of Christ. [9:11] Actually, unregenerate man wants to live any way he or she pleases. And that's the way it is in our culture. Psalm 14, 1, you might remember, says, The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. [9:28] There is no God. But literally it says, The fool has said in his heart, No God. That is, no God for me. No God for me. No God to rule over me. No God to tell me what to do. [9:39] No God to make me feel guilty for my sin. No God to judge me. And that's what people want. So here's another question. What do you have if Jesus was non-virgin born? [9:53] This is the other side of the first question. A great man and teacher. Pretty much. Certainly you have a man. A great man and teacher. I'm sorry. [10:03] I'm going to answer exactly the same thing he said. Because Wes is right about that. You have just a man. Albeit an exceptional man. Without the virgin birth. [10:16] And what does that make his life in ministry? It makes it a valuable moral example. Or moral instruction. That's about the most you could get out of his life. [10:26] If there's no virgin birth. Because if there's no virgin birth, there's no God. He's not God. And then his life just pretty much consists of very valuable moral instruction. [10:40] Even many unbelievers would agree with that. And what does that do to the cross? The atonement. It renders it little more than just a moral example. [10:53] Moral example of self-sacrifice. And a man who died for what he believed. And we should follow his example. It makes it just a moral example. [11:05] But now all of those things amount to something that you could take or leave. You know. And on some points you could find that everyone would believe in these things. [11:17] But you can believe it if you want to. You can leave it if you want to. And it makes no eternal demand upon your life. If there's no virgin birth. [11:29] And if there is no deity of Christ. Here's another question. If you want to discredit or destroy the gospel, what would be one of the best ways to do it? [11:41] We've already answered that, haven't we? Really? Convince people that there is no virgin birth. And therefore Jesus was just a man. Or convince people that it really doesn't matter. [11:54] That Jesus was born of a virgin. But when it comes to Christ, there are really only four possibilities. Really, maybe there's some more. Maybe I could think of some others. [12:05] But just four and three of them are terrible. Number one, he was either a liar. Because he claimed to be God. And he could only be God through a virgin birth. [12:16] Or if not a liar, he's crazy. A lunatic. And if not a lunatic, then number three, he's a deceiver. Because millions have followed him over the years. [12:30] Or the fourth possibility is he's God. He is God. The Son of God. And he can only be God if the virgin birth is true. [12:40] All right. Now, if you want to make a case for the virgin birth, you don't really have to trial that hard. [12:50] You just have to look to the Bible. And so, we'll begin here tonight in our consideration of the virgin birth or our case for the virgin birth with this. [13:01] You begin with the Word of God. The reliability of God's Word. It begins there. Because to deny the virgin birth, by the way, is to call into question the reliability of God's Word. [13:17] The veracity, the truthfulness of God's Word. Because it claims that Jesus was born of a virgin. So, if you have a problem with the virgin birth, then you have a problem with God's Word. [13:31] Because it's very clear in Scripture. And so, I would ask you, does the Bible teach the doctrine of the virgin birth? Absolutely. Absolutely. Someone might object and say, you know, the virgin birth is not all that important. [13:47] Not all that important because it only really only appears stated clearly. That's what they would say. In two of the four Gospels. Matthew and Luke. [13:57] But, in the first place, how many times does the Bible have to say something before it's true? Does it require two? [14:09] No. But, in the second place, Matthew and Luke, who do reveal the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. Matthew and Luke are not the only books in the Bible that mention the virgin birth. [14:22] And you know this to be true, don't you? It was not some new doctrine that was revealed when Matthew wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Or when Luke wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. [14:35] This was not a new thing. It was not a new thing to them, either. It was not some new doctrine revealed in the New Testament. Only the virgin birth did not just come out of nowhere when it appeared in the New Testament. [14:48] There are several key Old Testament passages that reveal the truth of the virgin birth. The first one is Genesis 3.15. [15:01] And if you've been part of our Bible study on Wednesday night, you already know about this one. You probably already knew about it before then, too, didn't you? Genesis 3.15. [15:11] Do you remember? It's right after Adam and Eve sinned. They ate of that fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. [15:22] And God is about to pronounce a curse upon them. But before He does, He curses the serpent who deceived, beguiled Eve. And so, in His cursing of the serpent, what does He say to him? [15:38] Well, that's what we have in Genesis 3.15. Of course, the serpent is Satan. And this is what He said. He said, I will put enmity or opposition between you, you Satan, and the woman. [15:58] Put opposition between you two. That is, there is going to be hatred between you. There's going to be war, really, is the idea here, between your seed and her seed. [16:11] There's going to be a constant opposition between those who are Satan's and those who are God's. Belong to God. But what comes next? He said, I will put enmity between you and the woman between... [16:26] This is what He says. Your seed and her seed. Her seed. We say, well, what's the deal there? Well, the phrase, her seed, introduces something that is impossible. [16:44] Physically impossible. Biologically impossible. The seed is not in the woman. The seed is in the man. And nowhere else in Scripture do you find a woman having a seed than here that is prophesied here in Genesis 3.15 and then, of course, then fulfilled in the New Testament in Mary. [17:10] The seed is not in the man. Not in the woman. It's in the man. And so God is saying to Satan and to Adam and to Eve that one day there will be a woman who will have a seed. [17:25] And that seed, He said, and He goes on with the curse, that seed shall bruise or crush your head, Satan. And you shall bruise, and it's the same word so we could also translate it crush, but it's not head. [17:42] It's heel. His heel. That is the seed of the woman's heel. Now, I don't know about you, but I think I'd rather have my heel crushed than my head. [17:54] And, of course, it's a prophecy of the cross. And when Jesus dies upon the cross, certainly His heel is bruised, is crushed there. That is, He does experience great harm to His body, but He's not crushed. [18:09] His head is not crushed as Satan's head was crushed at the cross. Now then, only one woman in all of history has had a seed, and it is Mary, and her son was Jesus. [18:23] The fulfillment of this prophecy, which is a curse, in Genesis 3. 3.15. Alright, so that's very clear from Scripture. Right there at the beginning of the Bible. [18:33] Just a few chapters after God created all things. And we have that account. And then we have this statement that really is pointing us way forward. [18:45] Well, for us it's backward. But for Adam and Eve it was forward several thousand years to the cross. But really, first to the incarnation. A woman having a seed. [18:57] That is, woman, a virgin-born child. The second passage is in Isaiah 7.14. And you should be familiar with that one because I preached on it just last Sunday. [19:10] And the Bible says, Therefore, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Speaking to Ahaz, remember. Ahaz says, Don't trouble yourself, God. [19:21] I'm not interested in signs. And then God said, Alright, I'll give the world a sign. Here's the sign. And behold, a virgin, or the virgin, not a the virgin, a specific virgin, shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel, or God with us. [19:46] Now, there has been much said about the word virgin in the Hebrew text. It's Alma in the Hebrew. [19:56] A lot of controversy over the word Alma. And, of course, there are those who say that it just simply means young woman. It could be translated young woman or maiden. [20:10] A maiden shall have a child. And so there's been a lot of controversy about that. And, indeed, it could be translated that maiden or young child. Now, let's just consider several things here. [20:22] In the first place, of the nine times the word Alma appears in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Old Testament, eight of the nine times it is in reference to a virgin, clear reference to a virgin. [20:37] One time it is used in reference to a young woman, without any implication, without any assumption about her virginity, by the way. Second, even if maiden or young woman is the intended meaning in the text, and so we just translate it that way. [20:56] Even if that is the intended meaning, the assumption would be in the Hebrew culture that she is a virgin. And so, even if they use young woman, then the reader would assume that we're talking about a virgin. [21:11] Very clear. Third, if, and this is the most obvious if you think about it, if the idea in Isaiah 7.14 is that simply a young woman would give birth to a son, without any thing to say about her virginity, whether that matters or not, if it's just simply a young woman has a child, then what kind of sign would that be? [21:36] Huh? I mean, a young woman having a child, that's a pretty ordinary thing to happen. It happens every day. Every day. Yeah, she was a young woman, and then she's not a virgin and has a child. [21:50] All right? That's just a very common occurrence. That would be no sign. Fourth, Matthew, of course, quoted and interpreted for us Isaiah 7.14, didn't he? [22:04] And he used there the Greek word, because he wrote in the Greek, he used a Greek word there that only means virgin. And so, here's Matthew, thousands, you know, a thousand or so years later, well, about 700, 800 years later, and he is speaking of Jesus. [22:24] He's just given the lineage of Christ. He's come all the way through his lineage. And then he gives an account of his birth, and he is referring to Mary, and to refer to Mary, he quotes this passage in Isaiah 7.14. [22:44] A virgin shall conceive. Now, he doesn't use Hebrew, because he writes in the Greek, and in the Greek he uses the word parthenos, and it always means virgin. [22:58] Always. And I'll give you an example. 1 Corinthians 7.34, Paul there is speaking on the issue, another issue, but he's making a contrast between virgins and wives. [23:11] A young lady who's not known a man, and one who has, and he uses the word parthenos there for virgin, and gune for wife, and makes the distinction between the two. [23:24] But everywhere you find the word parthenos, not only in the Bible, by the way, New Testament, but in other Greek literature, it always refers to virgin. And so either Isaiah 7.14, the prophecy, is concerning an actual virgin giving birth to a child, and that's why Matthew took it that way, or it meant just simply a young woman, and Matthew made a mistake. [23:52] And if Matthew made a mistake, then maybe there are other mistakes in the Bible. And so maybe we can't trust it. Matthew made no mistake. [24:03] He was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 7.14, speaking of a virgin. Let me give you one other thing to consider here about this text. [24:17] The English translation that I read just a moment ago, by necessity really, loses, because it has to be translated into the English, it loses some of the significance of the wording. [24:30] And I'll show you what I mean. In the phrase, the virgin shall conceive, that's how it appears in the New King James. [24:42] In the English, shall conceive, is a verb, isn't it? Right? It's not a trick question. Yes. [24:54] It's a verb. Shall conceive. That's a verb. A virgin shall conceive. That's a verb. In English. But in the Hebrew text, shall conceive is an adjective, and not a verb. [25:07] And so, in the English text, it reads, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. But in the Hebrew text, it could literally read, a pregnant, or the pregnant virgin, shall bear a son. [25:22] Now, that would be awkward. We wouldn't translate it that way in the English. And so, they change it from an adjective to a verb, and it makes perfect sense. It doesn't change the meaning. A virgin's conceiving and having a son. [25:37] But in the original text, the original language, it adds an even greater force to it. We're talking about something that is an oxymoron. [25:47] Something that is impossible. A pregnant virgin. Is there such a thing? Could there be such a thing? A pregnant virgin. [26:00] That would be a miracle. An already pregnant virgin bears a son. That is a sign. And that's what God said. I give you a sign. [26:12] The third scripture is in Jeremiah. Jeremiah 31, 22. And this is what Jeremiah the prophet said. He says, How long will you get about, oh, you backsliding daughter? [26:27] Kind of an interesting phrase. I'm not going to tell you what he's talking about, because it doesn't matter. But he goes on to say, For the Lord has created a new thing. And what is this new thing? [26:39] He says, A woman shall encompass a man. Now, you say, What in the world does that mean? Well, it's a prophecy, of course. [26:49] And the Lord, it says here in the prophecy, has created a new thing. Something brand new. Something unique. Something no one's ever seen. [27:01] Brand new thing. And what is the new thing? A woman shall encompass a man. And what could this mean? Well, it's not all that clear from just simply the wording. [27:13] There are no hidden meanings in the words. The word virgin isn't in there spelled backward inside a word or something strange like that. Or some code to be unlocked. [27:25] So what does it mean? Well, it's interesting, but ancient rabbis, Jewish rabbis, interpreted it this way. [27:39] They said, it means Messiah is to have no earthly father. That was the new thing. In fact, one wrote it this way, very, very, uh, uh, uh, uh, colorfully. [27:54] He said, the birth of Messiah will be like the dew of the Lord as drops on the grass without the action of a man. Clearly, they understood it. [28:07] And we're talking about pre-Christ, the Orthodox Jewish rabbis. They understood it as a virgin birth. The Messiah would come virgin born. [28:19] Then when we get, of course, into the New Testament, there are several passages there. I'm going to end with one of them under kind of a different category. But, uh, you have Matthew 1, 18 and following. [28:34] And, uh, then you have Luke chapter 1, verses 26 and following. So, Matthew chapter 1, verse 18. And let me just read it to you. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. [28:47] After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public, public example, was minded to put her away privately or secretly. [29:06] But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. [29:21] All right, there's all, uh, right off, a reference to a virgin birth. As Mary had no relationship with a human man, this is not the result of adultery or anything like that. [29:33] It's very clear conceived of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son and you shall call his name, Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. [29:45] So all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the prophets saying, and then he quotes Isaiah 7, 14, behold, a virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us. [30:01] Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took to him his wife. So there's clear reference. Not only a clear reference as the angel spoke to Matthew, but the angel, but, but also a reference to the Old Testament prophecy, clearly, the idea here is a virgin birth. [30:23] The other passage is in Luke, Luke chapter 1, verse 26, and I want to read it to you. Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin, and there's, there it is, Parthenos, virgin, to a virgin, not just a young woman, not a maiden, not a young little girl, but a virgin, betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, the virgin's name, just in case you didn't get it, it's repeated, the virgin's name, is Mary, was Mary, and having come in, the angel said to her, rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, but when she saw him, she was troubled at his say, and you would be too, and considered what manner of greeting this was, I mean, what is this about? [31:23] Then the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God, and behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus, he will be great, and will be called the son of the most high, the highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end, that's a reference to Isaiah 9's prophecy, then Mary said to the angel, how can this be, since I do not know a man? [32:01] That is, this is impossible, and the angel of course 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, son of God, clearly, without any ambiguity, a clear reference to the deity, or the virgin born Christ, and so if you do not believe in the virgin birth, then you have a real problem with God's word, the veracity of his word, the trustworthiness of his word, the reliability of God's word, and by the way, I might add this before we go on to the next point, if you do not believe in the virgin birth, since I just mentioned Mary here, then you've got a real problem with Mary, an irreconcilable problem with Mary, because you must then believe, that she either committed adultery with another man other than Joseph, or with Joseph himself, you can't have it one way, or both ways rather, either she was a virgin, when Jesus was conceived in her womb, or she had an adulterous affair with another man, there's just no other way, other way, alright, so the reliability of God's word, second, the deity of God's son, that's the second thing we should consider, if we're going to make a case for the virgin birth, and we really have already talked about this, but, the deity, the Bible makes it clear, that Jesus is God, he's God, in fact, [33:48] Hebrews, is probably one of the best places to go, I mean, there are a lot of places, I mean, the Bible teaches the deity of Christ, all the way through, in its prophecies concerning him, and that's what, the author of Hebrews is going to tell us, as well as other places in the Bible, in the New Testament, speaks of the deity of Christ, but I want you to notice, here in Hebrews chapter 1, in verse 4, and a great case, being made here, for the deity of Christ, that he is something better, something more, and it says in verse 4, having become so much better, than the angels, as he has by inheritance, obtained a more excellent name than they, for to which of the angels, did he ever say, you are my son, today I have begotten you, and that's a quote, from Psalm 2, 7, and again, [34:49] I will be to him a father, this God speaking, speaking of Jesus, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son, that's 2 Samuel 7, 14, but when he again, but when he again, brings the firstborn, into the world, he says, let all the angels, of God, worship him, that's Deuteronomy 32, 48, and of the angels, he says, who makes his angels, spirits, and his ministers, a flame of fire, and that's, a quote, from the Old Testament, but to the son, he says, your throne, O God, is forever, and ever, whose throne, is forever, and ever, Jesus, a scepter, righteousness, is the scepter, of your kingdom, you have loved righteousness, and hated lawlessness, therefore, God, your God, has anointed you, with the oil of gladness, more than your companions, that's Psalm, 45, or 46, 45, and, he goes on, and you, [35:53] Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands, that's Jesus, we're talking about, we're not talking about a man here, we're talking about God, who became a man, but he laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands, they will perish, but you remain, and they will all grow old, like a garment, like a cloak, you will fold them up, and they will be changed, but you are the same, and your years, will not fail, Psalm 102, a few other verses there, but to which of the angels, has he ever said, sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies, your footstool, and we could go, to so many places, see, listen, the virgin birth, is the only way, to have, the incarnation, that is God, becoming a man, it's the only way, the only way, there could be no deity, of Christ, apart from the virgin birth, it could not happen, you cannot have God, produced, from two human individuals, it's impossible, and so the case, for the virgin birth, the reliability, of God's word, the deity, of God's son, if you do not believe, in the virgin birth, you've got a real problem, with the word of God, you've got a problem, with Mary, you've got a big problem, with Jesus, and his nature, the nature of Christ, and then one more quickly, maybe the most important one, at least, from our perspective, and that is, the validity, of God's saving grace, [37:35] I'm going to make, a bold statement here, if you do not believe, in the virgin birth, then you have a huge problem, with your salvation, or to put it in, the words of Adrian Rogers, he said, if you do not believe, in the virgin birth, I would not give you, half a hallelujah, for your hope of heaven, put it, like no one could put it, and it's true, Galatians 4.4, is another reference, to the virgin birth, in the New Testament, clear reference to it, but then tying it to, the validity of our salvation, the validity of God's saving grace, Galatians 4.4 says, but when, the fullness, of time has come, that's how it begins there, that just simply means, when God is ready, [38:39] God's perfect timing, what did God do, he sent forth, his son, now pay attention, to that phrase, he sent him forth, he did not make him, did not create him, in the fullness of time, he sent him forth, what does that mean, means he existed, before he came, pretty clear, so God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born of a woman, not born of a man, I mean everywhere else, in the Bible, all the genealogies, all the women are left out, in the sense that, that it was, it's not, she begat, and she begat, and she begat, it was he begat, and he begat, and he begat, but here Mary, begat, that is, she's born, he is born, of a woman, not born, of a man, he was virgin born, virgin born, fully God, therefore, fully God, and fully man, the God man, all God, and all man, now why did God, send forth his son, here's where, this doctrine, of the virgin birth, meets us, at our salvation, he sent him forth, [40:10] Paul says, here in Galatians 4, to be, born, under the law, he had to be born, under the law, he had to come, as a human, to do that, in order to be born, under the law, and so what, well, read on, to redeem, those, who were, under the law, that's, that's all of us, so he's born, a human, God, became a man, was sent forth, to be born, of a woman, born, under the law, to redeem, those, who are under the law, and so Jesus, was born, under the law, and he kept, the law perfectly, he did not disobey, not one law, he kept it, absolutely perfectly, we are born, under the law, and we have broken, every one of them, not just once, but more than once, in fact, repeatedly, and so we need, a redeemer, and who shall qualify, to be our redeemer, [41:21] Jesus, because since Jesus, never broke a law, he was qualified, to redeem those, who were under the law, that's you and me, that is he could purchase us, he could buy us back, that, so that, to conclude that passage, we might receive, the adoption as sons, glory, hallelujah, adopted into his family, we needed a redeemer, and our redeemer, had to be, a God man, and in order, for that to happen, there had to be, a virgin birth, there's no other way, it could happen, and so, we could put it all together, this way, no virgin birth, no incarnation, God becoming a man, no incarnation, no deity of Jesus, no deity of Jesus, no sinless savior, no sinless savior, no atonement, for our sins, no atonement, for our sins, no hope, so you tell me, is the virgin birth important? [42:36] Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.