Christology The Manner of the Incarnation Part 1

B. The Manner of the Incarnation.

The reason why so many do not believe in the is that they think His birth was the , and not the . Remember, this is the incarnation — the , God manifest in the flesh!

1. As Testified By Matthew.

a. In the . Tracing the Lord’s descent from Abraham in chapter one, verses one through seventeen, we notice that the word “” is mentioned thirty-nine times, but is after the name Joseph, the husband of the Virgin, Mary. Joseph did not Jesus Christ: “Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ” ().

Then, one may ask, why is this genealogy mentioned in the first place? The reason is this: the had to come through this line (David, Solomon, etc.); and, in order to prove that Jesus was the to the throne of David, it had to be shown that He came from this line. When Joseph married the Virgin Mary, her virgin-born Son became the heir of Joseph and for the throne.

Was Christ an ? Certainly He was, but not to Solomon and David. He was a son of David ; she, herself, was a princess in Israel, tracing her lineage through (another son of David) on to David. By Christ Jesus was a son of David through Mary; He was a son of David through Joseph.

b. In the . For this let us turn to : “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is . And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, , and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name , which being interpreted is, . Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”

Now if this does not speak of the virgin birth, how would you state it? In his own mind, Joseph was convinced of the impurity of Mary, his espoused wife. He reasoned that if he had not known her some other man must have. Living under the law, a just man, he thought of two things to do: divorce her; or have her exposed and stoned to death. He never once conceived of the idea of taking her and making her his wife; indeed, not until the angel appeared unto him and commanded him to do so; and this he did.

Men today, even some preachers, think it is smart to deny that Jesus was of a virgin birth. They say that Joseph was the father, but Joseph said he was not.

The Manner of the Incarnation, Part 1

Gap-fill exercise