Matt 1:20 ...Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. (23) "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel" (which is translated, God with us). Rom 8:3 ...God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh
Now we must clearly differentiate two points: Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and He was born of a virgin. His source was the Holy Spirit, and His element was divine. Through the virgin Mary as a means, He put on flesh and blood, the human nature, taking "the likeness of the flesh," "the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:7). However, He did not have the sinful nature of the fallen flesh. He knew no sin (2 Cor. 5:21), and He had no sin (Heb. 4:15). He had flesh, but it was the "likeness of the flesh of sin" [Rom. 8:3] . In appearance He was made in the form of a fallen man, but in actuality there was no fallen nature within Him. We are fallen flesh, and Jesus came into this flesh that He might bring God into humanity. In Him, the divine person of God was mingled with humanity. The birth of Christ was not simply to produce a Savior, but also to bring God into man. Although humanity was fallen, God did not take on any part of this fallen nature. God took only the likeness of the fallen flesh, and through this He mingled Himself with humanity. We should not think of Jesus in the way many others think of Him. We must realize that Jesus is nothing less than God Himself mingled with fallen humanity, taking the form of humanity, but without man's sinful nature. This was the birth of Christ.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Matthew, 1986, pp. 59-60. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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