Address—C. Hendricks
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We begin tonight by reading a verse from First Timothy.
Chapter 3. First Timothy.
Chapter 3. Verse 16.
And without controversy.
Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
Justified in the spirit seen of angels.
Preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.
Six things mentioned there.
And I'd like to talk tonight on the first one. God was manifest in the flesh.
God down here as a man manifest in the flesh.
Now let's turn to second John.
2nd Epistle of John, verse 7.
For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.
This is a deceiver and an Antichrist. Verse 9. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father.
And the sun.
If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed.
Don't give him the common greeting, for he that biddeth him godspeed is partaker.
Of his evil deeds.
This is such an important subject, such an important truth. The person of Christ, the doctrine of Christ, the truth concerning his Person, Who is he?
And there are many deceivers that are entered into the world who do not confess that.
All the glorious truth of His person.
Verse 7. I'm going to read it as it is a little bit more accurately. Many deceivers are entered into the world who confess, not Jesus Christ coming in flesh.
This is the Deceiver and the Antichrist.
The confession that John is talking about is the confession of his person, the person who came in flesh.
The very fact that it speaks of him coming in flesh.
Supposes his pre existence.
There was one who existed before he came in flesh.
Wouldn't make any sense to talk of you and me coming in flesh. That's the only way we can come. But here was one who has got over all blessed forever.
And he came in flesh. And this is the truth that John is talking about, confessing both his Godhead and his manhood. He is very God and very man.
And then he goes on to say, Whosoever transgresseth, or as another rendering is more accurately goes forward. It is what is called development, and abides not in the doctrine of Christ.
The teaching concerning him.
Hath not God so not to abide in the doctrine of Christ, to to go forward and into what they consider to be developed truth, and to abandon the basic truth of his Person? One who does that does not have God.
There is nothing beyond himself, for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead.
Bodily, that means as a man.
In that blessed man all the fullness of Deity dwells.
So he says, he that abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. And then he goes on to say it in the positive sense, He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. So this is, this is not something of secondary importance. This is not something of minor importance. This is basic, fundamental, absolute, necessary truth to be held by those that are the Lord's. Otherwise they don't have God.
And they don't know him. Now we're going to look at the doctrine of Christ tonight.
And let's turn to Genesis chapter 3.
The verse I'm going to begin with is after the Fall. After the serpent seduced the woman, Eve deceived her.
And she ate of the forbidden fruit, and gave to her husband, and he ate, and sin entered into the world.
Verse 14 of Genesis 3. And the Lord God said unto the serpent.
Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and thus shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
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Now here the Lord is talking to Satan the serpent, and I will put enmity between thee, Satan, and the woman.
The very the woman was the one the weaker vessel he was. She was the one that Satan deceived and introduced sin through her.
Now God is going to use her, the weaker vessel, to destroy Satan.
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed, that is Satan's seed and her seed, the seed of the woman.
It the seed of the woman, her seed shall bruise thy head, or crush thy head, and thou shalt bruise or crush his heel. Now that was the cross. And here we have the first prediction in Scripture of a coming Redeemer. No sooner does sin enter into the world, and it entered in by Satan the serpent through the woman, and then she passed it on to Adam, and he ate. And we read by 1.
And sin entered into the world because he's held accountable. He's held responsible. Not the woman. He was the head.
Responsible for what transpired there. But the important thing to see is that Satan attacked the the weaker vessel, the one who was more prone to be deceived. And she was deceived. Adam wasn't deceived.
But she was deceived and she ate of that forbidden fruit.
And he put before her the very same date that he had fallen by himself. We just got through reading Ezekiel 28. And he wanted to be like God. And so he says to the woman, Ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil, if you will eat this fruit.
And she took it. And so immediately after sin enters.
He says through the woman, the seed of the woman. I'm going to crush the serpents head, destroy his power.
In that process, the Redeemers heal would be bruised.
But he would be the mighty victor. So here we have the first prediction of the coming Redeemer, called here the seed of the woman, the woman seed. Now turn to Isaiah Chapter 7.
Verse 10 Isaiah 710 Moreover, the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God. Ask it either in the depth or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. And he said, Hear ye now, O House of David, is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.
And shall call his name Emmanuel. There we have in that verse the truth that is involved in the doctrine of Christ, His humanity.
He was conceived.
A woman conceived and he was born of a woman.
And he was God with us, Emmanuel.
Now some of the modern translations read it. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son.
Well, a young woman conceiving and bearing a son is no sign. It's done every day, very common occurrence. But a virgin conceiving and bearing a son, that is indeed a sign. Now, rather than ever, get into an argument with some Hebrews who insist that that word means young woman. And it may have that meaning in some connotation in some passages, but here it can't have it. It means the virgin.
I think it's more than just a virgin, but the virgin, there was one particular one.
That would conceive at that exact point in time, so that the Messiah would be born according to the prophetic scriptures.
According to Daniel's prophecy, in exactly the right time. And so the virgin would conceive and bear a son.
We're going to see rather than weary ourselves with the meaning of that Hebrew word translated here, virgin. We're going to see that that truth is maintained and and insisted upon and reinforced by the Spirit of God all through Scripture.
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Concerning the person of Christ. Now let's turn to Matthews Gospel.
I might say that everyone of us in the room tonight is the seed of man.
Man seed man was the begetter.
And the woman was the conceiver.
That's the normal birth. And here we have a unique birth spoken of the seed of the woman.
Most unusual expression The very vessel that Satan attacked.
And deceived and enticed to eat of the forbidden fruit. The one that introduced sin into this scene is the very one through whom would come, the one that would destroy the serpent. Matthew. I'm going to read this genealogy quickly because I want to.
Have the the emphasis that it brings before us, before us all, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren, and Judas begat Pharaohs, and Zerah of Famar, and Pharaohs begat Esram, and Esram begat Aram, and Aram begat Aminadab, and Aminadab begat Nayasin, and Nayasin begat Salman, and Salman begat Boaz of Rakab, and Boaz begat obit of Ruth and obit begat Jesse.
And Jesse begat David the king, and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias.
And Solomon Bigot, reborn and reborn begat Abaya, and abaya begat Isa.
And ASA begat Josaphat, and Josaphat begat Jewel, Ram and Joram begat Osaias, and Osaias begat Jotham, and Jotham begat Achas, and Achaz begat as a caius.
And Hezekiah's begat Manassas, and the Nazis begat Ammon, and Ammon begat Josiah. And Josiah begat Jekonius and his brethren about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconias begets Elatheal, and Salathiel begets a robo bell. And Zerubbabel begat Abayad, And Abayid begat Eviacum, And Iliacum begat Azor, And Azor begat Sedic, and Sedic begat Achin. Achin begat Eliad.
And Eliot begat Eliezer, and Eliezer begat Matthan, and Matthan begat Jacob.
And Jacob begat Joseph.
And it doesn't say it can't say Joseph begat Jesus, it says Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Now we will find that the Spirit of God often over and over again refers to Mary as Jesus mother.
He never refers to Joseph as Jesus Father.
They called him that. Even Mary called him that once. But the Lord gently corrects her, and we'll note that as we proceed.
Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who was called Christ.
The Roman Catholics teach that Mary was the mother of God because Jesus is God.
But as to his deity?
Jesus has no mother, only a father as to his humanity.
He has no father, only a mother.
And this truth is guarded very.
Jealously by the Spirit of God all throughout Scripture.
Verse 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are 14 generations.
And from David until the carrying away into Babylon are 14 generations. And from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ.
Our 14 generations now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise when as his mother Mary, an expression we will meet with quite often, for she was indeed the mother of his humanity.
His mother, Mary, He derived his humanity through his mother. Joseph had nothing whatsoever to do with it.
There's a paper that I've seen, it was a full page ad, great big advertisement in the Los Angeles Times urgent announcement and it's the gospel message contains 2 mistakes. The first one is not important. It says that after the rapture 3 1/2 years.
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The Lord when introduced the Kingdom.
That's not a serious mistake. It's a mistake of 3 1/2 years. The other mistake is serious.
And that it says, it says Joseph had nothing to do with the Lord's humanity, correct?
And neither did his mother marry. Incorrect.
He was born the seed of the woman.
The Virgin conceived and bore a son.
And so he came as to his humanity through Mary. She had everything to do with his humanity.
Now.
Verse.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise when as his mother Mary.
Was espoused to Joseph before they came together. Notice the guard.
Before they came together, before there was any relation of husband and wife between them, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
In Matthew's Gospel we get.
Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob, and so and so begat, begat, begat, and the begetter is always the father.
That's normal in every birth. In the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ there was number human Father begetting.
Instead, there was the power of the Holy Spirit.
She was found with child of the Holy Ghost, not of Joseph.
Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public 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 hers of the Holy Ghost. Now, if you have a margin in your Bible.
We have to correct that word conceived should be that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost is the begetter in Matthew's Gospel, and in Luke's Gospel, Mary the Mother conceived.
That's a different word that's used here. It's not the word conceived that's incorrect. It should be begotten. My margin reads Greek begotten. That which is begotten in her is of the Holy Ghost, the uniqueness of the Lords.
Humanity is that instead of being begotten by a human father, Joseph, he was begotten by the power of the Holy Ghost.
I believe everything else as to his birth, the nine month period of forming in the womb and so on. The birth, I believe it was all just like any normal birth, but it was the beginning. It was the conceiving by Mary. Mary conceived. The Holy Ghost begat.
That which is begotten in hers of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Jesus means Jesus contains the doctrine of Christ, the most glorious word there is Jesus, Jehovah the Savior, Jesus, Jehovah, the Jehovah God, God over all, blessed forever. And this he was a man he he couldn't have been.
Savior, had He not become one of us, He shall save His people from their sins.
So we have his deity and his humanity in that word, Jesus.
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet saying, and now here.
We have the quote of Isaiah 714 and here there's no question about the Greek word translated virgin. It doesn't mean young woman, it means virgin. And of course it does in Isaiah as well, correctly translated in our translation. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us, God and man in one person, His humanity, the virgin.
Bringing forth the Son and the one who came was.
God himself.
God was manifest in the flesh. Tremendous, awesome, unfathomable truth that God.
Became a man.
We all know this truth.
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But I want to say it very slowly.
It's so wondrous.
That he came to where we were.
Emmanuelle, God with us.
Born of the Virgin.
And if he wasn't virgin born, If he wasn't the seed of the woman.
He's not our savior.
If he wasn't exactly what scripture says he was, then we don't have a savior.
And his name, Jesus, was falsely given.
Oh no, all these precious truths are true of him.
And true of him, they all are fulfilled in him, and the Spirit of God guards it. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted, is God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the Angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife.
Notice the guard again. And he knew her not.
Till she had brought forth her first born son, and he called his name Jesus.
Notice these two statements. Verse 18 says.
And middle of the verse.
His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together. She was found with Child of the Holy Ghost.
Before there was any marriage relationship between them, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Verse 25 says that there was no relationships between them until the Christ was born.
He knew her not till she had brought forth her first born son and he called his name Jesus.
So that it could never be said.
That Joseph had anything to do with that birth.
He was the legal father, that's all.
And we'll see how the Spirit of God refers to him as we go on.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the land of in the days of Herod the King, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying.
Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea. For thus it is written by the prophet. And thou, Bethlehem in the land of Judah, art not the least among the Princess of Judah. For out of thee shall come a governor. Notice that's capitalized as referring to the one who.
Who was to be born? But he is the governor, he's the ruler.
That shall rule my people, Israel.
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared, and he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search diligently for the young child. Now notice that expression, the young child, We're going to come across it numbers of Times Now, and it, it seems to set forth the young child, it sets him apart, the young child.
And then he's identified later with with his mother, but it sets them apart.
Certainly he was set apart from Herod. Go and search diligently for the young child, and when you have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship Him also. He wanted to kill him, not worship him. When they had heard the King, they departed, and lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were coming to the house.
Notice they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him.
They saw the young child with Mary, his mother.
And fell down and worshipped him, Never, never, never Joseph his father. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
The gold Speaking of His deity, very God, the frankincense of His perfect humanity, very man, and the mirror His atoning sufferings by which you and I are saved.
And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they returned.
They departed into their own country another way.
And when they were departed, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying.
Arise and take the young child and his mother. He does not say arise and take your son and your wife. He says arise and take the young child and his mother. The young child and his mother. Jesus and Mary are always mentioned together, and Joseph is spoken of as though he is removed, that he's sort of an outsider in this, in this wonderful relationship between the young child and his mother.
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He was. He was. He had nothing to do with that birth, simply the legal part, but no real vital part in that birth. That's absolutely essential to hold. And if you don't hold that, you don't hold the doctrine of Christ.
And if you don't hold the doctrine of Christ, you don't have God. That's what John says. And he that has the doctrine and holds it, he has both the Father and the Son. Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word. For Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took.
Again the same expression the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt.
And when and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled, Which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt, have I called my son? Who is it that calls him my Son Jehovah, the true God, the Father? He says, Out of Egypt, have I called my son?
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked to the wise men, was exceeding wrath, and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from 2 years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled, at which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying in Rhema was there a voice heard lamentation and weeping, and great mourning. Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
But when Herod was dead, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother.
And go into the land of Israel, and for they are dead, which sought the young child's life.
The Angel never says take your son and wife, but take the young child and his mother.
And he arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
And when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither, notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee, and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth.
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, he should be called a Nazarene speaks of him as the despised. 1 And any good thing come out of Nazareth.
When he entered his own creation, the Creator, he entered his own creation. He was despised. Now let's turn to Lukes Gospel Luke chapter 3. We'll start with a verse or two in chapter 3 and then we'll go back in chapter 3 of Luke. We'll read from verse 19. But Herod the Tetrarch being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife.
And for all the evils which Herod had done, added this.
Get this above all, that he shut up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass. Before I read this, Luke gives a moral order, not a chronological order, but a moral order. That is, he connects things which are morally connected and relevant to one another. Notice how the Spirit of God does that here. Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized.
Praying the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him.
And a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved son.
In thee I am well pleased, the Father's voice heard from heaven.
Declaring, Thou art my beloved son in Thee. I am well pleased now next verse immediately. And Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age, being to notice the guard of the Spirit of God, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph.
Which was the son of Heli, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi and Shoah, and so on. And it goes all the way down to Adam, which was the son of God. Adam was the son of God by creation. He was created directly from the hand of God. So the angels are the sons of God by creation too.
The Lord Jesus was the Son of God, not by creation, but from all eternity. He never became the Son of God. He was the Son of God. He is the Son of God. Though He were Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. So here we have the Father saying From heaven, Lord, my beloved Son, and thee, I am well pleased.
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And then it says being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, immediately telling us he wasn't.
The son of Joseph really was the son of God.
But he was the son of Mary. Now let's go back to Luke chapter 1.
Verse 24 We can't read all of this because of time, so we'll read what we can.
And after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me to take away my reproach among men. And in the sixth month the Angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espouse, to a man whose name was Joseph of the House of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.
And the Angel came in unto her, and said, Hail thou that art highly favored, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.
In Daniel's prophecy, I think it's Chapter 11, it says of the Antichrist, it says he will not. He will regard the God of forces. He will not regard the desire of women. What was the desire of women to bear the Messiah, to bear the Christ? That was the desire of a godly Jewish woman.
And the Antichrist wouldn't regard that.
Well, here was this lowly Jewish maiden. Mary, the Angel comes to her. Hail thou that art highly favored. The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women. She was to bear the seed of the woman. She was to bear that seed.
He was to come through her.
Blessed art thou among women, and indeed she was indeed most blessed.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
And the Angel said unto her, Fear not Mary, for thou hast found favor with God, and behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb. There the word conceive is proper. Luke talks about Mary conceiving. Matthew talks about the Holy Ghost begetting.
The genealogy in Matthew uses the word begets. I didn't count the number of times over and over and over again we read the genealogy. The Father begat, Father begat.
But there was no earthly father to bigot. In the case of the Messiah, it was the power of the Holy Spirit. But in Luke we have the humanity of the Lord Jesus. And so where did He derive it From His mother.
His mother.
Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. Notice Highest is in capitals. It's a title for God, the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the House of Jacob Forever, and of his Kingdom there shall be no end. Now notice Mary's response. Then said Mary unto the Angel, How shall this be seeing I know not.
She had no relations with man at all. She was a virgin.
She was to be that one, to bear the Messiah.
Now verse 35 Tremendous, one of the most tremendous verses in all the Scripture. And the Angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall over shadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
We make the mistake when a child is born and we look at the little baby and we say that innocent little thing not so it would be more correct, more scriptural to say that sinful little thing.
Because innocence was. We don't have it anymore. Innocence was a state of humanity before the fall. Adam was created in innocence.
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That condition no longer exists. I'm not talking about a person being pronounced innocent in a court of law, but meaning not guilty. I'm talking about the state of humanity. Adam was created in a state of innocence without sin, but capable of sinning.
And then he did sin, and now we partake of sinful, fallen humanity. The state has changed. Humanity is the same.
Adam was just as human after the Fall as he was before, but the state of his humanity had changed from innocence to sinful.
But here we don't have either one of those states described, but we have therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God. And so we have a third condition of humanity, and that's Christ holiness.
That holy thing, his humanity was holy, incapable of sinning.
Without sin, but incapable of sinning. The very word holy means delight in good and abhorrence of evil.
Delight in good and abhorrence of evil.
Every suggestion to this holy One that was born of Mary was painful and repulsive to him. His humanity was holy.
To answer the question, could Jesus have sinned? It's not a full answer to say of course he couldn't have because he was God.
In the in the human flesh, that's true, absolutely true. God cannot be united with anything that is sinful. And in the person of Christ we have God and Man United into one person, but his humanity was holy.
And we partake of that in the new creation.
John tells us that in his first epistle it says he that is born of God.
Cannot sin, for his seed abideth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God. That is the new nature cannot sin and Christ, humanity is holy and that's what we partake of when we are born into the family of God. We have his life and nature which is incapable of sinning, but we still have the flesh and that's why.
A Christian may sin.
But he didn't have that.
Humanity was preserved in the womb of the Virgin through the beginning power of the Holy Spirit. She conceived and the Holy Ghost begat, and his humanity was preserved wholly without the taint of sin.
Impossible that he could have sinned.
Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God. Why is it saved that holy thing? It's the word holy in the neuter gender.
If it was in the masculine gender, they would have rendered that holy one, which it's rendered in other places. Thou art the holy one of God. Why does it say that holy thing?
Because in the very essence of his human nature, he was holy.
His nature was holy.
Not innocent, certainly not sinful.
And so this is such a wonderful verse. Therefore, that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
He did not become the Son of God.
When he became a man.
That's what those teach. You deny the eternal sonship of Christ, but he carries his sonship into time, says in Philippians 2. He emptied himself.
What did he empty himself of the outward form of God, And he took upon him the form of a servant. But he didn't empty himself of his love, or his mercy, or grace, or holiness, or truth or righteousness, or of his sonship. He didn't empty himself of any of those things. He carried them into humanity.
So that it could be said of him as a man. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in him bodily.
Verse 36 And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived the Son in her old age, and this is the 6th month with her, who was called Baron. For with God nothing shall be impossible.
And Mary said, beautiful her response, no thought, no comment. I'm not worthy of this Lord. No, she just says, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. And the Angel departed from her.
She accepts it.
I'm going to be the mother.
Of the Messiah.
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That holy thing that will be born of me.
Is the Son of God.
And Mary arose in those days, and went into the Hill Country with haste into a city of Judah.
And entered into the House of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary.
The babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost, and she spake out with a loud voice and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believes, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, let's, let's just read what Mary said is beautiful.
Thy soul to magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. Whether she entered fully into this, I doubt that she did because we're so slow to grasp these divine realities and wondrous truths. Whether she entered into it when she said God my Savior, clearly indicating that she needed a Savior just like we do. She was a Sinner. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is impossible.
Because Mary was begotten by a human Father. Not so with the Lord Jesus. She was a Sinner.
Transmitted to her through the process of normal birth.
But the Lord Jesus conception was not normal.
It was.
By the power of the Holy Spirit.
And so he was, as to his humanity, preserved from sin, I would like to say this too. His humanity even.
Is never spoken of in Scripture as being created.
We should never refer to the Lord as a creature.
He was a man.
Yes.
He entered into his own creation.
When Adam was created, he was created out of the dust of the ground, and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. But the Lord came through the woman, the very one that Satan had seduced and deceived and brought sin in. And all the the sorrow and the suffering and the, and the the violence and the corruption that fills this world today, and all the evil and death following upon it.
All brought in by sin through the woman.
So God says I am going to destroy all that and redeem man from that power through the woman, the seed of the woman.
The weaker vessel, the Lord, when he entered into this scene, He entered through weakness.
And when he hung on that cross and accomplished the greatest work that's ever been accomplished, He was crucified through in weakness, it says. But he now lives by the power of God.
The weakness of God is stronger than men in the foolishness of God is wiser than men.
Verse 46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. Whether she realized the fullness of what she was saying, that the one she was going to bear was God her Savior.
She goes on, For he hath regarded the lowest state of his handmaid, and for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. And indeed she was.
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and wholly is his name.
And his mercies on them that fear him from generation to generation, he hath showed strength with his arm.
Yet scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled a hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath hope and His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever. And Mary abode with her about 3 months, and returned to her own house.
And then Elizabeth's full time comes that she should be delivered, and she brings forth a son.
We will Passover those verses due to time.
And go to chapter 2. I'd like to read them but time doesn't allow.
And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Serenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, into the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child.
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And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered, and she brought forth her first born son.
And wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a Manger because there was number room for them in the inn. Just think of it when the Creator entered his own creation through the process of human birth.
He was born in a stable and laid in a Manger.
No room.
For him in the end, and there hasn't been room in this world for him since.
The world hasn't changed.
And they were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were so afraid.
It says in the. It says in Genesis that.
That shepherds are an abomination to the Egyptians.
And here God reveals this wonderful event to those that are abominations to the people of this world.
These shepherds. These lowly shepherds.
The Angel said unto them, Fear not, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And there shall be a sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a Manger. Speaks of poverty, lowliness.
Nothing. That's the place into which he came.
And suddenly there was with the Angel of multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this great this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a Manger.
When they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
And all they had heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
Notice we read, but Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. We read statements like this several times about Mary.
And the shepherd's return, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them.
And when 8 days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus.
Which was so named to the Angel before he was conceived in the womb. Jehovah, the Savior Jesus.
And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord, never a male that opened the womb that was so holy as this one.
The Holy One of God.
That holy thing which was born of her was called the Son of God.
And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, a provision in the law of Moses for the poor of the flock, for those that didn't have enough money to pay for a more expensive offering. The very poorest of the offerings, that's what they offered. He entered in poverty into this world.
He had nothing.
He emptied himself.
Of his form of God took on him the form of the servant.
He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many in his very entrance, the very way in which he entered into this world, through the weaker vessel and into a condition of poverty down here.
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
And the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him, and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought him the child Jesus, that's the closest that the Spirit of God comes.
In an expression it says, the parents brought in the child Jesus for to do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now let us thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.
They were indeed his, his parents as far as the world was concerned, and the law.
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But the Spirit of God when it singles out the actual person that was involved in his birth, always his mother Mary.
Mine eyes have seen thy salvation, he says, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to light, and the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people, Israel.
And Notice, and Joseph and his mother, maintaining the distinction, marveled at those things which were spoken of him.
I'm going to come back to this verse. I have more to say about verse 33.
But we'll leave it for now. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother.
Notice that expression again, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against. Yeah, a sword shall Pierce through thine own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Now Anna comes on the scene. We pass that over and we'll pick up the story in verse 40.
And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover, and when he was 12 years old they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
Notice the expression.
But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass that after three days they found him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him they were amazed. And his mother said unto him, Notice now.
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy Father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
She refers to Joseph in that way.
Notice how he gently corrects her. And he said unto them, How is it that she sought me? Wish thee not that I must be about my father's business. A boy of 12.
Telling his mother that Joseph's not my father. My.
Fathers in heaven, and I am about his business.
And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them.
But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. Notice how often Mary is referred to as his mother.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. Now keep your place here. And we're going to turn back to the 69th Psalm. I want to read that, and then we'll flip right back to this portion.
The 69th Psalm maintains the same truth.
That the Spirit of God is very careful to guard.
Verse 7. Psalm 69 The Messiah speaking, Because for thy sake I have borne reproach, shame hath covered my face, I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.
Not my father's children, my mother's children. Perfect consistency. Now I was reading a critique once on the NIV translation and the author was comparing it with the King James Version.
And the first passage I, I, instead of comparing it with the King James, I looked at all the passages that he was critiquing and I compared them with the J&D translation, Mr. Darby's translation.
And in the first instance Mr. Darby agreed with the King James, the second instance he agreed with the King James, the third with the King James, the 4th with the NIV, and the 5th with the NIV. And there was a mixture.
But one of the passages that Mister Darby agreed with the NID.
I am fully convinced myself he chose the wrong reading. It's a question of manuscripts.
First of all, this one's not as important, but verse 43 reads in these new translations and Mr. Darby's as well. And when they had fulfilled the days as they returned the child Jesus Tory behind in Jerusalem and instead of reading and Joseph and his mother knew not of it, it reads his parents knew not of it. Now that's an expression found in verse 41 and elsewhere and that's that's not a problem.
Because it is used by the Spirit of God. But verse 33 there's a real problem.
In the new translations.
Instead of it reading and Joseph and his mother, it reads and his father and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.
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Now if you happen to have the new translation by Jay and Darby of the Moorish edition, you will notice that's the full notes, not the Stohill Bible and track, but the Moorish edition. You will notice that he gives a note there and in the in the note in the margin at the bottom, he says Joseph and his mother. And then he gives the manuscripts that support that reading.
And he gives the manuscripts that support his father and his mother.
All I'm saying is that in the light of all we've looked at, the whole testimony of the Holy Spirit, the internal evidence.
Is against the reading his father and his mother.
And so I've concluded that in that one instance, I definitely prefer the King James.
I believe it's correct. I picked up on one of my journeys at a Christian bookstore. A New Testament according to the majority of the manuscripts. According to the majority text. The majority text is a text that has been built based upon the majority of the manuscripts. There are hundreds, thousands of them.
And.
The King James translation is built upon the Textus Receptus, which is five manuscripts used by Erasmus, and then he put together a Greek text and that's what we use in our King James.
Mr. Darby didn't use a particular Greek text he used, he referred to the manuscripts and it's unfortunate his the Greek text that he used has never been printed to my knowledge. I'd like to know if it has.
But anyway.
I looked at verse 33 and 43 up in the in this New Testament according to the majority of the manuscripts, not just built on five, mind you, but built on the hundreds, the thousands that exist. And they say that the the Greek reads there Joseph and his mother, both cases, Joseph and his mother. I believe that's the correct reading in both of those verses it maintains.
The the space, the distance between.
Joseph and Mary Mary is always called by the Spirit of God, the Lorde mother. Joseph not so. And when Mary does it once, the Lord gently, even as a boy of 12 Corrects her, wished he not that I must be about my Father's business.
Wonderful person, the doctrine of Christ.
Very man, virgin born, the seed of the woman.
Emmanuel, God with us, God manifest in the flesh.
Do you know that person, Young boy, Young girl tonight? Do you know who he is?
If you really know who he is.
Then you are the Lords.
And if you don't, you can know 1000 other things if you don't know who Jesus is.
I tell this story. I know, I know. I'm a little over but pardon this.
When I was in the southeast.
I was told of one who was at the Lord's table.
Breaking bread, whom I know. I've known him for years.
Supposed him to be a brother.
And this brother told me about him. He said he questions that Jesus is the Creator.
And so I called up the leading brother of this assembly and I said we should have a talk with this brother and.
And so we did. And as I talked with him, I said, is Jesus the Creator?
And he said God created everything through Jesus.
And I didn't like that answer. It's, it's not wrong, but it's it's, it's not enough.
And then I asked him, is Jesus God?
And he looked at me and he said, I'll answer that question later.
Never answered.
Never answered.
If you don't know who Jesus is, you don't belong at the Lord's Table, that's for sure.
You're not saved.
He that holdeth not the doctrine of Christ bringeth it not. He doesn't have God, John says.
And if he's not the virgin born son of Mary, we don't have a savior.