Read all about it - Eternity
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HOW WAS JESUS' BIRTH DIFFERENT? |
It's no good reading this unless you are sure the Bible is true.
If you are not sure then please read Does the Bible tell the truth? first or look up HOW DO WE KNOW THE BIBLE IS TRUE on Google.
We can clearly see that Jesus is God come down to earth by studying what Jesus said about Himself then proving it by doing the miraculous things He predicted. In no way was He born as a human being the way we were - His Father was God in heaven.
How can we be sure of this? Consider these facts:
1. Jesus knew about His life in heaven before His birth.
He said, "For I came down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me." John 6:38.
He is the second person of the Trinity.
"As the Father has life in Himself so has He given to the Son to have life in Himself." (John 5:26) Jesus could remember this time as the Son in heaven.
He spoke of "the glory which I had with You before the world was," and how the father "loved Me before the foundation of the world." (John 17:5, 24)
The New Testament teaches that Christ made everything.
Colossians 1:16: "Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - kings, kingdoms, rulers and authorities. Everything has been created through Him and for Him."
Christ appeared occasionally to men in the Old Testament, e.g. John 1:18: "No one has ever seen God. But His only Son, who is Himself God, is near to the Father's heart; He has told us about Him." and Genesis 12:7 When His critics questioned if He had seen Abraham, Jesus replied, "Before Abraham was, I am." (see Genesis 15:1)
2. Jesus descended from heaven.
How can you know for sure Jesus came down from heaven? God shows you through His chosen method of prophecy, a surefire way.
Isaiah 7:14 tells us the virgin (chosen by God) will have a Son called Immanuel (God is with us).
Isaiah 9:6: "For unto us a child is born... and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."
Micah 5:2 tells us that Bethlehem will produce a ruler who has come from of old and everlasting. Clearly Jesus came down from heaven.
3. Jesus is God on earth (incarnate).
It is hard to understand how the mighty creator of everything can allow himself to come down as a baby in a smelly stable, to be abused and to be spat on and crucified. But this is what the Bible clearly teaches and is what Jesus said He was: God on earth.
"The Word (Son of God) was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we saw His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father) full of grace and truth." John 1:14
Philippians 2:6-7 tells us that Jesus gave up His appearance as God and took up the form of a slave made in the likeness of men. God can do anything including becoming a man in the time domain. The importance of God becoming man is that it means man can come back to God through His Son.
4. The virgin birth did happen.
The angel Gabriel came to Mary and said, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon you and the power of the
Highest shall overshadow you, so that the holy one inside you shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1:55
Mary responded with faith and joy. "He who is mighty has done great things to me, and holy is His name." Luke 1:49
The virgin birth is unique. No one has ever been born without the seed of an earthly father. Believing it happened is a problem unless you are sure God can do anything.
To God this is possible - after all He made everything and can do what He wants with it, including coming down Himself in a virgin.
We should be full of praise for God who has done such a marvelous thing. He could have decided to let us suffer because we turned our backs on Him and went our own way. But no - God loves us and has been born on earth to win us back to Him.