We Believe: Conceived By The Holy Spirit Series

WE BELIEVE: CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

Text: Lk. 1:26-38

Introduction

1. “The birth of Christ is the central event in the history of the earth – the very thing the whole story has been about.” — C. S. Lewis

2. It is my hope and prayer that you are enjoying this series on the Apostle’s Creed. But even more so, I hope that you are learning from it, because I am.

3. Honestly, as I began preparing for this message, I asked myself the question, “why did the early church, and the apostle’s themselves, think this was so important?” I mean, I can understand the other things in the creed, but why the birth of Christ?

4. Well, I hope that you will see, as I did, the rest of the story of redemption leads to this central event. Without the birth of Christ, there would have been no crucifixion or resurrection. As C.S. Lewis so correctly stated, “the birth of Christ is the central event of the history of the earth.”

5. Lk. 1:26-38

Transition: So, let’s look at…

I. Why the Birth of Jesus is So Important?

A. In talking about the birth of Jesus, the Apostle’s Creed begins with, “He was conceived by the Holy Spirit.”

1. This brings us back to the creation of the universe. In Gen. 1: 2 it says, “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”

2. It was the Holy Spirit, hovering over a formless and empty planet, that brings life out of nothing.

3. Now, if we look into the second chapter of Genesis, and look into the creation of man, it says, “Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” (Gen. 2:7).

4. The word “breathe” comes from the Hebrew word Ruach, which means “breath or wind,” and is the same word that is used for the Holy Spirit in the OT.

5. So, without the Holy Spirit, man is just a lump of clay, but the Spirit brings life.

B. So, how does this apply to the birth of Jesus? As the story goes, the Angel Gabriel appears to a virgin named Mary (we’ll get to that part of the story in a little bit), and he told her she would give birth to a son. But Mary was a little confused by this because she was still a virgin. So, this is what Gabiel tells her. “The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”

1. He tells her this was going to be possible because “the Holy Spirit will come upon her, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”

2. These words show the powerful presence of God would come upon her. It says that Mary is quite correct, this was going to be a miracle birth.

3. This baby would be holy. Jesus was born without sin that had entered the world through Adam. He was born holy, just as Adam had been created sinless.

4. Now, we need to understand Jesus was not sinless because he didn’t have a human father for that would mean that Mary was sinless too, which she wasn’t.

5. Jesus’ sinlessness rests not on his miraculous birth to a virgin, but on the basis of his position with God. Through the birth of Jesus, God himself came into the world in human form.

6. The title “Son of God,” shows that Jesus had a special place in God’s plan, and that he is the expected Messiah.

7. The fact that the Holy Spirit played a part in this, shows that God, through the Holy Spirit, has a special role in creating this child, and shows Jesus' divinity.

8. The first Adam disobeyed God, but the second Adam would obey Him completely.

9. This was also an aspect of Jesus that was prophesied by Isaiah. In Isaiah 11:2 it says, “Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. 2 And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.”

C. Now, the next line in the creed says Jesus was “born of the Virgin Mary.” Why is this so important?

1. If you read through the OT, you’ll see that God loves miracle babies.