Christology -The Virgin Birth

Jesus is the anointed one, the visible and invisible Lord, the one before thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities, and Revelation 5 puts full voice into the mouth of heaven: “Worthy is the lamb that was slaughtered.” Revelation does not whisper worship. Revelation gathers myriads and myriads around the throne and says blessing, honor, glory, and might belong to the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.

Philippians 2 says this Lord did not cling to equality with God, but emptied himself and became poor. Isaiah says the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and his name will be Emmanuel, God with us. That promise did not pop up first in little backwoods Nazareth. That promise had been sitting in the ground a long, long time.

The narrow-leaf campion gives the picture. A seed can sit dormant for thousands of years, buried in a strange place, and then, when placed in the right environment, it blooms. God’s promises can look dormant like that. Isaiah’s word waited through Babylon, broken walls, captivity, year after year of asking, “Where is God with us?” Yet God keeps his promises, maybe not when people want them done, but God keeps them.

Genesis 3 gives that promise its wings. The garden had Adam and Eve walking with God, as if every evening had its holy walk. Then the serpent lied and said God was holding something back. Disobedience brought fear, shame, hiding, and blame. God called, “Where are you?” not because God lost them, but because God was calling them out. God politely calls the name, but God does not grab by the throat. The cave may feel predictable, but the rescuer is calling out of darkness.

Fear, shame, and blame still work the same way. Shame covers. Fear hides. Blame points at somebody else. The curse brought toil, hardship, weeds, pain, desire, and subjugation, but the promise came to the serpent: her offspring will crush your head. The serpent may bruise the heel, but the serpent will cease to exist.

Galatians says that when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem and to bring adoption. Joseph adopted Jesus into David’s line, and Bethlehem became the place where Genesis and Isaiah bloomed. Jesus did not say, “Try harder.” Jesus said, “I am with you.” Emmanuel means God longs to walk with his people again, and the table becomes the place to take the bread, hold the cup, and go take a walk with Jesus.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Dormant promises still can bloom. God’s promises may sit under centuries of silence and still be alive. The narrow-leaf campion becomes a picture of truth that looks dead until the right time comes. The waiting soul is not asked to pretend the wait is easy, but to trust that God’s timing has roots deeper than human urgency. [50:32]
• 2. God calls out of the cave. God’s call to Adam and Eve was not ignorance, but mercy. The hiding heart may prefer a predictable darkness because freedom means stepping into the unknown with the rescuer. God calls by name, but he does not force the throat; faith has to come out of hiding. [54:34]
• 3. Blame keeps shame alive. Genesis 3 shows fear turning into hiding, and hiding turning into accusation. Blame offers a cheap escape from ownership, but it leaves the wound unhealed. Repentance would have told the truth before God, while blame only moved guilt around the room. [56:56]
• 4. Emmanuel means God comes near. Jesus does not merely hand out commands from a distance. Emmanuel means God’s heart is to be with his people, to forgive, to bring peace, and to walk again where sin broke fellowship. Communion becomes more than a ritual when the bread and cup are received as an invitation back into that walk.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [39:55] - Jesus Lord Over All Things
• [42:45] - Heaven Worships the Slaughtered Lamb
• [46:47] - The Son Emptied Himself
• [47:22] - Emmanuel, God With Us
• [49:32] - The Dormant Seed Picture
• [52:23] - Genesis 3: The Promise Gets Wings
• [54:02] - God Calls, “Where Are You?”
• [55:27] - Fear, Shame, and Hiding
• [56:30] - Blame After Disobedience
• [58:53] - The Offspring Will Crush the Serpent
• [59:31] - The Fullness of Time
• [60:23] - Adoption and the Line of David
• [62:11] - God Keeps His Promises
• [65:18] - Jesus Says, “I Am With You”

1. In Isaiah 7:14, what sign does the Lord give, and what name is the child to be called?
2. What details help show that “Immanuel” means more than just a name, but the nearness of God to his people? [01:05:42]
3. What pictures are used to describe how long God’s promises can seem to wait before they come to fulfillment? [50:33]
4. In Genesis 3, what chain of reactions followed disobedience—especially in the areas of fear, shame, hiding, and blame? [56:39]

1. Isaiah’s promise of Immanuel came long before the birth of Jesus. What does that long delay reveal about the way God keeps his promises? [59:31]
2. God’s question, “Where are you?” was not a search for information. What does that question show about God’s heart toward people who are hiding from him? [54:34]
3. The promise that the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent reaches back to Genesis 3 and forward to Jesus. How does that connection deepen the meaning of Immanuel? [58:53]
4. Jesus does not simply say, “Try harder,” but “I am with you.” How does that change the way a Christian thinks about obedience, repentance, and daily life? [01:05:18]

1. Has there been an area of life where God’s promise has felt dormant for a long time? What has the waiting done in the heart—discouragement, impatience, deeper trust, or something else? [50:44]
2. Fear and shame often drive people into hiding. Where is the temptation right now to stay in the cave because it feels more predictable than stepping into the light? [54:46]
3. Blame keeps a person from honest repentance. Is there a situation where responsibility has been shifted onto somebody else instead of being owned before God? What would it look like to tell the truth plainly? [57:43]
4. Emmanuel means God with us. What helps a person actually live as though Jesus is near during ordinary parts of the day—morning, work, rest, conflict, and temptation? [01:05:49]
5. God’s call is personal, gentle, and real. When God seems to be asking, “Where are you?” what would coming out of hiding look like in a practical step this week? [54:37]
6. Jesus promises forgiveness to those who confess. Is there a sin, habit, or pattern that needs more than vague regret—that needs real confession and turning? [01:03:23]
7. Communion was pictured as taking a walk with Jesus. What might it look like this week to slow down and make space to walk with him instead of only asking him for help in passing moments? [01:06:34]