What About the Virgin Birth? Is It Necessary?

The First Prophecy Concerning Christ: The Virgin Birth

He would be born of the “Seed of the woman.”

“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her Seed;

He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel.” – Genesis 3:15 NKJV

This is a direct three part prophecy referring to three distinct events in the life of Jesus Christ:
1. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ (seed of the woman).
2. His victory over the serpent, (Satan)
3. His own suffering (bruised heel).

Note that in the Bible it’s always the case that offspring are the ‘seed of their father’ and not the reverse; except here!

Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah:

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” – Isaiah 7:14

The New Testament fulfillment:
‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, “God with us.” – Matthew 1:23

Mary, the mother of Jesus herself wondered about what was to take place in her life.
“Then the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. – Like 1:30-35

Joseph, her betrothed learned of her pregnancy and this is what the Bible says about that:
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:18-21.

This is the record – “and (Joseph) did not know (have intercourse with) her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.” – Matthew 1:25 (Jesus means “Savior”)

Jesus was this promised ‘seed’ of the woman that God said would deal the death blow to Satan and crush the ‘serpents head.’ Satan was embodied in the serpent of the Garden of Eden. Jesus crushed him on the cross but eventually will cast him into the lake of fire.

“And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” - Revelation 20:10
The promised seed (Jesus) would also suffer a non-lethal blow. The crucifixion of Jesus was referred to here. Though He died physically, he remained alive in the spiritual realm for he himself dismissed his spirit on the cross after assuring the penitent thief that they would be together in Paradise that very day.

Question: Don’t Pagan Traditions Also Have A Promised Seed And A Virgin Birth Story?

The birth of Jesus is not the first story that contains a chosen seed or a virgin birth. Does the word counterfeit ring a bell? Don’t forget that Satan (Lucifer) was in the Garden of Eden with the first human couple. After persuading them to disobey God, Satan heard with his own ears God’s pronouncement of his own doom at the heel of the virgin born, promised seed of the woman. Remember, Satan (the devil, Lucifer) wants to be God and will counterfeit the things of God to suit his evil purpose. It doesn’t surprise me that he uses his powers of deception to present a false messiah. Satan has done it in the past and will again do it in the future (i. e. false Christs).

Is It Necessary To Believe In The Virgin Birth?

Question: What if you believe in Christ and accept most of the Bible but chalk up miracles like the virgin birth to ‘allegory?’
Answer: If Jesus wasn’t the fruit of a virgin’s womb he couldn’t save himself, much less mankind. How can I make a such a dogmatic statement as that? Because when Adam sinned, he contaminated the gene pool of his descendants. The life of the flesh is in the blood, and death passed on to all men because all have sinned. The only remedy for sin is the shedding of innocent blood. The problem is that all of the descendants of Adam have a sinful nature and can not pay the price for redemption. The solution for centuries was an annual sacrifice of a spotless lamb, a temporary, substitutional atonement for the sins of the people. When a family would remember the Passover, for instance, the head of the family would provide a lamb; but God had His own Lamb.

The science behind it is that the blood of an individual is determined by their father – not their mother. So when Jesus came, born of a virgin, offspring of the Holy Spirit (God), His blood was the only uncontaminated human blood in the universe (since Adam before he sinned). In effect, Jesus was the second Adam. Since He never sinned, He was able to offer his own blood once and for all for the sins of the world, eliminating the need for an annual sacrifice.
We know His sacrifice was accepted from symbols like the rending of the veil in the Temple that opened up the Holy of Holies to the common people.

So what would be the ramifications if Jesus was born of a human father? The answer is quite simply that He could never save anyone from their sins being lost himself. So the ultimate answer to the question, “is belief in the virgin birth necessary?” it's a resounding yes! But belief may take time. It’s a building process. I knew I’d met Jesus on the night of August 8, 1964 but by August 10th I was still filled with doubt about the importance of the virgin birth. It took prayerful study and then I finally saw what I’m sharing here. Jesus inherited his humanity from his mother but the blood, the cure for all sin was the unstained blood provided by God Himself.
It is only through that blood, and nothing but that blood we have cleansing from sin!
“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” - 1 John 1:6-7