IN MATTHEW 1:18-25, we learn that Jesus was NOT born of an earthly father. But notice Matthew is also clear to say that Mary is the mother of Jesus. This means that the humanity of Christ is derived from His mother Mary. Many false teachers down through the ages have tried to deny this fact. Some have even tried to say that Mary was just a surrogate mother, that Jesus Christ was conceived in Mary, but He was not of Mary. The idea is that the Holy Spirit produced a totally separate nature for Jesus that had nothing to do with Mary or the rest of humanity.
BUT THE SCRIPTURE says, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil…” (Hebrews 2:14). And again, “He had to be made like His brethren in all things that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). We also read in the Belgic Confession, Article 18, the following words, “Therefore we confess (in opposition to the heresy of the Anabaptists, who deny that Christ assumed human flesh of His mother) that Christ partook of the flesh and blood of the children; that He is a fruit of the loins of David after the flesh; born of the seed of David according to the flesh; a fruit of the womb of Mary; born of a woman; a branch of David; a shoot of the root of Jesse; sprung from the tribe of Judah; descended from the Jews according to the flesh; of the seed of Abraham, since he took on him the seed of Abraham, and was made like unto his brethren in all things, sin excepted; so that in truth He is our IMMANUEL, that is to say, God with us.”
MARY WAS NO surrogate mother. She was not an incubator that waited for the removal of the “foreign body” that had invaded the darkness of her womb. “She will bear a Son,” the angel declared, one who is of the same genetic material and substance as Mary with respect to His humanity, yet without sin. Truly Christ is a fruit of the womb of Mary (Luke 1:42), who descended from the Jews according to the flesh, as it is written in Romans 9:5, “…of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.” And according to the historic Reformed Creed, the Belgic Confession, anyone who says that Christ did not assume human flesh and blood of His mother is teaching heresy. And as a word of caution to true believers, these heretics are still with us today. They claim to speak the truth, but they are really trying to lead the people of God astray. And they are easy to spot because they always attack the true church with their doctrines of demons. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:8-9, “Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.” As Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them.” Heretics always cause schism in the church, and they always try to scatter the sheep of Christ to devour them with their false doctrine. True believers must resist them steadfast in the faith. As James says, “Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” The Apostle Paul also tells us in Romans 16:17-18, “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.”
Friday Devotional: December 20, 2024
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry