Scriptures and Doctrine :: The Seed of the Woman

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1 The Seed of the Woman, on: 2006/7/1 12:17 Stever posts: This is excellent teaching on the Seed of the woman that I would like to share with you: THE VIRGIN BIRTH WAS PROPHESIED A. THROUGH MOSES In the promise made to the serpent (Satan) - Gen 3:15 a. The first Messianic prophecy found in Scripture b. "He shall bruise your head; and you shall bruise His heel" 2. Note that it says "her seed" a. The reference to the seed of a woman is unique b. The normal expression is the seed of man - e.g., Ro 1:3 -- While not overwhelming proof, it is a subtle hint for what was to come! B. THROUGH ISAIAH In the promise made to the House of David - Isa 7:13-14 a. Though Ahaz rejected a sign, God chose to give one anyway to his descendants b. A virgin (Heb., almah) shall conceive and bear a son 2. Concerning almah, which some contend simply means "a young woman" a. "As a matter of fact there is no place among the seven occurrences of 'almah' in the Old Testament where the word is clearly used of a woman who was not a virgin." - J. Gresham Machen, The Virgin Birth of Christ b. In the LXX (the Septuagint version of the OT translated around 250 B.C.) almah in Isaiah 7:14 is translated by the Greek word parthenos which can only mean a virgin c. "The fact that the seventy who were the most eminent Hebrew scholars in the world translated the word 'virgin' is sufficient evidence that in this connection the word could have no other meaning." - Alfred Edersheim, The Life And Times Of Jesus, The Messiah -- A young woman bearing a child is not sign; but a virgin bearing a child, whose name was to be called Immanuel ("God with us")...now that is a sign! C. THROUGH JEREMIAH In the promise made to Judah - Jer 31:22 a. The Lord would create a new thing in the earth b. "A woman shall encompass a man" 2. The phrase has been variously interpreted; even so... a. "The fathers saw in these words a prophecy of the miraculous conception of our Lord by the Virgin" - Barnes b. Any other explanation would not likely involve God creating a new thing! -- This prophecy may also be a subtle reference to what was to come! Page 1/7

2 II. THE VIRGIN BIRTH WAS PROCLAIMED A. BY MATTHEW In his account of the birth of Jesus - Mt 1:18-25 a. Mary was found with child, conceived of the Holy Spirit b. In fulfillment of the prophecy found in the book of Isaiah 2. Concerning parthenos, used by Matthew in his account a. It is the Greek word for "virgin" b. Leaving no doubt that the prophecy in Isaiah referred to a virgin -- Matthew, an early disciple and one of the 12 apostles, proclaimed the virgin birth! B. BY LUKE In his account of the birth of Jesus - Lk 1:26-38 a. He also calls Mary a virgin (parthenos) b. She was to have a child without the benefit of a man 2. Note the words of the angel Gabriel a. "For with God nothing is impossible" b. If one believes in God, the concept of a virgin birth is not an impossibility -- Luke, a physician and notable historian, proclaimed the virgin birth! C. BY PAUL In his epistle to the Galatians - Ga 4:4 a. Writing of the coming of the Son of God b. Of whom he says was "born of a woman" 2. Note how careful Paul is in his epistles a. He proclaims Jesus to be the seed of Abraham and David b. He never ascribes the sonship of Jesus to any earthly father, only to God c. Yet he has no hesitation ascribing His birth to a woman! -- Paul, an apostle of Christ, by implication certainly proclaimed the virgin birth! CONCLUSION 1. There is certainly more in the Scriptures that implies the virgin birth of Christ... a. Such expressions as "begotten of God" - e.g., Jn 1:14,18; 3:16 b. The many references to Jesus as "the Son of God - e.g., Lk 1:35; Mt 16:16 2. Skeptics have offered alternative explanations of the conception, such as... a. A relationship with a secret lover b. A rape by a Roman soldier c. Sexual relationships with her fiancã e, Joseph d. Jesus was conceived as a result of normal relations between Mary and Joseph after marriage -- Each of these imply that the virgin birth stories in Matthew and Luke were simple fables, invented decades after Jesus' conception, without any grounding in fact 3. It is important to believe in the virgin birth of Christ; otherwise Page 2/7

3 we claim that... a. The New Testament narratives to be false and unreliable b. We are more knowledgeable than Matthew, Luke, or Paul 4. Who are you willing to believe...? a. The views of skeptics and opponents, who seek to undermine faith in Jesus? b. The opinions of theologians and professors, who publish for the sake of tenure and profit? c. The inspired apostles and writers of the New Testament, who suffered for their testimony? I am content to place my faith in Matthew and Luke, and to heed such warnings as this by Paul: "...Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge -- by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen." - 1 Ti 6:20-21 Committed to our trust is the wonderful truth that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin...! Quoted from the pen of Bob Sellers at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx God bless, Stever :-D Re: The Seed of the Woman - posted by rookie (), on: 2006/7/18 17:28 Are not all who are born from above born of a virgin? What of the Jerusalem that is above? Re: - posted by Christinyou (), on: 2006/7/18 22:06 The Resurrected body of Jesus is not born of a woman's reproductive system. It was resurrected a heavenly Body which could appear and disappear, go from earth to heaven, the blood was not part of this glorious body, and the blood is the life of the flesh. The Spirit of the Heavenly Body, The Spirit of Christ replaced the Satan spirit the was our father and controlling spirit before we believed. We are born from above, that is By the Father, it takes a Father to give life. It also takes life to make a Father. We are life in Christ Jesus and son's of Our Father. That is why there is no female or male in heaven. Christ Jesus of Nazareth was born of a woman, a virgin with a special body prepared by God through Mary who's seed brought forth the perfect body of Christ, that His perfect Body could be the only atonement of sin for all that believe. We don't know Jesus Christ as this man anymore. We know Jesus Christ as the resurrected Jesus Christ who has been birthed in our Spirit and life by the Incorruptable Seed of God the Father. 2Cr 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we no more. The same principle for the Jerusalem of God, not the Jerusalem of Israel. Page 3/7

4 : Phillip We were born again by the Word of God, which is Christ Jesus. The Logos of God logos Search for G3056 in KJVSL logov logos log'-os from 3004; something said (including the thought); by implication, a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the men tal faculty) or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, (with the article in John) the Divine Expression (i.e. Christut terance, word, work. Re: - posted by rookie (), on: 2006/8/12 20:13 Hi Brother Phillip: you wrote Quote: We are born from above, that is By the Father, it takes a Father to give life Is. 48:16  Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit Have sent Me. Is. 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; Is. 63:14 As a beast goes down into the valley, And the Spirit of the LORD causes him to rest, So You lead Your people, To make Yourself a glorious name. Search the Scriptures what do you find? Matt. 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they ca me together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Whose child is this? Page 4/7

5 Re: The Seed of the Woman - posted by Logic, on: 2006/8/14 18:21 God gives a proxy (replacement for you & I) to take our judgment, but the proxy must not be guilty like the one accused or he would be taking the judgment for himself and not for us. In verification of Gods' acceptance of Christs' sacrifice, He raised Jesus from the dead. The resurrection is the basis of our Faith. 1Corinth 15:14 and if Christ be not risen, then our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Therefore, the only person who could be with out the judgment of sin must not be from the corrupted bloodline of Adam. So this is where the seed of the woman comes in. In the bible, the seed is always from the man, The Hebrew word for seed is zera` {zeh'-rah} it can mean, semen virile (sp erm), offspring, descendants, posterity, or children. The man would plant his seed into the woman. God said in Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, an d thou shalt bruise his heel. Notice the term her seed. Mary was the mother of Jesus but Joseph, Mary's husband, wasn't the father of Jesus. Jesus was not from a seed of a man but conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is sinless; therefore He can take our place of judgment. Re: - posted by rookie (), on: 2006/8/14 20:02 Brother Logic wrote: "In the bible, the seed is always from the man, The Hebrew word for seed is zera` {zeh'-rah} it can mean, semen virile (s perm), offspring, descendants, posterity, or children." I have searched the Scriptures and have found that Genesis 3:15 is the only place where the "woman" is said to have th e "Seed." If one continues to search one will find that there is a barren woman, one that does not experience "labor." Galatians 4:26-27 "but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written: Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout. For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband." John 1:12-13, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Proverbs 2:1-11 "My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and ap ply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasure; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowl edge of God, For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisd om for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of H is saints... Again wisdom is feminine... Look to what she does for those who do as she asks...through her the Lord preserves the way of His saints. Page 5/7

6 Re: - posted by Christinyou (), on: 2006/8/15 2:49 Hi, Isa 44:28 That saith of Cyrus, my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. Isa 45:1 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; a nd I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; Pertaining to Cyrus: Isaiah 48:16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; f rom the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. Isaiah 48:17 Thus saith the L ORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee b y the way that thou shouldest go. By Albert Barnes Quotes on the Bible: Isa 48:16 Come ye near unto me - (see Isa 48:14). I have not spoken in secret - (See the notes at Isa 45:19). The idea here is, that he had foretold the raising up of Cyrus, and his agency in delivering his people, in terms so plain that it could not be pretended that it was conjectured, and so cl ear that there was no ambiguity. From the time that it was, there am I - From the moment when the purpose was formed, and when it began to be accom plished, I was present. The meaning is, that everything in regard to raising up Cyrus, and to the delivery of his people fro m Babylon, had been entirely under his direction. And now the Lord God and his Spirit hath sent me - There is evidently a change in the speaker here. In the former part o f the verse, it is God who is the speaker. But here it is he who is sent to bear the message. Or, if this should be regarded, as Lowth and many others suppose, as the Messiah who is speaking to the exiled Jews, then it is an assertion that he had been sent by the Lord God and His Spirit. There is an ambiguity in the original, which is not retained in our common translation. The Hebrew is, 'And now the Lord Yahweh hath sent me, and his Spirit;' and the meaning may be either, as i n our version, that Yahweh and His Spirit were united in sending the person referred to; or that Yahweh had sent him, an d at the same time had also sent his Spirit to accompany what he said. Grotius renders it, 'The Lord by his Spirit bas giv en me these commands.' Jerome understands the word 'Spirit' as in the nominative case, and as meaning that the Spirit united with Yahweh in sending the person referred to - Dominus Deus misit me, et spiritus ejus. Also Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not the same person's of the God Head. This is where the heresy that the Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ in the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit and God the Father are not those as you present in Isa 48:16. Later on the other two. : Phillip Re: - posted by rookie (), on: 2006/8/15 11:20 Hi Brother Phillip, I believe Isaiah 48:16 is speaking of Jesus who is sent. Jesus is the Holy One of Israel. In the book of Jeremiah it speak s of the same promise coming to bear... Jeremiah 33:10-11 "Thus says the Lord: Again there shall be heard in this place of which you say, "It is desolate, without man and without b east" in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of tho se who will say: Page 6/7

7 "Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever" and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at first, says the Lord." And listen to what happened to those who returned in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra. Jeremiah 33:15-17 "In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgement a nd righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely, and this is the name b y which she will be called; THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS For thus says the Lord; "David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; nor shall the priests, the Levites lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually." The Seed is the only means by which man is saved. Those who realized this truth in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra... THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS became part of the Branch. Paul teaches about these holy branches in Romans 11: "For if the firstfruits is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branche s were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree," Paul teaches that holy branches existed before the Gentile was grafted in. Paul teaches that only some of the branches were broken off and that the Gentiles were grafted in among THEM, and with them became a partaker of the root and fat ness of the olive tree... I believe the holy branches speaks of the remnant saved according to grace in each generation by faith through grace. Refer to Romans 11:5-6. The work of the Holy Spirit is to birth in those who live by faith the Seed, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Re: - posted by philologos (), on: 2006/8/15 12:21 Christinyou's Quote: Christ Jesus of Nazareth was born of a woman, a virgin with a special body prepared by God What does this mean? Is this implying that Mary's body was 'special' or that Christ's body was 'special'? Page 7/7