Matt 1:18 Now the origin of Jesus Christ was in this way: His mother, Mary, after she had been engaged to Joseph, before they came together, was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. 20 But while he pondered 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 Mary your wife, for that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. Matt 3:16 And having been baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him. 17 And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight.
[Part 2 of 5] When the Lord Jesus was conceived, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit in a virgin (Matt. 1:20). His conception was divine, for it was of the Holy Spirit, that is, of God. His wonderful conception was a conception of God in man. This conception involved both divinity and humanity. Unlike the Lord Jesus, we all were conceived of our father with our mother. What was involved in our conception was merely and solely humanity. But the conception of the Lord Jesus was the conception of God in a human virgin, a conception that involved both divinity and humanity. Therefore, the Lord Jesus was born as a man with two natures: the human nature and the divine nature. This gives us the basis to say that He was a God-man. He was born of God in man. From God He received the divine element, and from Mary He received the human element. These two elements--divinity and humanity-- constitute Jesus a God-man. At the age of thirty the Lord Jesus was baptized. Immediately after He came out of the water, a voice from heaven said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I delight" (Matt. 3:17). At the same time the Spirit of God descended as a dove and came upon Him (Matt. 3:16). Was the Lord not born of the Spirit? Was the Spirit not one of the essences of His being? Before the Lord Jesus was baptized, did He not already have the Holy Spirit within Him? The answer to all these questions is yes. The Lord had been born of the Spirit, the Spirit was one of the essences of His being, and He did have the Holy Spirit within Him. Because He had been conceived of the Holy Spirit in a virgin, His being was constituted of two essences, divinity and humanity. Why then, since He already had the Holy Spirit within Him, was it necessary for the Holy Spirit to descend upon Him? This is a crucial question. [Continued tomorrow] (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, pp. 412-413. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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