Page 20 - November 2022 - Truth & Tidings

losing the preceding article, we upon my mother’s breasts. I was cast
took a less-than-bite-sized look at upon thee from the womb: thou art my
Cthe “What” of the incarnation. We God from my mother’s belly.” Note that
will now continue that theme, considering we don’t read, “Thou art my Father from
vital truth regarding the perfect humanity my mother’s womb.” No! The Sonship of
of our Lord Jesus Christ. This will help us Christ is eternal.
trust the ability of our Great High Priest to His Experience
fully identify in every detail of our lives. Christ experienced what it was to grow
His Dependence up a hearty, vigorous little boy (see Luke
While the conception of Christ was 2:40, with identical language used of
divinely miraculous, the growth and de- John – cf. 1:80). He developed normally
velopment of that body in the womb was through every stage of life to a 12-year-
completely normal. Mary’s womb was not old and on, increasing in wisdom and
merely an incubator for Christ. Physically physical stature, finding grace with God
linked to her via the umbilical cord, He and man (Luk 2:52). In his commentary,
experienced normal fetal development. A.T. Robertson writes, “His physical, intel-
In relation to the birth of John the Baptist, lectual, moral, spiritual development was
Doctor Luke states that when Elizabeth’s perfect.” Alfred Plummer states, “At each
full time was come, she “brought forth a stage, He was perfect for that stage.” We
son” (1:57). By this, we understand that need not imagine that His deity was ever
1
she gave birth in the natural way. Luke diminished by His real humanity. This was
maintains this precious truth concerning demonstrated in that He accepted worship
Christ, affirming that when the days of (Mat 2:11), forgave sins (Luk 5:20-21), was
Mary’s gestation were accomplished, she omnipresent (Joh 3:13), omniscient (v19),
“delivered” [to be in travail] and “brought omnipotent (10:18), was equal with the Fa-
forth her firstborn Son” (2:6-7), causing us ther (v30), and much more! Marvellously,
to appreciate that the birth of Christ was He eternally took on something He never
by the natural process. was, yet perfectly and wholly remained
In keeping with the decree that the Son who He ever is. Truly, only God could
of God take real humanity, God allowed veil His glory, confine Himself to a human
His Son to be “born of a woman” (Gal frame, and yet remain fully God. With our
4:4). Wonder fills our minds as we observe faces to the ground we utter, “Great is the
Mary carefully taking swaddling bands mystery of godliness: God was manifest in
and binding up the limbs of that perfect the flesh” (1Ti 3:16). “Behold, a virgin shall
Babe, delicately laying Him in a manger be with child, and shall bring forth a son,
while she recovered from that incredible and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
experience. Psalm 22:9-10 makes it plain which being interpreted is, God with us”
that as a man Christ experienced what it (Mat 1:23).
was to be dependent upon God. “Thou Although Christ remained fully God,
art he that took me out of the womb: He never exercised His deity as an “ad-
thou didst make me hope when I was vantage” to make life easier. As a perfect
¹ Scripture quotations in this article are from the Man, He would feel the rigour of life in
KJV. a sinful world far greater than we who

340 TRUTH kTidings November 2022