Matthew 1
"'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us)." - Matthew 1:23
Matthew, describing the circumstances of Jesus' birth (v. 18), comments in an aside that the virgin conception of Jesus in Mary's womb was the fulfilment of a 700-year old prophecy of Isaiah. He links the virgin conception of Jesus to his deity.
19th century liberals attacked the doctrine of the virgin conception of Jesus. They did not believe Jesus is fully God, and they knew how important is Jesus' virgin conception to the debate over his deity. Jesus' name is Immanuel, which means "God with us." Through the virgin conception, God the Son became a human being. It is important for us to believe Jesus is fully God and that he was conceived miraculously by the Holy Spirit. This is what we celebrate at Christmas.
Father, in the church, may we defend the doctrines of the virgin conception of Jesus and his full deity. May we honour the Son just as we honour you. May we give the Lord Jesus Messiah highest honours as God the Son. Thank you that he came to be with us and that he's coming again. In his name, amen.
- Jeff Coleman