THE VIRGIN BIRTH: A BIBLICAL STUDY OF THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST, by Robert Gromacki

Published on December 13, 2018 by Joshua R Monroe

Kregel Academic & Professional, 202 | 240 pages

A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance

By L. D. Sutton

 

Overview

This book, which is a facile version of J. Gresham Machen’s The Virgin Birth of Christ, is apologetic in nature and scope. Gromacki discusses the aim of his book in the preface which is to help Christians to have a better understanding of the Son of God and his advent. Gromacki works from this perspective to establish the virgin birth as the logical premise of the deity of Jesus Christ. To him, the separation and denial of the incarnation and the virgin birth is to reject Christ in totality, which makes modern man like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. Though this understanding is of supernatural origin, Gromacki states that it is critical for the Christian to examine this topic scripturally. This thesis is accomplished through the exploration of six key areas which are the basis of the virgin birth, the person of the virgin birth, the nature of the virgin birth, the results of the virgin birth, the purpose of the virgin birth, and the denials of the virgin birth.

Through this investigation Gromacki hopes to show that Jesus’ virgin birth is the only truly unique birth in history and that it comes with several implications.

  • First is that to confess the virgin birth is to simultaneously confess the deity of Jesus Christ.
  • Second, it is precisely in this characterization of Jesus that men are able to put their faith in him and come to a place of assurance that Jesus is able to save them from their sins.
  • Third, knowledge of this doctrine will serve as the testing ground for true saving faith, because, as Gromacki states, this doctrine will only be understood and defended by those who have the Spirit.

 

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part 1: The Basis of the Virgin Birth
1  Where Do We Start? (The Trinity)

Part 2: The Person of the Virgin Birth
2  The Question of Messiah
3  The Claims of the Apostles
4  Claims Made by Christ
5  The Titles of Christ

Part 3: The Nature of the Virgin Birth
6  Testimony of Luke
7  Testimony of Matthew
8  Testimony of the Church Fathers
9  Erroneous Concepts
10 Physical Implications

Part 4: The Results of the Virgin Birth
11 Jesus Was Truly Human
12 Two Natures, One Person
13 The Sinlessness of Jesus
14 The Problem of the Creeds

Part 5: The Purposes of the Virgin Birth
15 Why Did God Become Man?
16 Fulfilling Isaiah 7:14
17 The Genealogical Dilemma

Part 6: The Denials of the Virgin Birth
18 The Onslaughts of False Teaching
19 The Appeal to the Pagans
20 The Silence of Other Biblical Books

Conclusion

 

Summary

Part 1: The Basis of the Virgin Birth

Chapter 1: Where Do We Start? (The Trinity)

That existence of God makes the virgin birth a possibility, otherwise there could either be many incarnations or no incarnation. The Protestant/Catholic idea of Trinity is the only logical starting point for the virgin birth. Thus, it is necessary for us to defend the doctrine of the Trinity and the only way finite man can understand this doctrine is through supernatural revelation. If one finds this doctrine difficult to rationalize, his conclusion must be that the doctrine is supra-rational. It must first be stated that the bible overwhelmingly teaches monotheism, which was the foundation for the law as seen in Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 6:4. This idea is reiterated throughout the rest of the bible so that the reader sees its essential nature. The bible teaches that God is one in his essence and three in his person.

The OT definitely teaches that God is multiplicitous in his person and there are three clues that establish this fact. First is that the Hebrew word for God, Elohim, is plural in its form. Second, there are plural pronouns that describe God’s activity, such as, “Let us make man in our image,” (Gen. 1:26) and “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (Isa. 6:8). A third clue is the idea of composite unity in the word “one” in Deuteronomy 6:4. These passages teach that God is not singular in his person, but taken on their own, they cannot establish that God’s person is three. That God’s person is three is seen in the triple mention of blessing in Numbers 6:24-26 and the Trisagion of Isaiah 6:3. The idea of the Trinity is somewhat veiled in the OT but made clear in the New. One would need only to look at the Baptism of Jesus (Matt. 3) and the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19) to see that the NT reveals God as Trinity.

As previously stated, the doctrine of the Trinity is mysterious and difficult to explain. The creeds associated with the early church are a prime example of this struggle. The Athanasian, Nicene, and Nicene-Constantinople creeds were worded to emphasize monotheism and trinitarianism, without over or under emphasizing one or the other. The balance between the two continued through history as is seen in documents such as the Augsburg Confession (1530), the Thirty-Nine Articles (1571), and the Westminster Confession (1647). It is against the backdrop of the historical Christian church that modern scholars have chosen to retain monotheistic and trinitarian language when speaking of the nature of God.  

Even though the doctrine of the Trinity is rooted in scripture, there are still misrepresentations and denials of this doctrine by many who have professed to be followers of Jesus Christ. Subordinationism, Modalism, and Jehovah’s Witnesses have not done justice to this doctrine in their perversion of the scriptures and nature of God. It is only through the sequence of Jesus’ virgin birth proves his deity, his deity proves the incarnation, and the incarnation proves trinitarianism, that a biblical representation of the nature of God is accomplished.    

 

Part 2: The Person of the Virgin Birth

Chapter 2: The Question of Messiah

It is appropriate to explore the concept of Messiah through questions such as was the Messiah pre-existent, was he divine or human, and was the Messiah an angel or something more? During the first century, Rabbis expected the Messiah to be nothing more than a descendant of David. The OT however, states in Psalm 45:6, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.” As prophetic witnessed increased throughout the history of Israel, so did the idea that the Messiah would be God. Of particular interest, and an idea that we will return to, is Isaiah’s claim in 7:14 that, “a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The OT tells us that the Messiah would be God, but also that he would be the Son of Man (an expression of humanity and divinity), born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2), crucified (Zech. 12:10), and preceded by John the Baptist (Isa. 40:3). The NT writers. . .

[To continue reading this summary, please see below....]

The remainder of this article is premium content. Become a member to continue reading.

Already have an account? Sign In

Buy the books

The Virgin Birth: A Biblical Study of the Deity of Jesus Christ

Kregel Academic & Professional, 202 | 240 pages

Share This

Share this with your friends!