Apostle's Creed #8

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
   maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord;
   who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
      born of the virgin Mary,

born of the virgin Mary,

A second thought about this line of the Creed; this is in fulfillment of prophecy. In Isa. 7:14, the prophet tells the king, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This is a prophecy with two fulfillments. In the time of Isaiah, around 735 B.C., God tells King Ahaz that in the time it takes for a woman to get married, conceive, give birth to, and wean a child, the enemy that is threatening his kingdom will be destroyed.

But, by making the prophecy specific, “And shall call His name Immanuel,” God is also speaking of the birth of His Son 700 years later. Immanuel, or Emanuel as it is in the Hebrew, means “God with us.” God is telling His people that His own Son is going to be born of a virgin.

And two chapters later, God gives Isaiah more information about this child, that he will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace,” that He will sit on the throne of David, and that He will reign eternally.

When I say this portion of the Creed, I am confessing that God does intervene in time, and that He did so with the purpose of fulfilling His promise to send a Savior.