This weekend I saw someone at X lamenting the fact that Christians believe in so many supernatural things. This man praised Christianity's multiple ethical teachings and framed Christianity as something that would be more acceptable if we were less fixated on miracles.
Miracles may seem like stumbling blocks in the minds of those who are committed to a closed universe, a universe in which God is not at work. Some people prefer a more deistic approach to things. If there is a God, He is distant because He set everything in motion and then withdrew. From that perspective, the laws of nature are the way things are and always will be.
From a secular perspective, removing miracles may be an attractive strategy for some people, since teachings and stories that are not miracles are easier to believe.
But removing miracles from Christianity means it becomes something other than Christianity.
This tactic did not work when Thomas Jefferson removed miracles from the four Gospels and retained the moral teachings of Jesus (a project that became known as the Jefferson Bible). According to Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, Christian teaching is based on the truth of Jesus' historic physical resurrection. But this miracle follows many others that have come before.
Miracles permeate the stories of the Bible.
The Israelites flee from the Egyptians through a wall of water. The Lord provides His people with the manna from the ground every morning for many decades. Moses strikes a rock from which water flows for the thirsty. After the Israelites acted according to specific marching instructions and musical cues, the walls of Jericho fell. Elijah conjures fire from heaven and is later taken away from earthly death to heaven. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the burning furnace unharmed and uncharred.
If Jesus thought as everyone else has thought, then the Gospel writers are lying.
I was able to move on and on. And then we go to the New Testament. There, the ministry of Jesus and the apostles (four Gospels and Acts) is full of miracles.
John called Jesus' miracles “signs,” and said in John 20:30, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.”
Indeed, the Gospel authors speak of Jesus' miracles, but the miracles we read about are not exhaustive.
The reason I have emphasized miracles so much is to remind you of this truth: Christians believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. Because we are a people of the Book, we must submit to and accept all that God has informed us of His will and ways in the world. And a virgin named Mary learned from an angelic messenger about God's miraculous plan to achieve the promised salvation through his promised son.
Gabriel said to Mary, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and you will call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). Furthermore, he told her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
Gabriel's language is a miraculous language. The power of God is at work and Mary is conceived in the womb. This truth about the conception of Jesus is not disposable. If Jesus thought as everyone else has thought, then the Gospel writers are lying. And if Jesus was born like other people, then his humanity was corrupted by sin. If Jesus were corrupted by sin, He would not be able to bring about salvation because He Himself would need salvation.
We must not turn our eyes away from the miracles of Christianity. don't be shy. Believe it, sing it, teach it, and protect it.
Also: Christians believe in the virgin birth of Jesus.
Through the miracle of the Incarnation, the Word became flesh. Eternity has arrived. The noble have humbled themselves. Mary believed by whom all things were created and for whom.
JI Packer writes of the great mystery found in the doctrine of the “Christmas Message of the Incarnation”: “Second Man” (1 Corinthians 15:47), the second representative head of the race, determining the destiny of man, who usurped humanity without losing his divinity, so also Jesus of Nazareth It was. And He was as fully divine as He was human. ”
It's truly amazing! But it is a miraculous effect. The concept of divine power is not strange. God's power is amazing, awe-inspiring, and admirable. Mary herself said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46-47).
That's exactly the right reaction.
Through the incarnation of the Son of God, the light of salvation has been illuminated in the world. The virgin birth of Jesus is not an extraneous issue; it is essential to our confession of Jesus as Christians. He is truly the Son of God, both divine and human. Jesus was born without sin and lived without sin so that He could die under our sins. The now risen and ascended incarnate Son is our perfect mediator and sin-forgiving Savior.
We must not turn our eyes away from the miracles of Christianity. don't be shy. Believe it, sing it, teach it, and protect it.
Christians also believe in the virgin birth of Jesus and many other miracles. And like Mary, we too should glorify the Lord and rejoice in God our Savior.
This essay is first published At Substack with Dr. Mitchell Chase.”Biblical theology.”
