The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ

The virgin birth of Jesus, which is more accurately labeled the virginal conception of Jesus, teaches that Jesus Christ was born apart from the normal process of procreation, but was supernaturally conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of her, without sin.

Orthodox Christian theology teaches that Jesus Christ was born supernaturally of the virgin Mary. Belief in the virginal conception, commonly called the virgin birth, is built on the witness of Scripture and traces its roots to the earliest recoverable days of Christian theology. In this essay I will first introduce the theological framework of the virgin birth. Second, I will consider the biblical teaching on the virgin birth. This will include both the explicit teaching of the virgin birth, in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and in other possible allusions to and arguments that presuppose the virgin birth. Third, I will discuss some church fathers whose writings reveal the early and uniform belief in the virgin birth. Fourth, I will mention a few practical implications of the virgin birth.

Brandon D. Crowe is professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary. He is the author of The Hope of Israel: The Resurrection of Christ in the Acts of the Apostles (Baker Academic, 2020), Every Day Matters: A Biblical Approach to Productivity (Lexham Press, 2020), The Last Adam: A Theology of the Obedient Life of Jesus in the Gospels, and (co-edited with Carl Trueman) The Essential Trinity: New Testament Foundations and Practical Relevance.

The Gospel Coalition