41 耶稣为童女所生——耶稣基督的出生是神蹟 VirginBirth - Jesus Christ was born by miracle
《简明神学》Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs，巴刻（J. I. Packer）著/張麟至译，更新传道会，2007年。
41 耶稣为童女所生——耶稣基督的出生是神蹟
Virgin Birth - Jesus Christ was born by miracle
这一切的事成就，是要应验主籍先知所说的话，说：[必有童女怀孕生子，人要称他的名为以马内利。]（以马内利翻出来就是：[神与我们同在]。）（太1:22-23）
马太福音1：18-25节和路加福音1:26-56节及4-7节这两段和谐互补，却又明显是彼此独立的故事，合起来为耶稣的降生乃是神迹性受孕的结果作了见证。马利亚未与任何人发生过性关系，乃是靠着圣灵创造的作为而怀孕（太1:20；路1:35）。
直到十九世纪自由神学向神迹挑战以前，大多数的基督徒都毫无怀疑地接受[耶稣为童女所生]一事。之后，这件事就变为有关基督教的超自然主义，和耶稣的神性之辩论的焦点了。自由主义既然要除去信仰的超自然性，并要将耶稣解释为不过是一位独特敬虔、又有洞见的教师而已，就以一种无比必要、且不合理性之怀疑主义的精神，围攻[耶稣为童女所生]的真理。
事实上，[耶稣为童女所生]此点与新约圣经其余有关耶稣的信息，是彼此调和的。祂自己行神迹，也从死亡中神迹似地复活起来，所以，断定祂神迹性地进入这个世界，也不应造成什么新问题。祂以复活和升天超然地离开这个世界，所以，祂超然的来临是完全合宜的。强调耶稣道成肉身的尊贵与荣耀（约1:1-9；17:5；林后8:9；腓2:5-11；西1:15-17；来1：1-3；约一1:1），使得祂这种进入肉身生活的模式，要比任何其他的模式更为自然。这种模式亦宣扬了祂将来所要完成的荣耀使命（太1:21-23；路1:31-35）。
值得注意的是，马太和路加对神救赎的目的的成全，比把童女怀孕当做一种身体上的奇迹、或当做一种辩道的武器、或当做基督神人二性论的指标，来得有趣多了。
我们固然不能肯定，有神性的人除了籍童女所生之外，是否就没有别的方法进入这个世界，但耶稣神迹性的出生的的确指明了祂的神性，同时也指明了，运行在我们新生时那种创造大能的实在（约1:13）。还有，我们固然不能肯定，除了籍童女所生之外，神一定不能创造无罪之人性，但耶稣的人性是无罪的，而祂出生的情景，也叫我们留意到马利亚所牵涉的神迹，罪人（路1:47）竟生出了一位不[在亚当里]如祂的人，所以祂也不像她一样需要一位救主，尤有进者，耶稣命定要籍着祂那无暇的人性所维持无罪的一生，来为人的罪成为完全的牺牲，如此耶稣才能成为祂母亲和教会其余之人的救主。
VIRGIN BIRTH
JESUS CHRIST WAS BORN BY
MIRACLE
All
this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The
virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” MATTHEW 1:22-23
Matthew
1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-56; 2:4-7, two harmonious and complementary but obviously
independent stories, unite in witnessing to Jesus’ birth as the consequence of
a miraculous conception. Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit’s creative
action without any sexual relationship (Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:35).
Most
Christians accepted the Virgin Birth without hesitation until liberal theology
challenged miracles in the nineteenth century. Then it became a pivotal point
in the debate about Christian supernaturalism and the divinity of Jesus.
Liberalism, seeking to desupernaturalize the faith and reinterpret Jesus as no
more than a uniquely godly and insightful teacher, surrounded the Virgin Birth
with a spirit of needless and unreasonable skepticism.
In
reality, the Virgin Birth meshes harmoniously with the rest of the New
Testament message about Jesus. He himself worked miracles and rose miraculously
from the dead, so no new problem is involved in affirming that he entered the
world miraculously. He left the world supernaturally, by resurrection and
ascension, so a supernatural way of arriving was entirely fitting. The stress
laid on Jesus’ preincarnate dignity and glory (John 1:1-9; 17:5; 2 Cor. 8:9;
Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:1-3; 1 John 1:1) made a mode of entry into
incarnate life that involved proclamation of the glorious role he was coming to
fulfill (Matt. 1:21-23; Luke 1:31-35) more natural than any alternative.
It is
noteworthy that Matthew and Luke show themselves much more interested in the
fulfillment of God’s redemptive purpose than in the virginal conception as a
physical wonder or an apologetic weapon or a pointer to two-nature christology.
While
we cannot affirm that a divine person could not have entered this world any
other way than by virgin birth, Jesus’ miraculous birth does in fact point to
his deity and also to the reality of the creative power that operates in our
new birth (John 1:13). Also, while we cannot affirm that God could not have
produced sinless humanity apart from virgin birth, Jesus’ humanity was sinless,
and the circumstances of his birth call attention to the miracle that was
involved when Mary, a sinner (Luke 1:47), gave birth to one who was not “in
Adam” as she was, nor therefore needed a Savior as she did. Rather, Jesus was
destined through the maintained sinlessness of his unflawed human nature to
become the perfect sacrifice for human sins, and so the Savior of his mother
and of the rest of the church with her.
