A Christian believes that Jesus is one person with two natures: one truly human nature; one truly divine nature. He is the human who could die on the cross in our stead; he is the infinite God with us, who could bear the sin of us all. Believing this truth brings true peace and freedom.

My wife loves watching Who Do You Think You Are?—the SBS TV series that looks at the lives of famous Australians. The basic idea is this: If you want to know who you are, you need to know something about your ancestors. They have shaped your life more than you can imagine. Isn’t that why so many adopted children, who love and honor their adopted parents, still yearn to know who their birth parents were?

So much of our identity—our appearance, genetics, nation of origin, language, culture, religion, status, prospects, tastes, morals, and a thousand other facts about us—are determined by our parents.

Certainly, this is true about Jesus. The Apostles’ Creed has already told us that Jesus Christ is “God’s only begotten Son, our Lord.” Every Christian looks to Jesus and says, as did Thomas, “My Lord and my God.” The next sentence of the Creed establishes his identity:

Article Three: “Who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary.”

This is straight from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 1:18-23)

Read More