Saturday, June 05, 2004

12:00 am



Joseph wasn't buying the immaculate conception theory. His fiancée was pregnant, even though Joseph had never slept with her, so he was ready to call off the marriage – until an “angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.” The angel assured Joseph that Mary had conceived through the Holy Spirit, not a man. And Joseph was told to name the child Jesus (Greek for Joshua, meaning “the Lord saves”), because “He will save His people from their sins.”

Matthew says that “all this took place to fulfill what the Lord has 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.”

We see a pattern in this chapter where scripture is used to establish what God was doing on earth, then dreams and revelation were given to give specific clarity, pointing back to scripture to confirm it. The Holy Spirit brings revelation through many means, but that revelation is always in keeping with the Word.






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