DHK, there is not one word in scripture to support that Jesus had to be born of a virgin to avoid a sin nature. The scriptures tell us why Jesus was born of a virgin.
Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Jesus being born of a virgin was a SIGN. It identified him as the Son of God.
When we discuss spiritual gifts, especially the gift of tongues, I can give you half a dozen reasons why tongues have ceased--good, valid reasons. There is not just ONE reason.
And so it is here. There is not just ONE verse, ONE reason, ONE purpose. You must look a the totality of Scripture and look at the whole picture.
I'll give you another quick example. Did you know that there are 10 ways in which Joseph was a picture or type of Christ. 10 Ways, not just one! You have to look at the whole of Joseph's life, not just one aspect. And so it is with the birth of Christ.
Why was Christ born of a virgin.
1. To fulfill prophecy.
2. To avoid inheriting a sin nature.
3. To avoid inheriting a genealogical curse.
4. The fulfillment of the protoevengellium: the seed of the woman would conquer Satan. (Gen.3:15)
5. Because in him was no corruption.
If I go to a Systematic Theology book I may find more. Those are the ones that come to mind within the last three minutes. I am sure you could find much more in Dr. Gresham Machen's book, "The Virgin Birth of Christ," which he wrote in 1930, a book over 400 pages in length. He is a graduate of both Princeton and Westminster Theological Seminaries.
On which of the above do you wish me to elaborate?
Let's look at #3. It is always interesting. For Christ to be the Messiah; to sit on the throne of David, he had to have two genealogies that led right back to David. The Jews had to see this in writing in order to accept Him as their Messiah. Thus we have the genealogy of Christ, the son of Joseph, in Matthew one, and Jesus, the son of Mary in Luke 2. Both seem to be legitimate in tracing his genealogy back to David, if not right back to Adam (in one of them). In Matthew he is presented as Messiah the King. In Luke he is presented as a man, the perfect man. So Matthew's genealogy (the father's) becomes very important. What the genealogy does not show is one terrible glitch. It is found in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 22:24-30 depicts a vivid, horrifying picture of a king that was a descendant of David. His name is Jehoiakim, also known as Coniah:
As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; (Jeremiah 22:24)
--Coniah was disobedient. God placed a curse on him so that he nor any of his descendants would ever sit on David's throne. The curse that is written in this passage is one of the most strongly worded and vivid curses written in the Bible.
O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for
no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah. (Jeremiah 22:29-30)
--Although the genealogy of Matthew does not spell it out, Joseph was of the line of Coniah. Yes he was of the line of David, but also of the line of Coniah. He was not qualified to sit on the throne of David. Thus Jesus had to be born of a virgin to escape this curse. Often this is an over-looked reason. You see, you just can't come out and give a flippant reason--it is a fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14. The virgin birth is much, much more than that. Machen wrote over 400 pages on it. I am sure he said more than "a fulfillment of prophecy."
