Is Mary the Spouse of the Holy Spirit?

Jéan Ross: Our next caller that we have is Alan listening from Ohio. Alan welcome to the program.

Alan: Hi.

Pastor Doug: Hey, thanks for calling.

Alan: Yes, all right. My question is about the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. First, I'd like to outline a hypothetical situation. Suppose a man gets married to a woman who's a virgin and they have yet to have any sexual intercourse. Then a second man comes along and has sexual intercourse with the woman. It's consensual and the woman becomes pregnant. Wouldn't that be adultery on the part of the second man and the woman?

Pastor Doug: Are you wondering if because Joseph and Mary were engaged, for her to be artificially inseminated by the Holy Spirit would be as though God was breaking his own law?

Alan: I didn't know they were just engaged, I thought they were married but then they became married later anyway, weren't they?

Pastor Doug: Yes. You'll remember it says in the Bible that they were engaged to be married, the wedding hadn't happen yet because it says before they came together. Obviously, after a person's been fully married, they almost immediately consummate the marriage. Before Joseph and Mary came together, she was found to be with child. The marriage had not happened yet. Nonetheless, I guess you're saying that here--

Alan: If a human man was involved instead of the Holy Spirit, wouldn't that be adultery?

Pastor Doug: Let me put the question to you in a different way, and I appreciate your question. Let's suppose a man and a woman are engaged and they cannot have children. The woman says, "If I could be inseminated somehow, if we could get medical help to take your sperm connected with my egg implanted in me and we'll have a baby," there would be nothing with that, right? You do understand my question? What the Bible tells us is that she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. She was conceived by the Holy Spirit. It doesn't say there was nothing of Joseph that was in Mary. Matter of fact, it goes through great lengths-

Alan: No, of course not. See, I said before the first man and the virgin woman had any sexual intercourse.

Pastor Doug: I know. What is your concern? That God somehow was doing something wrong by impregnating Mary?

Alan: Yes, it seems like it.

Pastor Doug: Who made man in the beginning?

Alan: Of course God.

Pastor Doug: What would be wrong with God saying, "I'm the author of life, I'm going to give you a child that is going to actually have part of me in it, the savior of the world?" There were no complaints from Joseph and I don't think Joseph were jealous.

Alan: No.

Pastor Doug: They hear the privilege of raising the son of God.

Alan: Yes.

Pastor Doug: Any thoughts on this, Pastor Ross?

Jéan: I think the illustration you use is good. You wouldn't classify adultery if a spouse can't have a child for some reason and they talk about it and an egg is donated or whatever, sperm is donated. You wouldn't call that adultery.

Alan: In this case, that doesn't apply to, I don't think to Virgin Mary. Isn't it true that she wasn't like Sarah who couldn't have children? Does it say in the Gospel that the Virgin Mary could not have children like say Sarah.

Pastor Doug: A number of the Hebrew women were barren. It's interesting, actually about seven of them were barren.

Alan: I don't think Virgin Mary was barren.

Pastor Doug: No, she was probably extremely fertile.

Alan: It's different. It's different.

Pastor Doug: The similarity between Sarah and Mary is that they were both miraculous. For Sarah, at 90 years old to get pregnant after she's already gone through menopause was miraculous. Of course, for Mary--

Alan: They're both miraculous.

Pastor Doug: Exactly.

Alan: I don't question it.

Pastor Doug: Are you wondering why God really do that?

Alan: I'm wondering why wouldn't it be adultery, if a human did that--

Pastor Doug: Well that's the key right there, it wasn't a human. It was the author of all life.

Alan: I don't know if it is.

Pastor Doug: You have to admit that every life is a miracle. Whenever anybody has a baby, it's a gift of God. Children are the heritage of the lord, the Bible says. It's God that blesses the fruit of the womb. If God told Mary in advance, "Look, I'm going to actually show you that this child is special in the very way that the whole conception takes place." To have the Holy Spirit involved in that is just a wonderful miraculous thing. I don't think anybody thought that, "God cheated on Joseph." I understand, it's a valid question. I could see where if it was a man, yes but it was the Holy Spirit, it was God creating, giving a gift every Jewish mother wished she could have the messiah. I appreciate your question, thank you very much, Alan. I'm trying to think if we have anything special. Nothing particularly on that.

Jéan Ross: No, we don't. We do have a website called marytruth.com.

Pastor Doug: There you go.

Jéan Ross: That talks a little bit about this miraculous birth and I think you'd find that interesting. Just type in marytruth.com.