Why is the Virgin Birth an Important Doctrine?

As we begin to celebrate the Christmas season, we reflect on the birth of Christ. As Christians, we believe it was prophesied that Jesus would be born of a virgin and was the rescuer for the people of God. The virgin birth of Christ is not the most dominating doctrine of the Bible, but it is an important doctrine. Wayne Grudem gives three important reasons why in his classic, Systematic Theology:

1. It shows that salvation ultimately must come from the Lord. Just as God had promised that the "seed" of a woman (Gen. 3:15) would ultimately destroy the serpent, so God brought it about by his own power, not through human effort.

2. The virgin birth made possible the uniting of full deity and full humanity in one person.

3. The virgin birth also makes possible Christ's true humanity without inherited sin.