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WAS JESUS A CHILD AT CONCEPTION? BY: AL GORMLEY
" And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS" Luke 1:31. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost" Matthew 1:18. Over and over again the Bible says this about Jesus Christ, "I came down from heaven" John 6:38. When did he come? If he came at his birth, that means he was not God before he was born. There is some depth to this question. Some people are very shallow in their thinking, especially in their thinking about abortion. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child" Matthew 1:18. That was before he was born, wasn't it? "She was found with child." When did he come from heaven? This has a lot more depth than a lot of people want to think about. Before Jesus was born, the Lord called him a child. "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost." Matthew 1:20. After that conception "she was found with child." Jesus was called a child. When you are talking about abortion, that is any procedure done to remove or eliminate the child after conception, you are quilty of killing a "child." I want to prove this. Elisabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, was with child, "And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women ... And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, (Matthew said she was found with child) and bring forth a son, (that is when he was born) and shalt call his name JESUS ... And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee (was he not called that holy thing before he was born) shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1:26,27,28,30,31,35. We see several things here. When conception took place, the Bible says she was with child. After conception took place, the Lord called him "that holy thing. "Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption" Acts 13:35. Was he a child or was he not a child? We think of all that is going on today. People have abortions up to birth (partial birth abortion). I tell you this, they are killing children. I am going to prove that to you. Elisabeth was with child, "And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost" Luke 1:41. The child in Elisabeth was alive and responding to the good news of a coming Savior. The basis thought is, Did Jesus begin when he was born? That is what the world is teaching. Or did Jesus begin when conception took place? Was Jesus holy only after he was born? or Was he holy at conception? He was holy at conception because he was born of the Holy Spirit. Was he a child only after he was born? or was he a child after conception? Well, the Bible says "she was found with child." What I am teaching will condemn any kind of abortion. Anytime there is a conception that takes place and women take pills or whatever to kill that which is alive, its murder. People think two or three weeks do not make any difference. Suppose that would have happened to our Savior. The Bible says "she was found with child." Doctors perform over 1.5 million abortions per year in the United States alone...that's one for every two live births.
Abortion Techniques
The following are the most commonly used abortion techniques:
Dilation and Curettage (D & C): The cervix is dilated with a series of instruments to allow the insertion of a curette, or sharp scraping instrument, into the uterus. The baby is then cut into pieces and scraped from the uterine wall. Bleeding is usually profuse. A nurse must then reassemble the parts to make sure the uterus is empty, otherwise infection will set in. Suction Curettage (Vacuum Aspiration): The cervix is dilated as in a D & C, then a tube is inserted into the uterus and connected to a strong suction apparatus. The vacuum is so powerful that the baby is torn to bits and sucked into a jar. Dilation and Evacuation (D & E): At 12 to 20 weeks, a seaweed-based substance is inserted into the cervix causing dilation. The next day forceps with sharp metal teeth are inserted and parts of the baby's body are torn away and removed piece by piece. At this age the head is usually too large to be removed whole, and must be crushed and drained before taken out D & Es are promoted by abortion advocates because, unlike other second trimester methods, they insure the baby's death. Salt Poisoning (Saline Injection): Used after 16 weeks (four months) when enough fluid has accumulated. A long needle is inserted through the mother's abdomen into the baby's sac. Some fluid is removed and a strong salt solution is injected. The helpless baby swallows this poison and suffers severely. He kicks and jerks violently as he is literally being burned alive. It takes over an hour for the baby to die... his outer layer of skin is completely burned off. Within 24 hours, labor will usually set in and the mother will give birth to a dead baby. (Quite frequently these babies are born alive. They are usually left unattended to die. However, a few who have survived the ordeal, due to the mercy of the hospital staff, have later been adopted.) Hysterotomy or Cesarean Section: Used mainly in the last three months of pregnancy, the womb is entered by surgery through the wall of the abdomen. The tiny baby is removed and allowed to die by neglect or sometimes killed by a direct act. Prostaglandin Chemical Abortion: This form of abortion uses chemicals developed by a well known Pharmaceutical Co. which cause the uterus to contract intensely, pushing out the developing baby. The contractions are so abnormally severe that babies have even been decapitated. Many, however, have also been born alive. The side effects to the mother are many, a number have even died from cardiac arrest when the compounds were injected.
I am going to use several words that are not used in the Bible. The word pregnant is not in the Bible. That word means carrying a growing fetus as the dictionary says or being with child. A fetus is an unborn organism carried within the womb two months to birth. They call it a fetus. The Lord called it a child. "She was found with child." Embryo-the early stages in the development of an organism, yet not developed. The Lord called it a child.
What Does Science Have To Say?
Just when does an unborn fetus become a "real person"? There are some late-term abortions where the baby is obviously alive and kicking--but what about those performed in the first three months? It has been medically proven that the baby's heart starts beating from 14-28 days after conception (usually before the mother even knows she's pregnant), and by the 30th day almost every organ has started to form! He moves his arms and legs by six weeks and by 43 days his brain waves can be read. By eight weeks baby has his very own fingerprints, he can urinate, make a strong fist and he can feel pain.
The question is, When did Jesus come down from heaven? That is a good question. Did you ever think about that? It is not as easy to answer as it seems. We are going to use a few scriptures. "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven" John 3:13. I have to be careful in teaching this, because "great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" I Timothy 3:16. I understand that. "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me" John 6:38. I came down for the purpose to do his will. "The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?" John 6:41-42. You cannot know that he came down from heaven until you know that he was conceived of the Spirit of God. "I am the living bread vwhich came down from heaven" John 6:51. Now when did God the Son come down from heaven? I believe the Bible teaches that the very minute conception took place, God came down from heaven. The Bible says Mary shall conceive. "That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" Luke 1:35. He was a child and he was holy before he was born. When conception takes place and the father is a man, we cannot call that child a holy thing because they are born through Adam, born in sin. "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me" Psalms 51:5. But Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God. When he was conceived, he had a holy nature. Not the sinful nature that came by Adam. The word conceived or conception means being received into the womb, a beginning. Example: He conceived the idea. "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" James 1:15. You receive it, a beginning. So the word conceive or conception means being received into the womb. And the Holy Ghost shall overshadow thee and come upon thee. "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me" Hebrews 10:5. At conception God was not formed, but the body was being formed. The body was formed in Mary, but not God. He came down. God prepared him a body in the womb of Mary. "A body hast thou prepared me." "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same" Hebrews 2:14. How did he do that? He came down and was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary. In nine months time, God prepared Jesus a body. The Bible says he is partaker of flesh and blood. "Great is the mystery of godliness." He "took part of the same." God was not born, but the man Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary. "I came down from heaven." "That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death... Wherefore in all things it behoved him (who is the him, God the Son) to be made like unto his brethren" Hebrews 2:14,17. How was he made like unto his brethren? Conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary and grew just like a normal child would grow, except God was his Father. God was there all the time. Then one day he was born, and thou "shalt call his name JESUS" for he is the Son of God. Why did he do that? He was made like unto his brethren, flesh and blood. "That he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God" Hebrews 2:17. See that? The Prophet that Moses declared in Deuteronomy 18, in order to be the Priest and in order to be the King, he had to be born of a virgin. During that nine months after conception, God was preparing him a body. He started before he was born. He started at conception. "And the Word was made flesh" John 1:14. Where was he made? In the womb of Mary. Is that right? "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman" (There you have the Son being formed with a body in a woman.) "made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" Galatians 4:4-5. "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" I Timothy 3:16. That means that he appeared. You could not see him in the womb, but when he was born, he manifest himself and we beheld his glory. And he appeared. When you see me, you have seen the Father, Jesus Christ said. He was God before he was born, he was God when conception took place, he was God and man while he was in the womb of Mary. Is that right? She was with child. He was God manifested in the flesh when he was born. Unborn persons are called a child. I want to prove that over and over. I hope you will see that any child in the womb is a person. Any person that aborts a child or has abortion is killing a child. That is serious business. "If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her" Exodus 21:22. Here men strive and hurt a woman with child, they had a problem. Talking about Eli's son Phinehas: "And his daughter in law, Phinehas wife, was with child, near to be delivered ... And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast borne a son ... And she named the child Ichabod" I Samuel 4:19-21. That little one was a child before he was born. Jesus was a child in the womb and after he was born they called him JESUS. The Bible speaks about David and Bathsheba: "And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child" II Samuel 11:5. We had better believe God rather than man. You may call it a fetus or embryo or whatever you want to call it but God calls it a child. You see the shape our nation is in today. "And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, (or cut them in pieces) and rip up their women with child" II Kings 8:12. Ripped up their women with child. Took a sword and ripped them open, they were with child. Before the child was born, it is called a child. "Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up" II Kings 15:16. Not all the women, but all the women that were with child. I am trying to establish the point that the women were with child before they were born. "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign, Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" Isaiah 7:14. A virgin shall conceive. Matthew and Luke says she is with child. After conception she is with child. Speaking of Israel: "Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery." They abort those kind of people today. The Bible says Israel will be like this. "Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, 0 LORD" Isaiah 26:17. "In sin did my mother conceive me" Psalm 51:5. When conception took place that was me, David said, and I was in sin. In other words, I have a sinful nature because I had a human father. "In sin did my mother conceive me." Talking about Mary: "For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost" Matthew 1:20. That is where the Savior's life began, at conception. That is where all life begins. It is not a fetus, it is not an embryo, it is a child. Not fully developed, but it is a child. "Behold, a virgin shall be with child" Matthew 1:23. When will the child begin, at conception. "And shall bring forth a son." What was the son? A body that God prepared him to do the work that God said he would do, to deliver us and redeem us and suffer in our place. So when Jesus was being formed in the womb of Mary, he was a child. God was simply preparing his son a body. He had to have that body, he was made of a woman. "That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" Luke 1:35. The Lord said I came down from heaven, when did he come down? He came down when the Holy Ghost came upon Mary. "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee" Luke 1:35. That is when he came down. That is where he began his work. And because he was conceived in the woman, God could then take part of the same, he could prepare his son a body. He was not only born of God, born of a woman, but born without sin. Sin did not come through the woman. He took on the sinless nature of a man through the woman. It was not the woman that sin came through. He had the perfect nature of God. When he was born he had a Divine father, God was his father, and he had a human mother. So he became God and man. He is the son of God and he is the son of man. He did all of that so in that body he could redeem us, he could suffer for us, he could die for us, he could shed his blood and he could be our faithful high priest. You know what he is called in the New Testament. "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" Matthew 16:16. Isn't he? "Christ the Son of the living God", the anointed one. "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken... I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him" Deuteronomy 18:15,18,19. Jesus Christ was that Prophet that would come. If you fail to hear his words, God's anointed Prophet, if you fail to hear him, God will require it. God "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds" Hebrews 1:2. He is God in the flesh. Not only was he Prophet, but when he was born he was Priest that he might be a merciful, faithful High Priest. When he was conceived in the womb that day, God was preparing him a body that could be tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin. He became our great High Priest. God was preparing him a body, so that in that body he could represent us to God. Not only that, he was King. Matthew 1:1-17 you have the generations of Jesus Christ, he had to come through the lineage of David, he was King. When you get to Jesus Christ, there are no more kings because he ever liveth. He is King. "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" Revelation 19:16. Jesus was before Pilate. "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight... Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a King. To this end was I born" John 18:36,37. "To this end was I born," I was conceived, I was born of a virgin, this is the very purpose God gave me a body to rule and reign upon the throne of my father David, literally as a man. "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" Luke 1:32,33. God prepared him a body. "For this cause I came into the world." So as we study, "the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise" Matthew 1:18. Does his birth look like what is going on at christmas? Does that sound like anything that is being taught today. People are trying to worship the birth of Jesus Christ, yet performing abortions. "Thou shalt not make any graven images" Exodus 20:4. Is he God? Is he God? Was he God at conception? Was he God at his birth? "They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" Matthew 1:23. Is it any wonder then that his children ought to worship him in spirit and in truth. Did God come down from heaven? Yes, he did. Thomas saw Jesus Christ after his resurrection; "Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God" John 20:28. Did God prepare him a body? Yes, he did but he did not prepare him a body and then have him jump in that body at birth. He was already there when conception took place. When Jesus was born he manifested God's glory to the people around in a body. God was in Christ and he was a child before he was born. So God took part of flesh and blood to redeem us and to deliver us. This man Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth. Peter stood at the day of Pentecost; "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" Acts 2:36. Let me ask you something. What is going on in this world? Does God accept that? No! God does not accept it. Don't follow the multitude to do evil. You say I don't see any harm in it. Ye call me Lord, Lord why don't you do the things that I say. He told some people one day, ye hold fast your traditions and break the commandments of God. "Thou shalt not kill" Exodus 20:13. Is that right? I am teaching you the truth. When I teach you the truth, that is all I can do. The Lord has to do the rest. You must worship in spirit and in truth. When Jesus was born, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour," Luke 2:11. He was a Savior before he was born, but he was manifested that day. He appeared that day. He was made visible. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14. If anybody could have aborted Jesus Christ before he was born, they would have committed murder. Of course, we know that was not possible. "A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" Was he the Christ when he was born? Yes, he was. Was he the Christ before he was born? Yes, he was. "To this end was I born." Prophet, Priest, King before he was born. God prepared him a body so he could be that Prophet. God prepared him a body so he could be our Priest. God prepared him a body so he could be our King. "And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth" (Give glory to God in heaven and on earth because he came down from heaven to earth. Now he has gone back to heaven). "Peace, good will toward men" Luke 2:11-14. Did you know that in the original, it simply means good will toward men of his favour. Those he intends to save by his grace. Why did Jesus Christ come down from heaven? Why did God prepare him a body? He did not do it in order for us to worship his birth; because he was God before he was born. His birth just manifested what happened. In that body he redeemed us, in that body he shed his precious blood, in that body he suffered for our sins. God did not suffer his Holy One to see corruption. He was raised. Do you know how long he lives now? For ever. Do you know what he is in? A body. If Jesus Christ came today like he came then, the world would have no place for him. The world would crucify him, they would have no place for him. But we ought to have a place for him. We ought to have a place for him in our hearts. We ought to have a place for him in our homes. We ought to have a place for him in our churches. Unto him be glory both now and for ever. Let us pray: Our Father in heaven, we have tried to make this plain and simple. We know we are treading on holy ground. We look to you for an understanding, we look to you for the grace to deliver it, that there be no confusion. We look to you to sanctify these things in the hearts of your people to where we won't do things that are displeasing to you. That we might do your will from the heart. To yield ourselves completely to you to where you will be pleased to bless us. Bless our homes, bless our children. We know if you don't bless them, they will not be blessed. We come to you begging you to bless our members, bless our church, bless the homes of the people here that we might sanctify ourselves, that you might sanctify us with the truth. That we might be holy, that we might live our lives in the manner that Jesus lived his. So they might look upon our bodies and see the glory of God. You have told us to glorify God in our bodies and in our spirit which belong to God. That our bodies might be used in the manner that is pleasing to you just as the Lord Jesus Christ used his. We are thankful that the Lord Jesus Christ has been highly exalted and has a name above every name and is holy today in the presence of God. We thank God we have that promise that when you come back we will be just like you and we are going to be with you and will never be out of your presence again. We will have a new body where we won't have to fight and put these things down that are dishonoring to you. We are thankful for that, we fail miserably many times. We don't do what we ought to do, not because we don't want to do your will, but we are weak. We pray you might help us, that we might yield ourselves to you and that our lives might be lived in such a manner that you can look down from heaven as you looked down upon Jesus Christ, and say this is my Son in whom I am well pleased. We ask it in Jesus name and for his sake. Amen.
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