of God’s universal spiritual organization. This meant something new in universal history. It meant that the Seed had to come down from heaven, out from the invisible realm of spirit persons. In a very real sense, yes, in a direct way, he had to be a son of God, because no man on earth could marry God’s heavenly woman, or wife, and become the father of the promised Seed. God alone could father the Seed.

22. Why would the materializing of a son of God from heaven not solve the problem of having him of the line of Abraham and David?

²² How, then, did the Seed get down from heaven to earth to become a man? Did he do so by one of the spirit sons of God materializing or becoming incarnated as a man? No; that would be nothing new, nothing different, nothing that met the needs of the case. From the time that Adam and Eve were driven out of the paradise of Eden to die for their sin, heavenly sons of God had materialized at times. The cherubs whom God posted at the east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life inside materialized by incarnation. That is, they miraculously clothed their invisible selves with visible, tangible flesh. But because those cherubs thus took on human flesh according to the purpose of God the Judge, that did not make them sons of Adam and Eve. Those materialized cherubs did not get their flesh and blood from Adam and Eve. In the progress of time angels also materialized and appeared to Abraham and to King David, but they did not get their fleshly bodies from Abraham or David so as to become the fleshly seed of Abraham and of David. No, a materialization or incarnation of a son of God from heaven would not solve the problem. What, then?

23. How did Gabriel carry the message of her coming motherhood to Mary?

²³ Toward the close of the year 3 before the Christian era God’s angel Gabriel materialized or became incarnated. In this way he appeared to an unmarried Jewish girl named Mary of David’s royal line. To Mary he explained a new thing that was to occur without her human marriage, saying: “Look! you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you are to call his name Jesus. This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will be king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of his kingdom.” “How is this to be, since I am having no relations with a man?” asked Mary. Gabriel explained: “Holy spirit will come upon you, and power of the Most High will overshadow you. For that reason also what is born will be called holy, God’s Son.” Mary agreed to God’s use of her in this miraculous way, saying: “Look! Jehovah’s slave girl! May it take place with me according to your declaration.” (Luke 1:26-38) But how?

24. What new thing occurred in heaven that Mary might conceive the Son of God in her virgin womb?

²⁴ Something strangely new then took place in the invisible heavens, far above the sun, high above our material realm. Jehovah’s first-born or only-begotten Son became missing among the ranks of God’s heavenly sons. What had happened? God had this chief Son leave the bosom of His woman, or heavenly universal organization, and God sent him down from heaven to be born as a human baby from Mary the virgin. (John 3:16, 17) God’s beloved Son emptied himself of all his heavenly glory and power, even yielding up his glorious heavenly body, his Godlike form. (Phil. 2:5-8) God then transferred his Son’s life force down from heaven to the virgin womb of Mary. Thus Mary conceived in her womb under the operation of God’s holy spirit, or active force, and not by sex connection with any man.

25. As what was God’s Son born from Mary’s womb?

²⁵ It was some time after Mary’s pregnancy began to appear that Joseph, a carpenter, but of the royal line of David, obeyed God’s command and took Mary as his wife for her protection. So, at the fullness of God’s time for it, a holy child, “God’s Son,” who was from his heavenly woman, or wife, was born. He was born as a real human creature from Mary and in David’s royal line, as David’s heir. Because he had been Almighty God’s spokesman or Word up in heaven, what took place miraculously is described in this way: “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, AV.

26. Why, then, was God’s Son on earth not an incarnation?

²⁶ This description does not say that God’s Son still had his heavenly body and was merely materialized or incarnated or clothed upon with flesh, does it? No; it says that God’s heavenly Son “was made flesh.” He became just a man, but a holy man with a sinless heavenly Father, thus remaining God’s sinless Son. So we read: “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman.” (Gal. 4:4, AV) “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness.”—Rom. 1:3, 4, AV.

27. (a) How did God raise up witnesses to his Son’s birth? (b) How was it shown to be good news also to heaven, and for realizing what did it lay the foundation?

²⁷ This was something gloriously new, also a matchless expression of God’s love for men of good will. Not to let this important, miraculous new thing—the birth of a perfect, sinless baby boy from a virgin—pass without notice, and in order to have witnesses to this event of good news, God sent his angel to shepherds near Bethlehem, right where David himself used to be a shepherd, to tell them: “I am declaring to you good news of a great joy that all the people will have, because there was born to you today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in David’s city.” It was good news to heaven also, and so a multitude of the heavenly host appeared to the shepherds and praised God, saying: “Glory in the heights above to God, and upon earth peace among men of good-will [or, among men whom he approves].” (Luke 2:10-14, margin) This event will never be repeated among men. The rightful heir to David’s kingship and throne had been born in a sinless way, and this laid the foundation for the realization of other glorious new things.

The Time to Sing the New Song

1, 2. (a) With what as his goal was Jesus started off at thirty years of age? (b) How did Jesus then become more than a human creature?

IN HIS godly perfection Jesus reached thirty years of age as a man. Then a great change took place in his life. He left carpentering at Nazareth and got baptized by John in the Jordan River. His conception in Mary’s womb had been a miracle of a new kind, but now a greater new thing took place to start him off in a spiritual life with heaven, his original home, as his goal.