God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth with a very surprising message for a young virgin named Mary. She would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Son of God!
After the Bible was written, two prominent false teachings arose about the virginity of Mary. One false teaching says Mary was not a virgin when Jesus was born. This teaching claims she had physical relations with a man and conceived by him. However, the Bible clearly teaches that Mary was still a virgin when Jesus was born. Matthew says that a prophecy, which we find in Isaiah 7:14, was fulfilled in Mary. “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:22-23). Through a dream, an angel told Joseph that the child within Mary was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20-21). Joseph believed that message. He refrained from (avoided) physical union with Mary and let her remain a virgin until after the birth of Jesus. Joseph “…did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS” (Matthew 1:25). If a person denies the virgin birth of Jesus, he has denied that Jesus is the Son of God. That would be a denial of the foundational fact of Christianity (Matthew 16:15-18).
Another false teaching claims that Mary was a virgin all of her life. Some people decided to highly exalt Mary and worship her, which God’s word does not tell us to do. Also, during the third century, some men taught the false doctrine that marriage defiles a person. People who believed that false teaching did not want to believe Mary was defiled. So, they began teaching that Mary remained a virgin all of her life. In A.D. 649, a council of religious leaders declared that the life-long virginity of Mary was an official doctrine. That “official doctrine” is false. The Bible teaches that marriage is “honorable” (Hebrews 13:4). It does not defile people. A person can serve God faithfully while being married or unmarried (1 Corinthians 7:28; 9:5). If a man and a woman are rightfully married, there is no sin in their physical union. In fact, regarding their physical union, the Bible tells each husband and wife, “Do not deprive one another…” (1 Corinthians 7:1-5). Notice that Joseph “…did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son…” (Matthew 1:25). Then, after the birth of Jesus, the physical union of Joseph and Mary produced other children. Jesus had at least two sisters, whose names are not given in the Bible, and He had four brothers: James, Joses, Judas and Simon (Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55).
Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to the Son of God. She did not remain a virgin after His birth.
