Did Jesus have a genesis? Yes, he did. Genesis means “The coming into being of something; the origin.” Its synonym is “beginning.”

   In Matthew 1:18 it speaks of Jesus’ birth. Though Jesus was in the mind/plan/purpose of God, Jesus the Messiah did not have his genesis or his beginning until he was begotten. Begotten means to come into existence.

   According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, begotten means to procreate as the father. The word procreate is comprised of two words: pro, meaning forth and create, meaning to bring into existence. When we put this together, we get the following definition for begotten - to bring forth into existence by your father.

   None of us existed until we came into existence and this includes Jesus. Logically, one cannot pre-exist one’s self.

   Matthew and Luke tell us about the begetting or genesis of Jesus. It tells us when and how it happened (Matt. 1:1- genesis; 1:18-genesis; 1:20-begetting in Mary). If Jesus actually pre-existed, then he did not really begin to exist as the bible tells us.

   The begetting occurs in Matthew 1:18 where it states:

Now the birth [genesis] of Jesus Christ was as follows: when his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 1:20 we read:

But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the child who has been conceived [genesis] in her is of the holy spirit.”

   Concerning the last passage, I would like you to note that most translations wrongly render it as the child who has been ‘conceived’ in her instead of the child ‘begotten’ in her (i.e., describing the Father's procreative act). The Young’s Literal Translation says, “thou mayest not fear to receive Mary thy wife, for that which in her was begotten is of the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, Jesus was begotten (brought into existence by his Father) in Mary because of the creative power of the holy spirit, and for this reason, he shall be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:35 states:

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 [for this reason] also that holy thing which shall be born [genesis-to procreate] of thee shall be called the Son of God.

   The word translated as born literally means to come into existence; to be created, exist by creation. The ASV correctly states, “…wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God.”

   Mary did not take into herself an already existing spirit being or a pre-human Son of God. She was not a surrogate mother. Jesus had his origin (genesis) in Mary. Nowhere in scripture does it say Mary conceived God the Son. There is no such term in the bible. Jesus is not God, Mary did not give birth to God, nor did Mary kiss the face of God.

 The First Adam And The Last Adam

   In the bible (1 Cor. 15:45) Adam is known as the first Adam, and Christ as the last Adam (not second Adam). There is a parallel between the first Adam and the last Adam. If God became a man, it destroys this parallel. It could not be said that Adam was an eternally pre-existing being. Adam was created in the image of God who created him. Yet we do not say that “Adam was 100% man and 100% God” or of the same substance of the Father.

   These two Adams have something in common. That is, each was specially created by God. In other words, they did not come into existence through the normal process. We have the first Adam who was formed from the dust of the earth by God and the last Adam who was begotten in the womb of a woman because of the creative power of the holy spirit in Mary. At no time would we think that Adam pre-existed before his birth. However, discussions have no end for the pre-existence of the last Adam, Jesus.

   Many are also leaning to the idea that there never was a virgin birth. What I find amazing is that people do not have a problem believing God made the first Adam out of dirt (think about it). Then why would there be difficulty believing that God could effortlessly by his spirit, make a sperm cell with all the necessary DNA molecules capable of uniting with the egg of a virgin to produce a male human being known to us as the last Adam? As the LORD said Himself, “Behold, I am Adonai, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for Me?” (Jer. 32:27).

   I know most Christians will use Jeremiah 32:27 to prove that God can become a man, and this supposedly supports the trinity that says Jesus is 100% man and 100% God. After all, many of them like to say, “Is there anything impossible with God?” Well, yes. As author Eric Chang, in his book, The Only True God, states:

Yes, if what is involved is logical contradiction or nonsense. It is like asking: can God make something both 100% black and 100% white all over at the same time? Can 100% salt also be 100% sugar? The point is that self-contradictory nonsense can never be attributed to God; He is the God of truth, not irrationality and falsehood. 6

   A human being is physically begotten once because begotten means a coming into existence. (Note, however, that when one becomes a disciple of Jesus, they are spiritually begotten, born again.)

Jesus’ genesis begins in Mary. He was not active in the Old Testament, nor was he an agent in the creation of this world and all the creatures that belong to it. God attributes this work to Himself. ⁷