The Overshadowing of Mary

"The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:30-35)

Overshadow: episkiazō - to throw a shadow upon, to envelop in a shadow, to overshadow

I really don't know if this is even something we can understand. The Holy Spirit came upon Mary and the power of God overshadowed her. Jesus, who has eternally existed, emptied Himself and became flesh when His Holy Spirit came to Mary and overshadowed her. When God overshadowed Mary, the Word of God became flesh inside of her. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus and the Spirit of the Father (Galatians 4:6, Matthew 10:20). The Holy Spirit of God interacted with Mary and miraculously produced the flesh of Jesus Christ. This is how Jesus was conceived in her. As I said, I don't think this is something we can actually understand. All we can do is look at the few passages of scripture that discuss this.

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:5-8)

"Now the birth 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." (Matthew 1:18)

"But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:4-5)

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." (John 1:1-3)

"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

"I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You." (Psalm 2:7, Acts 13:33, Hebrews 4:4)

The Word becoming flesh at a point in time does not mean that Jesus is a created being. He was not created at the time of the overshadowing. He has always existed because He is God the Creator. The time of the overshadowing is when He emptied Himself and took on flesh and blood. The overshadowing is the exact moment that the Son stepped into His creation. He created the universe so that He could enter it, because He had a mission to accomplish. If you're confused about this, please read The Trinity: One God - Three Persons.

Got Questions: Only Begotten Son

Thanks for reading. God bless.