ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with the fact that Jesus has a human mother expressed the solidarity of Jesus with the rest of humanity. Barth exposits the virgin birth as a dialectical attestation of Christ's genuine humanity and God's judgment upon human flesh. The virgin birth and the conception of Jesus by the Spirit are two aspects of the one sign that is Christ's miraculous human origin. The doctrine of the virgin birth is an appropriate sign for the way in which the human essence of Christ is related to the divine. Just as the human essence of Jesus Christ exists solely and is enabled by the divine grace given it, so was the mother of Jesus acted upon and enabled to conceive the Son of God. The pattern of the relationship between the divine and human natures of Jesus Christ is the basis for how Barth conceived of all proper human action as it is enabled by the Holy Spirit.
