How much power does it take to get a bicycle going? Well, not much—just a little leg power. So, how much power does it take to launch a shuttle into space? Well, a whole lot more for sure. It takes tons of power!
The virgin birth of Christ was not a simple thing. It required incredible planning and oversight as well as a tremendous concentration of power. The angel Gabriel told Mary that this is how it would be. In Luke 1:35 he said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Now, Gabriel said that not only would the Holy Spirit come upon her to control and supervise what would happen in Mary’s womb, He also said that the power of the Highest would be manifest in her.
The word power is the Greek word dynamis, which is a word of force and might and strength. Various English words come from this Greek word, words like dynamic and dynamo and dynamite. But dynamite is not the idea here. Dynamite makes a lot of noise, is over in a few seconds, and it is hard to find the pieces.
Now, this is not what happened in Mary’s womb. Rather, the words dynamic and dynamo better represent what is happening here. There was a dynamic in Mary’s womb that accomplished the task of impregnating her with the Son of God. This was no little thing. It took the power of the Highest to perform this greatest of miracles.
Now you know the real meaning of the word.
The virgin birth of Christ is one of the greatest miracles God ever did!
For further study, see: Born of a Virgin