he unfruitful works of
darkness"; that, renouncing the Devil and his works, rejecting the vain
pleasures, pomps, and glories of the world, and denying ourselves the
gratification of sinful desires, we accept Christ as our leader, with
the determination expressed by the prophet, "O Lord our God, other lords
beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make
mention of thy name."[068] As the followers and subjects of an
omnipotent, righteous King we shall strive to "bring into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ."

It is noteworthy that a plural pronoun is used in this recognition of
Christ as _our_ Lord, while elsewhere throughout the Creed the
confession of belief is personal, "I believe." The plural form here
indicates that while in following Jesus we are separated from the world,
we are gathered into the fellowship of the saints, and are members of
the whole family in heaven and earth.

* * * * *

ARTICLE 3

_Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary_

The Creed proceeds to declare belief in the doctrine of the Incarnation,
which is thus set forth in the Shorter Catechism: "Christ, the Son of
God, became man, by taking to Himself a true body, and a reasonable
soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the
Virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin."[069]

Two Evangelists record the miraculous birth of Jesus. Mark and John do
not refer to it, and their silence has led some opponents of
Christianity to discredit the statements of Matthew and Luke. But while
there is no direct account given by Mark or John of the miraculous
conception and birth of Jesus, the fact of His Divine descent is implied
in many portions of their Gospels. The words with which Mark opens his
narrative clearly express it, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God;"[070] as does the statement he makes that at His
baptism there came a voice from heaven saying, "Thou art my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased."[071] John is equally explicit in declaring
his belief in the Divinity of Jesus. The opening words of his Gospel
assert His Divine nature: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made
that was made."[072]

It is evident, therefore, that each of the Evang