Isaiah 7:14 — "Virgin or Young Woman"

The Wesleyan Church affirms the traditional evangelical reading of Isaiah 7:14 as a prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. The sign given to the house of David is fulfilled in Jesus' birth through Mary, a virgin at the time of conception. This doctrine is foundational to Wesleyan Christology and soteriology.

For the Wesleyans, the virgin birth establishes the sinlessness of Christ and His fitness to be the spotless sacrifice for humanity's sin. Only a Christ who is born without the normal participation in Adamic fallenness can make a complete and efficacious atonement. The virgin birth is thus a guarantee of Christ's moral perfection and His unique qualification as Savior.

Moreover, the virgin birth grounds the Wesleyan understanding of sanctification. Christ, through the Virgin Birth and His life of perfect obedience, demonstrates the possibility and reality of holiness achievable through divine grace. Believers are called to follow the example of Christ's holiness, appropriating His sinlessness through faith and the work of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 7:14 thus points to the objective accomplishment of redemption (Christ's spotless nature) and anticipates the subjective appropriation (sanctified believers).