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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 5, NUMBER 15, APRIL 17, 2005 THE UNBORN CHILD Since the January 22, 1973 decree by the Supreme Court that knocked out state anti-abortion laws, abortion has been one of the most controversial and emotion-packed issues of our time. Even now, can you believe it has been over 30 years, barely a week goes by without abortion being mentioned in the media in one way or another. One of the most hotly contested points has been the attempt to determine when the developing child ceases to be an inhuman mass of tissue and becomes an actual, living human being. To this date the Supreme Court has been unable to make that precise determination. As long as people continue to try to answer that question solely on the basis of human reasoning, they will never arrive at the answer. However, the Creator of all has given us the answer, and that answer is going to serve as the purpose of this article. What does the Bible say concerning the life of the child developing within the mother’s womb? In the Old Testament we find incontrovertible evidence that God views the unborn child as a definite personality and takes steps to protect his or her life from harm. Throughout its pages, God is presented as being intimately and intensely involved with the welfare of the fetus. As proof of this, we will consider a number of Old Testament passages. First, let us consider Job 10:8-12. “Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou doest destroy me. Remember, I beseech thee, that thou has made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and has fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me life and favor, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.” In very beautiful, poetic, and inspired language, Job describes his formation. He compares his development to the pouring out of milk into a container, thus suggesting the beginning or fertilization. God then begins to “stir the milk,” turning it into the finished product. God is directly and intimately involved with the child from the start to the finish. This is not some inhuman mass of tissue that God does not become involved with until birth. Much to the contrary, this is a human being that God loves. According to verses 11 and 12, God Himself develops our frame and grants life. Is this some inhuman, lifeless bundle of flesh that we are talking about? That would hardly be descriptive of the developing child of Job 10. Let’s consider Psalm 139:13-16. “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” The whole psalm has as its basic theme the inescapable presence of God. It shows that no matter where we go, including our time in the womb, we cannot escape the presence of God. Consider the passage a bit more closely. In verse 13, we find that God had “possessed my reins,” literally translated this would be kidneys, referring to man’s most deeply seated organs. We are told that he “covered” or “put His hand upon” the developing child in the mother’s womb. What a marvelous way to describe the process whereby God took the basic frame of man, which He had created, and than developed it with series after series of cartilage, muscle, blood vessels, and tissue. In consideration of these facts David stated in verse 14, “For I am fearfully and wonderfully made!” To that all should add a hearty “Amen!” In the 15th verse, David says that even though this work was performed out of the sight of man, God was there. He was forming the tissues, forming the organs that make up a human being. Moving on to verse 16, we find that even though David himself was as yet incomplete, God had His watchful eye upon him. The point seems to be that even though this developing person does not look human yet, God is aware and interested. His eye is upon the developing child, and in a very real sense, He is governing the development through the processes that He has set in motion. It should also be noted that in these verses David uses the first person pronouns; I, me, and my. This demonstrates that David regarded God to be at work with him personally, not merely with some mass of tissue that would later become a person. David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, regarded himself as a person, even while he was in his mother’s womb. Now some may say that this still does not answer the question as to when God begins to view the developing child as an actual living human being. Let us consider Jeremiah 1:4 – 5. “Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Once again we witness the direct involvement of God with the child in the mother’s womb. When did God become aware of this child as a human being? In this case, it was even before the process of formation got underway. This passage declares that God “knew” Jeremiah and “sanctified” him before he was born. It is so plain that you have to try to miss it. It is not just a mass of tissue inside the mother. It is a person, a human being. One other interesting point must be made from the scriptures. In Luke 1:41 the Greek word “brephos” is used to describe the unborn John the Baptist. The word in that passage is rendered “babe.” The very same word is used in Acts 17:19 to describe recently born children, and it is used in 2 Timothy 3:15 to describe yet an older child. The New Testament writers, teaching under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, felt no need to show any distinction between children before or after birth. One word was sufficient to speak of both. From the use of this word in scripture, we are forced to reach the conclusion that childhood extends into the womb; yea, to the very point of conception. There is one more point to consider. Doctors tell us that at six weeks after conception, brain waves can be measured in the unborn child. At the other end of the spectrum, lack of brain waves is used to determine the cessation of human life. Why is it that in the beginning brain waves do not indicated humanity, the presence of human life, while at the end the lack of them are used to determine the termination of human life? I believe that all of the evidence indicates that from the moment of conception God is at work through the processes He has created, and that He is fully aware of the developing child. All the child needs is protection and proper nourishment, nothing else is added. Unless something or someone interferes, after nine months he or she will make that appearance. A reprint of an article written years ago from Faith and Facts by me.
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