Posted on 08/17/2015 6:07:35 PM PDT by NKP_Vet
It is that time of week again, where we talk about the Mary, the Mother of God. This is definitely the single most important title that Mary has. If someone gets this wrong, then they get the Divinity of our Lord wrong, and that means the whole plan of Salvation is just messed up. So let us look at this most important title.
Theotokos, God-bearer in Greek, is what the council of Ephesus declared in 431. It specifically says this “If anyone does not confess that God is truly Emmanuel, and that on this account the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God (for according to the flesh she gave birth to the Word of God become flesh by birth), let him be anathema.” Now just that statement alone proves the early Church believed that there was Authority given to the bishops to decide sound doctrine, Mary was a Holy Virgin her entire life, and that She bore God. However, we only have time for one today.
Now many times we will hear non-Catholics tell us that this title is nowhere found in Scripture, explicitly at least. However, they cannot themselves find a Scripture verse that says that all doctrine and dogma must be explicitly proven in Scripture. I bet they can never find that. This is a trap they set up for themselves and it is a very unfair double standard that they expect us to meet, but they do not have to. However, on top of this double standard is if we used that same standard, then the doctrine of the Trinity is thrown out, since it’s not an explicit teaching, but instead is implicit in Scripture. This double standard seems to cause more problems that it’s worth wouldn’t you say?
Here is the cold hard truth of it though, all Christians rely on some Church Tradition, as well as Scripture, to validate their doctrines, whether they admit it or not. With that being said, Scripture and Tradition can never contradict one another. The Traditions of men can contradict the Word of God, but the Traditions God left us, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, are binding upon us, as we are to hold fast to Traditions. So then, what is the real question? The real question is, Does Scripture contradict the teaching that Mary is the Mother of God, and is that doctrine found in Scripture at least implicitly?
Let us begin with Luke 1:43, where Mary visited Elizabeth. There Elizabeth exclaimed “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Because Mary was the Mother of the Lord, who is the Second part of the Holy Trinity, Mary is truly and rightfully called the Mother of God.
We also see in Isaiah 7:14 “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which is interpreted God with us.” Jesus is God. He was God when He was in the womb, conceived, lived, died, buried, resurrected, in the Eucharist, and in Heaven. The Messiah, who is God, was to be born of a virgin, according to Scripture. God was born of a virgin, and it’s right there in Isaiah, who prophesied of Christ birth. That means both Old and New Testament support the Catholic Doctrine of the Mother of God.
However, this may not be enough for some non-Catholics. Some say that Elisabeth called Christ Lord, and not God, saying that Mary was only to give birth to the human child, the Lord Jesus Christ. So then the question becomes, does lord here mean divinity or just authority? Let’s look at the context.
First let us look at 1 Cor. 8:5, which states “Indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet to us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” St. Paul makes it clear that Jesus is the one True, Lord, as opposed to all the false ones, that the pagans who converted in Corinth were probably worshiping. So then, they would understand that Jesus is God. This holds true to the Jews who converted too, who would know Deut. 6:4 “Hear, therefore, o Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.”
So then that brings us back to Luke 1:43. Elizabeth calls Mary the mother of her Lord. The Mother…Mothers give birth to persons, not natures, let us remember that. Mary did not just give birth to the human nature of Christ, she gave birth to the person of Christ. Christ personhood is Divine, it is God the Son.
Then let us look at 2 Sam. 6:9 where the King, who was David says “How can the ark of the Lord come to me (being the ark of the covenant)” Then in 2 Samuel 616 we see King David leaping in the presence of the Ark, just as John the Baptist did. Then we yet again see another parallel, which says that the ark of the Lord abode in the house of Obededom the Gethite for three months (2 Sam. 6:11), and according to Luke 1:56 Mary remained in the house of Elizabeth about three months. Then, we see that the ark of the covenant carried three items, manna, the Ten Commandments, and Aaron’s rod. These are all types of things Christ are, the Bread of Life, Word made Flesh, and our true High Priest.
Even knowing all this though, there are still those who would deny that Mary is the Mother of God. So then we have to ask, who is Jesus Christ to them? If Mary is not the Mother of God, then who did she give birth to? Many would say it was an earthly human lord, not God. So then, what does that make Christ? If Mary did not give birth to God, then who did she give birth to? Was not Christ God when He was conceived?
If someone says Mary only gave birth to the person of Christ one of two errors, or both could happen, and that is the Denial of the divinity of Christ, and that one would have to say Christ is two distinct persons, and that he is not One. Both were considered heresy in the Early Church. Christ is one Person, with two natures, Divine and Human, which go together and are not separate of one another. If one denies that, the ultimately they are speaking about a different Christ, and St. Paul warns us about that problem, and to not to give heed to them (2 Cor. 11:4).
So then, some say that Mary is the mother of the Trinity if we take it that far, however, this is not true. Mary gave birth to the 2nd part of the Trinity, the 2nd Person, who is still God just not the Trinity. However, we must never forget that each Person in the Trinity shares the same Divine Nature and is fully God.
One thing some still point out is that Christ is eternal, so for Mary to be the Mother of God she would have to be God. However the Church does not say Mary is the source of the Divine Nature of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. To better understand this let’s look at humanity. Parents give birth to a person, however they are not the author of life, and certainly did not give the child it’s soul. Thus is true with Mary, she did not give Christ His Divine Nature, though she was the Mother of more than just the human form of Christ, because she gave birth to a person, who was God.
Do you also believe yall worship the same God??
Of course....Christ promised that His church would be infallible.
You owe me a new laptop. That made me spew my drink!
Sheesh.
That purchase won't get you very much.
Hoss
Scary, huh?
Hoss
Catholics said it 1800 years before Mormans....we win!!!!
And who, in the New Testament, is constantly called “Lord”? Nobody but God. A few humans in positions of authority are addressed as “Lord.” But so is Christopher Monckton.
I didn’t say that “Kyrios” is TRANSLATED “God,” or MEANS “God.” I said that when Elizabeth calls Mary “the mother of my Lord,” Elizabeth is asserting that Mary is the mother of God.
I disagree. I am just not into man made, works based religions. You can do that if you want. That's on you. I just don't plan on getting into it myself. I think I probably told you about 65.432678 million times, that we will just have to agree to disagree. Besides that, I don't care what people think about a whole range of issues. All I really care about, is that I want to know what is your plan of salvation? How are you going to make it? Judging from the past, I would say that most likely, your plan of salvation is different than mine. Once again, that's on you
Els, I know you told me about a billion times not to exaggerate, but sometimes I just can't help it. 😆😃😀
Because laws are made for most people, not special cases.
Jesus was BAPTIZED—with John’s baptism of repentance. Do you conclude from this fact that Jesus was a sinner?
You are wrong, Jesus does not lie.
You think Mary was not a Jew?
Tell me which of the following syllogism are valid, and which are invalid. If you are capable of doing so, that will demonstrate that you can recognize the fallacy of the undistributed middle. If you can’t, you can’t.
A:
Dorothy is the mother of Sam.
Sam is a fireman.
Dorothy is the mother of a fireman.
B:
Evelyn is the mother of a fireman.
Gordon is a fireman.
Evelyn is the mother of Gordon.
C:
Mary is the mother of Jesus.
Jesus is God.
Mary is the mother of God.
D:
Mary is the Mother of God.
The Trinity is God.
Mary is the Mother of the Trinity.
You’re right.....Jesis does not lie. Man on the other hand......
Admit it Arthur, the texts are solidly against Mary being sinless.
What's your point?
Why do you put "Mother of God" in scare quotes?
Isn't Jesus, God?
Wasn't Mary His mother?
No.
Catholics, Orthodox and most Protestants are Trinitarians (i.e., one exception is Oneness Pentacostalism which is monotheistic but rejects the Trinity, which they describe as "a tradition of men.").
Mohammedans are monotheists, but not Trinitarians.
The CCC of the RCC disagrees with you....or rather, you disagree with the CCC of the RCC.
I never said they didn’t offer a sin offering.
I said they did so because the LAW required it.
Obeying the LAW was not a personal confession of sin.
The Law noted it was a sin offering. IT is called that for a reason.
841 The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."330This means that the Mohammedans hold an incomplete image of God. Obviously, they're not Trinitarians, since they reject the divinity of Christ. When they acknowledge "the Creator" and "mankind's judge," they are acknowledging the God of Christianity, although with an imperfect understanding.
The same could be said of the ancient Greeks who only knew God as the "Prime Mover." Inasmuch as they acknowledged the Prime Mover, they were acknowledging God, but with an imperfect understanding. St. Paul said as much.
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day
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