Mary: Mother of God?

What Does the Bible say? ^ | 01/11/2012 | Bro. Lev Humphries,

[RnMomof7]

Mary: Mother of God?

This article is prompted by an ad in the Parade Magazine titled: "Mary Mother of God: What All Mankind Should Know." The offer was made for a free pamphlet entitled "Mary Mother of Jesus" with this explanation: "A clear, insightful pamphlet explains the importance of Mary and her role as Mother of God."

This is quite a claim, to say the least! Nowhere in the Bible is Mary said to be the mother of God. I touched on this subject in a series on "Mary Co-Redeemer with Christ" printed recently.

Question: If Mary is the Mother of God, Who, may I ask, is the Father of God? Does God have a Father, and if He does, Who is His Mother?

The phrase "Mother of God" originated in the Council of Ephesus, in the year 431 AD. It occurs in the Creed of Chalcedon, which was adopted by the council in 451 AD. This was the declaration given at that time: "Born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God according to the Manhood." The purpose of this statement originally was meant to emphasize the deity of Christ over against the teaching of the Nestorians whose teaching involved a dual-natured Jesus. Their teaching was that the person born of Mary was only a man who was then indwelt by God. The title "Mother of God" was used originally to counter this false doctrine. The doctrine now emphasizes the person of Mary rather than the deity of Jesus as God incarnate. Mary certainly did not give birth to God. In fact, Mary did not give birth to the divinity of Christ. Mary only gave birth to the humanity of Jesus. The only thing Jesus got from Mary was a body. Every Human Being has received a sinful nature from their parents with one exception: Jesus was not human. He was divine God in a flesh body. This is what Mary gave birth to. Read Hebrews 10:5 and Phil 2:5-11.

Please refer to Hebrews 10:5 where we see. "...Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me."

The body of Jesus was prepared by God. In Matthew 1:18, "she was found with child of the Holy Ghost."

The divine nature of Jesus existed from before eternity, and this cannot be said of Mary Jesus never called her "mother". He called her "woman".

This doctrine deifies Mary and humanizes Jesus. Mary is presented as stronger that Christ, more mature and more powerful that Christ. Listen to this statement by Rome: "He came to us through Mary, and we must go to Him through her." The Bible plainly states that God is the Creator of all things. It is a blasphemous attack on the eternity of God to ever teach that He has a mother. Mary had other children who were normal, physical, sinful human beings. In the case of Jesus Christ, "His human nature had no father and His divine nature had no mother."

It is probably no coincidence that this false doctrine surrounding Mary was born in Ephesus. Please read Acts 19:11-41 and see that Ephesus had a problem with goddess worship. Her name was Diana, Gk. Artemis. You will not have to study very deep to find the similarities between the goddess Diana and the Roman Catholic goddess, Mary. It should be noted that the Mary of the 1st century and the Mary of the 20th century are not the same. Mary of the 1st century was the virgin who gave birth to the Messiah. Mary of the 20th century is a goddess created by the Roman Catholic Church. A simple comparison of what the Bible teaches about Mary and what the Roman Catholic Church teaches about her will reveal two different Marys. Mary is not the "Mother of God." If she were she would be GOD! There is only one true, eternal God. He was not born of a woman. Any teaching on any subject should be backed up by the word of God. If it cannot be supported by Scriptures, it is false doctrine.

[Jvette]

****The Church the BOdy of Christ is ONE NEW MAN, not one man improved upon****

Where did I say the Body of Christ is “one man improved upon”?

I said that the Church did not replace Israel. Replacment would mean that Israel ceased to exist, but that is not the case now is it?

Now that I have had the chance to look over the verse you posted in context, I still don’t see how that verse contradicts what I said, which is what the ? indicated.

Both Jews and Gentiles are sinners and separated from God because of that sin. The Jews believed that they were clean and the Gentiles unclean and because of this they kept themselves separate from the Gentiles.

This new man is the union of the Jew and the Gentile under the new covenant. The verse just before the one you quoted...

Eph 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us];

and then after the verse you quote:

Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

We are united, coheirs and partakers of the promises of Christ, and that is the new Israel.

[CynicalBear]

>> It is why protestants hate the history of the Church, they have no place in it.<<

I don’t hate nor do I envy the history of any church. I have however studied how “churches” have drifted away from what the Apostles taught. It’s not a Protestant or Catholic phenomena. It’s all organized religions. One only needs read Revelation 1-3 to understand how God looks at “churches”. He takes out those individuals who have not followed the “church” but have remained faithful to Him even if the “church” has fallen away. Whether Muslims, Mormons, Catholics, or Protestants it matters not. If the apostles didn’t teach it then what they teach can not be relied on. Jesus warned us about the “doctrines of man” and would have made sure the Holy Spirit would have “reminded” the apostles to write what is important for us to know. He knew that human word of mouth would not be reliable. Christ is the head of the church and no other.

[smvoice]

Then you must not be Catholic. Because that is what it is taught you are: spiritual Israel. Cynical Bear has already given you proof from your own church that the RCC believes and teaches she is spiritual Israel.

[Jvette]

It is a doctrine of man that the Church is some invisible collection of believers each on their own island of belief populated by themselves and what they think is the Holy Spirit.

[narses]

I have however studied how “churches” have drifted away from what the Apostles taught. It’s not a Protestant or Catholic phenomena.It’s all organized religions.

Of course, that makes you your own little congregation, all one of you. When you falsely opine that the Catholic Church teaches idolatry, that Sunday attendance at church is a man made tradition, that Easter and Christmas celebrations are pagan, you do remove your opinions from those any reasonably well read student would consider informed. You have bragged about not knowing Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic, about refusing to read what the Catholic Church actually teaches and yet you claim to have "studied" the faith in such a way to be certain of your rightness. Good for you. But don't expect any literate student of Christianity to take you seriously. You might as well join nutballs like Aimmee Semple whatever her name was or the comet dude.

[narses]

Then you must not be Catholic.

Well there you go jvette, you must be something else, another "church of one with the one opinion that matters" has been heard from!

[gghd]

The quick answer is the Catholic Church says Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a creature like us.

She is now the Queen of Heaven & the Queen Mother. + Pray on it. Mary is the mother of Jesus. He grew in her womb, He nursed at her breast & she cared for Him as only a mother can do.

The prayer you refer to is not a prayer Catholics are obligated to pray. If someone doesn’t like that prayer, they do NOT have to pray it.

There is Divine Mercy & Blessings & then there are mercy & blessings from a creature. Plus a creature can intercede in prayer to God. (That’s a prayer chain.)

The Tag at the end is Thy divine >Son. That’s the key. In Heaven we are all spiritually united with God. = All the prayers = end up with God.

Does the answer make sense? At the end of Days, there will be Heaven or Hell. ALL the Saints will have the ‘will’ of God (& they will NOT be God). The Catholic Church does NOT teach that Mary is equal to Jesus. The Catholic Catechism is on-line and it has a large section about Mary. You might like to read it & you may prefer to ask a Priest about it. You might not like what it says but that’s what it be.

+If someone doesn’t like that prayer, they do NOT have to pray it. Catholics are obligated to pray the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ at Church. (Catholics call it the Our Father.) They have other prayers that are required & they can be found in a Missal.

It’s good you go to Church. I’m going tonight & I’ll miss the big football game. Maybe, there is Merit available by sacrificing the NFL game for Church. I don’t have the nerve to ask a Priest that one!

I’ll be back (said like the Terminator.)

[Jvette]

The Church teaches that the promises of Christ to Israel are no longer limited to a “race” of people but to ALL people who are now one in Christ. One is no longer born into the promises by their physical birth, but through their spiritual birth at baptism.

Israel is no longer just a physical place, but a spiritual one as well.

That is what the new Israel is, not a replacement of the old, but a fulfillment of the old through the new and everlasting Jesus.

It is just like Jesus, He existed from all time as the Second Person of the Trinity, but not as a human.

In the Incarnation, we have the Ancient united with the new(man). Jesus made humanity into a new creation. Did humans not exist before Jesus?

Geesh, get back to me on this when protestants can agree on it themselves. They are all over the map on this one.

[Jvette]

They can’t even agree on what they believe, but they sure do “know” enough to attack Catholic belief based on what “they” believe.

I know it’s confusing, but then protestantism is a SEA of confusion.

[Iscool]

Just as we see in Jesus the union of the human with the divine, we see this union in Scriptures, written by humans under the inspiration and guidance of God, and the Church

Your religion had zero to do with writing the scriptures...The scriptures condemns the existence of your Church...

[Iscool]

Amen...

[Iscool]

btw gghd, this isn't what evangelicals typically say to each other in the "prayer chain".

That's clearly goddess worship...

O holy Mary, my Mistress; thy divine Son.

And what was that son's name again??? No matter...

Protestants would say, Our Lord Jesus, and his mother...

[Iscool]

How can a Catholic read this and not understand that the devotion to and worship of Mary is contrary to Jesus’ own teachings. You can either follow Rome or Christ.

They know it's there, in red letters...They just refuse to accept Jesus' teaching on that issue...Their religion overrules Jesus...

[Iscool]

The Holy Spirit, God, is her spouse and her entire life was given over to Him.

Completely false and a perversion of the words of God...

Mary is the mother of Christians, just as Jesus said from the cross and it was in sorrow caused by the death of her Son that the Church was born.

Jesus did not say that his mother was your mother or mine...You are making it up...

The church was created from sorrow of the death of Jesus??? Where do you get this stuff???

[CynicalBear]

>>Jesus’ proclamation from the cross, “Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother.”<<

You can’t possibly be serious. Jesus was talking to John.

John 19:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

In Hebrew society the parents were taken care of by the offspring. Jesus was making sure that Mary was going to be taken care of. In the following verse we see that it had been part of what He wanted and needed done before He died.

John 19:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

No way can anything beyond that can be deduced from the passage or any of the prophecies that were fulfilled by what He suffered and said.

>> if one looks throughout history, one sees that Christians thought of Mary as their mother because of those very words of Jesus.<<

There is no scriptural support for that. Doctrines of man can only be deduced.

[aruanan]

Israel is no longer just a physical place, but a spiritual one as well.

Israel was never "just" a physical place. Israel was always about a people of God and the covenant was with Abraham and his descendants, both physically, through Isaac, and spiritually, through the faith by which God accounted him justified.

That is what the new Israel is, not a replacement of the old, but a fulfillment of the old through the new and everlasting Jesus.

Any "new" Israel is exactly what the old Israel demonstrated and more. The faithful Israelite, Jesus, the Messiah, stood in for Israel so that those who place their trust in the Messiah can be justified by the same faith as Abraham as the father of faith was justified and his faith counted as righteousness.

God's promise to Abraham was that through his seed the entire world would be blessed. Through the Messiah's birth, life, death and resurrection, those of faith throughout the world from the beginning of time to the end of it become members of that family of faith and partakers of the covenant God established with Abraham.

[smvoice]

Does Rome claim to be the “New Jerusalem”? The “Eternal City”? The “Holy City”?

[Iscool]

No, I don’t follow Replacement Theology and neither does the Church.

Your religion most certainly does...

The promises to Israel are still the same promises, but we are now partakers of those promises in that Jesus fulfilled them and opened the gates to all, Jews and Gentiles alike.

The promises to Israel have NOT been fulfilled...

[smvoice]

Thank you very much for that confirmation, Iscool.

[CynicalBear]

>>makes it very difficult to accept any of your opinions about<<

My opinions? Do you only try to obfuscate or do you actually have proof to refute what the CCC says?

877 Likewise, it belongs to the sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry that it have a collegial character. In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as "the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy." Chosen together, they were also sent out together, and their fraternal unity would be at the service of the fraternal communion of all the faithful: they would reflect and witness to the communion of the divine persons. For this reason every bishop exercises his ministry from within the episcopal college, in communion with the bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter and head of the college. So also priests exercise their ministry from within the presbyterium of the diocese, under the direction of their bishop. [http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/877.htm]

>>why would you expect anyone with any understanding of true Christianity to take you seriously?<<

You don’t take the CCC seriously?