Jesus: True God and True Man
Article for: Place of Refuge
Published Date: October 16th, 2001 23:22:07
For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Colossians 1:19-20
What basic doctrine distinguishes a Christian from a member of a cult? To be true Christian, the person should believe that God became man and lived as a human being - subject to all human weakness.
Nowadays, many people claim to be Christians but they do not accept the full divinity AND humanity of Jesus. Some of them believed that Jesus was human but not divine. Some believed that Jesus is divine and did not become a true human being.
In both cases, these teachings fall short of what the Church teaches - that Jesus is BOTH human AND divine. His human and divine natures are so united that they cannot be separated one from another. The technical term for this union of natures is hypostatic union.
Some say that Mary should not be called the Mother of God because she did not give Jesus the divine nature.
In the early centuries of the Church, the council of Ephesus called Mary theotokos or God-bearer. The reason for this is that she did not only bear the human Jesus - but she bore Jesus - both God and man. As the verse above also states that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus. This means that Jesus was fully divine. The verse also states that Jesus made peace by the blood of his cross. This meant that Jesus died by shedding his blood - making him fully human.
1 John 4:2-3 says, "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God". Notice that this verse tells us that Jesus became flesh. It also said that every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. He did not distinguish between the human Jesus or the divine Jesus. He mentioned Jesus as one - True God and True Man.
Devotion to Mary is theologically right because she reminds us that "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that who ever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). God loves us so much that he became man to save us.
Catholics are right in calling Mary as the Mother of God because she is the Mother of Jesus - True God and True Man. He is the fullness of God who died to save us and all creation.
Mary, Mother of God - pray for us
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