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Is calling Mary the Mother of God biblical? This episode explores key passages like Luke 1:43 and Galatians 4:4, along with early Christian testimony and even Reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin, to show why this ancient title flows directly from Scripture and historic Christian belief.
TRANSCRIPT:
The Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431 declared Mary to be the Theotokos—the God-bearer. In other words, it proclaimed Mary to be the Mother of God.
But should a Bible Christian believe that? Is there any evidence from Scripture that Mary is the Mother of God?
Stick around—and you’ll find out.
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Alright, so how do we make the case for Mary the Mother of God? In today’s episode, we’re going to focus on two types of arguments: biblical and historical. I’m gonna save the related theological arguments for a future episode.
Let’s start with the biblical arguments—and we’ll look at two.
The first comes from Luke 1:43.
There, Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, exclaims to Mary, “Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church actually appeals to this passage as support for the dogma in paragraphs 448, 495, and 2677. So we’re in good company when we turn to this verse.
Now, as any good Bible student knows, “Lord” is the title that the Jews used for Yahweh. Elizabeth was a good Jew. So it’s very reasonable to think she’s using it in reference to Almighty God—in which case she’s calling Mary the Mother of God.
So right there, we already have a solid biblical foundation for the dogma.
But not everyone agrees. Protestant Bible scholar Walter L. Liefeld, for example, argues that we shouldn’t read this as “mother of God.” In his commentary on Luke in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, he suggests Elizabeth is referring to Jesus as the Messiah. He writes:
“Nowhere in the [New Testament] is Mary called ‘mother of God.’ Deity is not confined to the person of Jesus (we may say, ‘Jesus is God,’ but not all of ‘God is Jesus’). She was, however, the mother of Jesus the Messiah and Lord” (pg. 834).
Part of his reasoning is that Luke frequently uses “Lord” as a title—95 out of 166 occurrences in the Synoptics—and not all of them carry a divine meaning.
So how do we respond?
Well, first, notice something about the immediate context. Right after Elizabeth says, “why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”—she goes on in verse 45 to say, “blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Both statements are part of the same exclamation. It’s hard to imagine Elizabeth switching meanings for “Lord” midway.
Second, there are several details that suggest Luke is intentionally drawing a parallel between Mary and the Old Testament Ark of the Covenant, which, I argue, gives us reason to think “Lord” is being used in the divine sense.
Take Elizabeth’s words: “Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” They closely echo David’s words in 2 Samuel 6:9: “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”
And that’s not the only parallel. John the Baptist leaps for joy in Mary’s presence (Luke 1:44), just like David dances before the ark in 2 Sam. 6:5. Mary stays with Elizabeth for three months (Luke 1:39), just like the ark remained in the house of Obededom for three months according to 2 Sam. 6:11.
Given these parallels, Luke is clearly presenting Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant.
And here’s how that relates to Mary as Mother of God: if Elizabeth’s phrase “mother of my Lord” is paralleling David’s “ark of the Lord,” then “Lord” is being used in the divine sense. David wasn’t talking about an earthly ruler—the ark belonged to Almighty God.
So Luke’s portrait of Mary as the New Ark gives us really good reason to read Luke 1:43 as revealing Mary to be the Mother of God.
Now, there’s a potential counterargument you might hear, one that could be taken from Protestant apologist James White.
In The Roman Catholic Controversy, White argues that if we draw parallels between Mary and the Ark, we’ll end up with absurd conclusions. He directs this at Mary’s sinlessness. But since it’s directed at Mary as the New Ark, it can be used here. Here’s what White writes:
Must Mary have been stolen by God’s enemies for a time, so that she could be brought back to the people of God with great rejoicing (2 Sam. 6:14-15)? Who was Mary’s Uzzah (2 Sam. 6:3-8)? [Catholic apologist Patrick] Madrid draws a further parallel between the three months the ark was with Obededom and the three months Mary was with Elizabeth. What, then, is the parallel with David’s action of sacrificing a bull and a fattened calf when those who were carrying the ark had taken six steps (2 Sam. 6:13)? (pg. 205)
White goes on to draw out the implication of these questions: Catholics are picking and choosing, as he puts it, “those aspects of Mary’s life [a Catholic] wishes to parallel in the ark and those which he does not.”
But here’s the problem: that objection assumes that if some parallels exist, then all details must line up—and that’s just not how biblical typology works.
In fact, the New Testament authors themselves don’t follow that rule.
Take Matthew 2:15, for example: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” That phrase comes from Hosea 11:1, and Matthew applies it to Jesus. But the very next line in Hosea 11:2 talks about Israel turning to idols—which obviously doesn’t apply to Jesus.
There are numerous examples of this in the New Testament’s use of the Old. Whenever prophetic foreshadowing is in play, some elements carry forward, others don’t. There are continuities and discontinuities. That’s standard biblical interpretation when it comes to foreshadowing. And if the New Testament authors employ this type of hermeneutic when relating the Old Testament to the New, it’s legitimate for Catholics to do the same.
This potential counterargument, therefore, fails.
And Luke 1:43 still stands as strong evidence for Mary as the Mother of God.
Now let’s look at a second biblical argument—this one from Galatians 4:4.
Paul writes, “when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.”
The key detail here is simple: God’s Son is born of a woman.
There are two points to make.
First, assuming we accept early conciliar Christology—like what we see at the Council of Nicaea—God’s Son, the Word, is divine. Thus, he’s properly called God.
Second, any woman who gives birth to a person is a mother of that person.
Put those two things together, and the reasoning looks like this:
P1: Any woman who gives birth to a person is a mother to the person to whom she gives birth.
P2: Mary gave birth to God’s Son (Galatians 4:4).
C1: Therefore, Mary is the mother of God’s Son.
P3: God’s Son is divine, and thus properly called God.
C2: Therefore, Mary is the mother of God.
Once you see it laid out like that, it becomes clear what someone would have to deny to reject the conclusion.
You’d have to deny either:
premise one: that mothers give birth to persons,
premise two: that Mary gave birth to God’s Son, or
premise three: that God’s Son is divine.
But none of those are options for a Christian.
Mothers give birth to persons—that’s just basic common sense. They don’t give birth to “natures” or abstract things.
Scripture clearly teaches that Mary gave birth to God’s Son—Paul says it outright.
And of course, no Christian can deny the divinity of the Son. John 1:1 tells us, “the Word was God.”
So Galatians 4:4 gives us another solid biblical basis for calling Mary the Mother of God.
Now that we’ve covered the biblical side, let’s shift gears a bit and look at the historical evidence.
First, we can look at early Christian testimony.
Ignatius of Antioch, in his Letter to the Ephesians (18.2), writes:
“For our God, Jesus Christ, was…conceived in the womb by Mary…He was born and baptized, that by his passion he might purify the water.”
It’s simple logic again: a woman who gives birth is a mother to person she gave birth to. Ignatius says Mary gave birth to God, Jesus Christ. Therefore, Ignatius believed Mary is the Mother of God. That’s around A.D. 107.
Next up is St. Irenaeus of Lyon. In his Against Heresies (Book 5, chapter 19), which dates to about A.D. 180-89, he says this:
“The Virgin Mary…being obedient to his word, received from an angel the glad tidings that she was to bear God.”
Notice that Mary was to bear God. That’s motherhood language.
And then there’s a really beautiful third century Christian hymn that was prayed by Christians in Egypt from around A.D. 230–250 called Sub Tuum Praesidium—“Under your protection.” It reads:
“Under your mercy, we take refuge, Mother of God…do not reject our supplications in necessity, but deliver us from danger…”
We could go on with more evidence. But I think those witnesses suffice to show that belief in Mary as Mother of God isn’t some late invention but rather is right there in the early centuries of Christianity.
Now, interestingly, this belief was affirmed by some of the early Protestant Reformers.
Martin Luther, in On the Councils and the Church (1539), writes:
“God did not derive his divinity from Mary; but it does not follow that it is therefore wrong to say that God was born of Mary, that God is Mary’s Son, and that Mary is God’s mother…She is the true mother of God and bearer of God…Mary suckled God, rocked God to sleep, prepared broth and soup for God, etc. For God and man are one person, one Christ, one Son, one Jesus. Not two Christs. . .just as your son is not two sons…even though he has two natures, body and soul, the body from you, the soul from God alone.”
John Calvin follows suit and even appeals to Luke 1:43 for support. He writes:
“Elizabeth called Mary Mother of the Lord, because the unity of the person in the two natures of Christ was such that she could have said that the mortal man engendered in the womb of Mary was at the same time the eternal God.”
That comes from page 35 of Calvini Opera—the collected works of Calvin, volume 45 of the Corpus Reformatorum series.
So, here’s what we have by way of summary:
First, Elizabeth calls Mary “mother of my Lord” in Luke 1:43—and there’s strong reason to read “Lord” in the divine sense.
Second, Paul tells us in Galatians 4:4 that God’s Son was born of Mary—which, given His divinity, makes her the Mother of God.
Third, early Christian sources like Ignatius, Irenaeus, and the hymn Sub Tuum Praesidium all affirm this belief.
And finally, even Reformers like Luther and Calvin affirmed Mary as the Mother of God.
So should a Bible Christian affirm Mary the Mother of God? I think the answer is clearly “yes.”
Well, my friends, that’s it for today!
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