Subject: When did the catholic church go wrong? |
Bible Note: Mary, the New Eve "And the Lord God said to the serpent, ...I will put enmity between you and the woman and between her seed and your seed." Genesis 3:14-15 "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun...Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod." Revelation 12:1,4-5 " And the dragon was angry with the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring." Revelation 12:17 "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3:8 "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel." Isaiah 7:14 "But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law." Galatians 4:4 ________________________________________ It can be seen that the woman of Genesis 3:15 is Mary, the new Eve, for this mention of the "seed of the woman" in scripture is unique. All other mention of seed always refers to man's seed. But Jesus was born in the flesh of a woman, by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by the seed of a man. Mary is the New Eve, the mother of all the living in Christ Jesus according to the Spirit, just as Eve is "the mother of all the living," in Adam according to the flesh. Genesis 3: 20. Jesus is the New Adam. 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 __________________________________________ "Fear not Mary, for thou hast found favor with God...The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: therefore the child which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1:30, 35 Here we begin to see that Mary’s dignity grows out of her relationship to Jesus and the Holy Trinity, as does the dignity of every child of God. She is the daughter of the Father, the mother of the Son and the spouse of the Holy Spirit. "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.... My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.... Behold from henceforth all generations will call me blessed." Luke 1:45, 46-48 By the same analogy it can be seen that though Eve opened the door to sin and death by her disobedience and "no" to God's command, it was by Adam’s dis- obedience and sin that death entered and enslaved all mankind. So Mary, by her obedience and "yes " to God, opened the door to grace and life for all mankind, which was secured by the obedience of the Savior, Jesus. "Just as through one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Romans 5:19 ___________________________ As in Genesis 3:6, Eve prodded Adam into disobedience and sin, so in John 2:3-5, Mary instigates the beginning of the saving ministry of Jesus by her prodding at Cana. "So she took some of the fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate it." Genesis 3:6 "The mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.' His mother said to the servers, 'Do whatever he tells you.' " John 2:3-5 Those are the last words of Mary recorded in scripture: "Do whatever he tells you." |