bound said:
But you would agree these 'ecumenical' councils got the Doctrine of the Trinity correct, right?
I wouldn't know. I haven't read the content of what those councils wrote or decided upon and I don't really care. What I care about is what the Bible says. "Thus saith the Lord" is important to me, not "Thus saith a council. The Trinity is clearly taught in Scripture. There was no council that discovered it. That is hokey-pokey. Even in passages like Isaiah 6:8 it becomes obvious:
Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for
us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
--Of course the NT is much more clear.
What one might say is that you are failing to distinguish between Christ's Divine Nature and Christ's Human Nature. Our Lord and Saviour had 'both'. His Human Nature was manifested 'through Mary's Humanity' during the Incarnation. You do agree that Christ had two Natures, right? Are you denying this?
For all that I have posted you fail to read or understand what I have posted.
Jesus Christ, on earth, was fully God and fully man at the same time. I do not fail to distinguish between is Divine nature and his human nature at all. If you read through my posts you would have understood that by now.
Christ, the eternal God, came to earth as a man. However as a man he retained his deity
at all times. There were times that he chose to lay aside many of his divine attributes. He suffered, he thirsted, he hungered--as a man--and yet he was God. He laid aside or decided not to use his divine attributes. He was always fully God and fully man.
When Jesus went to the cross He did so willingly. When Peter tried to prevent his going he was rebuked by the Lord, who told him that He could have called 24,000 angels, but He didn't--He didn't choose to exercise that divine attribute--his omnipotence.
His miracles were a display of his divine power demonstrating that he was deity. At those times he chose to exercise his divine omnipotence.
But when he came into this world as the God-man he did not use any of his divine attributes. Though He was God, He did not exercise his powers as God.
Regarding Mary, she was simply a vessel used by God to bring Christ into the world, and no special significance should be attached to her. God could have used another means, but he didn't. He chose Mary. She was simply a vessel that God used to bring Christ into this world. That is all that I am saying, and no more. Draw what conclusions you want. I am not giving any space or room for the heretical doctrine of theotokos, a doctrine historically rejected by mainstream Christianity, and accepted only by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
It was from her tissue which God drew forth the actual Blood of Christ through which we are all saved.
God used her, as a human vessel to bring Christ into this world and that is all. Mary plays no part in the salvation of man. She herself is a sinner in need of a Saviour.
Our sinful nature is not a biological defect but a defect of our will to do His Will. Mary's will did His Will and she was Blessed for it...
Our sinful nature is inherited from Adam. Christ had no sinful nature for he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The sinful nature of Adam was by-passed.
Concerning Mary she still was a sinner. So she was blessed. So I am blessed also. Most Christians are blessed. Blessed means favored or happy. Are you not favored or "graced" by God. Are you not a recipient of God's grace. I feel sorry for you if your answer is in the negative.
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. ~ Luke 1:45
And blessed are all those that believe the gospel and are saved. Are you not blessed. Have you not been a partaker of the grace of God.
It is not Mary's biology which one should count as blessed but her conformity to the Will of God. This is what our Lord and Saviour meant...
And thus every one of us can conform to the will of God, adn be blessed. Thus Mary is no one special.
Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!" But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" ~ Luke 11:28
How true. That doesn't give Mary much of a place of honor that the RCC and the Eastern Orthodox do, does it?
Our Lord and Saviour is wholly God and wholly Man with two Natures, one Divine and one Human. His natures are two yet undivided. One Will undivided in two natures.
I never denied that fact. What made you think that I did. I already emphasized that point in previous posts. If you had read what I posted you would have known that.
What are your teachings on these matters? I continue to believe that you would have us divide our Lord or discard His Humanity as useless or meaningless because His Divinity is all that is important.
Then you continue to believe wrong, and have not been reading what I have been posting. I take what you have just posted as either ignorance, or slander. What do you choose?
I believe this does grave harm to our understanding of our Lord and Saviour and the real reasons He assumed Humanity in order to save it.
And so He did. Why are you simply re-iterating what I have already said?
