Is Mary the Mother of God?

by Sebastian R Fama

The title “Mother of God” has more to do with Jesus than it does Mary. The Church gave Mary this title at the Council of Ephesus in response to the heresy of Nestorius. Nestorius was archbishop of Constantinople from 428 to 431. He rejected the idea that the child born of Mary was divine. He taught that Mary only gave birth to Jesus’ human nature. He also taught that Jesus, once born, was assumed by God. For Nestorius, Jesus was the union of two persons; one human and one divine. The Church, on the other hand, has always taught that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. In other words, Jesus has two distinct natures. However, He is only one person.

When the Church refers to Mary as the God Bearer, or the Mother of God, she is merely saying that Jesus is God. She is not saying that Mary gave birth to the Trinity or that she is responsible for any of Jesus’ divine attributes. Calling Mary the Mother of God is proper because mothers give birth to persons not bodies. And Mary gave birth to the person of Jesus, who is God.

As a person you are comprised of body and soul. Your soul did not come from your mother. And yet we can still say she gave birth to the person of you. As a person Jesus is comprised of body, soul, and divinity. His soul and divinity did not come from Mary. And yet we can still say she gave birth to the person of Jesus. The person of Jesus is God; thus, Mary is the Mother of God. And that is the way Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit saw it. In Luke 1:41-44 we read:

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said: “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Jesus is Lord because He is God. So, the mother of my Lord is the mother of my God. Or for short; the Mother of God. Note she did not say; the mother of my Lord’s body. And so, without any fear of blasphemy, we can confidently say that Mary is the Mother of God.