QUICK FACTS: A DIFFERENT JESUS?
THE BBC CHRISTMAS CONFESSION, PRAYER TO MARY, AND THE CHRIST PREACHED BY THE APOSTLES
What Was Confessed and Prayed During the BBC Televised Midnight Mass at Brentwood Cathedral, Christmas 2021?
Research by Simon Brown
WHY THIS INVESTIGATION MATTERS
On Christmas Eve 2021, BBC television broadcast Midnight Mass from the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Mary and St Helen in Brentwood, Essex.
During that service, millions of viewers were able to hear a traditional Catholic profession of faith and Catholic devotion.
This article is not written to attack individual Catholics or question their sincerity.
My purpose is much simpler:
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE ACTUALLY TEACH?
A detailed Bible-study infographic asking what the Bible actually teaches about God, His Son Jesus Christ and the Gospel. It examines Paul's warning about “another Jesus” in 2 Corinthians 11:4, Jesus' warning about false Christs in Matthew 24:24, and John's warning concerning the Father and the Son in 1 John 2:22, encouraging Christians to test church teachings against Scripture.
If a church tells Christians who God is, who Jesus Christ is, whom Christians should pray to, and who stands between humanity and God, these are not insignificant theological details.
They concern the very identity of:
GOD,
HIS SON JESUS CHRIST,
and
THE GOSPEL ITSELF.
Paul warned Christians about receiving:
“ANOTHER JESUS”
2 Corinthians 11:4
Jesus warned about:
“FALSE CHRISTS”
Matthew 24:24
And John issued the extremely serious warning:
“HE WHO DENIES THE FATHER AND THE SON.”
1 John 2:22
Therefore we have every reason to test what churches teach about Jesus against what Jesus and his apostles actually taught.
WHAT WAS ACTUALLY CONFESSED?
A detailed Bible-study infographic examining what was confessed during the BBC televised Midnight Mass at Brentwood Cathedral at Christmas 2021. It highlights the Nicene Creed's description of Jesus as “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God” and “consubstantial with the Father,” illustrates the Trinity doctrine, and asks where Jesus and his apostles teach these identities in Scripture. Research by Simon Brown.
During the service the congregation recited the Nicene Creed.
Concerning Jesus Christ, this historic creed contains the striking words:
“GOD FROM GOD,
LIGHT FROM LIGHT,
TRUE GOD FROM TRUE GOD”
and identifies the Son as “consubstantial with the Father.”
This language is not merely my description of Catholic theology.
It is the historic language of the Nicene faith itself, formulated to affirm the full deity of the Son. (Pfander Center)
This immediately raises an enormous biblical question:
WHERE DOES THE BIBLE IDENTIFY JESUS AS “GOD FROM GOD” AND “TRUE GOD FROM TRUE GOD”?
A detailed Bible-study infographic asking where Scripture identifies Jesus as “God from God” or “true God from true God.” It compares the language of the Nicene Creed with Jesus’ words, Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:16, Paul’s declaration in 1 Corinthians 8:6, and John’s purpose statement in John 20:31, encouraging readers to test later theological claims against Scripture.
Where does Jesus say:
“I am God from God”?
Where does Peter confess:
“You are true God from true God”?
Where does Paul preach:
“Jesus is God from God”?
Where does John tell us that he wrote his Gospel so that we would believe Jesus is “true God from true God”?
These are fair questions because these words concern the identity of Jesus Christ himself.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY JESUS IS?
When Jesus asked his disciples:
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Matthew 16:15–16
Jesus did not correct Peter by saying:
“No, Peter. I am God from God, true God from true God.”
Instead Jesus declared Peter blessed.
Jesus himself later said:
“I said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
John 10:36
And John tells us precisely why he wrote his Gospel:
“But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.”
John 20:31
These are extraordinarily straightforward descriptions:
THE CHRIST.
THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.
THE SON OF GOD.
So why is the additional identification:
“GOD FROM GOD, TRUE GOD FROM TRUE GOD”
necessary to define the Christian faith?
LET US BE ACCURATE ABOUT THE TRINITY
Before continuing, an important clarification is necessary.
Trinitarians do not believe that the Father and Jesus are the same person.
That would be Modalism, not orthodox Trinitarianism.
Trinitarian doctrine correctly distinguishes:
the Father
from
the Son.
The disagreement is somewhere else.
Trinitarian Christianity teaches that although the Father and Son are distinct persons, both are fully divine and share the same one divine being or essence.
Therefore the real question is NOT:
ARE THE FATHER AND SON DIFFERENT PERSONS?
Both Trinitarians and Biblical Unitarians agree that they are distinct.
The real question is:
DOES SCRIPTURE TEACH THAT THE FATHER AND HIS SON ARE BOTH THE SAME ONE GOD?
Does Scripture teach that the Father and His Son are both the same one God? Examine what Jesus and his apostles actually taught.
That is the issue this article is investigating.
JESUS CALLED HIS FATHER “THE ONLY TRUE GOD”
Listen to Jesus' own prayer:
“This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.”
John 17:3
Jesus is addressing his Father.
Jesus identifies the Father as:
“THE ONLY TRUE GOD”
and then distinguishes himself as:
“JESUS CHRIST”
whom that God sent.
Now compare those words with the later creed:
JESUS:
“YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD”
NICENE CREED:
“TRUE GOD FROM TRUE GOD”
That deserves serious investigation.
A Trinitarian will answer that John 17:3 does not exclude the Son from the divine identity and that the wider Gospel of John teaches Christ's deity.
That argument deserves to be examined on its biblical merits.
But what we must not do is simply assume the Nicene conclusion and then read it back into Jesus' words.
The question remains:
WHO DID JESUS HIMSELF CALL “THE ONLY TRUE GOD”?
His Father.
PAUL IDENTIFIES “ONE GOD, THE FATHER”
Paul writes:
“Yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.”
1 Corinthians 8:6
Again we find:
ONE GOD — THE FATHER
and:
ONE LORD — JESUS CHRIST.
Trinitarian scholars commonly argue that Paul is incorporating Jesus into the divine identity by applying “Lord” language to Christ.
Biblical Unitarians understand the verse differently: Paul explicitly identifies the Father as the one God and Jesus as the one Lord Messiah.
Whichever interpretation a reader accepts, the verse deserves to be allowed to speak before a later creed determines its meaning.
“THERE IS ONE GOD, AND ONE MEDIATOR”
Paul gives another remarkably clear statement:
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
1 Timothy 2:5
Notice Paul's distinction:
ONE GOD
and
ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND HUMANITY.
Who is that mediator?
“THE MAN CHRIST JESUS.”
This becomes extremely important when we consider what happened elsewhere in the Catholic service.
PAUL WARNED ABOUT “ANOTHER JESUS”
A detailed Bible-study infographic examining Paul's serious warning about “another Jesus” in 2 Corinthians 11:4. It asks whether the Jesus being taught by Christian traditions is the same Jesus preached by the apostles and encourages readers to test every doctrine against Scripture. Research by Simon Brown.
Paul's warning to the Corinthians should make every Christian pay attention:
“For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we didn't preach... you put up with that well enough.”
2 Corinthians 11:4 — WEB
Paul believed it was possible for people to talk about Jesus while presenting a Jesus different from the apostolic proclamation.
That is serious.
The name “Jesus” by itself therefore cannot guarantee that every doctrine attached to Jesus is true.
We must ask:
IS THIS THE JESUS THE APOSTLES PREACHED?
That applies to every Christian tradition, including my own beliefs.
Everything must be tested against Scripture.
JESUS WARNED ABOUT FALSE CHRISTS
A detailed Bible-study infographic examining Jesus Christ's warning about false christs and false prophets in Matthew 24:24. It highlights the danger of religious deception and encourages Christians to test teachings about Christ against Scripture and the apostolic message. Research by Simon Brown.
Jesus himself warned:
“For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.”
Matthew 24:24
We should not misuse this verse.
In context Jesus is warning about false messianic claimants. He does not specifically identify the later Catholic Church or the Nicene Creed in Matthew 24:24.
Nevertheless, the warning establishes an important principle:
CHRISTIANS MUST CARE DEEPLY ABOUT THE TRUE IDENTITY OF THE CHRIST.
We cannot simply accept every claim about Christ because it comes from an established religious authority.
JOHN WARNS ABOUT DENYING THE FATHER AND THE SON
A detailed Bible-study infographic examining John's serious warning in 1 John 2:22 about denying that Jesus is the Christ and thereby denying the Father and the Son. It explains that Trinitarians distinguish the Father from the Son as separate persons, while investigating the different question of whether Scripture identifies the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as the same one God.
John's words are equally serious:
“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.”
1 John 2:22
Notice exactly what John says.
He speaks of:
THE FATHER
and
THE SON.
Again, the fact that they are distinct is not the disagreement with Trinitarians.
Trinitarians also distinguish the Father from the Son.
The question is whether these two distinct persons should additionally be identified as the same one God, together with the Holy Spirit.
Nor does 1 John 2:22 say:
“Anyone who believes in the Trinity is Antichrist.”
John's explicit test concerns denying that Jesus is the Christ and thereby denying the Father and the Son.
Therefore I do not need to make John say something he did not say.
His actual warning is serious enough.
WE MUST NOT CHANGE THE IDENTITY OF THE CHRIST.
A detailed Bible-study infographic asking whether a later identity has been added to Jesus Christ. It compares the Nicene Creed's words “God from God” and “true God from true God” with biblical descriptions of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God and the one sent by the Father, encouraging readers to test later doctrinal claims against Scripture.
HAS A LATER IDENTITY BEEN ADDED TO JESUS?
This brings us back to the BBC confession:
“GOD FROM GOD”
“TRUE GOD FROM TRUE GOD.”
Those words are not Bible quotations.
That alone does not prove them false. Christians regularly use non-biblical terminology to summarize biblical ideas.
The word Bible itself is not used by Scripture as the modern title for the complete collection.
So the argument cannot simply be:
“Those exact words aren't in the Bible, therefore they are false.”
The much stronger question is:
CAN THAT IDENTITY BE DEMONSTRATED FROM THE TEACHING OF JESUS AND THE APOSTLES?
Because the New Testament explicitly calls Jesus:
the Christ — Matthew 16:16
the Son of God — John 20:31
the Lord — Acts 2:36
the man Christ Jesus — 1 Timothy 2:5
the mediator — 1 Timothy 2:5
the one God sent — John 17:3
and the one whom:
“GOD RAISED UP”
Acts 2:32
Peter says:
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Acts 2:36
Paul says:
“Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name.”
Philippians 2:9
These texts repeatedly distinguish God from the Jesus whom God sends, raises, appoints and exalts.
That is why I believe “true God from true God” requires biblical demonstration rather than merely creedal authority.
THEN COMES THE PRAYER TO MARY
A detailed Bible-study infographic examining the Catholic Hail Mary prayer heard during the BBC service: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” It compares this practice with Scripture concerning prayer to the Father and Jesus Christ as the one mediator between God and mankind.
The BBC service raises another major biblical issue.
The Catholic Hail Mary concludes:
“HOLY MARY, MOTHER OF GOD,
PRAY FOR US SINNERS,
NOW AND AT THE HOUR OF OUR DEATH.”
This is much more than saying:
Mary was blessed.
Scripture itself says Mary was blessed.
Elizabeth said:
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
Luke 1:42
Mary herself said:
“For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.”
Luke 1:48
I therefore gladly call Mary:
BLESSED.
The disagreement is not about whether Mary should be respected.
It concerns directing religious petitions to Mary after her death.
CATHOLICS BELIEVE MARY CAN HEAR THEIR PETITIONS
A detailed Bible-study infographic examining the Catholic belief that Mary and the saints are alive with God and can hear petitions and intercede for Christians on earth. It fairly acknowledges the Catholic distinction between invoking saints and worshipping the dead, while asking where Scripture instructs Christians to address Mary or departed saints. The study compares this practice with biblical teaching about prayer to God, Jesus Christ as mediator and intercessor, and the need to test religious traditions against Scripture.
Catholic theology maintains that Mary and the saints are alive with God and can intercede for Christians on earth.
Therefore Catholics would object to my describing this simply as “worshipping the dead.”
That distinction should be acknowledged.
But it does not answer my biblical question:
WHERE DID JESUS TEACH HIS FOLLOWERS TO PRAY TO MARY?
Bible study infographic asking where Jesus, Peter, Paul or John taught Christians to pray to Mary or ask departed saints for intercession.
Where did Peter invoke Mary after Christ's ascension?
Where did Paul tell Christians to ask Mary for heavenly intercession?
Where did John instruct the churches to direct petitions toward departed believers?
This is where I believe the practice encounters a serious biblical problem.
“THE DEAD DON'T PRAISE YAH”
A detailed Bible-study infographic examining Psalm 115:17: “The dead don't praise Yah, neither any who go down into silence.” It asks whether Scripture provides biblical support for invoking departed saints and shows how Psalm 115 directs God's people away from idols and toward trusting, praising and worshipping Yahweh.
Psalm 115 says:
“The dead don't praise Yah, neither any who go down into silence.”
Psalm 115:17 — WEB
Whatever one's broader theology of the intermediate state, this verse certainly does not establish the Catholic practice of invoking departed saints.
Indeed, nothing in Psalm 115 tells God's people to communicate with them.
Instead the Psalm directs God's people toward Yahweh.
JESUS — NOT MARY — IS OUR ADVOCATE
A detailed Bible-study infographic examining Catholic titles and petitions directed to Mary alongside Scripture's teaching about Jesus Christ. It compares Marian titles such as Advocate, Helper and Mediatrix with 1 John 2:1, 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 7:25 and Romans 8:34, which identify Jesus as our Advocate, the one Mediator and the one who intercedes for believers. Research by Simon Brown.
This is where I believe Catholic invocation of Mary becomes even more problematic.
Official Catholic teaching has historically applied titles to Mary including:
Advocate
Helper
Benefactress
and
Mediatrix.
Catholic theology insists these titles do not place Mary above Christ. It teaches that Mary's intercession is entirely subordinate to and dependent upon Jesus.
That distinction must be stated fairly.
Nevertheless, Scripture says:
“If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.”
1 John 2:1
Who is identified as our Advocate with the Father?
JESUS CHRIST.
Therefore my question is:
IF JESUS IS MY ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER, WHY SHOULD I INVOKE MARY AS ANOTHER HEAVENLY ADVOCATE?
A detailed Bible-study infographic asking why Christians should invoke Mary as another heavenly advocate when Scripture identifies Jesus Christ as our Advocate with the Father and the one Mediator between God and mankind. It examines 1 John 2:1, Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25 and especially 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
JESUS — NOT MARY — IS OUR MEDIATOR
Paul says:
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
1 Timothy 2:5
Not two mediators.
Scripture explicitly identifies:
ONE MEDIATOR.
And names him:
THE MAN CHRIST JESUS.
Catholics respond that Mary's intercessory role does not compete with Christ's unique mediation, just as Christians on earth can pray for one another.
But there remains an important difference:
The New Testament explicitly tells living Christians to pray for one another.
Where does it tell Christians on earth to address Mary or departed saints and request their intercession?
That is the evidence I believe is missing.
JESUS ALREADY INTERCEDES FOR US
Paul writes:
“It is Christ who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
Romans 8:34
Hebrews says:
“Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them.”
Hebrews 7:25
Put these passages together:
OUR ADVOCATE — JESUS CHRIST.
1 John 2:1
OUR MEDIATOR — JESUS CHRIST.
1 Timothy 2:5
OUR INTERCESSOR — JESUS CHRIST.
Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25
Therefore I ask:
WHAT HEAVENLY FUNCTION IS MISSING THAT REQUIRES CHRISTIANS TO INVOKE MARY?
Jesus is not an inadequate mediator.
Jesus is not an inadequate advocate.
Jesus is not an inadequate intercessor.
DID JESUS TEACH US TO PRAY TO MARY?
When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he said:
“Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.’”
Matthew 6:9 — WEB
Jesus directed his followers toward:
THE FATHER.
Jesus himself prayed to his Father.
The apostles prayed to God.
I find no corresponding instruction from Jesus:
“When I am gone, pray also to my mother.”
That should matter enormously to Christians.
WHAT ABOUT STATUES AND RELIGIOUS IMAGES?
A detailed Bible-study infographic examining statues and sacred religious images in Christian devotion. It considers God's warnings concerning idols, carved images and bowing before them in Exodus 20:4–5, Leviticus 19:4 and Deuteronomy 4:15–16, and asks whether devotional practices involving images of Mary and the saints are consistent with these biblical commands. Research by Simon Brown.
The issue becomes still more serious when invocation of Mary and saints occurs in devotional settings involving statues and sacred images.
God commanded Israel:
“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath... You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them.”
Exodus 20:4–5 — WEB
God also commanded:
“Don't turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am Yahweh your God.”
Leviticus 19:4 — WEB
Moses reminded Israel that they saw no form when Yahweh spoke and warned:
“Watch yourselves very carefully... lest you corrupt yourselves, and make yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure.”
Deuteronomy 4:15–16 — WEB
These are extremely serious warnings.
PSALM 115 DESCRIBES MAN-MADE IDOLS
A detailed Bible-study infographic examining Psalm 115:4–8 and its description of man-made idols of silver and gold that cannot speak, see or hear. It acknowledges the Catholic distinction that a statue of Mary is not regarded as Mary herself or as a god, while asking whether devotional use of religious statues is consistent with biblical warnings concerning idols and images.
Psalm 115 says:
“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they don't speak. They have eyes, but they don't see. They have ears, but they don't hear.”
Psalm 115:4–6
And concludes concerning them:
“Those who make them will be like them; yes, everyone who trusts in them.”
Psalm 115:8
Catholics will answer that a statue of Mary is not regarded as Mary herself, nor is the material statue considered a god.
That is an important distinction.
But the biblical question remains:
DID JESUS OR HIS APOSTLES INTRODUCE STATUES OF MARY AND THE SAINTS AS OBJECTS ASSOCIATED WITH CHRISTIAN DEVOTION?
I cannot find such a practice in apostolic Christianity.
THE NEW TESTAMENT SAYS: FLEE FROM IDOLATRY
A detailed Bible-study infographic examining the New Testament's serious warnings against idolatry. Paul commands Christians to “flee from idolatry” in 1 Corinthians 10:14, while John warns, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” in 1 John 5:21. The image emphasizes the importance of testing religious practices against Scripture and reserving worship for God.
Paul tells Christians:
“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”
1 Corinthians 10:14
Not:
Get as close as possible while carefully defining the practice as something less than worship.
Paul says:
FLEE.
And John concludes his first letter:
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
1 John 5:21
These warnings deserve to be taken with the utmost seriousness.
DOES CATHOLICISM “WORSHIP” MARY?
We need to be precise here too.
Catholic doctrine explicitly denies that Mary receives the adoration owed to God.
Catholics distinguish between worship/adoration of God and veneration of saints, with a special degree of honour given to Mary.
Therefore I do not need to accuse Catholics of believing:
“Mary is God.”
They do not.
My criticism is different and, I believe, much stronger:
DOES SCRIPTURE AUTHORIZE THE RELIGIOUS INVOCATION OF MARY AT ALL?
Can Christians address petitions to her?
Can she hear millions of petitions?
Did Jesus establish her as a heavenly advocate?
Did the apostles call her Mediatrix?
Where is the apostolic example?
Those are the questions Catholic tradition must answer.
DOES THIS RISK PRESENTING “ANOTHER JESUS”?
Now the two major subjects of this investigation come together.
The service confesses Jesus as:
“TRUE GOD FROM TRUE GOD”
while also directing a petition toward Mary:
“PRAY FOR US SINNERS.”
I believe both practices must be tested against the apostolic proclamation.
Paul's warning was:
“Another Jesus, whom we didn't preach...”
2 Corinthians 11:4
I am not claiming that this verse explicitly names Catholicism. It does not.
Nor am I claiming that individual Catholics knowingly reject Jesus.
They confess Jesus Christ and sincerely believe they are following him.
My argument is about the doctrine, not people's hearts.
If later Christianity attaches an identity to Jesus that the apostles did not teach, or assigns additional heavenly advocates and mediators alongside the role Scripture explicitly gives Christ, then Paul's warning about “another Jesus” becomes an extremely serious reason to investigate.
THE BIBLICAL CHRIST MUST REMAIN THE BIBLICAL CHRIST
The Jesus proclaimed by the apostles is:
THE CHRIST.
Matthew 16:16
THE SON OF GOD.
John 20:31
THE ONE SENT BY THE ONLY TRUE GOD.
John 17:3
THE MAN CHRIST JESUS.
1 Timothy 2:5
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND HUMANITY.
1 Timothy 2:5
OUR ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER.
1 John 2:1
THE ONE GOD RAISED FROM THE DEAD.
Acts 2:32
THE ONE GOD EXALTED.
Philippians 2:9
That is an extraordinary identity.
We do not need to diminish Jesus to reject the Trinity.
On the contrary, we should give Jesus every title, authority, honour and position Scripture gives him.
But neither should we add to his identity something simply because a later council or church tradition tells us to do so.
HOW SERIOUS IS THIS?
Extremely serious.
Because we are talking about:
WHO GOD IS.
WHO JESUS CHRIST IS.
WHO WE PRAY TO.
WHO OUR ADVOCATE IS.
WHO OUR MEDIATOR IS.
WHO INTERCEDES FOR US.
These are not peripheral matters.
Paul feared Christians accepting:
“ANOTHER JESUS.”
Jesus warned about:
“FALSE CHRISTS.”
John warned about denying:
“THE FATHER AND THE SON.”
Paul commanded:
“FLEE FROM IDOLATRY.”
John commanded:
“KEEP YOURSELVES FROM IDOLS.”
Therefore Christians should never respond:
“It doesn't matter what we believe as long as we believe in Jesus.”
The New Testament itself shows that what we believe about Jesus matters enormously.
THE QUESTION I ASK THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
A detailed Bible-study infographic respectfully asking the Catholic Church why Christians should invoke Mary and the saints when Scripture identifies Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, the Lord Messiah, the man Christ Jesus, the mediator between God and mankind, and our Advocate with the Father. It examines biblical passages including John 20:31, 1 Timothy 2:5 and 1 John 2:1 and asks whether Christian practice should follow the teaching of Jesus and his apostles.
I therefore respectfully ask:
If Jesus and the apostles taught that Jesus is:
the Christ,
the Son of God,
the Lord Messiah,
the man Christ Jesus,
the mediator between God and mankind,
and our Advocate with the Father,
then:
WHY MUST JESUS ALSO BE CONFESSED AS “GOD FROM GOD, TRUE GOD FROM TRUE GOD”?
A detailed Bible research infographic examining the identity of Jesus Christ through the words of Jesus, Peter, Paul and John. It compares the biblical titles Christ, Son of God, Lord, Mediator, Advocate and Intercessor with the later expression “God from God, True God from True God,” and asks where Scripture teaches that confession.
Show me where Jesus teaches that identity.
Show me where Peter preaches it.
Show me where Paul defines the one God as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Show me where John says his Gospel was written so that we would believe Jesus is God from God.
And if Jesus is already our Advocate, Mediator and Intercessor:
WHY SHOULD CHRISTIANS INVOKE MARY AS ADVOCATE OR MEDIATRIX?
Show me where Jesus commands it.
Show me where the apostles practise it.
Show me where the first Christians are instructed to pray to Mary.
These are biblical questions.
They deserve biblical answers.
CONCLUSION — TEST EVERYTHING AGAINST SCRIPTURE
I respect Mary.
Scripture calls her blessed, and so do I.
But the biblical Mary said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
Luke 1:46–47
Mary pointed toward God her Savior.
And Scripture points Christians toward Jesus Christ as their mediator and advocate.
Therefore I believe Christians should honour Mary exactly as Scripture honours her — without assigning her additional heavenly functions for which I can find no apostolic command.
Likewise, I believe Jesus should be confessed exactly according to the identity revealed by Scripture.
Peter confessed:
“YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.”
Matthew 16:16
John wrote:
“JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD.”
John 20:31
Jesus prayed to his Father:
“YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD.”
John 17:3
Paul declared:
“ONE GOD, THE FATHER.”
1 Corinthians 8:6
And Paul declared:
“ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN,
THE MAN CHRIST JESUS.”
1 Timothy 2:5
For me, these declarations must remain the foundation.
No church council, creed, tradition, pope, priest, pastor — or even my own interpretation — should be permitted to override what Scripture actually says.
The issue is too serious.
If Paul warned us about another Jesus, then we must make certain we have the Jesus the apostles preached.
If God commands us to flee from idolatry, we should not dismiss questions about religious invocation and images as unimportant.
And if God has already given us His Son as our Mediator, Advocate and Intercessor, then I believe we should go through Jesus Christ directly to:
HIS GOD AND FATHER.
ONE GOD.
ONE MEDIATOR.
JESUS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD.
Research by Simon Brown
wwwrealdiscoveriesorg-simon.blogspot.com
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