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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?” (Lk 1:41-43, New American Bible)
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?” (Lk 1:41-43, New American Bible)
THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO FILLED ELIZABETH CALLED THE CHILD IN MARY’S WOMB LORD
  • 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?” (Lk 1:41-43, New American Bible)
By saying that the Child in Mary’s womb is Lord proves Elizabeth was indeed filled with the Holy Spirit as it was in keeping with the same testimony of the Bible:
  • Therefore, I tell you that nobody speaking by the spirit of God says, “Jesus be accursed.” And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. (1Cor 12:3, NAB)
IF JESUS IS TRULY GOD, WHY DID THE HOLY SPIRIT, THROUGH ELIZABETH, CALL MARY, WHO WAS CONCEIVING THE CHILD JESUS IN HER WOMB, “THE MOTHER OF MY LORD” AND NOT “THE MOTHER OF MY GOD”?
The Holy Spirit speaking through Elizabeth did not divulge that the Holy Child in Mary’s womb is God because of this one and only one reason alone:
The sole authority of disclosing the identity of God, that is, the identity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, was reserved to Jesus Christ alone, as affirmed in these declarations:
  • All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. (Mt 11:27, NAB)
  • No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him. (Jn 1:18, NAB, emphasis mine)
  • In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, (Heb 1:1-2, NAB)
  • When Jesus had said this, he raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” (Jn 17:1-3, NAB)
JESUS CHRIST REVEALED THAT HE IS GOD
From the four passages mentioned above, Jesus Christ revealed that He is truly God.
In Matthew 11:27, Jesus said the following because He and the Father are one:
  • All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. (Mt 11:27, NAB)
  • “The Father and I are one.” (Jn 10:30, NAB)
In John 1, the beloved disciple wrote what was revealed to him when his spirit was caught up in heaven by Jesus Christ (cf Rv 4) – the Lord God Almighty Who is coming soon:
  • Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the peoples of the earth will lament him. Yes. Amen.  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”  (Rv 1:7-8, NAB)
  • The one who gives this testimony says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! (Rv 22:20, NAB)
  • Then I saw the heavens opened, and there was a white horse; its rider was (called) “Faithful and True.” He judges and wages war in righteousness. His eyes were (like) a fiery flame, and on his head were many diadems. He had a name inscribed that no one knows except himself. He wore a cloak that had been dipped in blood, and his name was called the Word of God.  The armies of heaven followed him, mounted on white horses and wearing clean white linen.  Out of his mouth came a sharp sword to strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he himself will tread out in the wine press the wine of the fury and wrath of God the almighty.  He has a name written on his cloak and on his thigh, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”  (Rv 19:11-16, NAB)
That is why when the spirit of John was brought down from heaven, he revealed that Jesus Christ is the Word of God who was God with God and in whom all things are created, in this wise:
  • In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.  (Jn 1:1-3, Amplified Bible)
  • He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him [did not know Him]. (Jn 1:10, AMP)
  • No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known]. (Jn 1:18, AMP)
In Hebrews 1, Jesus Christ revealed to the mysterious author of that book that God the Father called Him His first-born Son Who is God, Christ, and Lord Who created the heavens and the earth, in this manner:
  • For to which of the angels did God ever say: “You (Jesus Christ) are my son; this day I have begotten you”? Or again: “I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me”? And again, when he leads the first-born into the world, he says: “Let all the angels of God worship him.”  Of the angels he says: “He makes his angels winds and his ministers a fiery flame”; but of the Son: “Your throne, O God (O Son), stands forever and ever; and a righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.  You loved justice and hated wickedness; therefore God (therefore Son), your God (your Father), anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions (the Son made Christ)”; and: “At the beginning, O Lord (O Son), you established the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands.  They will perish, but you remain; and they will all grow old like a garment.  You will roll them up like a cloak, and like a garment they will be changed.  But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”  (Heb 1:5-12, NAB, emphasis mine)
In John 17, Jesus Christ revealed that eternal life and the only true God is His Father and the one whom His Father has sent, that is Himself, Jesus Christ:
  • When Jesus had said this, he raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” (Jn 17:1-3, NAB)
After John’s spirit was caught up into heaven and was returned down to earth, he wrote with absolute confidence that Jesus Christ was indeed the eternal life and the true God, in this declaration:
  • We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to know the one who is true. And we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1Jn 5:20, NAB)
A Protestant Bible made the above verse clearer:
  • And we [have seen and] know [positively] that the Son of God has [actually] come to this world and has given us understanding and insight [progressively] to perceive (recognize) and come to know better and more clearly Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah). This [Man] is the true God and Life eternal. (1Jn 5:20, AMP)
Furthermore in John 17, Jesus Christ revealed that He is I AM Who is the LORD:
  • “I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began. I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.”  (Jn 17:4-6a, NAB)
When Jesus said, “Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began,” He is referring to His preexistence with God in John 1:1-3 which states:
  • In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.  (Jn 1:1-3, Amplified Bible)
When Jesus said, “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world,” He is hinting that He and His Father have the same name, namely: “JESUS” and “I AM Who is the LORD”.
When Jesus said the following, He is hinting that His name was His Father’s name which His Father gave to Him:
  • When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled. (Jn 17:12, NAB)
In fact, if the Father’s name is not Jesus, then whatever is the Father’s name will be subordinated to the name of Jesus, for it was written:
  • Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:9-11, NAB)
In the aforementioned passage, it is very clear that every tongue that confesses Jesus Christ is Lord glorifies God the Father.
Thus, lest we forget, God said that His name forever is I AM Who is the LORD:
  • “But,” said Moses to God, “when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.” God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.  “This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations.  (Ex 3:13-15, NAB)
When God was made flesh and was given the name Jesus (cf Jn 1:14; 1Tm 3:16; Gal 4:4, Mt 1:21, 25; Lk 1:31, 2:21, KJV), He confesses that He is the “I AM” in these numerous testimonies:
  • He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” (Jn 8:23-24, NAB)
  • So Jesus said (to them), “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me.” (Jn 8:28, NAB)
  • Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” (Jn 8:58, NAB)
  • From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. (Jn 13:19, NAB)
This testimony of Paul asserts there is one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ:
  • Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things are and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and through whom we exist. (1Cor 8:6, NAB)
This testimony of Jesus said, The Lord our God is Lord alone:
  • One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!’” (Mk 12:28-29, NAB)
These testimonies of the Old Testament declare the Lord is God, our God:
  • All this you were allowed to see that you might know the LORD is God and there is no other. (Deut 4:35, NAB)
  • This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other. (Deut 4:39, NAB)
  • The Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar its name as a witness among them that the LORD is God. (Josh 22:34, NAB)
  • That all the peoples of the earth may know the LORD is God and there is no other. (1Kgs 8:60, NAB)
  • Elijah appealed to all the people and said, “How long will you straddle the issue? If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him.” The people, however, did not answer him. (1Kgs 18:21, NAB)
  • Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said, “The LORD is God! The LORD is God!” (1Kgs 18:39, NAB)
  • For the Lord is God; he crushes warfare, and sets his encampment among his people; he snatched me from the hands of my persecutors. (Jdth 16:2, NAB)
  • Know that the LORD is God, our maker to whom we belong, whose people we are, God’s well-tended flock. (Ps 100:3, NAB)
  • The LORD is God and has given us light. Join in procession with leafy branches up to the horns of the altar. (Ps 118:27, NAB)
  • “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!” (Deut 6:4, NAB)
  • But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests ministering to the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites also have their offices. (2Chron 13:10, NAB)
  • The LORD is our God who rules the whole earth. (Ps 105:7, NAB)
THE ONE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS GOD, OUR GOD
Since the Bible affirms that there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, and that the Lord is God, our God, then Jesus Christ is truly God, our God.
The same Bible affirms that there is one God, the Father, and that the Father and Jesus Christ are one, therefore, the Father and Jesus Christ are one God and one Lord, with the Holy Spirit proceeding from Them.
Therefore, what the Holy Spirit meant when He speaks through Elizabeth was that Mary is truly the mother of the one Lord, Jesus Christ, Who is God, our God!
Source: splendorofthechurch.com.ph