WHAT IS A MEDIATOR? Simply put, a mediator is a go-between. A mediator acts as bridge between two parties which for whatever reason cannot have direct dealings with one another. The Bible verse quoted above clearly asserts that Jesus is the mediator between God and men. God and man cannot have direct dealings with one another. Jesus Christ is the go-between. He is the bridge between God and men. But in what specific ways is Jesus the mediator between God and men? The Bible has a two-fold answer to the question:

In Isa. 59:1,2 we read, "Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear." Sin had alienated God from us. This is why God seems so distant and even unreal to so many. Sin has brought about that separation. Now, Jesus is the mediator between God and men. He is our access to God. Thus, Jesus said in Jn. 14:6, " I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." We also read in Eph. 2:18, "for through Him [Jesus Christ] we both [Jews and Gentiles] have access in one Spirit to the Father." In addition, we read in Heb. 7:25, "Hence, also, He [Jesus] is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him."

2) It Is Through Jesus That We Receive God’s Spiritual Blessings Jesus is like the pipe and faucet that connects us to God’s inexhaustible reservoir of grace. All spiritual blessings flow to us through Him.

It is made abundantly clear in Ephesians Chapter One that the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle, speaks of the spiritual blessings God bestows on His people through Christ."Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him [in Christ] before the foundation of the world... In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ... which [God’s grace] He freely bestowed upon us in the beloved [in the Lord Jesus]...In Him [in Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses... In Him [in Christ] we have obtained an inheritance...In Him [in Jesus] you also after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him [in Christ] with the Holy Spirit of promise..."

There is "one God" (for Christianity is not polytheistic but monotheistic) so there is "one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

The Word of God clearly exposes the erroneous belief of many that elevates Mary, the mother of Jesus, to a position of mediatorship. Mary has been called "the co-mediatrix of Jesus." Many even believe that she is a better mediatrix than Jesus!

I remember as a little boy being taught in a Roman Catholic school of two ladders going to heaven: one ladder has Jesus at the top and the other has also Mary at the top. I was told that it is better to go to the ladder where Mary is because she is a more gracious and sympathetic mediatrix and after all she is a mother! This is what thousands still believe even in our day.

The belief is a clear denial of what the Bible, the infallible Word of God, clearly declares. There is only one mediator between God and men. That person is Jesus Christ. Mary was indeed a blessed woman because God gave her the astounding privilege of conceiving in her virgin womb, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the child Jesus. But to elevate her to a position of mediatorship, violates the clear teaching of God’s Holy Word. Further, to think of her as a better mediator than Jesus is blasphemy!

Today, some people seem to be changing what was once the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. Many now are saying, "to Christ through Mary". In other words, they would say that Christ is the only mediator but in order to go to Christ, you must go to Mary first.

Does this teaching fit the language of our text? We are told that "there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus". Note that there are only two parties involved - God (singular) and men (plural). Note also that there is only one person that stands as a go-between between these two parties -- Jesus Christ. Not Jesus through Mary, but Jesus plus nothing. If any person wants to have dealings with God, then he must go directly to Christ who is the only mediator between God and men.

Jesus Is Not Only A Man But Also God

If Jesus were only a man and not God, could He be a fit mediator between God and men? Someone might reply, "no" for He would be just an ordinary person. In a sense that is right. But to be more specific, let me ask you another question. Since Christ is the only mediator between God and men, what attribute must He possess in order to perform that task?

Well, definitely He needs to have God’s attribute of all- knowingness and everywhere-presence or He would not be able to attend to all those who would call upon God through Him. Can you imagine how many people all around the world call upon God through Him every minute? Thousands - if not millions! Now, if Jesus were only a man and not also God, how could He ever attend to all? Impossible!

But blessed be God that Jesus is not only a man but He is also God. Thus, He is all-knowing and everywhere-present as written in Psalm 139:7-10, "Where can I go from Thy Spirit [God’s Spirit]? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead me, and Thy right hand will lay hold of me." No matter where you are, Christ is there. He can attend to you. He is indeed a fit mediator between God and men.

It is very sad that the Roman Catholic's position is that Mary is a mediatrix. People all over the world are urged to go to God through Mary, to ask things from God through her. But by doing that, what have they done? They have made her a god! Is Mary all-knowing and everywhere present? No! To say that she is, is to deify her. And this is a clear violation of the first commandment - "You shall have no other gods before Me."(Exo. 20:3).

Furthermore, to say that Jesus needs Mary and the saints to help Him in His work of mediating between God and men because He can not attend to all is to deny the deity of Christ! Christ is God and therefore He is never too busy. He can attend to all who call upon God through Him.

But now let me turn around the question and ask you this. If Jesus were only God and not also a man, could He be a fit mediator between God and men?

No! And this is why the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle, emphasizes in our text the humanity of Christ. He wrote, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Now, is the Holy Spirit saying that Jesus is only a man and that He is not God? Of course not. Elsewhere in the Bible He clearly declares that Jesus is God. So, why does the Holy Spirit emphasize the humanity of Jesus? Well, because if Jesus is only God and not also a man, He could not be a fit mediator between God and men.

This is the teaching of Heb. 2:17,18. We read, " Therefore, He [Jesus] had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted." Again in Heb. 4:14-16, we read, "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who have been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need."

Some say that Mary is a better mediatrix than Christ because Mary is truly human. But is Jesus not truly human? He is! To say that He is not is to deny the incarnation.

Through the incarnation, the eternal Son of God became what He never was before. He became a true human being without ceasing to be fully God. Thus, everything true of God is true of Jesus. And everything true of man is true of Jesus - the one exception is sin. As B.B. Warfield put it, "Jesus is not a humanized God nor a deified man, but the God-man. And we must never lose sight of His humanity in His Godhood, nor His Godhood in His humanity."

Remember that Jesus now in heaven is still the God-man. For Jesus rose from the grave as a real man (Lk. 24:36-43). He then ascended into heaven and will come again as a real man ( Acts 1:9-11).

This is what makes Jesus such a fit mediator between God and men.

My dear reader, if you really want to have dealings with God, then you must go to Jesus, he who died and was raised to life and now is exalted in the heaven. Any other way to God will not do. He is the only mediator between God and men.

If you do not want Him, then you are forever cut off from God and without hope in this world. I urge you to go to God through Jesus in repentance and faith, and you will never be disappointed. [JFM]