Daily Bible Nugget #748, 1 Timothy 2:5

The Nugget:

1Ti 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

My Comment:

There are some who believe it is right to pray to the saints in heaven, asking them to intercede on our behalf.

This is, from a correct Bible interpretation view, a totally mistaken practice.

I find Isaiah 63:16 to be a passage that relates to the issue of saints in heaven being aware of us or our specific prayers–plainly, they are not:

Isaiah 63:16
16  Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
King James Version

Isa 63:16 For you are our father, though Abraham has no knowledge of us, and Israel gives no thought to us: you, O Lord, are our father; from the earliest days you have taken up our cause. (BBE, Bible in Basic English)

Isa 63:16  You are our Father. Even though Abraham doesn’t know us and Israel doesn’t pay attention to us, O LORD, you are our Father. Your name is our Defender From Everlasting. (GW, God’s Word translation)

If neither Abraham nor Jacob (Israel) have any “knowledge of us” and have no “thought of us,” it would appear that no other human beings in heaven do either.

The Scripture clearly declares that our Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven interceding for us (1 Timothy 2:5):

1Ti 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (KJV)

For a deeper study of this subject, here are my notes and cross references for 1 Timothy 2:5 as given in The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury:

1 Timothy 2:5
one God. +*Deut 6:4 note. *Isa 44:6; *Isa 45:22, +**Mat 28:19, +*Mar 12:29, 30, 31, 32, 33, **Joh 17:3, Rom 3:29, 30; Rom 10:12; Rom 16:27, +*1Co 8:4; +*1Co 8:6, Gal 3:20, +*Eph 4:5; +*Eph 4:6, Jas 2:19.

and one mediator. Gr. mesistēs (S# G3316, Gal 3:19). There is no basis in Scripture to introduce additional intermediaries such as Mary the mother of Jesus or the saints. To do so is directly contrary to the explicit teaching of God’s Word in Scripture in this text, and contradicts the statement of Jesus that no one can come to the Father but through Him (Joh 14:6). Neither Mary nor any other saint in heaven is aware of what now transpires upon earth (Isa 63:16, 1Co 15:23), though they are very much alive (Luk 20:38; Luk 23:43 note). =Exo 33:8; =Exo 33:9; Exo 34:3, Lev 4:10; *Lev 16:17, Num 4:16, Deut 18:15; Deut 18:18, 1Sa 2:25, *Job 9:33, Psa 130:7, Isa 53:12, Jer 30:13, **Joh 14:6, **Act 4:12, Rom 8:34, 1Co 8:6, 2Co 11:4, +Gal 3:20, Col 2:19, **Heb 7:25; Heb 8:6; *Heb 9:15; *Heb 12:24, **1Jn 2:1.

between. Num 16:48, **Joh 14:6, Gal 3:13.

and men. FS174, +Gen 18:27.

the man. A straightforward reading of this text indicates that Jesus is still a man, even while He is now in heaven. The Jehovah’s Witness doctrine that Jesus Christ is the archangel Michael (1Th 4:16 note), and is no longer a man, directly contradicts this declaration of Paul that Jesus is still a man, not an angel (Heb 1:4, 5, 6; Heb 2:16), though now in heaven as our one mediator. The Jehovah’s Witnesses further demonstrate their lack of Bible understanding when they argue that Jesus is no longer a man with a human nature, for, they argue, Jesus can never return as a man in his human body, for that would be to take his sacrifice back, and invalidate the Atonement He accomplished. Such a view on their part shows their ignorance of this Scripture, where Paul distinctly refers to Jesus as “the man Christ Jesus.” Jehovah’s Witnesses are clearly ignorant of the provisions of the Davidic Covenant (2Sa 7:10 note, 2Sa 7:19, 1Ch 17:17) which require that David’s Seed, the Messiah, the man, called the Son of Man (+*Psa 80:17), be a man (1Co 15:47), who by resurrection (Rom 1:4, 2Ti 2:8), will live forever and will return to this earth to rule upon the Throne of David (Isa 9:6, 7, Luk 1:32, 33, Act 2:30) here on (not above or over, Rev 5:10) this earth forever, not merely 1000 years (Dan 7:13, 14, Rev 11:15), to rule the earth from Jerusalem (Isa 24:23) as a man still possessed of his humanity (Act 2:31), visible in the very body (Luk 24:39, Joh 2:19, 20, 21, 22, Act 1:11) in which he arose (Joh 1:51, Php 3:21, 1Jn 3:2). +*Psa 80:17 note. +*Jer 23:5; +*Jer 23:6, +*Zec 13:7, +*Mat 1:23, *Luk 2:10; *Luk 2:11, *Joh 1:14; Joh 8:40, +Rom 1:3, **1Co 15:45, 46, 47, +*Php 2:6, 7, 8, Heb 2:6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, **1Jn 3:3 note. Rev 1:13.

Christ Jesus. +*Mat 10:32, +Act 19:4, Rom 3:24.