TODAY'S BIBLE TWEET

BIBLE TEXT: “And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” (Luke 1:28)

BIBLE TWEET: Gabriel informed Mary that she was both highly favored and blessed among all women, because the Lord was especially and extraordinarily with her, having chosen her as the vehicle within which Christ would be conceived and through which He would come into the world.

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The Greek for “highly favored” means “graciously accepted” or “much graced.” It appears only one other time in the Bible, in Ephesians 1:6, where Paul teaches that Christians, who were chosen by God to be His adopted children before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5), are graciously accepted by God in His beloved Son. Whereas Mary was “graciously accepted” and “much graced,” because God chose to form Christ in her, Christians are “graciously accepted” and “much graced,” because God chose us to be found in Christ. Therefore, Roman Catholic’s heretical prayer, “Hail Mary, full of grace,” which is based upon this verse, is a gross misinterpretation of it, in that Mary is not the dispenser of God’s grace, to whom we pray for it, but a mere donee or recipient of God’s grace, chosen by God, as we are, to bring Christ to the world.