A second response establishes the radical distinction between the Creator and creatures. Created beings are limited and dependent; their capacities are received rather than self-subsisting. They cannot therefore be placed on an equal level with God in the right to worship.
Calling a person honored or close to God does not answer the essential issue: is that person being assigned divine authority or worship?
The reasoning differentiates dignity and nearness from equality of divine status. Veneration of a person does not logically confer the prerogatives of the Creator.