WHO’S
DISPARAGING
CHRIST?
Dominador C.
Santos
WHILE MANY religions persist in teaching that our Lord
Jesus Christ is true God — believing that in so doing they elevate Him to a
pedestal of magnificence and grandeur — the Iglesia
ni Cristo, Church of Christ, remains affirming that He is a man. And for this, the Church of Christ gets
accused of allegedly dishonoring Jesus.
How valid is this accusation?
Does the Church really impute dishonor to our Lord?
ON RECOGNITION OF CHRIST
How does the Iglesia ni
Cristo recognize Jesus Christ based upon the teaching of the Holy
Scriptures? Christ Jesus is
acknowledged by this Church as one who is highly exalted by God, one who is
given the name which is above every name, and one who should be worshipped in
fulfillment of God’s command:
“Therefore God has highly
exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the
name Jesus every knee should bow, 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.” (Philippians 2:9-11, RSV)
In recognizing
Christ the biblical way, God is glorified according to the Apostle Paul. The Iglesia
ni Cristo members not only
worship Jesus Christ but also esteem the name given to Him by God, and by God’s
will they are called by that name which is above every name. Should they be accused of dishonoring Christ
when in fact they are the bearers of the honorable name?
Who really impute dishonor to Christ? The Apostle James point out: " Is it not they who blaspheme the honorable name which was invoked over you?" (James 2:7, Ibid.) The one guilty of an
ignominious act against our Lord are the blasphemers of His name. Those who reject Christ’s name blaspheme the
honorable name of the Lord. Who then
rejects the name of Christ? Obviously, not
the Iglesia ni Cristo, Chucrh of
Christ. Remember, the true servants of
God are called by the name of Christ, hence, they are blessed although they are
reproached. "If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you." (I Pt. 4:14, Ibid.)
Are the
Catholics called by the name of Christ?
While they take pride in being called Catholic, they at the same time
reject the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is obvious for anyone to see how our Lord is insulted directly or
indirectly by an individual or group of individuals who dropped the name of
Christ and sported other names which have no bearing for salvation.
"Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well…. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:10, 12, Ibid.)
The sheep of
Christ — the true people of God — are called by His name and this is one way of
recognizing them, considering the truth that this is how our Lord recognizes
His own servants. “ To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name….” (Jn.
10:3, Ibid.)
The name
referred to in this citation is Christ’s name (I Pt. 4:14). How is the name of
Christ called upon His sheep — the servants of God?
“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.” (Acts 20:28, Lamsa)
The Iglesia ni Cristo adheres to the truth
that there is only one mediator between God and men. No less than the Apostle Paul pronounces this
doctrine in his letter to Timothy.
“ For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (I Tim. 2:5, RSV)
This biblical tenet about Jesus Christ’s mediatorial
function must not be taken for granted by men, since it has something to do
with the remission of sin they committed before God. People should know whom to approach, for only
then could their sins be forgiven. God
appointed our Lord Jesus Christ alone to serve as a ransom for the sins of His
people.
“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” (Rom. 3:25, KJV)
Being the only mediator between God and men is an honor,
glory and prestige for Christ. This is
an exclusive right given to Him by God. Is anybody allowed to augment or change a teaching of God? This is the declaration of God: "Everything that I command you you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to it or take from it."(Deut. 12:32, RSV).
God is very
strict about His teachings. He does not
allow anyone to add anything to it or take something from them. The Gospel according to Matthew delineated
the particular rule laid down by God in fulfilling His laws. Specially, even a period nor a comma should
not be added to or diminished from the law:
“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 5:18-19, KJV)
Do you know who broke this law of God pertaining to His
words? Do you know who deprived our Lord
Jesus Christ of His sole mediatorial authority, which again is an infamous act
against Him? A Catholic book,
Catechism on True Devotion to Mary, unfolds to us the following, on page 17:
“… Mary is our spiritual Mother because she cooperated with Jesus in
giving us our spiritual life of grace….But God has done even greater things for
our Lady. Besides using her as His
helper in giving us grace, He has deemed that she should intercede for, and
dispense to us, every grace that we receive…. He has placed her as the Mediatrix between Himself and us; for
us to refuse to go back to Him by means of Mary, would be to ignore his will in
the matter.” [Rev. Ralph W. Beiting, Catechism
on True Devotion to Mary, 2nd
Ed. (Pasay City, Philippines: Society of
St. Paul, 1958]
The Catholic
Church as proven by the above citation has opposed the strict rule promulgated
by God regarding His words. The priest,
Ralph W. Beiting, boldly declares that Virgin Mary is another intercessor, a
mediatrix so-to-speak, a doctrine which is contrary to the Scriptures. The Catholic Church even assumes that it is
God who placed Mary to be a Mediatrix between Himself and men. When did God do it? Where can we find it in the Gospel? And as if the Catholic Church is not
satisfied yet with Mary being a Mediatrix, she also introduces so many
intercessors in behalf of man’s sin:
“… What he does in this: He has freely willed that we should make use of the intercession of the saints as
well as of Mary, with this differences:
Mary’s intercession is always at work, her realm is universal, while the
domain of any other saint is limited, and, in a way, occasional. Therefore we not merely may, but should, pay
honor to various saints, our patron saints, the patron of our school, of our
parish, and various others according to our own position, wishes and needs. …” [William
G. Most, Mary In Our Life (n.
p.: P.J. Kenedy & Sons, 1959, pp.
71-72]
We can glean
the fact that the Catholic Church gained no satisfaction from the pure Gospel
taught by Christ and the Apostles that the intercessor or mediator between God
and men is only one.
Could you think of the great dishonor that Church brings to Christ? Who placed Mary, the other saints and the
angels as intercessors? God has never
done it. Who gave them (Catholic Church)
the authority to overrule the teaching of God and the strict provisions this
teaching carries?
We can never
benefit from the teaching which is different from the teaching of the
Apostles. Such a teaching, so with the
teacher, is worthy of rejection. "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." (Gal. 1:8, KJV)
As we dig
deeper in our study, we can’t help but to recollect the prophetic utterance of
the Apostle Peter about false prophets who will reject and deny Christ.
“ But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” (II Pt. 2:1, RSV)
There will be
a denunciation of our Lord Jesus Christ at the advent of the false
prophets. This is the forewarning of the
Apostle Peter to the early Christians. How will Christ be denounced or rejected? The Apostle further states:
“Surely you have tasted that
the Lord is good. So come to Him, our living stone — the stone rejected by men but choice and precious in the sight of
God. Come, and let yourselves be built,
as living stones, into a spiritual temple; become a holy priesthood, to offer
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands written: ‘I lay in Zion a choice corner-stone of great
worth. The man who has faith in it will
not be put to shame.’” (I Pt. 2:3-6, The
New English Bible)
The Apostle
Peter himself knew well that our Lord Jesus Christ would be rejected as the
corner-stone or foundation stone whereon the true believers are built. Our Lord God makes it certain that those who
believe that Christ is the foundation stone will not be put to shame. Who then will be put
to shame? It’s naturally those
who have no faith in it. Those who
change Christ for another foundation. Who did it? Let
us quote the statement of a Catholic Cardinal:
“The word Peter, in the
Syro-Chaldaic tongue, which our Savior spoke, means a rock. … Jesus, our Lord,
founded but one Church, which He was
pleased to build on Peter.
Therefore, any church that does not recognize Peter as its foundation stone is not the Church of Christ, …”
[James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, The Faith of Our Fathers, 110th ed. (New York: P.J. Kenedy & Sons, n.d.), pp. 81-82]
James Cardinal
Gibbons readily admits that the Catholic Church teaches that Peter is the
foundation stone of the true Church. He
(the Cardinal) speaks then contrary to what the Apostle Peter had declared that
Christ is the foundation stone of the true Church. Who do you think should be believed: the Apostle Peter or Cardinal Gibbons of the
Catholic Church? Our keen mind will
definitely give right judgment to the creditable teaching. Let us not be forgetful about the
precautionary measure given by the Apostle Paul, that is, that even them or an
angel from heaven who preach any other Gospel which they did not preach be accursed.
Catholic claim
Christ as the primary stone and Peter as the secondary stone to justify their
teaching. Where
can we find the teaching that Peter is the secondary stone? Is it not a monumental lie to say or to
presume so high that the Apostle Peter was laid as a secondary foundation stone
by God? That is a great
usurpation of God’s authority. “There can be no
other foundation beyond that which is already laid; I mean Jesus Christ
himself” (I Cor. 3:11, TNEB).
Christ as the
foundation stone is unalternable. God
proves that the allegation of the Catholic Church that the Apostle Peter is the
secondary stone is a mere fraud:
“
“
“In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Eph. 2:20-22, KJV)
Peter, being
an Apostle, was naturally built upon Christ, the foundation stone, in whom the
whole building is fitly framed together as a holy temple in the Lord. Yes, Peter is considered a stone, just as all
the members of the Church built by Christ are, as stated in the Bible:
“He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said ‘You
are Simon son of John. You shall be
called Cephas’ (that is, Peter, the Rock).”
(John 1:42, TNEB)
“So come to him, our living Stone—the
stone rejected by men but choice and precious in the sight of God. Come, and let yourselves be built, as living
stones, into a spiritual temple; become a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (I Pt. 2:4-5, Ibid.)
Never a part or
a portion of the building or the Church (I Tim. 3:15), was built upon
Peter. And never in his life did Peter
teach that he is the foundation stone of the Church, although he himself is a
stone.
Those who
“make” Peter a corner stone of the Church are the ones who commit blasphemy
against Jesus Christ, who is the only corner-stone of His Church.
When the Iglesia ni Cristo teaches that our Lord
Jesus is a man and never a God in His state of being, others turn red-hot in
anger. They accused the Iglesia ni Cristo of dishonoring
Christ. While it is true that the
Catholic Church accepts that Christ is a man, she also believes that He is
God. Is the man
Christ Jesus also the God whom we must believe and worship? Who is the one true God whom we must know and
worship?
“AFTER THESE WORDS Jesus
looked up to heaven and said: ‘Father,
the hour has come. Glorify thy Son, that
the Son may glorify thee…. This is
eternal life: to know thee who alone art
truly God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” (Jn. 17:1, 3, TNEB)
The only true
God introduced by our Lord Jesus Christ is His Father. He even looked up to heaven, the dwelling
place of God, when He proclaimed this truth.
What is the significance if man believes that the Father alone is the
true God? Christ declares: This is eternal life. Eternal life is for those who believe that
the only true God is the Father, not Christ.
Jesus Christ is flesh, a man. To whom do those who believe that Christ is flesh or man
belong? “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.” (I Jn. 4:2,
KJV)
A man is of
God if he confesses or believes that Jesus is flesh or a man. How about if an
individual confesses otherwise, or if does not believe that Christ is flesh or
a man? Is he of God?
“Many deceivers have gone out into the world, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. These are the persons described as the Antichrist, the arch-deceiver. Beware of them, so that you may not lose all
that we worked for, but receive your reward in full.” (II Jn. 1:7-8, TNEB)
It is now high
time for us to know who the antichrists really are. Those who preach that Christ is God are
against Christ. They are the
arch-deceiver, so we must beware of them.
To presume that Christ is God is worth disparaging Him — a great
blasphemy against Him, considering the truth that He is a man. We should acknowledge our Lord Jesus Christ
not more than what the Bible teaches in order not to fall prey to, nor be one
of, the antichrists. — *
Copied from PASUGO GOD’S
MESSAGE/MARCH-APRIL 1981/VOLUME 33/NUMBER 2/PAGES 14-17
