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Christology : It’s Problem’s With Philippine Churches

By Bro. Nathan
    Jesus Christ is widely known as Israel’s promised Messiah who is the Savior and Redeemer of mankind. many people has many views on who he was but we have only one truth of who he really was and it contains in the restored gospel given to us. Sa Philippines ay madami tayong mga churches na kung sino-sino nalang ang nagtatayo and is based mostly sa Solo Scriptura na kung saan ay isang form ng “Bible alone” doctrine na kun saan ay madaming flaws at doesn’t use any exegetical grounds. these churches also ay may mga misleading na Christologies where they mislead people from who truly Christ was. some churches say na human lang si Jesus, some say na God si Jesus Christ pero walang humanity, some say na si Jesus Christ mismo ang kanilang leader, and what’s worst ay na ang mga churches na ito mislead many members dito sa Philippines para lamang sa cheap shot na doctrines at misuse sa Bible. they are being mislead by others from who Jesus Christ really was and it is dangerous. so we will prevent that by teaching members what the Bible actually says with exegetical grounds. it is important to know who Christ really is and who Heavenly Father really is. the Savior said sa kanyang intercessory prayer :

    “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (Jn. 17:3) KJV

It is essential for us na malaman kung sino ba talaga si Heavenly Father at Jesus Christ for without understanding who they really were, we will become ignorant of who we are truly serving and worshipping. knowing them is essential for attaining eternal life. do not let yourselves be deceived by groups who tell falsehoods regarding their nature. we must be aware of them for we have the truth about God and Jesus Christ. we must know rightly who are we worshipping (Jn. 4:22-23). we will now review some churches and what is wrong wth their Christology and we will interpret exegetically ang kanilang mga used na proof-textes to support their doctrine (Note : ang mga ito ay hindi paninira for we are trying our best to represent them respectfully. this is a critique of their Christlogy that Latter Day Saints and other people will be aware of what they teach).
 
—The Iglesia Ni Cristo—

The Iglesia Ni Cristo ay isang group sa Philippines founded by FYM Manalo and they have a Unitarian Christology, i.e Jesus Christ is human and God is one person. we have flaws with this doctrine. firstly, the Bible tells us in its wholeness that Jesus Christ is God. many passages in the Bible itself that shows his divinity e.g Micah 5:2; John 1:1-18; 20:28; Acts 20:28; Romans 9:5; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:12-22; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:2-10; 2:14-18; 2 Peter 1:1; 1 John 5:20; Revelation 22:6-16; etc. all of them teaches that Jesus Christ is divine—that he is God. this very same doctrine is found in the Book Of Mormon (1 Ne. 19:7-10; 2 Ne. 9:5-21; Mosiah 26:23-26; 3 Ne. 19:28; etc.). Jesus Christ has divine attributes and under the Father’s omnipotence, he created the world (Jn. 1:3; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:3).Jesus Christ has a divine nature and he came down to earth, emptied himself and lived as a human and progressed. living as a human made him subject to all human pain and suffering that he might suffer and die for our sins (Jn. 1:1-18; Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 2:7-9; 2 Jn. 1:7). a human only cannot save you but someone who is divine and is human can. he is Jesus Christ and he is not only human by nature. Jesus also existed before his birth, that is something they also reject. Jesus Christ personally pre-existed and not notionally pre-existed (Jn. 8:58; 17:5-24; Phil. 2:5-11). Jesus Christ was alongside Heavenly Father (Jn. 1:18; 17:5) and not only as an idea contrary to what the Iglesia Ni Cristo teaches.
 
    This church as false churches do also, they misuse the Bible to support their doctrine. be also aware when they use verses in the Bible out of context to support they doctrine. they give interpretations that does not even represented by the text itself. e.g 1.) John 8:48 when Jesus Christ said na “....a man that hath told you the truth...” which is not a statement of his nature but rather one of his missions—that he will teach the gospel and to reveal who Heavenly Father was (Mt. 11:27; Jn. 1:18). Jesus is God’s agent. Jesus Christ is God’s representative he is divine. that is is his main puspose and that is what he affirmed in John 8 where he defended his own divinity and authority. 2.) 1 Timothy 2:5 where it says that the man Christ Jesus is the one mediator between God and man samantalang ang context ng verse ay patungkol sa kanya na binigay ang kanyang sarili as a ransom. again, to give himself as a ransom, he must live here on earth as a human if we can recall. he cannot die and suffer if he is not human. man cannot ransom his fellow man (Ps. 49:7-8) but Christ can for he is divine and can meet all the demands of justice for humanity that has a sinful nature. 3.) John 17:3 where it refers to the Father as the only true God and distiguishes Jesus Christ from category of “the only true God” and the problem of this is that they interpret it as Heavenly Father ang tanging ontologically existing na God rather than properly interpreting it as Heavenly Father being ontologically great. si Heavenly Father ay ang God of gods (Dt. 10:17; Ps. 136:2) at he the greatest among any divine being including Jesus Christ himself. Heavenly Father is the only true God and is the only one that we will worship. Heavenly Father is the greatest among all (Jn. 10:17) and no one will be greater than him. the greek word for God in John 17:3 is a multivalent term and is used to Jesus Christ himself (Jn. 1:1; 20:28; Heb. 1:8-11) for Jesus Christ himself is God. Heavenly Father being as the only true God won’t bother Latter Day Saints but will bother Trinitarians who place the three persons of the Godhead under the same category of “the only true God”. Jesus Christ has always been God and is in divine unity with Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit (Jn. 17:11-24) and Jesus Christ is not human by nature alone.

—The MCGI Church—

Ang MCGI, i.e Members Of The Church Of God International or mas kilala for Ang Dating Daan at kay Eli Soriano has a Christology that also have problematic grounds as the INC does. this is on the divinity ni Jesus Christ that they say na si Jesus Christ ay walang true na humanity but rather ang kanyang humanity ay veil lamang sa kanyang divinity. this is problematic for it begs the question, namatay ba talaga si Jesus Christ? ang kanilang doctrine na ito ay may similarity to Docetism na kung saan si Jesus Christ ay truly hindi nagtake ng physical body at ng humanity. all of these are not true for Jesus Christ was truly human also. it is said that Jesus Christ was divine and that he took a human body and that “....he dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:1-14) and that Jesus Christ emptied himself fully before taking a human body (Phil. 2:5-11). it is said that Jesus was lowered down than angels and that he might suffer and die (Heb. 2:7-9). if walang true na humanity si Jesus Christ, walang Atonement na mangyayari dahil walang human side ang nagsuffer at walang God na side ang nagsuffer. furthermore, ang human nature ni Jesus Christ can be seen throughout the New Testament. Jesus Christ hungered (Mk. 11:12), Jesus Christ became weary and slept (Mk. 4:38-40), Jesus Christ thirsted (Jn. 19:28), and most of all, Jesus Christ died (Jn. 19:30; Rom. 5:8-11; Col. 2:14). Christ can’t save you kapag he’s not divine and if he is not human. he must be both. Jesus Christ became one of you and me—may physical at tangible na body that is subject to pain and death. the Savior was born here on earth to have a physical body and to live as a mortal that is subject to pain and to death and without him being human that will shed blood and die, you cannot be forgiven from your sins. you can’t be saved (Heb. 9:22-28).
 
    To conclude, Jesus is not only what you think. Jesus Christ is greater than what other groups think he is. don’t let yourself be mislead by groups na binibigyan siya ng maling image. they do not teach who Jesus Christ really is.
 
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