Interesting Questions-39
"Mistaking Christ for God"
(John 1:14; Philippians 2:6-8)
Letter to the Editor:
PASUGO, January-February 1993, p.2
THE BIBLE EXPLICITLY says that God is the
Savior, I Tim. 2:3. In your denial of the Godship of Christ you have
a pseudo-savior. I Tim:2:5 explicitly states that Jesus Christ
is a mediator not savior. It is Jesus Christ, God
Incarnate, true God and true man who is and no one else.
Your insistence that Jesus Christ is
only a man and is devoid of divinity is practically denying the
veracity of a basic biblical truth—the Incarnation as
revealed in Jn. 1:14 and Philippians - 2:6-8.
Except for the Iglesia ni Cristo, Christendom believes that Jesus
Christ is true God and true man because he is God Incarnate.
In denying this you have made liars of John and Paul and since their
lies appear in the New Testament this is tantamount to saying that
the Holy Bible, the Iglesia ni Cristo's sole rule of faith is
tainted with lies.
Lutgardo P. Alquiros
Lucena City, Philippines
Editor's reply:
Your letter deals with an interesting topic, that
the denial of the Godship of Christ allegedly yields a
pseudo-savior.
I Timothy 2:3 indeed states God is our Savior. The
Iglesia ni Cristo preaches that 1 Timothy 2:5 (King James Version)
indeed states that Christ is a man, the mediator between God and
men. The Iglesia ni Cristo preaches that also.
3 For
this is good
and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth. 5 For there
is one
God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man
Christ Jesus, (I Timothy 2:3-5, NKJV)
But what about Titus 1:4,3 which states that
Jesus
Christ is also our Savior? Do you deny that?
3So, at the proper time, God our Savior
gave this message and told me to announce what he had said.
4Titus, because of our faith, you are
like a son to me. I pray that God our Father and Christ
Jesus our Savior will be kind to you and will bless you
with peace! (Titus 1:3-4, Contemporary English Version)
John 1:14 does not state that God
became flesh. What it states is that the Word (or Logos)
was made flesh. Your conclusion that the Word is God is taken from a
mistranslation of John 1:1. The word had a beginning and thus cannot
be God because God had no beginning (Ps. 90:1).
1 In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.
14 And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we
beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. (John
1:1 & 14, NKJV)
Thus, the Moffatt Version renders John
1:1 "... the Logos was divine" and Smith-Goodspeed renders it
" .. .the Word was divine." Biblical scholars say
that the Logos means word, thought., concept, and the expressions
thereof (Ryrie Study Bible, p. 1599). Also, the
word. Logos means reason or plan (The New Encyclopedia
Britannica, Micropaedia, p. 302). Thus Logos means thought, word, or
plan of God, not God.
The Logos existed in the very beginning, the
Logos was with God, the Logos was divine. (John
1:1, Moffatt Version)
IN THE
beginning the Word existed.
The Word was with God, and the
Word was divine. (John 1:1,
The Complete Bible: An American Translation, Smith and
Goodspeed)
Philippians 2:6-8 does not say Christ is
God but on the contrary it says Christ is man. He is
indeed in the form of God; but so is Adam who was created in
the image and likeness of God. (Gen.l:26).
who, being in the form of God, did not consider it
robbery to be equal with God, 7 but
made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming
in the likeness of men. 8 And
being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the
point of death,
even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:6-8, NKJV)
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to
Our likeness; . . . . (Gen: 1:26, NKJV)
Christ is not equal to God. Not in power for the
Father is greater than Christ (Jn. 14:28) nor in knowledge for
there is something the Father knows that Christ does not know (Mark
23:32). But in holiness for God is holy (Hosea 11:9) and Christ is
holy (Mark 1:24)—God cannot sin (Heb. 6:18) and
Christ did not sin (II Cor. 5:21).
Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto
you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the
Father: for my Father is greater than I. (John
14:28, KJV)
“No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son
and the angels in heaven don’t know when that day
or time will be. Only the Father knows. (Mark
13:32, Easy to read Version)
I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I
will not again destroy Ephraim. For
I am God,
and not man, The
Holy One in your midst; And
I will not come with terror. (Hosea 11:9, NKJV)
saying, “Let us alone!
What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to
destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” (Mark
1:24, NKJV)
So these are two things that don’t change, because it’s
impossible for God to lie. He did this so that we, who have
taken refuge in him, can be encouraged to grasp the hope that is
lying in front of us. (Heb. 6:18, Common English Bible)
For He made Him who knew no sin to
be sin
for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (II
Cor. 5:21, NKJV)
Thus, the belief in
Christ who is "God Incarnate" is truly a belief in a fake or
"pseudo-savior." It is the believers
of such
doctrine —that Christ is God Incarnate—who have made liars of not
only John and Paul but also of the prophets, the Apostles, Christ,
and even God Himself who all say that Christ is man, chosen by God
to be Lord and Savior and Judge on Judgment Day.
___________________
Note: Verses in smaller font
were added for
clarity, emphasis ours.
Bible Study
Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free
to visit the
Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or
an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question
you have in mind.