An Introduction to the
Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ)
Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ)
The "Iglesia
Ni Cristo" (Pilipino for "Church Of Christ") was established on
July 27, 1914 in the Philippines.
From her humble beginning in Punta, Sta. Ana, Manila, the Church is now a
global Church with more than 6,000 congregations spread throughout
Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America, and Australia. Others
describe
the Iglesia Ni Cristo as the largest independent Christian Church in
Asia, and the
largest, most powerful and influential indigenous Church in the
Philippines. However, still many people,
especially from outside the Philippines,
have a little knowledge or information about the Iglesia Ni Cristo, and
those little indormation they got from “outsiders” or non-members, and
also from detractors and critics of the Church. Thus, their descriptions
and
information are incomplete and misinforming, if not biased, one-sided,
subjective and full of prejudice.
To straighten things up,
let us find the truth about the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ). The following describes what Iglesia Ni Cristo truly is:
A Religious Organization
The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) is a religious organization
whose primary purpose is to worship the Almighty God based on His teachings as
taught by the Lord Jesus Christ and as recorded in the Bible. As
a religious organization, the Church's major activities
include worship service, missionary works, and edification.
The solemn gathering of the faithful, the regular congregational worship service, is held by every local congregation inside the house of worship twice a week, usually on Thursdays and Sundays. It consists of hymn-signing, prayers, and study of God's words for proper applications in daily living (cf. I Cor. 14:15 and 26).
The solemn gathering of the faithful, the regular congregational worship service, is held by every local congregation inside the house of worship twice a week, usually on Thursdays and Sundays. It consists of hymn-signing, prayers, and study of God's words for proper applications in daily living (cf. I Cor. 14:15 and 26).
Also, as a religious organization
whose primary purpose is to worship the Lord God, the Iglesia Ni Cristo builds
houses of worship as the main center for the religious activities of each local
congregation. Moreover, as a fulfillment of God's commandment to His servants to build Him houses of worship for His own glory (cf. Hag. 1:8, KJV).
The main house of worship of the Iglesia Ni Cristo is the Central Temple located at Quezon City, Philippines. It was
dedicated to God on July 24, 1984, as part of the Church's 70th
anniversary celebration of its establishment in the Philippines. Today,
the Iglesia Ni Cristo houses of worship can be found not only
throughout the Philippines, but also in different countries where the
Church gain foothold. These houses of worship stand as landmarks in
every place where it were built.
The Iglesia Ni Cristo Central Temple |
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An Independent Church
The Iglesia Ni Cristo is an independent Church, not a
denomination or sect. It is neither affiliated to any federation of religious
bodies nor itself an assembly of smaller religious organizations.
The Iglesia Ni Cristo Diamond Anniversary Celebration July 27, 1989 at Quezon City, Philippines |
A True Christian Religion
The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) is a true Christian religion that adheres to the unadulterated teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ written in the Bible. We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, acknowledging Him as Lord and Savior. We also acknowledge Jesus Christ as the head of this Church, because the Church of Christ is His body. However, our beliefs regarding the Lord Jesus Christ is based solely on the teachings of the Bible.
Thus, the Iglesia Ni Cristo adheres to the unadulterated Christian teachings written in the Bible that Jesus is the Son of God, but for the true Christians, the Father is the only true God:
Thus, the Iglesia Ni Cristo adheres to the unadulterated Christian teachings written in the Bible that Jesus is the Son of God, but for the true Christians, the Father is the only true God:
“Yet
for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom
we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came
and through whom we live.” (I
Corinthians 8:6 NIV)
According
to Apostle Paul, “For
us (referring to the New Testament Christians) there is but one
God, the
Father.” Thus, the rejection of the belief in Trinity (that there are
three
persons in one God: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit)
and her
upholding of the biblical teaching that the Father alone is the only
true God are among the strong proofs that the Iglesia Ni Cristo is
indeed the true Christian
religion, the religion that adheres to the pristine Christian teachings
written in the Bible.
Iglesia Ni Cristo congregational worship service at Tondo House of Worship |
A “Radiant” Church
In Ephesians 5:27, Apostle Paul described the Church that will be presented to Christ in His second coming as follows:
“And
to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any
other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:27, New International Version)
A Radiant Church |
A “Filipino Church”?
Many call the Iglesia Ni Cristo
“a Filipino Church.” However, the Church Of Christ
is a Church for every one who will heed the call of God and embrace its faith —
regardless of his or her nationality, cultural background, social standing,
economic status, and educational attainment. The truth is, today, the
membership of the Iglesia Ni Cristo comprises at least 120 nationalities.
Some of the members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo from different parts of the world, from different nationalities |
The Church Of Christ is now spread throughout the six continents of the world. The Church has locale congregations in more than 100 countries and territories. We have members and ministers who are Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Europeans, Africans, Canadians, Australians, Indians, Mexican, Brazilian, and from other parts of the world.
Indeed, It is Not A "Cult"
In
saying that the Iglesia Ni Cristo is not a "cult," we are referring to
the modern use of the word "cult" which has a negative connotation:
(1) A "cult" is "a system of religious or spiritual beliefs, especially an informal and transient belief system regarded by others as misguided, unorthodox, extremist, or false, and directed by a charismatic, authoritarian leader" (Microsoft Encarta Dictionary, c. 2009).
However, the Iglesia Ni Cristo has a system of belief based solely in the Bible. Although her teachings differ from many denominations and churches, it is because that the teachings of other denominations and churches are not in the Bible, while the teachings of the Iglesia Ni Cristo are all in the Bible. For example, majority of the denominations and churches believe in the Trinity, however, the term "Trinity" and the doctrine of the Trinity cannot be found in the Bible, while the teaching of the Iglesia Ni Cristo that the Father alone is the only true God is the one clearly written in the Bible (cf. John 17:1 and 3; Malachi 2:10; I Corinthians 8:6).
(2) A "cult" is also "an extreme admiration of something or somebody, an idolization of something or somebody" (Ibid.). The Iglesia Ni Cristo worships only God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Her belief about Brother Felix Y. Manalo is plain and simple, that Brother Manalo is the messenger of God in these last days, a man sent by God to preach the Iglesia Ni Cristo and the pristine Gospel in these last days. We don't call him prophet, pope, bishop or of any title, just "Brother Felix Y. Manalo." We respect him, but we do not exalt him, nor worship him. We followed all his teachings because all of his teachings are written in the Bible, and he never invented any doctrine of his own.
(3) Today, the word "cult" means "false religion." However, Catholics and Protestants easily dismissed as a "cult" others having beliefs different from theirs. But the "standard" to determine if a religion is a indeed "cult" or a false religion is not the Catholic dogmas, nor the Protestant dogmas, but the teachings written in the Bible. The Bible says:
Doctrines not written in the Bible (unbiblical doctrines) or the teachings of men if used in the service and worship of God is vain and useless:
Thus, the real "cult" or "false religion" are those who dhere unbiblical or unscripturl doctrines, teachings and doctrines made by men. Therefore, the Iglesia Ni Cristo is not a cult, but the true Christian religion upholding the unadulterated teachings written in the Bible because all her doctrines can be found in the Bible.
(1) A "cult" is "a system of religious or spiritual beliefs, especially an informal and transient belief system regarded by others as misguided, unorthodox, extremist, or false, and directed by a charismatic, authoritarian leader" (Microsoft Encarta Dictionary, c. 2009).
However, the Iglesia Ni Cristo has a system of belief based solely in the Bible. Although her teachings differ from many denominations and churches, it is because that the teachings of other denominations and churches are not in the Bible, while the teachings of the Iglesia Ni Cristo are all in the Bible. For example, majority of the denominations and churches believe in the Trinity, however, the term "Trinity" and the doctrine of the Trinity cannot be found in the Bible, while the teaching of the Iglesia Ni Cristo that the Father alone is the only true God is the one clearly written in the Bible (cf. John 17:1 and 3; Malachi 2:10; I Corinthians 8:6).
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(2) A "cult" is also "an extreme admiration of something or somebody, an idolization of something or somebody" (Ibid.). The Iglesia Ni Cristo worships only God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Her belief about Brother Felix Y. Manalo is plain and simple, that Brother Manalo is the messenger of God in these last days, a man sent by God to preach the Iglesia Ni Cristo and the pristine Gospel in these last days. We don't call him prophet, pope, bishop or of any title, just "Brother Felix Y. Manalo." We respect him, but we do not exalt him, nor worship him. We followed all his teachings because all of his teachings are written in the Bible, and he never invented any doctrine of his own.
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(3) Today, the word "cult" means "false religion." However, Catholics and Protestants easily dismissed as a "cult" others having beliefs different from theirs. But the "standard" to determine if a religion is a indeed "cult" or a false religion is not the Catholic dogmas, nor the Protestant dogmas, but the teachings written in the Bible. The Bible says:
“Now,
brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit,
so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, ‘Do not go beyond what
is written...” (I
Corinthians 4:6 NIV)
Doctrines not written in the Bible (unbiblical doctrines) or the teachings of men if used in the service and worship of God is vain and useless:
“They
worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” (Matthew 15:9
NIV)
Thus, the real "cult" or "false religion" are those who dhere unbiblical or unscripturl doctrines, teachings and doctrines made by men. Therefore, the Iglesia Ni Cristo is not a cult, but the true Christian religion upholding the unadulterated teachings written in the Bible because all her doctrines can be found in the Bible.
The Bible is the sole basis of our faith. All the doctrines, beliefs and practices uphold
by the Iglesia Ni Cristo are based in the teachings written in the Bible.
The One True Church
The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one true Church established by Christ:
“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, .and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18 NIV)
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself established the true Church and He established only one Church, He said, “I will build my church” and not “I will build my churches.” This Church has a name and it is important that she continuously be called in that name, because:
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NIV)
The Bible said, “there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” This “name” is the name God gave to the Lord Jesus:
“And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one.” (John 17:11 TEV)
The Lord Jesus prayed to God to “Keep them safe by the power of your name.” The name He is referring to is the name given to Him by the Lord God. So the name given to Him by the Lord God is also the name “given to men by which we must be saved.” This is the name “Christ”:
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
“Then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead...” (Acts 4:12,10 NIV)
Thus, the true Church established by Christ is named after Christ. It is only right that the true Church is named after Him because:
(1) Christ is the founder and owner of the Church:
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18, NKJV)
(2) The Church is the body of Christ and He is the head of the Church:
“There is a deep secret truth revealed in this scripture, which I understand as applying to Christ and the church.
“For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body.
“Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it.” (Ephesians 5:32 & 23 & 25, TEV)
How is the Church called after the name of Christ? In Romans 16:16, this is what the Bible says:
“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.” (Romans 16:16, NIV)
Also in Acts 20:28, this is what the Bible says:
“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 purchased with His blood.” (Acts 20:28, Lamsa)
Actually, even Catholic authorities attest that the Church is indeed called after Christ, the “Church of Christ”:
“5. Did Jesus Christ established a Church?
“Yes, from all history, both secular and profane, as well as from the Bible considered as a human document, we learn that Jesus Christ established a Church, which from the earliest times has been called after Him the Christian Church or the Church of Christ.” (Cassily, Francis B., S.J. Religion: Doctrine and Practice for use in Catholic High Schools. 12th and revised edition. Imprimi Potest: Charles H. Cloud, S.J. Provincial of the Chicago Province. Imprimatur: George Cardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1934, p. 442-443.)
Thus, the name of the true Church the Lord Jesus Christ established is “Church of Christ” (“Iglesia Ni Cristo” in Pilipino), and those not called in this name cannot claim that they are the true Church and whom the Lord Jesus Christ will save come Judgment Day because:
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NIV)
Thus, no one can claim to be the One True Church if their Church is not called in the name "Church of Christ. The Bible said, "...there is no other name under heaven given to men which we must be saved." The name “Iglesia Ni Cristo” is the Tagalog for “Church Of Christ” - the name of the One True Church.
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Why Only 1914?
How can the Iglesia Ni Cristo claims that she is the true Church established by Christ if she emerged only in 1914? The Iglesia Ni Cristo emerged only in 1914 because the first century Church Of Christ was apostatized. It was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who attested that apostasy will take place in the first century Church Of Christ:
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.” (Matthew 24:9-11, NIV)
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself warned His disciples that: (1) they will be handed over and persecuted and put to death”; and (2) many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.” Because of these “false prophets,” the Lord Jesus Christ also warned us that “many will turn away from the faith.” This is also mentioned by Apostle Paul:
“Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.” (I Tim. 4:1, New Living Translation)
Thus, both the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles warned us that many of the disciples will “TURN AWAY from the faith.” These words, “turning away from the true faith,” are synonymous with the word “apostasy”:
“But the Spirit speaks expressly, that in latter times some shall APOSTATISE from the faith, giving their mind to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons.” (Darby Bible, emphasis mine)
How many will be deceived? In Weymouth translation of Matthew 24:11, this is what we could read:
“Many false prophets will rise up and lead multitudes astray.” (Matt. 24:11 Weymouth)
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself told us that His faithful servants will be persecuted and be put to death, and the multitudes will be led astray by false prophets. Thus, this is the reason why the first century Church of Christ did not remained.
THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECY
Christ said that “you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” Indeed, the first century Christians were persecuted and put to death. There’s the Jewish persecution where Stephen was one of the Christians who were put to death. Then the imperial persecution of the Church started by Roman Emperor Nero in 64 AD:
“Tacitus recorded the rumor that Nero had ordered the fire that destroyed part of the city of Rome. This rumor was so widely accepted by the people that Nero had to find a scapegoat. He diverted feeling against himself to the Christians by accusing them of arson and by engaging in a saturnalia of destruction of the Christians.” (Christianity Through the Centuries, p. 91)
Then, another imperial persecution broke out still in the first century AD, this time by Emperor Domitian:
“Persecution broke out again in 95 during the reign of the despotic Domitian. The Jews had refused to pay a poll tax that had been levied for the support of Capitolinus Jupiter. Because the Christians continued to be associated with the Jews, they also suffered the effects of the emperor’s wrath. It was during this persecution that the apostle John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation.” (Christianity Through the Centuries, p. 91)
Thus, what the Lord Jesus Christ prophesied in Matthew 24:9 was fulfilled. The faithful, including the apostles, were put to death during the imperial persecutions. Indeed, many Christians were put to death during these two imperial persecutions of the Church in the first century. During Domitian's persecution of the Church, Apostle John was exiled in an island called Patmos. He was the last apostle who died in c. 90-100 AD. With the death of the apostles, however, something happened to the Church:
“For the years after the record in Acts ends, evidence for the history of the Christian Church becomes more scanty. There began to be passing references to it in pagan writers. These writers make it seem likely that the Roman Emperor Nero blamed the Christians for the burning of the city of Rome in A.D. 64. It is also very likely that Saint Peter and Saint Paul were put to death at Rome about this time…
“When the original Apostles died, the leadership of the Church was taken over by local pastors known as bishops. Under them were ministers of lower rank, known as presbyters and deacons. The Church organized the area of the Roman Empire into provinces. The bishops at the head of the Christian communities in the large cities such as Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, and Carthage ranked highest.” (The New Book of Knowledge, vol. 3, pp. 280-281)
Thus, when the Apostles died, not much was recorded on what went on in the Church Of Christ but during this period of silence the administration of the Church fell into the hands of the bishops. Soon after the bishops took over the administration of the Church in the second century, the doctrines of this Church began to be infected with poison:
“At first the history of the Roman Church is identical with the history of the Christian truth. But unhappily there came a time when streams of poison began to flow from the once pure fountain.” (The World’s Great Events, vol. 2, pp. 163-164)
This control of the Church administration by the bishops who began to teach different doctrines was the fulfillment of what Apostle Paul prophesied concerning the overseers (bishop):
“Also of YOUR OWN SELVES SHALL MEN ARISE, SPEAKING PERVERSE THINGS, to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:30, KJV, emphasis mine)
DEPARTING FROM THE TRUE FAITH
The great apostasy did not consist in the destruction of the first century Church Of Christ and the establishment of another one. It consisted in the deterioration of the Church established by Christ. Immediately after the death of the Apostles, during this period the bishops took over the administration of the Church and the Church became very different from what Christ founded (or the first century Church):
“For fifty years after St. Paul’s life a curtain hangs over the church, through which we strive vainly to look; and when at last it rises about 120 A.D. with the writings of the earliest church-fathers, we find a church in many aspects very different from that in the days of St. Peter and St. Paul.” (The Story of the Christian Church, p. 41)
The differences between what used to be the Church of Christ in the first century and the Church that was revealed in the second to the fourth centuries are profound:
“It is necessary to note that we should recall the reader’s attention to the profound differences between this fully developed Christianity of Nicaea and the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth….What is clearly apparent is that the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth was a prophetic teaching of the new type that began with the Hebrew prophets. It was not priestly, it had no consecrated temple, and no altar. It had no rites and ceremonies. Its sacrifice was ‘a broken and contrite heart’. Its only organization was an organization of preachers, and its chief function was the sermon. But the fully fledge Christianity of the fourth century, though it preserved as its nucleus the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, was mainly a priestly religion, of a type already familiar to the world for thousands of years. The center of its elaborate ritual was an altar, and the essential act or worship the sacrifice, by a consecrated priest, of the Mass.” (The Outline of History, pp. 552-553)
These profound changes, made on the original teachings of Christ, dealt great violence on the teachings of the Bible for the purpose of enhancing the interests of the Catholic Church:
“Jesus too, being a Galilean, was of Aryan stock, a remarkable man whose teachings had, in the course of centuries, been deformed out of all recognition in the interests of the Catholic Church.” (The Vatican in the Age of Dictators, p. 168)
Adding insult to injury, Catholic authorities acknowledge such changes without shame and even with pride:
“We Catholics acknowledge readily, without any shame, nay with pride, that Catholicism cannot be identified simply and wholly with primitive Christianity, nor even with the Gospel of Christ, in the same way that the great oak cannot be identified with the tiny acorn.” (The Spirit of Catholicism, p. 2)
Catholic authorities even boast that they did not derive their faith in Jesus from the Scriptures:
“ ‘Without the Scriptures’, says Mohler, ‘the true form of the sayings of Jesus would have been withheld from us….Yet the Catholic does not derive his faith in Jesus from Scripture’.” (Ibid. p. 50)
Hence, those responsible for this apostasy of the first century Church Of Christ were the bishops under whose administration these profound changes took place. The first bishop identified as having introduced changes into the Church was Ignatius, bishop of Antioch who was martyred in Rome about 110 A.D. He was the first to use the term Catholic Church in reference to the Church Of Christ:
“The name Catholic as a name is not applied to the Catholic Church in the Bible. ..St. Ignatius of Antioch, writing to the Christians of Smyrna about the year 110, is the first to use the name ‘The Catholic Church…” (The Question Box, p. 132)
This same Ignatius introduced the doctrine that Christ is both God and man:
“He asserted unequivocally both the divinity and humanity of Christ, the Savior.” (New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 7, p. 353)
Ignatius belongs to the so-called “Church fathers.” These Church Fathers were the source of the teachings that the Catholic Church taught and implemented beginning the second century. However, such persons were not immune from errors and yet, the apostatized church approved their teachings:
“Obviously much that Christ and the apostles preached was in time reduced to writing. Hence there grew up a library composed of men called ‘the fathers of the Church’. They were called so because in apostolic days the word ‘father’ also meant teacher of spiritual things, and these were among her earliest teachers. But, unlike the apostles, all of whom enjoyed infallibility, they were not immune from error nor inspired as the scriptural writers had been. In so far as they dealt with questions of faith and morals, much of what they wrote was approved by the Church, and thus, became part of written tradition.” (Whereon to Stand: What Catholics Believe and Why, p. 142)
As a result of the teachings of these early Church Fathers, the Church Of Christ or Christianity became Roman Catholicism, the last and the greatest of the mystery religions:
“On that dies Domini, or Lord’s Day, the Christians assembled for their weekly ritual. Their clergy read from the Scriptures, led them in prayer, and preached sermons of doctrinal instruction, moral exhortation, and sectarian controversy…
“By the close of the second century, these weekly ceremonies had taken the form of the Christian Mass. Based partly on the Judaic Temple service, partly on Greek mystery rituals of purification, vicarious sacrifice, and participation through communion, in the death-overcoming powers, of the deity, the Mass grew slowly into a rich congeries of prayers, psalms, readings, sermon, antiphonal recitations, and, above all, that symbolic atoning sacrifice of the ‘Lamb of God’ which replaced, in Christianity, the bloody offerings of older faiths. The bread and wine which these cults had considered as gifts placed upon the altar before the god were now conceived as changed by the priestly act of consecration into the body and blood of Christ, and were presented to God as a repetition of the self-immolation of Jesus on the cross. Then, in an intense and moving ceremony, the worshippers partook of the very life and substance of their Saviour. It was a conception long sanctified by time; the pagan mind needed no schooling to receive it; by embodying it in the ‘mystery of the Mass’, Christianity became the last and the greatest of the mystery religions.” (Ceasar and Christ, pp. 599-600)
Thus, the claim of the Catholic Church that they succeeded the apostles is not a proof of being the true Christ founded by Christ, but instead, a strong proof that the Catholic Church is indeed the apostate Church, the fulfillment of what the Bible prophesied that after the death of the apostles, among the ranks of the bishops will rise false teachers that will distort the truth.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST PROMISED THAT THE
CHURCH OF CHRIST WILL BE RE-ESTABLISHED
It was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who prophesied that multitudes of His disciples will be led astray. However, even though the first century Church of Christ will be apostatized, this is what the Lord Jesus promised:
“And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:16 NKJV)
The Lord Jesus Christ said that “other sheep I have.” He called them His “other sheep” because they “are not of this fold.” He will bring them also and they will hear His voice and they will be “one flock.” The “fold” or “flock” mentioned refer to the “Church Of Christ” (Acts 20:28 Lamsa). Thus, when the Lord said that He has other sheep “not of this fold,” He meant, He has other sheep “not of THIS Church Of Christ.” The “other sheep” are not of the Church Of Christ of the first century. Remember that the first century Church Of Christ was apostatized.
Thus, even though the first century Church Of Christ was apostatized, Christ said He has “other sheep.” He said that he will bring them also and will be “one flock.” Therefore, Christ prophecy regarding His “other sheep” is His promised of the re-establishment of the Church Of Christ.
Thus, the gap between the first century Church Of Christ and the Church of Christ that emerged in the Philippines was because the first century Church was apostatized. However, Christ promised that He will re-establish the Church of Christ. Hence, the emergence of the Iglesia Ni Cristo in the Philippines in 1914 was the fulfillment of Christ’s promise of re-establishing His Church.
God's Testimony Regarding
The Iglesia Ni Cristo
The Iglesia Ni Cristo
The emergence of the Iglesia Ni Cristo in the Philippines in 1914 is the fulfillment of the Lord Jesus Christ's promise of re-establishing His Church. However, it is also the fulfillment of God's prophecy about His sons and daughters from the Far East, from the ends of the earth:
We firmly believe that the Iglesia Ni Cristo is the fulfillment of this prophecy. God recognize the members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo as His sons and daughters from the ends of the earth. In a related prophecy, God also recognize the Iglesia Ni Cristo as His people:
“Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 43:5-6 KJV)
We firmly believe that the Iglesia Ni Cristo is the fulfillment of this prophecy. God recognize the members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo as His sons and daughters from the ends of the earth. In a related prophecy, God also recognize the Iglesia Ni Cristo as His people:
“Indeed the LORD has proclaimed To the end of the world: ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.' And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.” (Isaiah 62:11-12 NKJV)
Thus, we firmly believe that the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) is not only a religious organization, a Christian religion, but the true Church Of Christ today and God's nation in these last days.
If you have
question/s, feel free to ask.
You can
contact us at:
THE IGLESIA
NI CRISTO facebook page
or you can
email us at:
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IGLESIA NI CRISTO
(CHURCH OF CHRIST)
ALL MEN THAT SHOULD KNOW.
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