To God Be the Glory Forever and Ever!

6/29/2017 44 Comments

God deserves all praise and honor

This is a reply to a comment made by a certain Mr. Renato Salvador on my article posted last October 24, 2007 entitled “The Origin of Humankind”. His comment is as follows:

In every way normal for a person who is an admirer of a person, it is hard not to share your testimony and sentiments toward someone you believe is worth the praise. And that is me for Bro. Eli Soriano. I don’t know but it may be too much already to speak this way or even dull the readers of my true positive feeling toward you Bro. Eli. Before, I dismiss those comments and praise I was reading here about you because there are marks that I believe are testimonies of members from your organization. Now, I believe, I cannot blame them. If it is really worth the praise then there is no way I should object that. In reading some of your most personal sentiments here like this recent article you’ve written, it was so clearly written, vivid and probing. It gives me a whirlwind of thought how you’ve come up with such amazing simple story about a piece of your life, and turn it into some kind of miracle, that touches inside of me. Yes, while writing this comments, tears are streaming down my face. I could not stop it. And I believe, only a person sincere enough could move me to tears like you do.

Renato Salvador

Dear Brother Renato,

It is never a sin to praise and honor anybody to whom praises and honor is due.

ROMANS 13:7 
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Even the inspired writers of the Holy Scriptures like the evangelist Luke used terms in praise to erring man.

LUKE 1:1-3 
1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 
2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; 
3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

Certainly, Theophilus, as the name denotes, is a Gentile, to whom, by Hebrew standards, does not merit any praise or honor at all, but the evangelist called him “most excellent”. The “most excellent” here certainly does not mean most excellent of all human beings, but, maybe among his peers. Respect and honor is due to all men by Christian standards.

1 PETER 2:17 
Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

In the Old Testament, respect and honor was commanded by God to be given to parents.

DEUTERONOMY 5:16 
Honor thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Obviously, this commandment was changed when the Apostle Peter wrote to the Hebrews, observer of the Old Testament laws, to “honor all men”, not only parents.

HEBREWS 8:13 
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

HEBREWS 7:12 
For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

I cannot see any reason why it will be a sin if members of the Church of God International will honor and respect the person of Brother Eli Soriano.

HEBREWS 13:7 
Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

HEBREWS 13:17 
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

Now, I am obliged by the situation to teach this part of truth in the Christian doctrine! Never in my fifty-three years in the ministry did I teach nor encourage anybody to treat me like somebody; for the fact remains until now, (this is my belief and God is my witness) I am nobody.

EPHESIANS 3:8 
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

If the great Apostle Paul believed that he is less than the least of all saints in his times, I believe that I am less than the least of all saints of all times. My conscience is guided by the meekness taught by the Lord Jesus.

LUKE 17:10 
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

If after doing ALL, a servant must confess that he is an unprofitable servant, then after having just started doing what I ought to do, I can say that I am even less than an unprofitable servant. Most of the times, I refused to be called ‘sir’ as other religious leaders love to hear from their members. Sir is an old archaic word which means ‘lord’.

sire [sīr] 
transitive verb (past and past participle sired, present participle sir·ing, 3rd person present singular sires) father offspring: to father young, especially animals

noun (plural sires) 
1. male parent of four-legged animal: the male parent of a four-legged animal, especially a domesticated animal such as a stallion or bull 
2. Sire address to king or lord: a respectful form of address for a king or lord (archaic)

[12th century. Via French < Latin senior]

The whole congregation to whom I speak weekly is the witness to this fact.

When I started writing articles for this blog site, letters with praises keep pouring in, whose writers I do not know personally. I do not even know if they are members (or not) of the Church of God International. I have always wanted to forbid them to neither thank me nor honor me in any manner. I do not feel comfortable being praised or honored by men who look up to me as their leader; but verses in the Scriptures have held my hands to write anything to stop them. For years, I have been practicing to incline my conscience towards the Scriptures.

ACTS 24:16 
And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men.

It is God who said that a Christian must honor all men. I am a man, although ‘nobody’, but the least, still is a man. I do not want (nor ever will want) to have a conscience of offense towards God who permits any man to be honored. God is not a God who grabs all honors. He even knows how to honor and respect men.

PSALMS 138:6 
Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.

But after all things have been said and done, it is our duty as erring humans who know our own infirmities and shortcomings to give back to God all praises, honor, and glory forever. Amen.

1 TIMOTHY 6:16 
Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.

To my readers, may I advise you once and for all to always thank and honor God for whatever truth or wisdom you may learn in reading the articles of this blog site, after all, this is the conscience of the great “men of faith” from whom I have learned this virtue of regarding myself as nobody!

ACTS 14:14-15 
14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, 
15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

It is vanity to honor and deify mortal men!

Sincerely in Christ,

Brother Eli

44 Comments:

Why Christ is Not Man but God

6/24/2017 , 51 Comments

Christ is not a man but God

No debate would be feasible tackling an issue that Christ is man. “Christ is man” does not even qualify as proposition since Christ had pre-existence. He was not man such that His “manhood” was only a manifestation from a greater form. A proposition is something offered that can be accepted or denied and therefore must be complete in itself.

Granting that Christ was man, it was only true in His earthly body in His more or less 33 years on earth and after having served a purpose, was subject to a resurrection that enabled Him to return to His true form. Such 33 years therefore was only a temporary state. More yet, it was not the beginning of Christ’s existence since He already was before the creation of the world. Therefore, claiming that Christ is man and adding more lies that He was and will remain a man when He comes back is indeed a pack of lies. That is not possible with the frailties of human beings.

Notice this Pasugo of the Iglesia ni Cristo that insists on calling Christ as man: before, now, and later on. On Page 34 of Pasugo dated April 1968 –


To use the word “nature” in describing the being of the Lord Jesus Christ is certainly gross ignorance of the Bible and the meaning of the word nature itself. Before the “nature” that we know existed, the Son of God which will later be called Jesus Christ, existed. And that is according to the Holy Scriptures.

JOHN 17:5 
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

The Son was with the Father even before the creation of everything that exists.

PROVERBS 30:4 
Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?

He existed with the Father from “everlasting.”

PSALMS 90:2 
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

MICAH 5:2 
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

The prophesied Messiah whose “going forth have been from everlasting” is undoubtedly Jesus Christ born in Bethlehem of Judea.

One important thing to consider is that the Lord Jesus Christ was born of man, but He was born of God first.

PSALMS 2:7 
I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

It was God himself who had begotten the Son.

This was further confirmed by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Hebrews.

HEBREWS 1:1,5 
1 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 
5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee.

People may say that believers are also begotten of the Father; but what is the difference between Jesus Christ being called the “only begotten Son” and “the only begotten of the Father” and of believers being called begotten of God?

The Son is the only begotten of the Father and the only begotten Son in the sense that He came from the being or “the bosom” of the Father.

JOHN 1:18, 1-2 
18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. 
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 
2 The same was in the beginning with God.

I TIMOTHY 3:16 
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Believers are begotten not in the sense that they came from the being of the Father but rather by the word of God.

I PETER 1:23 
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.

The pre-existence of Jesus Christ is very explicitly recorded in the Bible. When we say pre-existence we mean that before He was born or manifested in the flesh, He had already existed – but at a higher level of existence.

JOHN 8:56-58 
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

The Scriptures say Jesus Christ taught the prophets of Israel before He was born in the flesh!

I PETER 1:10-11 
10 Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

If Christ did not exist before He was born of Mary, how can His spirit guide the prophets of old? He even guided and followed the Israelites in their wandering in the desert.

I CORINTHIANS 10:1-4 
1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

The claim of the Iglesia ni Cristo that Jesus Christ existed only when He was born of Mary is a blatant lie! On the Pasugo of the Iglesia ni Cristo of April 1939, on Page 21, this is written [Translation ours].

Was there a Christ in the beginning before the world began? The answer is clear – according to what the angel said to Mary – she will conceive and bear a son and will be called Jesus (Luke 1:31). From the answer of this angel, the Christ started from the womb of the Virgin Mary upon the power of the Holy Spirit., and the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God (Luke 1:35). If that is the case, why was Apostle Paul saying that Christ is the first of all things created, under his power all things were made, and all things were subject to him? This teaching of Apostle Paul is true because all things created were subject to Christ. But there was no Christ yet but simply a plan that all things created will be subject to him. That is the reason he was born of Virgin Mary.

Observe the word “plan” used. It is an intentional insertion in the thought it wants to convey and that Apostle Paul is even used to lend credence to this “plan” thing. The word is meant to deny the pre-existence of Christ and mark the start of Christ on the womb of Mary. “Plan” is to reinforce the belief that Christ never existed before. Below is the original version in Tagalog.


But Christ is called in the Bible as the wisdom of God.

I CORINTHIANS 1:24 
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

Such wisdom existed before the creation of everything.

I CORINTHIANS 2:6-8 
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to naught: 
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The Lord of glory that was crucified called the wisdom of God is the Lord Jesus.

JAMES 2:1 
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

Ministers of Manalo argue that Christ cannot be the wisdom of God because in the Bible, wisdom is being spoken of in the feminine gender. This is another ignorance that is deeply embedded in the minds of the INC ministers. I thought they went to school and had at least some exposure to Spanish and poetry.

Paul E. Koptak, Editor of Living Faith and professor of communication, gave an informed commentary on why Wisdom is referred to as “she.” In sum, he said the use of she was not necessarily driven by any intrinsic femininity of wisdom. His long discussions point out that the practice simply grows out of either of the following: 1) Use of figure of speech called personification, but that Wisdom is not literally a woman because it is not an actual person; 2) Use of genre. What were we reading? A poem of praise? Then we are not reading a technical definition; 3) Gender in language or grammatical gender. He: explains this as follows –

In English, the word wisdom is grammatically neuter, but not so in Hebrew. The Hebrew word is chokmoth, and it is grammatically feminine. In Hebrew, it would have been natural to speak of wisdom as a “she.”

….Solomon used the literary tool of personification to extol the inanimate and abstract idea of wisdom as if it were a real person. By doing so, Solomon communicated a vivid illustration of the blessings of being wise. In personifying wisdom, it was necessary to use the appropriate pronouns. Since a person is not referred to as an “it,” Wisdom as an antecedent requires feminine personal pronouns. The grammatical construction is an artifact of the process of personification. In other words, since the word wisdom is feminine (in Hebrew grammar), Wisdom personified becomes a “she” to satisfy the demands of diction—not to add information to its object. (http://www.gotquestions.org/wisdom-she-Proverbs.html#ixzz34dU8QPaV).

The use of “she” therefore to refer to Wisdom is not a license to refuse to acknowledge Christ as the wisdom of God! It is a lousy excuse and an evil one.

The Iglesia ni Cristo agree and teach that Christ is the rock upon whom the church was built. But do they understand what ROCK means if they insist on looking at Christ as man? Their publication, translated as “Revelation,” Page 33 indicates otherwise. In the form of Q and A, they explain –

The Revelation
How did Christ set up his church? Christ was born a new man. Him and those who believed in him.  How did Christ bear this new man? In Matthew 16:18, this is what is said –

“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

This is how Christ created a new man: He established his church on a rock. Who is the rock upon which his church is built?  In Acts 4:10, 11, it is said –

10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 
11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

What is the rock? According to Apostle Peter, Christ is the rock. Therefore, Christ established his church on himself because he is the rock. Christ set up on himself his own church, that is what to himself and what is he to the church? In Colossians. 1:18 this is written –

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence.

ANG PAGBUBUNGYAG Page 33


The above is their original version. The rock mentioned in Matthew 6:16-18 in the Greek manuscripts is also in the feminine gender. This is what is written in Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries:

G4073 
πέτρα 
petra 
pet’-ra 
Feminine of the same as G4074; a (mass of) rock (literally or figuratively): – rock. 
(https://archive.org/details/StrongsGreekAndHebrewDictionaries1890)

Whether it is classified in the feminine gender or not, the Bible has its own interpretation of words. In fact Christ likened Himself to a hen. Would you now begrudge His being wisdom of God?

MATTHEW 23:37 (KJV) 
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent unto you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!

There is no other wisdom of God mentioned in the Bible which existed with God from everlasting except the Lord of glory.

PROVERBS 8:12, 22-31 
12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. 
22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. 
23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. 
24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. 
25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: 
26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. 
27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: 
28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: 
29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: 
30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; 
31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.

He was also the wisdom who sent the prophets and the apostles.

LUKE 11:49 
Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

It is very clear in the scriptures that the Lord Jesus Christ was the one who sent the prophets and the apostles.

JOHN 20:21 
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

MATTHEW 23:34 
Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

If the Son according to the Bible came from the bosom of the Father or from His very being then we are sure that He is not by “nature” a man, but God!

JOHN 13:3 
Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;

JOHN 6:38 
For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

Man began to exist on earth when God formed him out of the dust of the ground. But it was different with Jesus who did not come from dust.

GENESIS 2:7 
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The Lord Jesus Christ came from heaven, from God more particularly from the bosom of the Father. He was called man when He was manifested in the flesh or has taken the form of a man.

PHILIPPIANS 2:5-8 
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

To believe that Jesus Christ is a mere man from birth up to His coming again is surely denying the truth and salvation.

JEREMIAH 17:5 
Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

The key to honest learning is to be disciplined beginning with terms and respect the terms as categories change. In Philippians, for example, it is said Christ was in the form of God but took the form of man. Therefore, the first was statehood and the second was mere manifestation. Here’s an excerpt from the website of the Iglesia ni Cristo.


http://incmedia.org/content/inc/

God and man are not of the same category no matter how the Iglesia ni Cristo calls Christ as “a very special man but not God.” If you are a man, you are a man. There is no such thing as “a very special man” that sounds like a category between God and man.

The term “angel” also takes on a higher level (for now) than man. You cannot be applying “angel” to a human being. Angels do not do any preaching. Angels are messengers of God, delivering news, and no human beings are commissioned to deliver messages these days. After Christ, we have the prophets and apostles sent by Christ.

Man may lie but not Jesus Christ.

THE ROMANS 3:4 
God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

The Lord Jesus never lied.

I PETER 2:22 
Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

Man may commit sin but not the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is wiser than Solomon – the man whom God declared to be the wisest man. If Christ was a man, He cannot be wiser than Solomon – since God said no one shall surpass Solomon in all his wisdom and understanding.

I KINGS 3:12 
Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

The unknown Christ is heaped with a pack of lies by those who make merchandise of Him. The key to knowing Christ is to honor Him as He truly is. Jesus Christ as willed by the Father has pre-eminence in everything that exists.

COLOSSIANS 1:15-19 
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell;

What was called in the Bible as the man Jesus Christ is the body, which He gave as a ransom for sins to mediate between God and men.

I TIMOTHY 2:5-6 
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 
Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

That body was the entity that was born of Mary.

HEBREWS 10:5 
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

Notice the phrase, “he cometh into the world” implying that He is not of this world, and a body was prepared for Him wherein the spirit Son of God will be manifested.

JOHN 8:23 
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

Let us remember that the Lord Jesus Christ never did lie! When He said I am from above, He is revealing the absolute truth about His being. It was affirmed by the apostles.

EPHESIANS 4:10 
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

The truth of the matter is that Christ descended (was able to descend) because he originated from above! If you just come from earth, why is there a need to descend?

51 Comments:

The Power of Christianity is not by Force but by Peace

6/17/2017 52 Comments

true Christian leader

I received an email from Karen Dickens who (I suppose) is from the United States. Here is what she has to ask:

Name: Karen Dickens 
Email: karen42dickens@yahoo.com 

At a church… a preacher preached this message. This is a summary of the message. Can you tell me if you would label this the true church or a cult or what from examining this message preached about the authority in the Church? Jesus gave a ministry unto the church to pastor the body, because we can not pastor ourselves. When we get saved, we have to submit ourselves to the ministry. You can not just submit to Christ, and not His Body. Mt 7:29, People in Jesus’ time were used to reasoning about the scriptures, much like a lot of people do today. They like to pick their favorite preacher, one who agrees with their opinion, pets them, and is always kind to them. Actually our favorite preacher should be the one that does not understand us. Jesus taught with authority and he is able to give authority to others. Those chosen people are supposed to teach, preach or sing with authority. If you are not sure what you do or do not know if you are able to, you should just not do it. 1Co 12:28, Jesus gave gifts to the church, a government, where He sets the members. He doesn’t ask you or anybody. He just puts the members, as it pleases Him and we have to be obedient, Mt 22:13; Mt 16:18-19; Mt 18:18 The Lord gave authority to the ministry in the church to bind and to loose things. They’re not just able to put judgment on cigarettes, alcohol or rap music, but they have the authority to tell you in your experience what you really have and what not. (John 20:23) This is a side that is peculiar for the Church of God. The ministers recognize, if someone is out of order and have to put it in order and the church is supposed to support that. They have the key, which is the spirit and the word, and they are not going against the key. Through this power, that God has given them, there’s a lot of security for the church, thank God for this precious place.

Dear Karen,

This kind of preaching comes from a preacher who wants to have a hold on you as a lord to his servants; not giving them the benefit to ask questions. This kind of authoritative leadership is prohibited by the Bible (1 Peter 5:2-3).

“Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock.”

Christians must submit themselves to their leader willingly and not by force (Ephesians 6:6).

“Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart…”

Even in contributing to the finances of the Church, Christians must do it without intimidation (2 Corinthians 8:3-5).

“For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.”

A Christian authority must not force himself to you. Instead, you must submit yourself to him as this is the essence of the Gospel (Luke 16:16).

“The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.”

We have so many members in the Church of God International, where I am the overall servant; but never did I force anybody to accept my leadership (2 Corinthians 13:7).

“Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.”

Leaders of the First-century Christian church ‘beseeched’; they did not force members to submit themselves to them (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).

“And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.”

The word ‘beseeched’ used in the verse is er-o-tah’-o in Greek, which means, by implication, to request. What they do is to give examples of obedience and not force anybody to obey (1 Peter 2:21).

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps…”

(The Acts 20:35 NLT) 
And I have been a constant example of how you can help the poor by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: `It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

The ministers given by God the authority to bind and to lose are those that have the keys. The keys are symbolic of understanding: understanding the word of God. A key is a device used to open something that is locked. The words of God are shut or locked (Daniel 12:4).

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

The wise, with their understanding will unlock or understand the words (Daniel 12:9-10).

“And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”

The kind of preacher and his preaching you are telling me implies that he has no understanding of the scriptures. The connotation that “our favorite preacher should be the one that does not understand us” is blatantly wrong and unbiblical. A pastor or a shepherd must fully understand the plight of his flock (Acts 20:28).

“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”

God Bless.

Brother Eli Soriano

52 Comments:

The Origin of Humankind

6/10/2017 , , 52 Comments

biblically scientific origin of mankind

As I travel to different places of the world, I noticed not only the difference in skin colors, but also, the shape of nose, the shape of the eyes, the height, and the hair of people in four continents of the earth that I have reached.

I am a man of many questions in my mind because I am a keen observer of almost everything that I have been privileged to see. I believe my curiosity is one of the factors that led me to a deeper search of truth that I satisfactorily found in the Bible.

If the entire human race came from one family, why is it possible that there are races that stand taller than others having eyes, noses, and hair very much different from another?

The answer to these questions is very well elucidated both in the Bible and in Science. Biblically, the ordinary human can produce ‘giants’.

GENESIS 6:2-4
"That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown."


The cross-breeding of the sons of God with the daughters of men produced these giants!

Scientifically, giants or men of extra-ordinary height and size can be caused by what is called pituitary growth hormone excess, also known as “pituitary gigantism”.

The human body is an adaptable organism. It can adapt even to extremes in the environment. This ability to adapt itself to a given environment helps in the ‘shaping’ of his physical body. It can be noted that there are places where natives are noticeably with long protruding noses, while the opposite is very much apparent in other places of the globe.  

Quick Facts:

Climate clearly has put its imprint on the tint of our skin, the size of our noses, and other physical traits…

…Amid such discussions, however, a consensus exists that climate has influenced the evolution of the human physique.

Skin color, for example, is determined largely by the amount of melanin, a dark pigment, in the outer layer of the skin. (Carotene imparts a yellow tint.) In sunny climates close to the Equator, natural selection has favored dark, melanin-rich skin, which protects its owner by absorbing harmful ultraviolet rays before they penetrate to lower layers. But some ultraviolet light must penetrate the skin so that the body can produce Vitamin D. Thus, at higher latitudes, where sunlight is less intense, pale skin with little melanin is the norm.

Among dark-skinned people, moreover, there are great variations in skin color. The drawback of dark skin is that, like dark cloth, it absorbs more heat from the sun than does lighter skin. In prehistory, anthropologists explain, those who roamed the savannah “traded off” some protection from ultraviolet rays for the reduced heat retention of lighter skin. For forest-dwellers, living in less extreme heat, a darker complexion was an evolutionary advantage.

Melanin also determines eye color. The human eye appears blue when there is no melanin in the outer iris, and turns darker as melanin increases. In the iris, as in the skin, melanin absorbs light, protecting the eye from glare. Thus, dark eyes are generally favored by nature. In Europe, however, almost 50 percent of the population has blue, green, or gray irises, Such people may see further in dim light, but scientists still do not fathom the evolutionary logic of blue eyes – or blond hair, for that matter. The eyes of the Chinese, Japanese, Eskimos, and other people of Mongoloid descent – one third of the world’s population – are protected by epicanthic folds. These folds, composed of fatty tissue, probably evolved among their forebears inhabiting the Arctic in order to insulate the eye against freezing, and to provide an additional shield against glare from snow and ice. Even the human nose adapts to climate.


Inside the nose, a series of wet, mucus-lined air chambers “conditions” inhaled air before it reaches the throat and the delicate air sacs of the lungs, warming it to about 95 degrees Fahrenheit and raising its relative humidity to 95 percent. Humans in cold climates – or in hot, dry ones – thus have the greatest need to condition the air they breathe. Natural selection in such climes generally favors larger noses with more mucus lining: flattened, to protect against frostbite, in frigid environments; long and narrow in arid regions. In a like manner, the size and shape of the human form help the body regulate internal temperature. Over thousands of years, cooler climates tend to produce larger people. The reason: Their extra mass helps them retain heat. Although large people also have more skin surface from which heat can escape, the tradeoff still works to their advantage. As the body grows larger, mass becomes greater relative to skin area. The Alakaluf Indians on the frigid southern tip of South America, for example, are 25 percent taller than the Ituri Pygmies of Central Africa. Yet, the Alakalufs are more than two times heavier – and thus store much more body heat. Variations in body shape complicate the picture. A tall, skinny man has more surface area – and heat loss – than does a shorter, huskier man of the same weight. Thus, cold territories closest to the North and South Poles tend to be populated by stocky folk. In southern Africa, Pygmies, the world’s shortest people, dwell very near the Nilotic tribes (e.g., the Dinka), the tallest. But the Nilotic tribes live in the dry, open savannahs, the Pygmies, in the shaded forests. The Nilotics’ environment puts a premium on having more skin surface to release heat, thus their extremely tall, slender build. And, occasionally, there appear uniquely adapted humans, A notable example: the Khoikhoi women of the open African savannah, who have thin torsos suited to the hot climate, but also protruding buttocks (steatopygia) containing storehouses of fat to draw upon in times of famine. Just as it is difficult to prove a correlation between past climatic change, and, say, the demise of an ancient civilization, so today’s anthropologists are not certain that all their inferences about climate and human evolution are well founded. Very few of the world’s peoples in all their variety now inhabit the same territories where, long ago, their ancestors presumably developed certain characteristics in response to climate. Often, notes Grover Krantz, anthropologists resort to “pulling people out of areas where their… traits don’t fit the environment and putting them back where they do fit”. 

http://eng.1september.ru/2003/29/1.htm

The information that was written in the Bible that the human race came from only one family is very much scientifically true. The scattering abroad of the family of Noah in different places of the habitable earth eventually and gradually produced different physical features among them depending on the kind of environment they settled to live.

ACTS 17:26
"And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation…"

Many theories including the infamous Darwinian Theory of Evolution was taught and believed even by reputed scientists; but a fact remains — that we were created by a great God, from the first man and woman; we came from one family (not from apes); with only one language and tongue, which was later confounded by God, for His will to populate the earth with humans be fulfilled.

GENESIS 3:20
"And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living."

God is not the author of confusion, but is a God of order and truth.

I CORINTHIANS 14:40
"Let all things be done decently and in order."

To believe in the theory of evolution is to believe in accidents, for the theory of evolution can only be explained by accidents that allegedly happened in nature, and perhaps in the brains and minds of evolutionists!

To God be the glory!

Sincerely in Christ,

Brother Eli Soriano

52 Comments:

The Best Education at the Best University… Ever!

6/03/2017 , 57 Comments

education in God of the Bible

To know the function and the capacity of a particular machine is to learn from the very person who constructed the machine. The best education about every reality in life is to learn it directly from the Creator. John 1:1-3 has this to say:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (KJV)

Note: The ‘Word’ in Greek manuscripts is the ‘LOGOS’.

When I say realities in life, I do not only mean physical things but, spiritual, also. Physics, as a branch of human science does not believe in spirits; but it is in fact a reality of life. James 2:26 says that the physical live and exist because of the spirit.

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

In fact, we can learn from the ‘Word’ or the ‘Logos’ not only things we can see; also things unseen. Colossians 1:15-18 proves this:

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

And to have the best education about all these things is to learn it first hand from the person who caused the existence of all these things: the ‘Logos’.

Job, a holy man, who asked questions about what is happening to him (which he thinks are unusual) was admonished by God to think soberly. God asked him if he knows how everything came into existence. The following questions were asked by God to him:

Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the Earth? (Job 38:4)

Of course, Job can not answer; but there is someone who was a star witness in the creation of everything: that is the Logos or, in other scriptures, called the Wisdom of God. The Wisdom of God is Christ. He is also the Logos. 1 Corinthians 1:24 says:

“But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”

And in 1 Corinthians 2:6-8, He is the Lord of glory.

“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” 

In James 2:1 The Lord of Glory is Jesus Christ.

“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.”

Undoubtedly, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Logos, and the Wisdom of God, knows best about everything that exists. In Revelations 3:14, He is a witness unto all creations. “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God…” Then wisdom, has this to say in Proverbs 8:22-31:

“The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.”

Want the best education? In the best university? The Lord Jesus, in Matthew 11:28-30 has this to say:

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

It is marvelous to know the exact wisdom behind everything even before they are discovered by human science. A very good example is what God told Job:

“Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath engendered it?” (Job 38:29)

The invention of freezers and refrigerator proves this. The wisdom behind refrigeration is surely found in the Bible!

About 3000 years ago, God asked Job this question:

“Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?”  (Job 38:16)

Who knows the spring of the sea until recently when it was discovered in 2006? An exploration through a submarine photographed an erupting volcano under the surface of the sea

(http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/06fire/logs/april29/media/movies/nwrota_brimstone12_video.html)

There really are springs found by an exploration at the sea bed.

Through a special arrangement with the publisher, William Morrow, Oregon Sea Grant is pleased to make available a popular book about contemporary ocean research at a great discount. Totally unknown before 1977, seafloor hot springs occur in numerous places along the globe-encircling chain of underwater mountains known as the mid-ocean ridge. The exploration of these springs in manned submersibles has resulted in an extraordinary range of discoveries about our planet and the life on it. “Fire Under the Sea” focuses on these discoveries, which concern the complex relationships between the inner heat of the earth and the ocean that swirls about it, the search for the mechanism of gold formation, the adaptations of life under extreme conditions, and ultimately the origin of life itself.
(https://admtn.ucsadm.oregonstate.edu/ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=145)

With only about 5 percent of the sea floor explored in detail, a picture is emerging of a vast system of natural undersea dynamos, fueled by hot springs, that produce not only valuable mineral deposits, but habitats for unique, heat-loving organisms that can provide materials for products ranging from detergents to pharmaceuticals.
(http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=10587)

Another information known in the Bible before it was discovered by man is written in Job 26:7.

“He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.”

Who knows, about 3000 years ago, that the earth is hanging on an empty space? The Bible has it! Anyone who wants to challenge this? Oh, you silly fools!

The errors, guesses, and miscalculations of famous and respected scientists in the past like Thales, Pythagoras, Ptolemy, Anaximander were because of their ignorance of the Bible. They may be regarded as educated and learned men, but their lifetime of search and research was proven to be either inaccurate or wrong because of the simple reason that they did not ask the ‘Logos’ in the Bible.
Another marvelous knowledge known to the Bible but was only known to science very recently is found in Job 38:31,33,38.

“Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? … Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? … When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?”

The formation of heavenly bodies is very clearly elaborated in the preceding verses. Dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together. Everything is formed from dust. Ecclesiastes 3:20 says:

“All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.”

Ask scientists and they will tell you that heavenly bodies are formed by the clinging together through gravitational pull of dust in space. Astronomers have developed a theory about how our solar system formed that explains why it has small, rocky planets close to the sun and big, gaseous ones farther away. Astronomers believe our solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago from a giant, rotating cloud of gas and dust called the solar nebula. Gravity pulled together a portion of gas and dust at the center of the nebula that was denser than the rest. The material accumulated into a dense, spinning clump that formed our sun. (http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/planet_worldbook.html)

Realities under the surface of the sea, on land, and beyond the horizon in heaven, things seen and unseen, can be learned from the best university which teaches wisdom with authority far far advanced than the best university, established by men, can teach: The Bible! The best teacher is the Creator! And the best student is someone who believes. Enroll now!

I will be leaving a question to each and everyone who may read this article: IS THERE ANYBODY YOU KNOW WHO CAN TELL EXACTLY THE WISDOM BEHIND EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS BEFORE THEY ARE UNDERSTOOD BY MAN?

57 Comments: