GOD OR MAN?

Dear Franz,

[Good afternoon po.]

Good afternoon din sa iyo.

[Hihingi po sana ako ng tulong.]

Sure. Ano yon?

[A page named "The Ravenous Bird" posted a photo quoting Malachi 3:6.]

OK. Let me quote for you that passage from the Bible:

Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

[I believe the admin/s of the page is/are member/s of INC because he/she/they do not believe that Jesus Christ is God. They quoted Malachi to show that Jesus is not God who became flesh/man because according to Malachi 3:6, the Lord doesn't change.]

O yes. It is true that the admin of that FB page is a member of the Iglesia ni Manalo… in Filipino siya ay isang Manolistang Pulpol.

[Father Abe, pano po dapat sagutin ito?]

Well, it’s actually very very simple.

Mal 3:6 is not a refutation of the Divinity of Jesus instead a support for his Divinity. Why? Because Jesus is UNCHANGING AS GOD:

 Heb 13:8 [KJV] “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

How come Jesus is THE SAME for all time? Because He is GOD. The Father Himself testifies to that:

Heb 1:8 [KJV] “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O GOD, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” [Ps 45:6-7]

Heb 1:10-12 [KJV] “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but THOU REMAINEST; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but THOU ART THE SAME, and thy years shall not fail.” 

THE LORD JESUS IS EXEMPTED FROM CHANGES, CORRUPTION AND DECAY BECAUSE HE IS GOD. HE IS THE LORD WHO CREATED EVERYTHING.

The Throne or the Kingship of Jesus the Son is FOREVER AND EVER, meaning Eternal, Perpetual and Unchanging. Why it His Kingship is Eternal? Because JESUS IS GOD. This Truth of Faith concerning Jesus everlasting dominion is already well prophesied since the Old Testament:

Is 9:6-7 [KJV] “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, THE MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLASTING FATHER, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be NO END, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even FOR EVER. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

Dan 7:13-14 [KJV] “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an EVERLASTING dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”

JESUS IS GOD. SINCE HE IS GOD HE IS EVERLASTING AND HIS KINGDOM IS WITHOUT END. JESUS IS NOT SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS REGARDS HIS DIVINITY.

They might argue that Jesus’ everlasting means it has a beginning but it will not end. NO NO NO… Jesus is not only everlasting which means WITHOUT END. He is everlasting which means ETERNAL, that is, WITHOUT BEGINNING AND WITHOUT END. He is from of old and from the very beginning already God:

Mic 5:2 [KJV] “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.”

This prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus:

Mt 2:6 [KJV] “And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.”

Jesus’ eternal origin is supported and also declared by St. John:

Jn 1:1-3 [KJV] “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.”

THE LORD JESUS AS THE DIVINE LOGOS IS GOD WITH THE FATHER FROM THE VERY BEGINNING AND EVERYTHING CAME INTO BEING BECAUSE OF HIM:

1 Cor 8:6 [KJV] “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”

The Creator God is Eternal and Unchanging. The Lord Jesus Himself testifies to His being Eternal and Unchanging:

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

Jn 17:5 [KJV] “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”

[Kung sasagutin nyo po to sa blog, wag nyo na lang po ilabas pangalan ko po. Hehe.]

Ha ha ha… Ok. I removed your Family name so that no one will ever think that its you particularly and I also replaced your profile pic with one used by thousands Catholics nowadays.