Does Galatians 1:12 Deny the Humanity of Christ?
There’s no doubt that, though he believes that Jesus Christ has a human body, Eli Soriano of Ang Dating Daan (ADD) denies that our Lord is man (that is, human by nature).
To teach that our Lord Jesus Christ is a man is a big mistake. He is not a man by nature; He only assumed the form of a man. Don’t you have a common sense to comprehend that?[1]
That’s his bold proclamation regarding the issue of the Christ’s humanity. In his “Ang Guro At Tagapagturo (sic) ng Tunay na Doktrina Kristiana Upang Tiyak Na Maligtas Ang Sinomang Sasampalataya Ayon Sa Biblia” [The Teacher Teaching True Christian Doctrine So That Anyone Who Would Believe According To The Bible Would Be Surely Saved], Eli Soriano wrote,
Kaya ang samahang nagsasabing si Cristo ay tao, MALI. Bakit? Sabi ni Pablo, ang evangeliong aking ipinangangaral hindi ko tinanggap sa tao, hindi itinuro sa akin ng tao kundi tinanggap ko kay Jesucristo. Tao ba si Cristo? Sabi ni Pablo, Ang evangeliong aking ipinangangaral hindi ko tinanggap sa tao, hindi itinuro sa akin ng tao, kundi tinanggap ko sa pahayag ni Cristo, tao ba iyon o hindi? Hindi nga niya tinanggap sa tao, kanino niya tinanggap? Kay Cristo. Kung gayon, hindi tao si Cristo. [Thus the group that says Christ is man [is] WRONG. Why? Paul said, the gospel I am preaching I did not receive from man, man did not teach it to me, but I received by Jesus Christ. Is Christ man? Paul said, the gospel I am preaching I did not receive from man, man did not teach it to me, but I received through a revelation of Christ. Is that man or not? He did not receive it from man. He received it from whom? From Christ. Therefore, Christ is not man.][2]
Other than Philippians 2:5-8,[3] Eli Soriano quotes Galatians 1:12 to
prove his teaching.
To teach that our Lord Jesus Christ is a man is a big mistake. He is not a man by nature; He only assumed the form of a man. Don’t you have a common sense to comprehend that?[1]
That’s his bold proclamation regarding the issue of the Christ’s humanity. In his “Ang Guro At Tagapagturo (sic) ng Tunay na Doktrina Kristiana Upang Tiyak Na Maligtas Ang Sinomang Sasampalataya Ayon Sa Biblia” [The Teacher Teaching True Christian Doctrine So That Anyone Who Would Believe According To The Bible Would Be Surely Saved], Eli Soriano wrote,
Kaya ang samahang nagsasabing si Cristo ay tao, MALI. Bakit? Sabi ni Pablo, ang evangeliong aking ipinangangaral hindi ko tinanggap sa tao, hindi itinuro sa akin ng tao kundi tinanggap ko kay Jesucristo. Tao ba si Cristo? Sabi ni Pablo, Ang evangeliong aking ipinangangaral hindi ko tinanggap sa tao, hindi itinuro sa akin ng tao, kundi tinanggap ko sa pahayag ni Cristo, tao ba iyon o hindi? Hindi nga niya tinanggap sa tao, kanino niya tinanggap? Kay Cristo. Kung gayon, hindi tao si Cristo. [Thus the group that says Christ is man [is] WRONG. Why? Paul said, the gospel I am preaching I did not receive from man, man did not teach it to me, but I received by Jesus Christ. Is Christ man? Paul said, the gospel I am preaching I did not receive from man, man did not teach it to me, but I received through a revelation of Christ. Is that man or not? He did not receive it from man. He received it from whom? From Christ. Therefore, Christ is not man.][2]
For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I
taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.[4]
He
reasoned that, since Paul did not receive the Gospel from man but from Jesus
Christ, He is not man. Soriano is teaching that, in that
verse, the apostle was contrasting “man” and “Jesus Christ.” Thus, he concluded
that Jesus Christ is not man. (To know more about their beliefs, read: “Making Sense of Ang Dating Daan.”)
But was Galatians 1:12 really denying His humanity?
But was Galatians 1:12 really denying His humanity?
Let’s
look at its context. In the first two chapters of Galatians, Paul defended his
apostolic right to proclaim the Gospel. Back then people were questioning his
apostleship. They claimed that Christ did not send him, accusing him that he
fabricated his call from the Lord and that he merely made up his message. But
Paul denied such charges. According to the ESV Study Bible,
Paul apparently is responding to criticism that he is peddling a gospel received from man, not from God, and that he is doing so simply to please man rather than God. Paul does not simply defend himself out of resentment or wounded pride but shows a pastoral concern: to reassure the Galatians that the gospel they received was the authentic one, not a false message delivered by an untrustworthy messenger (e.g., 2:5).
When he became a believer, Paul “did not immediately consult with anyone” (1: 16b) nor with “those who were apostles before [him]” (v. 17a). It was only after 3 years that he met Peter and James, the Lord’s brother, in person (vv. 18-19). He even wrote that “those…who seemed influential [that is, the apostles] added nothing to me.” (2:6b) In the New Living Translation (NLT), it goes like this: “And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching.” In fact, “they [even] saw that [Paul] had been entrusted with the gospel” just as Peter was (2:7). In short, the apostles recognized his call and his message.
Paul apparently is responding to criticism that he is peddling a gospel received from man, not from God, and that he is doing so simply to please man rather than God. Paul does not simply defend himself out of resentment or wounded pride but shows a pastoral concern: to reassure the Galatians that the gospel they received was the authentic one, not a false message delivered by an untrustworthy messenger (e.g., 2:5).
When he became a believer, Paul “did not immediately consult with anyone” (1: 16b) nor with “those who were apostles before [him]” (v. 17a). It was only after 3 years that he met Peter and James, the Lord’s brother, in person (vv. 18-19). He even wrote that “those…who seemed influential [that is, the apostles] added nothing to me.” (2:6b) In the New Living Translation (NLT), it goes like this: “And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching.” In fact, “they [even] saw that [Paul] had been entrusted with the gospel” just as Peter was (2:7). In short, the apostles recognized his call and his message.
Thus,
the context of Galatians 1:12 was actually neither an affirmation nor a denial of the humanity of
our Lord. To read in the passage something that the context did not intend to
convey is a misreading of the passage. (See also “Was Eli Soriano Correct In His Criticism of Hermeneutics?”)
Paul did not write, “For I did not receive from man but from Jesus.” If he
had put it that way, then Soriano might have a point. But let us read Galatians
1:12 again: “For I did not receive it
from any man, nor was I taught it,
but I received it through a revelation
of Jesus Christ.” (Emphasis added) Note the words “receive,” “taught,”
“received… through a revelation.” Here we see that the apostle was not really
denying that Jesus is man. That was not the intent of the passage. He was
actually talking about how he got the Gospel. He received the Good News not
through ordinary, natural means but through extraordinary, supernatural means.
The Gospel is a divine revelation. It is not a message that Paul (or any of the
apostles for that matter) came up with. So, when the apostle wrote that he “did
not receive it from any man,” he was not contrasting the nature of Jesus with
that of men. Note also that he wrote, “I did not receive it from any man” (Emphasis added). He was only pointing out from Whom he got the Gospel. He did not hear the Good News from
any of the apostles but he heard it from the Lord Himself. That’s
why the NLT rendered it this way:
Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand
that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I
received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I
received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.
________________________________
[1] Eliseo Soriano, “How the ‘Iglesia ni Cristo’ made our Lord Jesus Christ a Man,” Ang Dating Daan Bible Exposition Online, 11 July 2004, http://www.angdatingdaan.org/segments/seg_incm_1_pf.htm (accessed 6 August 2005).
[2] I got this quote from ADD’s official website way back in 2001. Unfortunately, I was not able to copy the link and they already took down the said article. However, if the ADD would issue an official denial that they don’t interpret Galatians 1:12 that way and that Eli Soriano did not say anything similar to it, I would consider removing this blog entry.
[3] See also “A Critique: The use of Philippians 2:5-8 as Basis for the Flawed Christology of the Cult ‘Ang Dating Daan’ by Eliseo Soriano.” Click here.
[4] All Bible verses are from the English Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.
[2] I got this quote from ADD’s official website way back in 2001. Unfortunately, I was not able to copy the link and they already took down the said article. However, if the ADD would issue an official denial that they don’t interpret Galatians 1:12 that way and that Eli Soriano did not say anything similar to it, I would consider removing this blog entry.
[3] See also “A Critique: The use of Philippians 2:5-8 as Basis for the Flawed Christology of the Cult ‘Ang Dating Daan’ by Eliseo Soriano.” Click here.
[4] All Bible verses are from the English Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.
posted by Bible Exposé at 1:29 AM
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