The ordination of Bro. Felix Manalo

by Bible Student

There are some people who criticized Bro. Felix Manalo for what was done to him by the pastors of other religions when they laid their hands upon him. They thought that Bro. Manalo was ordained by the Protestants. The laying on of hands is a form of recognition for his ability to preach the gospel. There are several ways of recognizing one’s talent or ability. Examples of these are awarding medals, plaques, ribbons, trophies, etc.

In the first place, Bro. Felix Manalo did not invite his friends who were Protestant pastors to award him the recognition of a “Profound Preacher of the Bible.” The invitation was from them. They initiated it, not him. Is it wrong to be recognized by others as a profound preacher of the Bible? Is it Bro. Felix Manalo’s fault if that is how his friends would treat him?

Before that occasion in Cine Gloria, Pritil, Tundo, Manila, Bro. Felix Manalo had been preaching for five (5) years. If it is true that he received his right and authority to preach the gospel from them, he should have preached their doctrines. Why are the doctrines preached by Bro. Felix Manalo directly in contrast to Protestant tenets if it is true as alleged, that his right and authority to preach the gospel came from them?

Why did Bro. Felix Manalo maintain a fellowship with the Protestant pastors? What was his intention? To win the Protestants to the Iglesia Ni Cristo so that they will be saved. It should be remembered that the first two ministers of the Church were Bro. Felix Manalo’s companions in their former church. Is there a biblical basis for doing this?

Apostle Paul said, “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (I Cor. 9:19-23 NIV).

Regarding the deity of Christ, there is no credible proof from our detractors that Bro. Felix Manalo preached in favor of this issue. Their allegations were only a product of pure imagination and their wildest fantasies. No publication of the Church was used to prove that Bro. Felix Manalo himself publicly taught that Jesus is God. On the contrary, some of his debates were focused on this issue.

According to some senior ministers, the issues which were denounced by Bro. Felix Manalo during the early days of the Church were Catholic practices. This comes as no surprise since the Philippines was predominantly Catholic at that time. The Protestants came only in 1898, sixteen years before Bro. Felix Manalo started to preach about the Iglesia Ni Cristo.

Granting for the sake of argument that there was a silence on his part to teach about the falsity of the Trinity doctrine (which obviously includes the rejection of the Christ-is-God doctrine), does it make him no longer a messenger of God? If that is the case, and most likely that the detractors of the Church shall make it as a point against him, then Christ also would appear as not being sent by God because he deliberately withhold information about him.

After He heard the affirmation of Peter that he is the Christ and after He affirmed to them that this revelation came to Peter, not from men but from the Father in heaven, what did Jesus warn His disciples? “. . . not to tell anyone that he was the Christ” (Matt. 16:20). It was only during the later stage of His ministry that He admitted publicly that He is the Christ (Matt. 26:63-64 NIV).

Who shall bring a case against Christ? Not the detractors of the Church! Although they could not file a protest against Christ, they do not also have the faculty to justify Christ’s actions. Only Christ knows the reason why He did not want Himself to be known as the Messiah during that time. Does it make him as a false Messiah for not immediately revealing the truth about Him? Why find fault in Bro. Felix Manalo if he did not immediately reveal something explosive about Christ?

Only him knows why he did not immediately expound on the falsity of the Trinity doctrine nor the alleged deity of Christ. Suffice to say that he had his reasons at that time, the same as in the case of Jesus.

Some senior ministers commented that Bro. Felix Manalo told them that the Church was not yet prepared at that time to accept the doctrine that Jesus is not God. Compared to a person, the Church was at its infancy stage. The members were not yet fed by solid food but milk (Heb. 5:13-14). Bro. Felix Manalo fed them with milk or elementary truths of God’s words (Heb. 5:12). But when the time was ripe, and the brethren were capable of digesting solid food, Bro. Felix Manalo and his fellow ministers began preaching against the deity of Christ.

It all began when one minister by the name of dela Cruz was asked by a guest during an Open Forum about the Church’s position on the nature of Christ. Long before that event, Bro. Felix Manalo already taught the ministers about Christ’s nature: that he is a man and not God. Bro. Dela Cruz answered the question that shocked everyone! When news of this event reached Bro. Felix Manalo, he commented that “now” is the time to reveal to the world the true nature of Christ.

Contrary to what others claim, Bro. Felix Manalo knew from the start that God was sending him. Coming out from the three days and three nights of an intense and profound study of the Scriptures, he told his wife and his close friends that God is sending him to preach the true and pristine gospel which was corrupted by Catholic and Protestant preachers.

If Bro. Felix Manalo did not expound on this issue immediately, does it make him as a false messenger? Why did it take Jesus at least three years of His ministry before admitting publicly that He is the Christ? Does Christ action of withholding this very important information make Him as a false Messiah? Does Jesus know beforehand that He is the Messiah? Of course! Why did He not reveal anything about this during the start of His public ministry? Let the detractors of the Church answer this!

The truth remains that Bro. Felix Manalo is the Messenger of God in these last days. The palpable evidence of that is truthfulness of the gospel that he preached. The gospel that he preached could not be reputed. Since the detractors of the Church are losing on this battlefront, just like Jesus, they have to accuse him as a sinner (John 9:24) although they are the ones who are blind for Satan, the God of this world, has blinded them so they could not see the glorious gospel of Christ (II Cor. 4:4).

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