TOP REASONS WHY “IGLESIA NI CRISTO” IS A FALSE

CHURCH By Mother Alicia Kottoor Dela Riva

thesplendorofthechurch.com/2021/09/03/top-reasons-why-iglesia-ni-cristo-is-a-false-church-by-mother-alicia-kottoor-
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TOP REASONS WHY “IGLESIA NI CRISTO” IS A FALSE CHURCH:
By: Mother Alicia Kottoor Dela Riva

1. IGLESIA NI CRISTO DENIES THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST.

Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) teaches that Jesus Christ is merely an ordinary human being. It
denies the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, One God. (Matthew 28:19; Luke 1:35; Luke
3:21-22; 2 Cor. 13:13)
Iglesia Ni Cristo flatly denies the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, One God, which is a
central doctrine of Christianity. Further, INC also denies that Jesus Christ, the Second
Person of the Holy Trinity, is God, in the following INC published statement of Beliefs
about Christ:
“There is no trinity of persons in God. Though the Bible speaks of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, never does it refer to all of them as gods nor as three persons in one
God.”
“But we do not subscribe to the belief that Christ is a God-Man. He is man in nature
according to His own testimony (John 8:40) and the teachings of His Apostles (I Tim.
2:5; Matt. 1:18).”
“Christ will eventually subject all His power and authority to the true God (I Cor. 15:27-
28). He had in so many instances introduced Himself as the Son of God but never did
He appropriate the title “God” nor “God the Son” for Himself because He is NOT God
but a man. [excerpted from https://iglesianicristo.net/eng/beliefs ]
The Iglesia ni Cristo teaches that the doctrine on the Trinity is a hoax. This sect teaches
that God is God the Father, that Jesus is an inferior god and that the Holy Spirit is just
one of the seven spirits or an angel.

1. IGLESIA NI CRISTO WAS NOT FOUNDED BY CHRIST BUT BY A MERE HUMAN

BEING, FELIX MANALO.

Iglesia ni Cristo was founded and established by Felix Manalo. It has nothing to do with
the Church founded by Christ Himself (Matthew 16:18-19).

1. ITS FOUNDER FALSELY CLAIMS HE IS AN “ANGEL OF GOD.”

I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord.
—- Tobit 12:15

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 Felix Manalo and his followers claim that he is an “angel of God.” However, Scriptures
tell us that angels are supernatural beings endowed with God’s authority and are higher
than man. (Exodus 23:20-21) They are created by God Himself and not generated by
any other creature. They are immortal and cannot experience physical death. On the
other hand, Felix Manalo is an ordinary human being who was born of human parents
and who died physically. He is clearly a mere human being, not a supernatural being
like the angels.
Manalo’s claim as the “fourth angel”, and thereby his superiority to Jesus, really
transforms Iglesia ni Cristo into a religion that is not Christian. It is ironic that Iglesia
ni Cristo uses the name of Christ when in fact they deny and reject the Divinity of
Christ.

1. FELIX MANALO CLAIMS HE IS THE LAST PROPHET OR MESSENGER OF GOD.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are
ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. —- Matthew 7:15-16
For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their
own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to
the truth and will be diverted to myths. — 2 Timothy 4:3-4
From INC’s declaration of Beliefs, The Messengers of God : “We believe that the late
Brother Felix Y. Manalo is God’s last messenger; he was the fulfillment of the Biblical
prophecies concerning the messenger from the Far East (Rev. 7:2-3) who would preach
to God’s sons and daughters in these last days (Isa. 43:5-6; 46:11; 41:9-11).” [Reference:
https://iglesianicristo.net/eng/beliefs]
Felix Manalo cannot be the last messenger of God, as he falsely claims. The Scriptures
clearly mention all the prophets that were raised up by God from Abraham to Isaac to
Jacob to Moses… and finally to John, the Baptist, to proclaim and prepare the way of
the coming Messiah. Felix Manalo is never mentioned anywhere in Scriptures as a
prophet or messenger of God. The fact is that he is a “self-proclaimed prophet” and
never called or ordained by God to be His messenger.

1. JESUS FOUNDED A HIERARCHICAL CHURCH COMPOSED OF BISHOPS,

PRIESTS, & DEACONS.

They (the Apostles) appointed presbyters [from the Greek: presbyteroi, meaning
priests, elders] for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them
to the Lord in whom they had put their faith. — Acts 14:23 [Note: No one ordains
himself, nor does anyone presume to act as presbyter (i.e., elder, priest) without first
being ordained by the apostles and their successors.]
The Scriptures are clear. Christ established a hierarchical Church composed of validly
ordained Bishops, Priests and Deacons to continue His mission as Chief Priest in the
Order of Melchizedek. Felix Manalo is neither a Bishop, Priest or Deacon in the Church
established by Christ. He is the founder and self-appointed, self-ordained pastor of the
CULT of Iglesia Ni Cristo.

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1. IGLESIA NI CRISTO DOESN’T HAVE APOSTOLIC TRADITION.

They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and to the communal life, to the
breaking of bread and to the prayers. — Acts 2:42
They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them. — Acts
6:6
While the Catholic Church was founded by Christ upon the foundation of the Apostles
(Ephesians 2:19-20), Iglesia Ni Cristo was founded by Felix Manalo and obviously,
could never trace its origins to the Apostles and therefore has no Apostolic Tradition.

1. JESUS FOUNDED HIS CHURCH IN JERUSALEM 2,000 YEARS AGO. IGLESIA NI

CRISTO WAS FOUNDED IN THE PHILIPPINES ONLY IN 1914.

The One and Only Catholic Church, founded and established by Christ, has
continuously existed for two thousand years. It has never apostatized nor disappeared,
as Iglesia Ni Cristo falsely claims. Christ promised that He will guide His Church in the
fullness of Truth and that even the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew
16:18)

1. IGLESIA NI CRISTO DOESN’T HAVE ALL THE 7 SACRAMENTS INSTITUTED BY

CHRIST.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his
disciples said, “Take and eat; THIS IS MY BODY.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks
[EUCHARISTEO], and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for THIS IS
MY BLOOD of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of
sins. — Matthew 26:26-28
The Church founded by Christ has all the seven Sacraments instituted by Christ
Himself. However, Iglesia Ni Cristo rejects all the seven sacraments of the Church,
particularly the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Instead, Felix Manalo created INC’s
own rituals that mimic the sacraments (i.e., Baptism, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders,
etc.) of the Church. Nevertheless, since INC’s rituals are man-made and merely mimic
the Sacraments that were instituted and originated by Christ Himself, they lack the
sanctity and saving power of the Sacraments of the Church.
ALLELUIA!

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