The content of this articles:

1. The Ignorant
2. Ephesians 2:20
3. Apostle Paul, the Foundation?

The Ignorant

When Apostle Peter was still alive, he reminded the members of the church of Christ about the ignorant people who distort not only the writings of Apostle Paul but also the other scriptures.

15Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (II Peter 3:15-16, NIV)

Actually, I meet two kinds of ignorant people who love to distort what has been written on the Holy Scriptures: These are the (1) Smart in earthly wisdom but ignorant of the truth; and the (2) plain ignorant of the earthly wisdom.

Those people who are smart in earthly wisdom but are ignorant of the truth can read what has been written on the Holy Scriptures but they try to interpret the things they read using only their own wisdom without thinking that the scriptures are not for man’s own interpretation:

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. (II Peter 1:20, NIV)

On the other hand, people who are plain ignorant of the earthly wisdom maybe can read on what has been written on the scriptures but they couldn’t understand what they are reading. These people simply have poor knowledge in grammatical structures in a particular language. Otherwise, they are simply poor in reading comprehension.

I am not telling you that the man (Mr. Morales), who continuously emails me, boasting about him as smart, but calling me idiot, is one of the people we talked above. It’s up to you to think if he is one of those people or not, by considering the statements below which are part of his email to me. This is what he wrote on his recent email:

• Why is Mr. Laplana always deny Christ’s work?
• Apostle Paul put himself as laid the foundation of the church
• St. Paul emphazises that no man can be lay than is laid other than Jesus.
• I’m not twisted the Bible.

Well, I know that you already noticed the grammatical constructions of these statements. They are erroneous.

Now, if Mr. Morales couldn’t construct English sentences well then how could he understand what he’s reading which are written in English?

There might be lots of factors that affect our understanding on what we read. But one of the most important things that we should have acquired is the knowledge on the grammatical construction of the sentence. Once you have erroneous understanding on the grammatical structure of the sentence, your understanding on the thought of the sentence is erroneous as well.

So, my advice to Mr. Morales is to stop calling other people idiot. Or if he wants to call other people idiot, then he should try to show that he really is a smart guy and stop writing grammatically erroneous sentences.

Ephesians 2:20

Mr. Morales on his recent email stayed hiding on the twisted translation of the Ephesians 2:20. However, I couldn’t blame him for using the twisted translation of the Ephesians 2:20 because he failed to understand the thought of the righteous translation of the Ephesians 2:20.

To let you know, almost all English translation of the Ephesians 2:20 is in parallel to this translation:

19…You are the house 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:20, NIV)

The thoughts of this verse are the following:

• The church of Christ is likened to the house.
• The house is built on the foundation.
• The foundation is the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
• Christ is the chief cornerstone.

Mr. Morales is actually confused in understanding phrases: “on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.” That is why he searches for other translation which he thinks is easy to understand. The only problem is the translation he found is too different on the righteous translations.

Just like what I presented on my previous posts, almost all English translations of Ephesians 2:20 have these texts, “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets…” while the translation used by Mr. Morales rendered it, “whose foundations are the apostles and prophets.”

Now, why are we sure that the translation used by Mr. Morales is already the product of distortion? Apostle Paul, who wrote the letter to the Ephesians, gave us hint how to understand his teaching and it is by “comparing Spiritual things with Spiritual”:

13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (I Corinthians 2:13, NKJV)

Now, if we will compare the twisted translation of the Ephesians 2:20 which says, “whose foundations are the apostles and prophets,” it clearly contradicts the teaching of the Apostle Paul who is the author of that verse that only Christ is the foundation of the church and no other foundations that can be laid except Christ.

11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 3:11, NIV)

Now, to help him understand that part, “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets”, let us consider similar sentences:

• Mr. Morales is sitting on the chair of his father. (Analysis: Mr. Morales is sitting on the chair. Mr. Morales’ father is not the chair where he sits. But it’s the chair owned by his father.)
• Mr. Morales is a pencil placed on the bag of his sister. (Analysis: Mr. Morales is likened to a pencil. The pencil is placed on the bag. Mr. Morales’ sister is not the bag where the pencil is placed. The bag is simply owned by his sister.)

In other words, when a sentence is written like this: “You are the house built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,” it should be analyzed like this:

• The church of Christ is likened to a house.
• The house is built on the foundation.
• The foundation is the foundation where the apostles and prophets were rooted and built up.

Why are we sure that this is the right thought of the verse when it says, “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets”? It’s because if we will compare it to the teaching of the Apostle Paul who is the author of that verse, it goes in parallel or in harmony on the teachings that the apostles and prophets are parts of the church. They are placed on the church not as foundation of the church but as components of the church.

28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. (I Corinthians 12:28, NIV)

Since they (apostles and prophets) are inside the church, and the church is likened to a building, then it is clear that the apostles and prophets are components of the building. Remember that the building and the foundation are two different things. The foundation is where the building stands while the building is the one built on top of the foundation.

If the thought is still vague to Mr. Morales’ mind, so we need to present it in a way that we are teaching kids just like what my wife is doing as she teaches the preschoolers.

Now, when we say, “the foundation of the apostles and prophets” it means that the apostles and prophets have foundation where they rooted and built up, and that same foundation where the apostles and prophets rooted up, the house or the church is built too. It can be presented by the sketch shown below showing the apostles, prophets and their foundation:

The preschoolers could easily understand the sketch. Now, if Mr. Morales’s mind is still fuzzy then he’s just trying to show himself as lower than the preschoolers.

Apostle Paul, The Foundation?

Actually I was amazed that a man boasting to be a smart guy could not really write English sentences correctly. And not only that, he even couldn’t understand an English statement like: “I have laid the foundation” as it was written in the Gideon International Translation of I Corinthians 3:10.

10 “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buideth thereupon.

I am really wondering if Mr. Morales is really ignorant or just trying to twist the truth because for him, the statement “I have laid the foundation” means Apostle Paul has been laid as foundation. Remember that what is written in that translation is that “I have laid the foundation” not “I have laid my self as the foundation” and not “I am laid as the foundation”.

The meaning of this statement, “I have laid the foundation” is clear that the speaker who is Apostle Paul laid something or someone as the foundation. There is a foundation that Apostle Paul laid. And we already know who this foundation is because Apostle Paul mentioned it on the next verse, which says:

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 3:11, NIV)

Mr. Morales forgot that the “I have laid the foundation” is not similar to “I am (was) laid as the foundation”.

What he did to that verse is simply a distortion or twisting. And we already know that who distorted the scripture is called by Apostle Peter ignorant and unstable.

The False Prophets

There is no wonder why Mr. Morales couldn’t realize that he was in the church managed and headed by the false prophets. Apostle Paul revealed this already:

1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (I Timothy 4:1, NIV)

Those who abandon the faith (teachings of the Apostles and Christ) are led to follow the teachings of demons. Two of these teachings are: (1) forbidding to marry; (2) teaching to abstain from eating meat:

2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. (I Timothy 4:2-3, NIV)

Of course, Mr. Morales knew that these two teachings of demons are upheld by his church. But I wonder if Mr. Morales know that the false prophets who are teachings the teachings of demons came in sheep’s clothing:

15”Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. (Matthew 7:15, NIV)

The sheep mentioned here is Christ

29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29, NIV)

Which means that the false prophets are wearing the clothes of Christ. They are claiming to be the vicar of Christ. They are claiming to be the head of the Church. They are claiming the functions of Christ as the foundation and head of the church.

And not only that, the false prophet exalt himself over everything, sets himself up in God’s temple, and proclaim himself to be God:

3Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. (II Thesalonians 2:3-4, NIV)

This false prophet proclaims himself to be God by calling himself the Father:

9And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. (Matthew 23:9, NIV)

Not as a plain father of man but as God who is the Father of all souls:

4 For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die. (Ezekiel 18:4, NIV)

I hope Mr. Morales will understand the writings of the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:20-25:

20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. (Romans 1:20-25, NIV)

And will learn to realize that until now he worships and serve the created things rather than the creator. Mr. Morales claimed to be wise but became fool by exchanging the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

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