3. Who ordained Elijah Chacko?

“No man may take the honour of a Church-Officer unto himself, but he that was called of God, as was Aaron. Calling unto office is either Immediate, by Christ himself: such was the call of the Apostles and Prophets; this manner of calling ended with them, as has been said: or Mediate, by the church… Officers are to be called by such Churches, whereunto they are to minister. Of such moment is the preservation of this power: That the churches exercised it in the presence of the Apostles. A Church being free cannot become subject to any but by a free election… And if the church have power to choose their officers and ministers, then, in case of manifest unworthiness and delinquency they have power also to depose them. For to open, and shut; to choose and refuse; to constitute in office, and to remove from office; are acts belonging to the same power.” (from Cam Plat Ch VIII: Of the Election of Church-Officers)

The above excerpts from the supposed standard of church polity within The Westminster Tradition (The Cambridge Platform AD 1648) very clearly state that God alone calls a man unto church office; and that there are only two manners of calling: immediately by Christ Himself, or mediately, by the church. The New England Puritans were clear that immediate calling ended with the Apostles and therefore the only manner by which a man may be appointed to office is if he is freely elected by the church. Now Elijah Chacko claims to have a special calling to office. If he is not entirely rejecting The Cambridge Platform, then he must have been specially elected to this office. But the truth is that nobody elected Elijah Chacko to office. He took the honour unto himself. 

Election and ordination are slightly different things:

“Church officers are not only to be chosen [elected] by the Church, but also to be ordained by Imposition of hands and prayer… This ordination we account nothing else but the solemn putting a man into his place and office in the Church, whereunto he had right before by election; being like the installing of a magistrate in the Common-Wealth. Ordination therefore is not to go before, but to follow election. The essence and substance of the outward calling of an ordinary officer in the Church [extra-ordinary officers now being ceased] does not consist in his ordination, but in his voluntary and free election by the church, and his accepting of that election. Whereupon is founded that relation between Pastor and flock, between such a minister and such a people.” (Cam Plat Ch IX, Sec 1-2)

We have established that Elijah was not elected. Neither was he ordained by the imposition of hands and prayer. Elijah Chacko then is an imposter, an antichrist who disregards the institutions of Christ, the true Head of the Church. He has elected himself and anointed himself. He denies that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22) by constantly prating about his own and special anointing (N.B. ‘Christ’ literally means ‘anointed’). He ‘opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped (2 Thess 2:4a).’ Though he may not directly teach that he is greater than Christ (neither does the pope), yet an impartial reading of most of ‘The Westminster Tradition’ publications will sufficiently prove that he receives more of the worship than Christ. 

It is an irony, since Elijah claims to restore all things, that he so neglects one of these ‘principles of the doctrine of Christ’ i.e. the doctrine of laying on of hands:

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” (Heb 6:1-2)

He preaches the other foundational doctrines more or less, but not that of laying on of hands. I once asked him why I had never seen hands laid on anyone (within TWT). He justified himself by quoting 1 Tim 5v22: ‘Lay hands suddenly on no man…‘ But Paul is not teaching Timothy never to ordain officers, but rather not to do it suddenly. For the electing and ordaining of officers is a solemn and serious matter: so much so that when Paul was himself ordained by the church in Antioch, they fasted and prayed before laying their hands on Barnabas and Saul and sending them away (Acts 13:2-3). The laying on of hands (or doctrine of ordination) is a foundational doctrine, found frequently throughout the New Testament (Acts 1:22; Acts 6:5-6; Acts 13:3; Acts 14:23; 1 Tim 2:7; 1 Tim 4:14; 1 Tim 5:22; Tit 1:5). Why is it neglected by Elijah? For fear that anyone should ask, “Who ordained Elijah Chacko?”