"How can Brother Felix Y. Manalo be a true messenger from God if he was not baptized into the Church Of Christ?"
GOD’S MESSAGE, May 2022, p. 2
How can Brother Felix Y. Manalo be a true messenger from God if he was not baptized into the Church Of Christ?
Editor’s Reply:
BROTHER FELIX MANALO’s not being baptized into the Church Of Christ does not disqualify him from being a messenger of God. For instance, John the Baptist was sent by God to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 3:3). He is, no doubt, a messenger of God yet he was not baptized since there was no one before him to baptize him. His being a messenger is attested to by the prophecy that was fulfilled in him (Isa. 40:3).
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself received baptism (Matt. 3:16) from John the Baptist, a messenger who preceded Him. However, the baptism Christ received was not for the forgiveness of sins, for He did not sin (I Pet. 2:21-22). He was baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15- 16 New International Version).
Apostle Paul, whom God sent as the light to the Gentiles (Isa. 49:6; Acts 13:47), was also baptized. But the baptism he received was to cleanse him from his sins because of his former way of life (Acts 22:13-16; Gal. 1:13-14). Although Apostle Paul was commissioned to start God’s work of salvation in the Gentile lands, he was able to receive baptism because when he was called by God, the Church Of Christ in the first century had already been established (Acts 9:17-19).
On the other hand, Brother Felix Manalo, the one who started God’s work of salvation in these last days, was not baptized because there was no true preacher from God immediately before him to baptize him during that time (into the true Church Of Christ). It should be noted that after the death of the apostles, there was apostasy or departure from the true Christian faith as many were led astray by false preachers, and the ones who remained faithful were killed (Matt. 24:9-11; I Tim. 4:1, 3). The organization that continued, having rejected Christ’s teachings, is no longer of Christ and of God- the true Christian Church ceased to exist until God sent a messenger in our time to preach about it.
Like John the Baptist, Brother Felix Manalo’s commissioning as a messenger from God is proven by the prophecies written in the Bible (Isa. 41:9-10; 43:5-6; 46:11; Rev. 7:2-3; 14:9-11) that were fulfilled in him and his work. He is the one whom God called from the Far East — the fulfillment of which is the Philippines — at the ends of the earth, or the time when the end of the world is very near, who would begin God’s work of salvation in these last days.
Note: Some words and phrases are in bold & italics for emphasis.
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(Eph. 4:29, Amplified Bible)
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(1 Corinthians 13:4-5, Amplified Bible)