Today, for a little while, I'm going to do something.
I seldom do just this very thing, but I thought
it would be most interesting to you because the
questions that I'm going to answer are questions
that have been asked by some of our listeners.
I'm going to combine two questions today, both
regarding water baptism. They do not come from
the same person. One writes and asks, does one
have to be immersed in water before one can be
filled with the Holy Spirit? Another listener
writes and asks, what is the meaning of immersion,
of water baptism? All right, follow me very closely,
and I'm going to... answer these questions with
the very word of God. How often you've heard
me say that if I say something and the Bible
teaches differently than that which I tell you,
I'm wrong. If your pastor, your rabbi, your priest
tells you one thing and the Bible teaches something
else, the word of God is wrong. always right.
Let me take this first question. Does one have
to be immersed in water before one can be filled
with the Spirit? Now, just before I give you
two scriptures, again, I want you to hear something
that I say over and over and over again. And
I pray that you shall never forget it. And it's
just this. Any truth, no matter how good, if
emphasized to the exclusion of all other truths
of equal importance, is practical error. Any
truth, no matter how good it is, if it's... emphasized
to the exclusion of all other truth of equal
importance is practical error. Never forget that,
alright? Now we come to the answer to this question.
Does one have to be immersed? Does one have to
be baptized in water before one can be filled
with the Holy Spirit? Before when can we see
the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Let me read you
a personal word of God. It's on the second chapter
of Acts. And it's Peter. It's after that wonderful
experience in the upper room. They were all with
one accord. The Holy Spirit filled them with
himself. Oh, it was glorious. Believe me. It
was glorious. After that wonderful experience,
Peter goes out and under the anointing of the
Holy Spirit, having just been filled with the
Holy Spirit, knowing that the Holy Spirit himself
was now speaking through lips of clay. We hear
Peter saying unto them, Repent. And be baptized,
every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of your sins. There we have
immersion. We have water baptism. It's as plain
as can be. Repent and be baptized. In other words,
be immersed, every one of you, in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And ye...
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. There
you have the confession of one's sins, the new
birth experience. You have water baptism. And
then you have the fullness of the Holy Spirit,
the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Now there are
those who say one must be immersed before one
can be filled with the Holy Spirit. but follow
me don't stop there whatever you do don't do
it something happened oh i'll tell you something
happened at the household of carnelius turn to
the tenth chapter of acts this is thrilling i
never read it but what i get so thrilled And
I'm only sorry I missed it. Oh, I'm so sorry
I missed it. It must have been wonderful. But
you want to know something? I am expecting this
very same thing to happen one of these days.
And I believe it's going to happen before the
great catching up. I believe it. Let me read
it to you. While Peter yet spake these words,
The Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the
word, and they of the circumcision which believed
were astonished, as many as came with Peter,
because that on the Gentiles also was poured
out the gift of the Holy Ghost. And they heard
them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then
answered Peter, Peter, can any man forbid water
that these should not be baptized which have
received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he
commanded them to be baptized in the name of
the Lord. Do you see what happened? Do you see
what happened? Here was Peter, having been filled
with the Holy Spirit himself. preaching under
the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Oh, sure. The
120 in that upper room. Not a Gentile among them.
All having been filled with the Holy Spirit,
baptized in the Spirit, in that upper room. And
now, Peter and those who went with him were in
the... House of Cornelius. And Peter began to
speak under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
And suddenly, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit,
fell on all them which heard the word. And those
who were with Peter couldn't believe it. They
couldn't believe their ears. They just couldn't
believe it because that on the Gentiles also
was poured out this wonderful gift of the Holy
Ghost. They never thought it was possible for
the Gentiles to receive this wonderful gift of
the Holy Spirit. And they heard them speak with
tongues and magnify God. Then Peter suddenly
realized that these Gentiles hadn't been immersed
in water yet. They haven't been baptized in water.
He says, my goodness, life will have to do something
about it. If they have been still with the Holy
Spirit, then surely it's time to have them immersed
in water. It was kind of getting the cart before
the horse, you know. Because he had just said
prior to this, He must repent, then be immersed
in water for the remission of your sins, then
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And now he
finds those who have been filled with the Holy
Spirit even before they were immersed in water.
And he says, can man forbid water that these
should not be baptized, which have received the
Holy Ghost as well as we? No, do not be guilty
of being dogmatic about this thing, saying that
one must be immersed in water before one can
be filled with the Holy Spirit. Do you understand
why now I remind you over and over again that
any truth, if emphasized to the exclusion of
all other truths of equal importance, is practical
error. And it's just like that. All right? Now
we come to the meaning of water baptism. Do you
realize, so far as I know, this is the very first
time that I have really talked to you heart to
heart regarding immersion, regarding water baptism,
and what it really means, what it stands for.
Pause a minute. And perhaps in the next several
minutes, in answering this question, I can answer
several questions for you. When the Holy Spirit
does His work in the new birth or in regeneration,
He relates us to a person. There is no life,
beloved. Absolutely no life apart from a person.
And the gift of eternal life centers in the person
of Jesus Christ. There is no spiritual life.
There can be no spiritual life. You can have
no spiritual life apart from Jesus Christ, the
very Son of the living God. The Word of God teaches
us that a man receives life. You receive your
spiritual life. You receive eternal life by receiving
Jesus Christ as a personal savior. That's why
our Lord said, I am the way, the truth, and the
life. He did not say, I have the way. I have
the truth. I have the life. As though it were
a gift that he could give, a gift that he could
dispense. as though he was simply the agent who
gave eternal life. No. Let me remind you again.
He did not say, I have the way. Jesus said, I
am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. Do
you remember what our Lord said after he'd worked
the miracle of stealing the 5 ,000? I am the
bread of life. He did not say, I have the bread
of life. No. He said, I am the bread of life.
Never once did he say, I have the bread of life.
And anyone who wants it can come and get it from
me. Just as though he was passing out the loaves.
as he fed the physical body with the loaves and
the fishes. No. After raising Lazarus from the
dead, Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the
life. He did not say, I have life to impart.
He said, I am the resurrection. I am the life.
Now this brings home to us the fact that if we
are to have life, we must have Jesus Christ.
Since Jesus Christ is the life, the Spirit must
bring us into a living, vital union with Him.
Now comes the question. How does the Holy Spirit
make one alive in Christ Jesus? Paul did not
say, if any man accept a gift from Christ. Paul
said, if any man be in Christ, and again I remind
you, there is no life apart from Christ Jesus.
If any man be in Christ, He is a new creature.
He is a new creation. There can be no eternal
life. No man can be a new creation apart from
the person of Jesus Christ who said, I am life.
Now, why does Paul talk about us as being a new
creation? Because we are exactly. that. As the
Holy Spirit gave life to creation so that it
could bring forth after its kind and manifest
life, the Spirit of God produces a new birth
that gives us a new life. And the new life is
in Christ Jesus himself. And when we have that
new life, In Christ Jesus, what happens? Old
things are passed away. What are the old things?
Spiritual deadness? The sinner existed before.
Oh, sure to be sure he did. But he existed devoid
of life. All things now are to become new. The
new thing is life in Christ with all that that
entails. You and I are new creatures in Christ
Jesus. We have life in Him. For our very existence
is in Him. Now let's come to the answering of
that question regarding water baptism. Remember,
water baptism does not give you eternal life.
You are not born again because you are immersed
in water. You are immersed in water because you
have been born again. Just a moment ago, we saw
from the Holy Scripture, that one can be immersed
prior to receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
or one can be immersed following the experience
of having been filled with the Holy Spirit. But
if you are immersed in wetter before you've been
born again, my friend, you've only gotten wet.
And that's all. What a baptism has no meaning
whatsoever. Until, first of all, you've had that
wonderful experience of having been born again.
Let me read you a portion of the Word of God.
It's found in the sixth chapter of Romans. Nothing
is as powerful as the Word of God. There is no
substitute for God's Word. Sometimes I think
that we read... everything under the sun, except
the word of God. And yet there is no greater
authority than God's word. If only I could get
men and women to read the word of God. Read it.
Read it for yourself. All right, here it comes.
Know ye not that... So many of us, as were baptized
into Jesus, were baptized into his death. Therefore,
we are buried with him by baptism into death,
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead
by the glory of the Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life. Sure, because we are
a new creature in Christ Jesus. for the very
first time. We've been born of the Spirit. We're
new creatures. We have our life in Him. For if
we've been planted together in the likeness of
His death, we shall be also in the likeness of
His resurrection, knowing this, that our old
man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin
might be destroyed. that henceforth we should
not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from
sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe
that we shall also live with him, knowing that
Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no
more, and death hath no more dominion over him.
For in that he died, He died unto sin once, but
in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise,
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto
sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your
mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts
thereof. Oh, sure, beloved. Water baptism is
an outward sign of that glorious transaction
that took place in that new birth experience.
No man, no... woman saw that transaction. It
was a personal transaction. When your sins were
covered in blood, when your sins were blotted
out, and you became a new creature in Christ
Jesus, in that moment you stood justified before
God by faith. But now, you stand justified before
the whole world by the life that you live in
him.