Water Baptism, Spirit Baptism & Salvation Kathryn Kuhlman Jesus is Salvation

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.