There are so many arguments on whether all believers should speak in tongues or not, and whether all believers have the Holy Ghost or not. I can tell you right now that all believers have the Holy Ghost, but not all have Him (The Holy Ghost) with power.
I Corinthians 12:3 says “and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” (KJV) Verse 13 of that chapter says, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” (KJV) The very Spirit of the Father God, the Holy Ghost, is the baptizer here. God speaks to man, Spirit to spirit, and it is the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God, that draws a man to Salvation, to call Jesus “Lord” and receive Salvation from God. When a person receives salvation, their name is recorded in Heaven, and when that person’s life ends here on the earth that person will go to be with Jesus in Heaven for all eternity. That is just one type of baptism.
Mark 1:4-5 says, “John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins...and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.” (KJV) This is a baptism with water and what a person is doing here is declaring that he is a believer. He is doing this in front of others, at least one other, the one immersing him in water. This DOES NOT save you!! A preacher or any believer can immerse (dunk) you in water. A believer is the baptizer, your physical body goes under water, and a declaration, a formal statement is being made that, “I am a Christian.”
I Corinthians 12:3 and 12:13 coincide with the “Prayer of Salvation” in Romans 10: 8-13. There you see that a person comes to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus and states with his mouth that he knows that Jesus died and was raised, and calls Him “Lord” and that person is then “saved” to go to Heaven when his life finishes here on the earth. There is nothing said in the Bible here about “confessing sin”. When you call Jesus “Lord” then the Holy Ghost immerses (dunks) your spirit into the Blood of Jesus and you are washed clean. You are saved! You have to understand that the Blood of Jesus has never and will never dry. It is still wet blood today. Dry blood is useless. That is how the Cross of Calvary convicts your heart of God’s love for you. Look at the cross. It is irresistible. The Blood still flows today. So we see that this baptism is for salvation from everlasting damnation in Hell. This allows us into Heaven.
You might say, “Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that I do not have to confess sins to be saved?” The Bible does not say that you do. I was 35 when I got received salvation. If I had confessed my sins to the Lord then I would still be running my mouth asking His forgiveness. Jesus probably would have said, “I’ve heard enough, besides I already know you sinned and what you did. Now get up off your knees and quit crying and go tell others how God has been good to you.”
Do you have the baptism of the Holy Ghost and do you need to speak in tongues? Mark 1:8 says, “I indeed have baptized you with water; but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” (KJV) Acts 1:8 says “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…” (KJV) Acts 2:4 says “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues…” (KJV) This is the baptism for the very Power of God to operate through you. You can walk like Jesus and do the things He did and more. You say, “Wait, that is too much. I cannot do that, and should not even think that I can.” Why not? Are we not to be imitators of Him. Do you believe the Word of God or not? It is that simple. That is why so many of us cannot walk in it. It is so simple that we miss it. In this baptism, Jesus is the baptizer, the Holy Ghost (power from above), comes into your very person. You have power to witness, to heal, to deliver, and to set the oppressed free. You have the power of God in you, and now it can come out and do the works of Jesus. That leads to an increase in God’s family, which pleases Him more than we can imagine.
