Sorry my friend, the scriptures are quite clear about Jesus not having The Holy Spirit to give until He was seated at the right of The Father, hence why 120 disciples received who were up in the room once Jesus was seated on that throne.
Did you even read my post? I showed you how it is gramatically imposible for all 120 to have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. Did you disprove that by your comment? Absoultly not. Just saying something is true does not make it true.
I have given you proof from the Scriptures and from Grammar, now it is up to you to prove me wrong on this, which cannot be done because the truth is on my side. Please understand that your opinion cannot change grammar rules.
When Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on the Apostles only, it proved that Jesus was sitting at the right hand of God. It was only the apostles that stood up and preached that day, not the 120. Also, only the apostles had the ability to impart miracelous gifts through the laying on of their hands. Once the apostels died out, so did the ability of passing on miracelous gifts through the laying on of hands.
I know this thread has gotton long, but those of you who keep going back to the theif on the cross are confused because the theif cannot and never will apply to us today because He was alive during the time Jesus was on the earth, and Jesus had the authority to forgive people of their sins as He did on many occassion. Whether the theif was baptized with John's baptism or not or if this was the first time the theif had heard of Jesus does not matter because the theif died before Jesus gave The Great Commission, which applies to us. No matter how much you want to use the theif on the cross as example of not having to be baptized, he cannot be used.
Here are the facts.
Jesus commanded that we baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit Mat. 28:19, and He said that baptism saves Mk. 16:16.
What did Jesus' apostles do? They baptized people FOR THE REMISSION/FORGIVENESS OF SIN. Acts 2:38.
Read every conversion in the books of Acts and you will see that those that were converted were baptized. On several occassion, the people did not rejoice until they were baptized.
Paul stressed the importance of baptism over and over, but perhaps the clearest teaching he gave was in Rom. 6 in which he says that baptism is how we are buried with christ and united with Him so that we might die to sin. If you don't think that is important and neccessary then you need to wake up because it is. If you do not die with Christ and die to sin then you cannot be saved.
Paul makes it clear in col. 2:12ff that when we are baptized we can know that we are being buried with Christ and that our sins are being washed away by our faith in the working of God.
Please read Paul's conversion in Acts 9 - 22 - 26 and you will see that even though he belived in Jesus, repented and confessed Him as Lord, he was not saved until he aroze and was baptized to wash away his sins Acts 22:16.
We know this baptism be spoken of is water baptism because that is the baptism that Philip did to the eunich, Peter did to Cornilus household Acts 10 and Paul did to the jailor Acts 16. Peter specfically draws a comparsion between the water that saved Noah and his family from a corupt world to how baptism in water saves us. 1 pet. 3:20-21.
Some in this thread like to claim the baptism being mentioned is Holy Spirit baptism, but Holy Spirit baptism was promised by Jesus and was adminstered by Him. Man cannot obey a promise, but going back the Great Commission, we can obey and water baptize people.
Other things show us that water baptism is what is being talked about because we see the word washing come up often and the idea of being buried along with the word baptism meaning to immerse, submerge or dip.
All this tells us that water baptism in under consideration.
We also learn that baptism is what puts us into the kingdom/church 1 Cor. 12:13; Jn. 3:5. Since Jeus is the savior of the church Eph. 5:23, we must be in the church/kingdom to be saved. So baptism does save just like Peter and Jesus taught Mk. 16:16; 1 Pet. 3:21.
Also the Scriptures teach over and over again that we must die to live. Again, go back to Rom. 6 and you will see that we do not die until we are baptized.
Finally, the Scriptures teach that salvation, forgiveness of sins, and every spiritual blessing are found IN CHRIST Eph. 1:3,7, which means if you are not in Christ then you are not saved. Question: When and how does one get into Christ. Asnwer:
Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Romans 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
I kept this as short as possible so all of you might read it because what I have said is easy to understand and proves beyond doubt that water baptism is necessary for salvation. I just hope your eyes will be open to the truth and that you will stop allowing your upbringing or what you feel or have become used to hearing keep you from seeing the truth.