24^th October 2009

John 20:22

“He breathed on them and said,
'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"

Jesus promises His disciples “I will ask the Father,
and He will give you another Helper…the Spirit of truth.”
This is different from the Pentecostal experience.
In that world-shattering event God was equipping
His Body the Church and enabling His disciples
to become leaders of that Body.
Here He is breathing on the selected few
to receive this personal and special gift.
Paul says that Jesus had this “live-giving Spirit.”

He uses that which is common to all humanity to do this
“He breathed on them.”
He equipped them through the Holy Spirit
to grapple with the one thing
which could separate themselves and others
from God Himself: sin.
”If you forgive the sins of any,
their sins have been forgiven.” V23

Man has made a terrible hash of Christ’s Body the church.
Divisions, schisms, thousands of denominations
and so the list can go on.
All this is beyond the ability of individuals to correct.
We cannot control what happens to the Body His Church,
after all it is His Body.

Because of their commitment to Him
He bestowed on the disciples a special gift.
He “breathed on them to receive.”
So we can open our minds and hearts to receive
God’s gift of new life in the Spirit.

“Breathe on me breath of God, fill me with life anew.”