The Lord breathes
on the Apostles
and then says,
"Receive the Holy Ghost."
But don't they receive
the Holy Ghost
on the day of Pentecost?
What's going on?
[PAUSE]
The first thing to note
is that the Holy Ghost
is proceeding from the Son.
But the Son is not the source
of the Holy Ghost.
Jesus is the means
by which the Holy Ghost
proceeds to us.
The scripture here
is very clear.
The Spirit proceeds
from the Father as the source
of all being and yet
through the Son
and upon the apostles.
Why should this be important
to us?
Does it matter how
the Persons of the Trinity
relate to one another?
Does it matter how
the Holy Ghost shows Himself to us?
[PAUSE]
What do we see?
The Lord Jesus breathes
the Holy Ghost
into the Apostles
and He gives them authority
to bind and loose sins.
This authority
is not just some certificate,
not some rubber stamp,
or ID card that says
"Licence to forgive sins."
This authority
is the Holy Ghost Himself.
It shows us
that when the Apostles forgive sins
in the name of
the Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
they really are forgiven
that the relationship
between God and those who repent
is healing and strengthening.
This authority has its source
in God the Father
because God the Father
is the source of all things good.
This authority proceeds through
God the Son,
because the Incarnation
of Jesus Christ was expressly
for the purpose of redeeming souls
and the forgiveness of sins.
So we see that the Holy Ghost
proceeds from the Father
through the Son
to us
for the purpose
of freeing us from our sins.
[PAUSE]
The Apostles clearly receive
the Holy Ghost here
and here He begins His work
of transforming
Disciple to Apostle.
When that transformation is complete
then the Holy Ghost
makes His presence visible
fifty days after Easter.
But that is another story.
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