Peace, Spirit, and Forgiveness
Notes
Transcript
Psalm 16 | John 20:19–23
Peace - John 20:19-21
Peace - John 20:19-21
God, Angels, and Jesus
Gen 15:1 - to Abram
Dan 10:18 - to Daniel
Luke 1:30 - to Mary
Luke 2 - Shepherds
Mark 6:50 - To the Apostles
They were not expecting peace from their countrymen
They were not expecting Jesus
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
The consistency of Jesus message and example should point us back to this simple Beatitude!
Jesus is a peacemaker. and so should we be.
Spirit - John 20:22
Spirit - John 20:22
Genesis 2:7 “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”
Acts 2:2 “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”
John 20:22 “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
More than just Apostles were present, though neither Judas nor Thomas were there.
Luke 24:33 “And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,”
Cleopas and his companion, from the Emmaus walk were present.
Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and Salome all may have been present along with other local believers.
If this is the case, the commissioning and gifting was NOT to the apostles alone, but to the entire fledgling church.
We all have access to the same Holy Spirit, a gift given to us by God through Christ.
Forgiveness - John 20:23
Forgiveness - John 20:23
Who forgives first?
John 20:23 “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.””
Luke 5:21 “And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?””
Greek Verbs underlying the English are forgiven, and ‘it is retained’ in John 20:23, Matthew 16:19, and Matthew 18:18
Verb, Aorist, Active Subjunctive, second person plural
Aorist = The Aorist tense conveys a "simple" or "punctiliar" aspect, viewing the action as a whole, closed event, unlike the continuous nature of the imperfect tense
Verb, perfect, passive, indicative, third person, plural
Perfect - describes a completed action with results that still persist in the present
"If you forgive the sins of any, they have already been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have already been retained."
When the church on earth forgives someone’s sins, the church is simply
Matthew 18:18 “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Narrower application, speaking of the church’s judgments and actions in regards to membership.
Admit new members, or retain existing ones after they stumble.
Excluding members upon recognizing they are not forgiven.
Wider Application, speaking of the Keys (Matthew 16:19)
By teaching and Preaching Bible doctrine we either bless or condemn certain motivations and actions.
By right teaching and preaching, we open the doors to believers, and prevent (in a sense) the unbelievers, who have not been made fit for the Kingdom.
Summarizing then:
Jesus has breathed the breath of eternal life (The Holy Spirit) into all who are saved.
Every believer should seek to be a peacemaker in our lives.
Every believer, especially as they participate in the life of the local church, is charged with maintaining orthodoxy (right belief) and orthopraxy (right practice).
