How do you interpret John 20: 22?

[Bronconagurski]

John 20:22-23 (KJV)
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

Is this merely a symbolic gesture by Jesus, looking forward to the day of Pentecost? Or is it like when the Holy Spirit came upon people in the OT for specific purposes? Could it be an indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the disciples before the day of Pentecost? Or maybe you have another interpretation.

 

[Herald]

This particular imparting of the Spirit is a foreshadow of what would happen at Pentecost.

 

[Bronconagurski]

This particular imparting of the Spirit is a foreshadow of what would happen at Pentecost.

So you are calling this a filling, but not an indwelling? Something else?

 

[Tom Butler]

So you are calling this a filling, but not an indwelling? Something else?

To advance the discussion, would you discuss the difference between filling and indwelling?

 

[Bronconagurski]

To advance the discussion, would you discuss the difference between filling and indwelling?

I consider a filling to be an influence of the Holy Spirit upon a person for a particular purpose or an enabling to walk godly. An indwelling is when the Holy Spirit takes up permanent (imo) residence in a person for salvation. On the day of Pentecost, all believers were indwelt and at the same time baptized into the body of Christ. I have always been taught that no one was indwelt by the Spirit until Pentecost. This verse in John has always given me pause as it seems to be an indwelling imo. Of course, there are many different opinions and that isn't the popular one. Furthermore, we are kept by the power of God thru the Holy Spirit, so how were people kept before the indwelling? I am a dispensationalist, but Chafer says you can't determine how people were saved before Pentecost, much less how they were kept.

 

[Van]

You can find many different ideas as to what this verse conveys. Taken straight-up, Jesus is anointing or empowering the disciples with the Holy Spirit for the purpose of being apostles of Christ. From John 7, we know that Jesus had now been glorified and thus was empowered to give the Spirit, at least to some degree. Thus as apostles, out of their hearts will flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-38.) Indwelling seems precluded because Christ needed to go to heaven in order to send the Holy Spirit in that manner.

 

[Jedi Knight]

I think the Lord was switching their focus onto the Spirit. I believe in the OT "and new" all believers had the spirit dwelling in them AND at times came upon them with power. The Holy Spirit sat upon each of them at Pentecost.

 

[Baptist Believer]

Simply put, they received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus spoke to them through the Holy Spirit before He ascended (Acts 1:2), probably as a way of them getting used to communicating with Him while He was still upon the earth and could verify to them that they understood correctly.

The disciples were immersed (baptized) in the Spirit and received power (Acts 1:5, 8) at the feast of Pentecost.

 

[Bob Alkire]

I believe Jesus was giving these disciples a symbolic and a graphic reminder of the Spirit who would come upon them later. This could be said to show what Jesus would do at Pentecost. This isn't an imparting the Spirit to them. This event didn't have a real changing effect with His disciples. So I believe there was only one coming of the Spirit on the disciples, which happened on Pentecost.

Do to the Greek text does not have a definite article preceding the Holy Spirit, has led many to conclude that the Holy Spirit is not in view, but the breath of God is. This view take this breath of God to be symbolic of God’s gift of spiritual power in an impersonal sense.

 

[kyredneck]

I think the Lord was switching their focus onto the Spirit. I believe in the OT "and new" all believers had the spirit dwelling in them AND at times came upon them with power. The Holy Spirit sat upon each of them at Pentecost.

Good articulation. Totally agree.

They were 'clothed with power from on high' at Pentecost.

 

[Greektim]

John 20:22-23 (KJV)
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

Is this merely a symbolic gesture by Jesus, looking forward to the day of Pentecost? Or is it like when the Holy Spirit came upon people in the OT for specific purposes? Could it be an indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the disciples before the day of Pentecost? Or maybe you have another interpretation.

Simply John's version of the fulfillment of gift of the Holy Spirit. It is also a major theme in John in reference to Ezekiel's promise of the Spirit being fulfilled. So it is John's way of indicating that the age to come has in some way started with the resurrection of Jesus and his disciples experiencing that in a New Covenant type of way.

 

[MB]

John 20:22-23 (KJV)
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

Is this merely a symbolic gesture by Jesus, looking forward to the day of Pentecost? Or is it like when the Holy Spirit came upon people in the OT for specific purposes? Could it be an indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the disciples before the day of Pentecost? Or maybe you have another interpretation.

Christ was sending His disciples out to preach. For them to be successful at it required the Holy Spirit, Because He directs the preacher and speaks through them.
MB

 

[Zenas]

There are two instances in scripture where God breathed on a man. The first is Genesis 2:7: " Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."

The second instance is John 20:22: " And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit." Since John 1 tracks Genesis 1, I don't believe this is a coincidence. It is not an allegory. We can take it at face value for what it says.

 

[MB]

John 20:22-23 (KJV)
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

Is this merely a symbolic gesture by Jesus, looking forward to the day of Pentecost? Or is it like when the Holy Spirit came upon people in the OT for specific purposes? Could it be an indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the disciples before the day of Pentecost? Or maybe you have another interpretation.

This was said by Christ after the resurrection. And yes this was Christ giving the disciples the Holy Spirit to indwell them. Only after Christ paid the penalty for sin could Christ do this. This is why I have said in the past that no one was saved as we are today until Christ had atoned for sin. There is no forgiveness for sin with out the shedding of blood.
MB

 

[Bro. James]

Wow, a church before Pentecost and Azuza St.

Jesus started His Church on the shores of Galilee when He called out His disciples: come, follow me, I will make you fishers of men. His methodology has not changed. The fields are ripe, the laborers few.

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Bro. James