The LORD delights in those who fear Him…

Yours for the Taking: Peace, Purpose, Power and Privilege John 20:19-23

Power

Power: Spiritual enablement

"For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being save and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?" II Corinthinians 2:15-16

The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

"Whoever believes in Me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:38-39

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth.” John 14:16-17

“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about me.” John 15:26

"He will convict the world of sin...guilt...and righteousness." John 16:8-10

"But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth." John 16:13

John 16:7 "Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you."

Acts 1:4 "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about."

Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…

Power: Spiritual enablement

Privilege

"And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." II Corinthians 5:

Accounting for All the Parts #1 We need to understand a difficult Bible passage in the light of passages that are clear.

The (Roman Catholic) Council of Trent ( ) "But the Lord...instituted the Sacrament of Penance, when, being raised from the dead, He breathed upon His disciples saying, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.'...words so clear the consent of all the Fathers has ever understood that the power of forgiving and retaining sins was communicated to the Apostles, and to their lawful successors…." - Newadvent.org

Then I acknowledged my guilt to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD" - and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, you sins are forgiven." Now some of the teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Mark 2:5-7

Peter speaking: “All the prophets testify about Him (Jesus) that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” Acts 10:43

Accounting for All the Parts #1 We need to understand a difficult Bible passage in the light of passages that are clear. #2 Understand the whole story of the Bible.

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men - the testimony given in its proper time. I Timothy 2:5-6

But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Hebrews 9:26

Accounting for All the Parts #1 We need to understand a difficult Bible passage in the light of passages that are clear. #2 Understand the whole story of the Bible. #3 Compare one author with another.

Luke 24:36-47

Accounting for All the Parts #1 We need to understand a difficult Bible passage in the light of passages that are clear. #2 Understand the whole story of the Bible. #3 Compare one author with another. #4 Use several translations.

John 20:23 New American Standard Bible (NASB) 23 If you forgive the sins of any, their sins [a]have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”a Footnotes: John 20:23John 20:23 I.e. have previously been forgiven

To Understand a Difficult Passage (Accounting for All the Parts) #1 We need to understand a difficult Bible passage in the light of passages that are clear. #2 Understand the whole story of the Bible. #3 Compare one author with another. #4 Use several translations.

My suggested meaning: We have been given the privilege, as Christ's representatives on earth, to proclaim forgiveness, or lack thereof, based on another person's acceptance or rejection of the gospel.

My paraphrase of John 20:23 “If you proclaim the forgiveness of sins of someone, based on their acceptance of the gospel, you can know that God has indeed already forgiven their sins. “If you proclaim that the sins of someone still remain, based on their rejection of the gospel, you can know that God is indeed not forgiving their sins (because they have rejected His gospel).”

Yours for the Taking: Peace Purpose Power Privilege