Q3. Receive the Holy Spirit

[Pastor Ralph]

Q3. (John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4, 8) Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit? Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day?

[SoiKosum]

(John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4, 8) Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit? Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day? 

 

The disciples must receive the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, in order to have the power to accomplish Jesus' mission. They are not to attempt to accomplish their sending on their own power; rather they are to wait for his power. 

 

When Jesus has gone back to the Father, He will send the Holy Spirit - He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13-14)

 

When He (the Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

- of sin, because they do not believe in Me

- of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more

- of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged

 

The work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day because we cannot bear the truth that He brings from the Father. Many people are not prepared to hear and face the truth. As such, pastors have watered down God's message to make it more palatable and politically correct.

 

[JanMary]

Q3. (John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)?

 Holy Spirit indwelling us is the power with which we accomplish His work...."Apart form Him, we can do nothing"

 

(See Acts 1:4, 8) Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit?

 

The Holy Spirit is everywhere at once (Omnipresent), whereas Jesus could only be one place at a time while on earth, just as we are. But with the indwelling Holy Spirit we are equipped with His wisdom, His power, His motives, wherever we go to accomplish whatever He purposes through us.

 

Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day?

 

I think it's because Satan has been very effective in lulling the "Church" to sleep. Political correctness frowns on the supernatural, and has cleverly convinced "us" that the Holy Spirit's work is "weird" or undesirable, or no longer relevant since "we" are so advanced with technology and new strategies. I think in large part it's also due to ignorance (poor teaching, lack of individual Bible reading/study...statistics show that about 90% of Christians when asked admitted they had never read the entire Bible), and arrogance based on what mankind has been able to accomplish in the modern era.

[haar]

Q3. (John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4, 8)   

The disciples (and all of us Christians) have been sent on the Great Commission. This can only be effectively carried out through the power of the Holy Spirit.
 

Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit?

 

The Holy Spirit is the teacher, counsellor and source of power that is needed for the work of the Lord.

 

Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day?

 

I think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day because of ignorance and perception. More teaching and prayers need to be done for every Christian to know that we can only serve God well in/ with the power of the Holy Spirit.

[Clarence]

Q3. (John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4, 8) Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit? Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day?

 

Because of the corruption of creation and mankind, as a result of the fall (Genesis 3:34) we must not do anything in our carnal strength (John 15:5). So God has given us the resorces, power and enabling to carry out his task. The Holy Spirit is not an optional extra, but is part of God's plan for believers in the world (Acts 1:4).

Perhaps the work of the Holy Spirit is neglected and misunderstood because the work of the Holy Spirit is so essential. The devil is very happy to see disunity and misunderstanding, because christianity would know no bounds if all believers understood and were obedient to the great commission (1Peter 5:8; Joel 2:28-32).

[blezed]

(John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4, 8) Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit? Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day?          

• The disciples must receive the Holy Spirit in order to have the power to accomplish Jesus' mission.

• Jesus is sending the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide us, as well as give us power to witness.

• The work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day because sometimes, I think we try to get ahead of Jesus and feel that we are doing things on our own. 

[Jen]

Q3. (John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4, 8) Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit?  Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day?

 

​The Holy Spirit is our wisdom, guidance, comforter,  God's truth not the world's truth, our power, our shield, our everything that is needed to go and live as believers and go in the name of Jesus.  He is God and apart from Him we can do nothing. 

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit for all the above reasons.  The Holy Spirit dwells within all believers and is always present with us, our amazing God has given us all we need.

The Holy Spirit seems to be  the hardest of the Godhead to talk about but He is the mover and the shaker behind all God's work in the world.  God the Father is God to us and Jesus is our Savior and Lord.  He came in the flesh whom we could see, and touch.  He was God but one of us.  So who is this Holy Spirit?  Why is He so misunderstood?  The more we learn about Him the more we understand.  Frankly I think most are just to busy to be bothered which is a very unsettling thought.  And I believe we have been led astray by our leaders in and out of the church who know not the truth.  In the end though it is our own responsibility to read, pray, question.

 

God Bless!

Jen

Numbers 6:24-26 

[lighthouse2014]

Q3. (John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4, 8) Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit? Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day?

Jesus commissioning the disciples to go out into the world by the power of the Holy Spirit and Jesus breathing on them is a symbolic gesture of the spirit coming upon them after Jesus had ascended into heaven. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit had actually come to them, perhaps Jesus was telling them what was going to happen on the day of Pentecost. 

Jesus is going to send the Holy Spirit to them because with out his power and authority they would be unable to speak Gods word or perform miracles. Jesus had to first ascend back to the Father in heaven before the spirit would come. Jesus stated that he would ask the Father to send the spirit and the spirit would only tell them what he had heard from the Father.

The work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected today because many congregations believe that the baptism of the spirit was only for the apostles. They say the word of God in the bible is all that is needed today. But, with out the Holy Spirit we are not able to deliver God's word accurately or with authority. The Holy Spirit does God's work through the believers thus convicting non believers of sin. This being a great honor to be minister's of Christ for the glory of God.   

[hanks]

Q3. (John 20:22) 

Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with His giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? 

(See Acts 1:4, 8) 

Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit?  

Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day?

Without the Holy Spirit, we as sinners, cannot operate effectively in accordance with the will of God. Earlier Jesus had told His disciples that the Heavenly Father would give them the gift of the Holy Spirit. We read of this in John 14:16 where Jesus says, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever”. But in the meantime there is a transition period between Jesus’ death and the Day of Pentecost. So I believe that Jesus breathed into these disciples the Spirit of God to sustain them and secure them for the interval between His ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. As Jesus breathes on these men He says, "Receive the Holy Spirit." This is a gift to be accepted now, a foretaste of the Person of the Holy Spirit who is yet to come and remain in them permanently after Jesus has returned to the Father. Before this, they had not been indwelt by the Spirit of God, and they needed to be regenerated and endued with power from on high, to be able to cope with the coming problems and demands that will be made on them. One of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to bear testimony to man’s rejection of the Son of God, and to point out the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Everything our evil and corrupt world of today does not want to hear about. This ultimately results in the work of the Holy Spirit being ignored and rejected and misunderstood as well. 

 

[PeteD]

Lesson 33 question 3

Jesus' commissioning of the disciples, the task, is linked closely to the means, that is, the installation of the Holy Spirit. The disciples without the Holy Spirit's help would be hopelessly unable to do the task.

The work of the Holy Spirit may be neglected of late because of our Western emphasis on analytical thinking and hence our fear of a more intuitive, right brain, approach. I'm thankful to our more charismatic Christian brothers & sisters who are helping to correct this deficiency.

[RebeccaMallinson]

He knew that we are incapable to fulfilling the great commission without help from the Holy Spirit.  I think the reason the concept of the Holy Spirit is neglected and misunderstood in our day is because it is difficult to understand.  Without a physical body, the Holy Spirit is much harder to explain to people who are very physical.  I struggled for years!  We can visualise Jesus easily because he lived on Earth and there is a great deal of writing about him, we can conceptualise God the Father, because we all have fathers, but the Holy Spirit is a much more difficult concept.

[Stanley Tavaziva]

Q3. (John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4, 8) Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit?  Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day?

 

This may have been a special filling of the Holy Spirit for the disciples, a foretaste of what all believers would experience from the time of Pentecost and forever after. To do God’s work, we need the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. We must avoid trying to do his work in our own strength.

 

 Pentecost was also called the Festival of Harvest. It was one of three major annual festivals a festival of thanksgiving for the harvested crops. Jesus was crucified at Passover time, and he ascended 40 days after his resurrection. The Holy Spirit came 50 days after the Resurrection, 10 days after the Ascension. Jews of many nations gathered in Jerusalem for this festival. 

 

If Jesus had stayed on earth, his physical presence would have limited the spread of the Good News, because physically he could be in only one place at a time. After Christ was taken up into heaven, he would be spiritually present everywhere through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was sent so that God would be within us his followers after Christ returned to heaven. The Spirit would comfort us, guide us to know his truth, remind us of Jesus’ words, giving us the right words to say, and fill us with power.

We have neglect the Holy Spirit in many different ways. We placed our emphasis on wrong things focus and wrong doctrines.  

[royk]

Q3. (John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4, 8) Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit?  Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day?

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. But I can do nothing good without His presence in me, and through me to do His will.

Sorry for those of us who lead with our own self inflated ego, that forgets to ask for the Holy Spirit to do it though us. We accomplish nothing, we deepen the bad habit of self, and self reliance. A trip towards hell, the wrong way.

But if we repent as soon as we have captured the thought that causes this "wandering," there is hope and grace is given to us. Then we ask Him to keep us on the path, to be used according to God's plan.

 

If we ask for the Holy Spirit to take control of us, in Jesus' name, that seems to be a better way. If it takes thousands of prayers, let me hope that it will not take thousands of days, to learn to glorify Him by being nothing.

[Joe_Applegarth]

I also believe that Jesus’s breathing on them was example of the symbolism that he sometimes used.  He did this to symbolize and prepare them to receive and understand that He was going to send the Holy Spirit to them very soon.  In fact, He told them very clearly that The Holy Spirit would be poured out on them, and it would fill their souls.  I believe this to be purely symbolic because only the power of the Holy Spirit would give them the strength to go out to preach His message in a world from which they were hiding at the time. 

 

So many people (to include a lot of professed Christians) take a “That was then, this is now” attitude but what they fail to realize is that God is exactly the same now as He was in the beginning and His words are just as true and pertinent.  The idea that the “Holy Spirit of God” can be resident in our lives isn’t something that’s easily accepted by those who live in the world.  Today people are told, and most believe, that they can do anything as long as they apply themselves and to a limited degree I suppose there might be a wisp of truth in that.  However, if we ever hope to be spiritually secure we have to accept and acknowledge the absolute truth that He does reside within us all and that He will dwell there forever.  As a Christian we should all remember that He will never leave or forsake us and that is cause for joy and comfort in our lives.  Reminding others that we still today have an advocate is another, very important, part of the mission that Christ has left for us.

[pickledilly]

When Jesus commissioned the disciples, He also linked this to His giving of the Holy Spirit because we are unfit and unable to fulfill His commission out of our own efforts. Nothing of the flesh can accomplish anything of the holy and eternal Kingdom of God. He told them not to step out into their mission until they received “the promise of the Father”, the power of heaven when the Spirit came upon them (Acts 1:4,8). Only the Spirit equips, enlightens, and empowers us for this service to the Father.

 

I think maybe a primary reason the work of the Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day is the compromise of the gospel message that is so prevalent in our feel-good world. We have widely accepted “pastors” who say they represent God's Word but won't even talk about the cross of Christ, for goodness sake! They talk about the power and blessings of the Spirit, but don't challenge people to die to self and welcome the Spirit to strip us and make us more like Christ. In the natural, no one wants to submit to accountability. We trust our own wisdom and self-reliance. And those attitudes suppress and subvert the work of the Spirit.

 

And then another important reason may be that we've pulled back in response to misrepresentations of the Spirit. I think we've allowed satan to deceive us into thinking we must all have some grand public display of the Spirit in our lives. The Spirit may lead in a showy way at times, but I believe His most powerful work is in the quieter intimate moments as He deals with us one-on-one to reveal truth and convict us of personal sin and give guidance as we yield to Him. That kind of openness, brokenness, and honesty before God is something we try to avoid because it's uncomfortable and we resist the change that is necessary. But it's the very way that He empowers us and raises us up to do the work of the Kingdom and fulfill Jesus' commission to us. Generally speaking, we are so full of pride in our day that we have a hard time humbling ourselves in full dependence on Him.

[Old Jerry]

I think that Jesus’ commissioning of the disciples was so closely linked with his giving of the Holy Spirit is because I don’t think that disciples would have been able to achieve what they did without it. Jesus is sending the Holy Spirit to help and protect the disciples so they don’t turn away from Jesus. I don’t know why the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day but I can see the results of this neglect. Just look what has happen in the United States and everybody falling away from Jesus.

[Godswriter]

Q3. (John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4, 1:8  Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit? Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day?  

I believe his commissioning them was linked the Holy Spirit because without Him they would have no authority and power to do the works that they had done in the times that they were able to do. He was sending the Holy Spirit in order to empower them to do the works that they would be doing as well as protect them. I believe it is misunderstood and neglected because they believe some of the gifts are no longer existence anymore.

 

[Lisema Ralitsoele]

Q3. (John 20:22)

1.    Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? The disciples will speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel and this approval comes only through the Holy Spirit.

2.     Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit?  Jesus is sending them the Holy Spirit as the source of Power for them to accomplish the mission with excellence. Without this empowerment by the Holy Spirit, the mission is doomed.

3.     Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day? I think the Church does an excellent job in detailing the wonderful works of the Father from the Old to the New Testament, as well as giving us prophetic works of the Son in the Old Testament, and their fulfillment in the New Testament. However, I think that the Church pays lip service to the Holy Spirit. As a result, we have to do a lot of private reading to improve our understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit.

[Jonathan Edwards]

Christ is the 2nd Adam. Here we read the life giving Spirit was visibly conferred on this fearfull group--to go forth to complete His mission of Divine life that would make them new creatures, and bestow on them power to generate the same Spirit in others. Here we see the earnest of Pentecost.  Here the disciples are associated with His Resurrection; at Pentecost, they are initiated into His Ascencion.   All that were present, eleven  Apostles  and the others gathered received the bestowment of the Holy Spirit.

They needed the Holy Spirit so that they could preach the Word of God.  This group of disciples were in a  vunerable situation within the confines of Jerusalem; they were definitely of fearfull disposition.   Whoever receives this Divine Breath becomes alive to God; his faith that was weak is now invincible.   In this portion, we see that the glorification-had already began.  Christ was about to leave them for seven days.

The Holy Spirit has been neglected very much.   Many churches have invented new carts to carry the Ark of the Covenant.   Spurious heresies, worldly entertainment methods have brought Broadway into churches; and lack of solid of expository preaching.   The Holy Spirit as the third person of the Holy Trinity has truly been neglected.

[Irmela]

Q3. (John 20:22) Why do you think Jesus commissioning the disciples (verse 21) is so closely linked with his giving the Holy Spirit (verse 22)? (See Acts 1:4- 😎 Why is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit?  

Why do you think the work of the Holy Spirit tends to be neglected and misunderstood in our day?

To be able to do the work commissioned to them, they need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.   The Holy Spirit will guide them, remind them, comfort them, strengthen them, (empower them) as is needed in the work.   

The fact that Jesus then breathed on them, saying receive the Holy Spirit, was symbolic of what was yet to come.  

There has been much false copying which has been called working of the Holy Spirit.  The fruit has not been Christlike and so there has been much doubting and fear about letting go and truly letting the Spirit work.  it is after all by their fruit that they will be known.  In one's own strength miracles are certainly not forthcoming.

Jesus did nothing without the Father and so ought we to follow in His footsteps.  The Holy Spirit is there to remind us and guide us in the way we ought to go.