“And when He had said this, He breathed on
them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22 NKJV).
The
importance of this simple act of our resurrected Saviour will be fully
understood against the backdrop of the creation of the first man. “Then the LORD God formed the man from the
dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and
the man became a living person” (Genesis 2:7 NLT). After God formed the
first human being from the dust of the earth, he was no more than a mere work
of heavenly art. God had to breathe into
his nostrils before he could become a living person. Through this simple act of breathing, God
imparted a divine essence in man, a life principle that made him a living
person. The breath of God bequeathed on man nonmaterial values such the mind,
the will, the emotions and all that distinguishes him from animals. More
importantly, this breath from God imbued man with the propensity to desire God
and want to be with Him.
When
man sinned, in obedience to satan, he lost most of the essential parts of this
impartation and whatever was left became corrupted with the nature of his new
master satan. He could no longer desire God and cherish His company. When God
came calling in the garden, Adam and Eve, his wife ran from His presence. “When
the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God
walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. Then
the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you
walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” (Genesis
3:8-10 NLT). The word naked came
from the root word in Hebrew, which means, “to be made bare.” It means not only
that they were without covering over their body, but also that they have been
robbed of everything dear to them. Everything that distinguished them from mere
animals, all the godly qualities and values that make them attractive in the
sight of God were all either gone or unrecognisably corrupted. This poverty of values they inherited from
satan became the new nature of man and was made evident when their first child
killed his brother. Faced with the
lifeless corpse of their son Abel, the real import of sin dawned on Adam and
his wife. What regret that must have welled up in them!
Man
remained in that state until Christ died on the Cross and rose from the
dead. Recall that Jesus came for the
sole purpose of destroying the work of the devil and restoring life to
people. When He concluded the work of
our redemption, He visited His disciples who represented the humanity of all
race and time and restored that divine essence by breathing on the disciples as
representatives of the rest of humanity who would trust Him for their
salvation. As He breathed to the
dust-man at creation for him to become a living person, so He breathed on the
redeemed man so he could become spiritually alive.
“...And said to them, “Receive the Holy
Spirit,” signifying that life in the New Covenant is going to be in the
power of the Holy Spirit and not by the dictates of flesh and blood. By this
declaration, our Lord accomplished a definite impartation of spiritual life in
the disciples. This declaration remains in force until today. Any time someone
repents and turns to Christ, this declaration is activated in the person and
the Holy Spirit moves in to impart spiritual life into the person and graft the
person into the Body of Christ. Paul explains, “Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are
free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all
share the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT)
i am really blessed by this message ,beloved uncle brother and spiritual mentor Dr. COSMOS ILECHUKWU I just went through this article and i decided to write in, an appraisal of your contributions in building up the church of God in the most holy faith ,in wisdom and power from the most holy God of Israel. Your series of teaching initiated on the Resurrection blessings They are quite focused and spiritually buffeted. I have been enjoying them and have more to gain in the cause of time.There is victory in the name of Jesus. There is power in the revealed word and contentment in the breathed word of the lord Jesus according to your declaration, that say,s " Rejoice in your redemption and celebrate your Redeemer "for in Him we live and move and have our being."...
ReplyDelete;17:28 NKJV] HE IS THE LORD OF EVERY CREATURE IN THIS WORLD AND IN HEAVEN. The resurrection power of our lord Jesus Christ made him unique and admirable. He by this virtue ,out classed sin ,defeated death and showered prowess over powers and principalities in high and low places. This singular success is the pivot of our faith. and belief in Him .Many of us CHRISTIAN S TODAY ARE PROUD OF THAT WHICH THE SON OF MAN JESUS DID AND OBTAIN FOR US ON HIS SHAMEFUL DEATH ON THE CROSS ,2000 YEARS AGO.AND HIS GLORIOUS RESURRECTION. MAY WE CONTINUE TO RELY ON THIS 'HOPE' ,THE FINISHED WORK ON CALVARY, AS WE DISCOVER A NEW STREAM OF STRENGTH AND REVELATION KNOWLEDGE. CHRIST IS THE HOPE OF OUR GLORY.Why? because He died to save mankind from all sin and effect of the law.That,s the confidence we have in Him That as we walk in his spirit we are safe, preserved and protected from the cause of the law and the wickedness of men May the lord continue to increase.you in his wisdom in Jesus name.Amen