The Disciples Commissioned

[macuser]

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John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain [the sins of] any, they are retained."


There are many interpretations of these two verses. Different church denominations interpret these verses and different ways.

The question that arises is Christ baptizing the disciples with the Holy Ghost and if so is He giving them power to forgive sins?

[Moss]

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I've gotten in to this discussion with Catholics and it's like talking.

My first question concerning baptism is, if this was baptism of the disciples what happened at Pentecost? Was there a second baptism of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost?

[macuser]

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Some commentators believe that this is a symbolic gesture of what was going to happen and Acts 2. Most all of them agree that baptism of the Holy Spirit is a one time deal.

What I believe is actually happening here is that they are being anointed to the ministry they're about to be launched into. The Bible is very clear that only God can forgive sin, and I cannot think of any case in the Bible where any apostle or anyone else forgave anyone of their sins, except for Jesus Christ. If anyone knows an exception of this please post it thank you.

Now are we as Christians expected to forgive those who sin against us, yes most definitely. I like to think that if you forgive somebody for sinning against you it will not be held against them when they stand for judgment.