Receive The Holy Spirit

I'm convinced that the fourth imperative of the Great Commission, the command of Jesus to "receive the Holy Spirit," has become a great omission for much of the church. We have agreed that John 2.22 is smack in the middle of a Great Commission context: in the preceding verse, Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." It is also clear to all that the active presence of the Holy Spirit was — and is — prerequisite to anyone being able to fulfill the Great Commission. Nevertheless, the precise significance of Jesus breathing upon the disciples and telling them "Receive..." has been much debated.


Many have argued over whether the Spirit was given twice, once on this occasion before Christ's ascension, and again on Pentecost after Christ's ascension. Some have even suggested that John's gospel contradicts Acts, and that the Spirit was really given before Pentecost. All such arguments, sane and foolish, are settled for me by the realization that this was not a giving but a receiving of the Spirit. It's true that the act of Jesus breathing upon the disciples was significant. This is the only place in the NT where this Gk word breathe upon is used, but it appears in the LXX version of the OT in Gen. 2.7 and Eze. 37.9. By this act, Jesus was communicating that all the life-giving presence of the Spirit would come from Himself as the Source. But still, the most important part of this verse is Christ's explicit command: "Receive the Holy Spirit."


Remember that Hebraic thought is distinctly relational. By His command, Jesus called His disciples into a conscious, volitional relationship with the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit was given is irrelevant to this command. The Spirit was already given to God's people in some aspects of His ministry, but was not yet given in the sense Jesus spoke of in John 7.38,39. That was beside the point at this moment in Christ's ministry to the disciples. Christ's command was an appeal to the will, pure and simple, and He makes the same appeal to all His disciples today: "Say yes to a conscious, purposeful relationship with the Holy Spirit."


Don't take this lightly. Jesus said, "As the Father sent Me, I also send you." The Father sent Jesus out from His natural dwelling place and into a fatally hostile environment. The disciples who said Yes to the Holy Spirit were led to crosses, shipwrecks and beheadings for the sake of the gospel. There is no guarantee that saying Yes to the Spirit today will lead us into a less sacrificial life than that of the first Christians. On the contrary, volitionally receiving the Holy Spirit is apt to cost us dearly with regard to our own agenda and personal comforts. But, fellow believers, do we have a choice? (Luk. 9.23)