What happened when Jesus blew on the disciples?

In John 20:22 it says: And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

In John 7:39 But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.

So as Jesus was not yet glorified (apart from an encounter on mount transfiguration that was not permanent) , I do not think that there was a real transaction at this stage. I see this breathing on as a sort of an demonstration what was yet to come into force on the day of pentecost.

Any other views on that?

Here's another view.

I heard a teacher say that in Gen 1:26, God said let us create man in our image and Gen 2:7 says Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

And when Adam & Eve had to leave the garden, we took on a whole new nature (sin), descendants of Adam (not God) (if I'm remembering what he said correctly).

And when Jesus came to redeem man back to God, to restore us back to God image through the power of the Holy Ghost, Jesus "breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost..."

God bless,
Lisa

Did they receive the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them?
Yes they did. They received eternal life, the born again experience. The Holy Spirit was Now in them, and would come upon them on the day of Pentecost to empower them to be a witness and a testimony.

Did they receive the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them?
Yes they did. They received eternal life, the born again experience. The Holy Spirit was Now in them, and would come upon them on the day of Pentecost to empower them to be a witness and a testimony.

I know Derek Prince holds this view.

Could it be that it was a filling with the Spirit like that which occurs at conversion, but there was no overflow or empowering or witness or any other manifestation yet.

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Quoting,

John 20:21-22 records that Jesus after His resurrection first appeared to His disciples in a group:

"Jesus said to them, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

More literally verse 22 could be rendered, "He breathed "into" them and said to them, "Receive Holy Breath." His actions were suited to His words. At that moment the disciples received from Jesus the Holy Spirit as divine Breath. They were, in fact, born again of the Holy Spirit. They received divine resurrection life - life that had triumphed over Satan, sin, death and the grave.

It is in the light of this that the apostle says in I John 5:4: "Whatever is born of God overcomes the world." There is no power in the universe that can defeat the divine, eternal life of God received by every believer in Jesus who is born again of the Spirit.

But the disciples still had more to receive of the Holy Spirit. In the forty-day period between the resurrection and ascension of Jesus,

He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." (Acts 1:4-5)

Clearly the baptism in the Holy Spirit was something that still lay ahead for the disciples, even after their experience on Resurrection Sunday.

The fulfillment of this promise of Jesus is recorded in Acts 2:1-4:

"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

There were three successive phases in the experience described above. First, there was a "baptism," an immersion. They were all immersed in the Holy Spirit coming down over them from above. This could perhaps be described as a "Niagara Falls" baptism.

Second, there was an "infilling." They were all individually filled with the Holy Spirit.

Third, there was an "overflow." The Holy Spirit within them overflowed through them in supernatural speech. They glorified God in languages they had not learned and did not understand.

The experience of the disciples on the Day of Pentecost demonstrated the principle stated by Jesus in Matthew 12;34: "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." When the heart is full, in other words, it overflows through the mouth in speech.

The experience of the Holy Spirit was to appropriate supernatural equipment to make the disciples effective as witnesses for Jesus. They were to be witnesses to events that were totally supernatural: the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. The testimony to such events required supernatural power., which was first manifested on the Day of Pentecost and continued throughout the record of the book of Acts.

This power has never been withdrawn from the Church and is still available today.

(From "Bought with Blood: The Divine Exchange at the Cross" - by Derek Prince. Ch 18 - "Possessing Our Possessions." Pg 223-225)

Dear brother Mike,

In John 20:21, Jesus breathed into His disciples and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

But Thomas was not there.

Jesus appeared to them again eight days later when Thomas was with them.

But there is no record of Jesus breathing into Thomas and saying to him, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

You said:
"Did they receive the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them?
Yes they did. They received eternal life, the born again experience. The Holy Spirit was Now in them, and would come upon them on the day of Pentecost to empower them to be a witness and a testimony."

Did Thomas miss out on being born again and having the Holy Spirit coming to indwell him at that time? If so, when was Thomas born again and indwelt by the Holy Spirit?

Blessings.

The disciples were born again as soon as Jesus called them and they followed Him. I believe everyone who followed Christ in the Old Testament (even if they did not know His name is Jesus) or the New was born again, because unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. Pentecost was the fullness of the Holy Spirit given to believers to empower them to spread the gospel.

Hi Nigel,

2 questions:

(1)
Is a born again Christian indwelt by the Holy Spirit?

(2)
What, to you, is the kingdom of God?

Blessings

1. Yes, every born again christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, because if you don't have the Spirit of Christ, you don't belong to Him.

2. To me, and I believe scripturally, the kingdom of God is within us, and we will dwell in the kingdom of God forever with Jesus.

"Did Thomas miss out on being born again and having the Holy Spirit coming to indwell him at that time? If so, when was Thomas born again and indwelt by the Holy Spirit?"

To tell you the truth I never gave this any thought until you asked the question.

When Jesus breathed into His disciples and said "Receive the Holy Spirit", surely they did not reject the Spirit but received the Spirit and were born again. The breath of God and the Spirit are the same. Remember when God created man. He made the body of man out of the dust of the earth, and then God breathed into the man, and man became a living soul. This breath became the human spirit.

Now getting back to your question, we know that Thomas was in the upper room with the other disciples waiting for the promised Holy Spirit. I am sure that the other disciples shared with Thomas about receiving the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them. Now with the indwelling Holy Spirit their eyes were opened and they could understand the words of Jesus about being born again, which it would seem to me that they would have shared this with Thomas, and by this time a doubting Thomas was a believing Thomas who had received the same indwelling Spirit of God. These are only my thoughts on the matter.

Drifter, in response what you think the Kingdom of God is you answered: 2. To me, and I believe scripturally, the kingdom of God is within us, and we will dwell in the kingdom of God forever with Jesus

I dont mean to critical but you didnt answer the question. You pointed out two scriptural teachings ABOUT the Kingdom of Heaven but not what it is.

I only point this out brother because I am curious to hear your thoughts (and perhaps the thoughts of others if they want to weigh in)

I think the idea of what the Kingdom is has direct correlation with what transpired that day when Jesus breathed on the disciples which is why I bring it up

I cant really say it better than Jesus:

"The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."
Luke 17:21

Nigel,

But the disciples could not have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit as soon as Jesus called them and they followed Him because Jesus also said:

John 7:38-39 -- "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

It would seem awfully strange to me that someone like king David could rejoice in God's salvation without actually knowing Him. (It seems to me some Old Testament believers knew God better than we do today; rather odd if they only had an intellectual knowledge, wouldn't you say?) Jesus said eternal life is to know God.

A. W. Tozer said that Old Testament believers looked forward to the cross, and New Testament believers look back; we are all saved the same way. Only the blood of Jesus can save you, not Old Testament sacrifices.

And Peter even said the Spirit of Christ was in Old Testament believers.

"Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." 1 Peter 1:10,11

"But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born."

Luke 1:13-15

Before Pentecost? During the Old Covenant?

Drifter I dont mean to be contentious. But thats the same thing as asking someome what an apple is and you say "the apple hangs from the apple tree." It doesnt answer the question. Jesus obviously knew because he was able to talk about it (in this example where it can be found). The apostles used the term likewise, they knew what it was and could speak of it and its nature because they knew what it was.

Do we?

I see this difference:

Before Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was not given to permanently indwell a man and the Holy Spirit could be taken away from him. Thus David prayed: "Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 51:11).

After Pentecost, born again Christians are given the Holy Spirit to permanently indwell them. Jesus said: "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. ” (John 14:16-17).