Joh 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Here is the risen Jesus giving the Holy Spirit to those gathered in the upper room. This is before Pentecost and this is the moment they were saved by baptism of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost was a filling of the Holy Spirit for power to minister on that day.
For the cause of Christ
Roger
Hello Roger, and thanks for the point.
While it sounds reasonable, we can say without controversy that this is not the Disciples receiving the Holy Ghost, for He had not yet come.
First, we know that the Comforter could not come until Christ had returned to Heaven from whence He came:
John 16:7
King James Version (KJV)[SUP]7 [/SUP]Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
The departure here is not His death, but His return to Heaven.
On the Day of His Ascension the disciples had not yet been Baptized with the Holy Ghost, for they had not received Him yet:
Acts 1
King James Version (KJV)
[SUP]4 [/SUP]And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
[SUP]5 [/SUP]For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
[SUP]8 [/SUP]But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
[SUP]9 [/SUP]And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Now consider that the Baptism with the Holy Ghost is not many days after the Ascension, but...it is after the Ascension.
The view that the Baptism with the Holy Ghost is simply the empowering of the Holy Ghost after salvation, a subsequent work of the Spirit in our lives, cannot be borne out from the text and other passages which clarify that salvation is accomplished when we are Baptized into Christ.
When we consider the empowering of the Holy Spirit that is described as being filled. Here, we see the teaching of Christ in John 14 and 16 being fulfilled, and it will be several days after He ascends.
So we define the Baptism with the Holy Ghost with the teachings of Christ. That Baptism is the Baptism which is three times contrasted with John the Baptist's baptism.
Consider:
Matthew 3:11-12
King James Version (KJV)
[SUP]11 [/SUP]I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
[SUP]12 [/SUP]Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
The Baptisms in view (with Spirit and with fire) have One Baptizer, and that is Christ. The Baptism with Spirit is referred to in v.12 as the gathering of wheat, which speaks of eternal salvation, and the baptism with fire refers to eternal judgment (with terminology familiar in numerous teachings concerning eternal judgment, that is, being burned up).
So we have to figure out exactly what the Lord means when He breathes on them and states "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."
And that is simple enough to do: it is a command to do something in the future, just as we see several commands.
And what I will draw your attention to is the fact that it will not be until they do receive the Holy Ghost that they will obey another command they are given before the Lord's departure:
Matthew 28:18-20
King James Version (KJV)
[SUP]18 [/SUP]And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
[SUP]19 [/SUP]Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
[SUP]20 [/SUP]Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Now, were the disciples going out and preaching the Gospel while Christ yet remained with them?
We know they were not:
Acts 1
King James Version (KJV)
[SUP]4 [/SUP]And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
[SUP]5 [/SUP]For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
[SUP]8 [/SUP]But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
The "Holy Ghost coming upon them" is synonymous with the Baptism with the Holy Ghost. We know both refer to His teachings concerning the Comforter, and the Comforter's coming did not precede Christ's return to Heaven.
Here is another command they were given which they did not fulfill while the Lord remained with them:
John 15
King James Version (KJV)
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
[SUP]2 [/SUP]Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
[SUP]3 [/SUP]Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
[SUP]4 [/SUP]Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Did the Disciples abide in Christ?
Not according to the Lord:
John 16:28-32
King James Version (KJV)
[SUP]28 [/SUP]I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
[SUP]29 [/SUP]His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.
[SUP]30 [/SUP]Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
[SUP]31 [/SUP]Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?
[SUP]32 [/SUP]Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
The command to abide, just as the command to go unto all nations and witness for Christ...were not obeyed at this time, because it was dependent on them receiving the Holy Ghost, Who is the One who has revealed the Gospel to all men beginning at Pentecost.
Paul writes of this here, though this passage is usually taught to refer to how wonderful Heaven will be:
1 Corinthians 2:4-10
King James Version (KJV)
[SUP]4 [/SUP]And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
[SUP]5 [/SUP]That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
[SUP]6 [/SUP]Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
[SUP]7 [/SUP]But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
[SUP]8 [/SUP]Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
[SUP]9 [/SUP]But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
[SUP]10 [/SUP]But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
The Gospel was yet a mystery to the Disciples until Pentecost.
God bless.