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of heart. His presence was the assur ance that' He had settled the sin ques tion; had satisfied the demands of the justice of God; had secured a place for them with Himself; that He was the same Jesus that had walked and talked with them; that His heart was full of sympathy for them; and this silenced their fear and strengthened their faith. He could not have been without a body, for He says, “ Handle me and see.” He had the same body, manifested by the wounds; but a different body, manifested by the manner of His en trance into the room. Seeing Him is the revelation to our souls that makes us glad. Listen! You can hear Him say, “ Peace be unto you,” Our hearts are quieted. Our fears are soothed. He is as near to one as to another, which proves the unity of the body of believers. (2) THE COMMISSION DELIVERED, vs. 21, 22. He gives them both a mission and a commission (John 17:18). “As Thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them Into the world.” The disciple is as his Lord. Called to' the same office. Thrust into the world to reveal Christ. Christ is for the whole world, and so the commission of the disciple is world-wide. It is1 a mission of peace. “ Peace on earth, to men, good will.” They will need authority and power and so He imparts it. He acts as God. "Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” They were empowered to declare that faith in Christ would absolve men from sin. What power and responsibility is this! There is need of pressing this great truth upon every believer. Live for Him. Spread the saving truth of the Gospel. Christ’s sacrifice was for the whole world. Believers ara the “ Christs” to the world. They are taken out of the world and then sent to the world. This is no limited commission. This is no special endowment of apos tles. No trust for a private corporation
to be handed down. It is an entrust- ment for the whole church. Christ is the source of authority; the Holy Spirit the instrument of power; every believer the authorized agent to declare the message. The terms: Faith in the cruci fied, risen Son of God. (Matt., 16:19.) “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shall hind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou Shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” This was exercised by Paul in his dealing with Elymas, the sorcerer: (Acts 13:9-11.) “Then Saul, (who also is called Paul) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him and said, O full of all subtllty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Gord?” And now, behold the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou Shalt be blind, not seeing the. sun for a season. And imme diately, there fell on him a mist and a darkness, and he went about seeking some to lead bim by the hand.” Also, by Paul when dealing with sin in the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 5:4, 5.) “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be tdaved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” In has second letter to the Corinthian church, referring to this same incident, he shows his authority by writing them in the following words: (2 Cor. 2:6, 10.) “Sufficient to puch a man is this pun ishment which was inflicted o f many. To whom ye forgive anything,.I forgive also. For if I forgave anything, to whom I for gave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ.” The consciousness of this mission and commission given to us should intensify our love for the lost and inspire us with holy zeal. (.3) THE APOSTLE OF DOUBT, vs. 24, 25. Thomas was not with them at Jesus’ first appearance, “ Except I shall see.” Why was he not with them? Probably through unbelief. He had missed a week of fellowship with his risen Lord and with his brethren. His motto was “ Seeing is believing.” There was no reason or excuse for his unbelief. Our
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