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WEEK SEVEN

Day Four

DAILY SCRIPTURE

John 20:21-23

LEADER GUIDE QUESTIONS

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Know: Read John 20:19-31

Note: Mark keywords, including pronouns and phrases. (peace, believe, sins, rise, ascend)

Ask questions: (Use tools such as interlinear bibles to search the original meaning of words- free tool here) For example:

• Who witnessed the final sign?

• What was the final sign to prove Jesus was God?

• When

• Where was Jesus?

• Why

• How do the events in John 2:13-22 relate to John 20?

Observation: Read Matthew 18

What: What does today’s study reveal to me about the nature of God? What truth do I need to apply to my life today? Where do you see Jesus in your reading?

The Holy of Holies

The Holy of Holies was the most unique place in the Tabernacle. Where the Outer Court experienced the natural light of day, and the Holy Place was lighted by seven lamps, the Holy of Holies (or The  Most Holy Place) was lighted by the Shekinah Glory of God. The very Presence of God rested on the Mercy Seat of the Ark like a cloud. No man could come near the Presence and live except for the High Priest, once a year, to make atonement for the people's sin and who offered incense which represents prayers given as a sweet-smelling fragrance to God.

“And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”‭‭John‬ ‭20‬:‭22‬-‭23‬

Forgiveness is “aphesis,” which means “to put away.” When Jesus became sin and died, He took the sin of the world and “put them away.” He removed our sin as far as the East is from the West. He will never remember our sins. (Hebrews 8:12)

God did not hold our sins against us. We were “justified” - “just as if I have never sinned.”

When the bank forgives a debt, the debt has been paid. The wages (the debt)- of sin is death. Jesus has paid our debt of death with his own blood. 

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned—” Romans 5:12

God, our creditor, has let go of the debt. 

When were you forgiven? 

“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven for his name’s sake.” (1 John 2:12)

Forgiveness is past tense. We are not forgiven as we go. We are not working towards being forgiven. We are not forgiven some time in the future. All our past, present, and future sins were paid for at the cross.

He also doesn't forgive in installments.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” (Ephesians 1:7) 

The Lord “pardons all your iniquities” (Ps. 103:3).

All means all.

Who does He forgive?

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). 

“He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself” (Heb. 7:27).

Some people hold onto their sins as though they were unforgiven. They think that they have to cleanse themselves to come into God's presence or that if they die without asking for forgiveness, God will be holding their sin against them. I have known people who go down the list of sins of omission and commission.

This is very sad to me because, as far as God is concerned, all our sins were dealt with on the cross. 

Do we still need to ask for forgiveness?

If you are in a relationship with someone and you sinned against them, you would ask them to forgive you. This is how relationships thrive. God’s dealings with us on His end is continual forgiveness. He doesn’t and can’t remember sins. On His end, you are forgiven. Asking for forgiveness helps you grow to maturity.

When Jesus breathed on his disciples, they became the first to be “born again.” They received the Spirit of Christ. Later, on the day of Pentacost, they would receive the second infilling that would come with power. With the Spirit of Christ now dwelling in them, the power to forgive became one of the core markings of a believer.

Jesus told them that if they forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If they withheld forgiveness, the person was not forgiven. The word withhold is “krateo,” which means to have power over. As mentioned above, to forgive means “to put away.” As a believer, we have been given a command to forgive. When Jesus died, He did so for the forgiveness of sins.

“Forgiven” is always in the imperfect tense, meaning it is a continual action. We were forgiven at the cross, but we also stay forgiven. This is the same power Jesus gave us! We have the power to “put away” the sin of others. We have the power to forgive those who sin against us, and we have the power to release them from the condemnation of an unbelieving heart and show them The Person who forgave them.

If we do not forgive, the person's sin will have power over them. And if we do not forgive those who have wronged us, we empower the enemy's lies over ourselves.

When Jesus gave the command to forgive, this was the first time a command like this was given, it is a New Covenant Kingdom principle. Like a faucet valve that opens up a stream of water, our hearts are the valve in which we open the door to the truths of the Spirit or keep it shut, and we live by the flesh. Our hearts are the point at which we believe. When we do not forgive, the valve to the flow of the Spirit gets turned off, and we live by the flesh. The flesh is the place the enemy has access to and power over if we allow him power. His power is an accusation. He uses our physical flesh, the law, and condemnation as weapons against us. When we do not forgive, the sin of the person who wronged us is given power over us; the enemy uses it as an access point to our flesh to the point that it can cause us physical pain and sickness. When you “put away” that person's sin, you sever the power the enemy used to keep you in bondage. The flow of life is given way to wash over your mind and body, and healing flows.

This is the power of a believer. To live from the Spirit is to walk in perpetual forgiveness, live perpetually clear of a guilty conscience and at peace with God, and walk in forgiveness with our fellow “men.”

“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

When we began this study, we learned that Jesus is the Word. There are three different usages for “word” in the greek.

“Graphe”- the actual printed word

“Rhema”- “the thing being said” part of the Word.

“Logos”- the speaking part of the Word. This is much like a logo that identifies something, ex. If you see golden arches, you think of McDonald’s. It is the Message.

John opened up with: “In the beginning was the Word (logos) and the (logos) was with God and the (logos) was God.”

Jesus was the logos- He is the Message. John the Baptist said he witnessed the Message so that through Jesus, all would be saved. What was that Message?

Jesus was the Message of hope, salvation, healing, forgiveness, and the truth about who God is. John was written that we might believe God is and who we are through Him.

From John 10 to the end, we learn that:

• Jesus is the Gate and Door; when we come through the door, He keeps us safe in His arms.

• He is the Brazen Altar; He took all judgment upon Himself and became the Lamb of God who “took away” the world's sin. The Lamb was inspected and found perfect.

• He is the Laver made with mirrors; He is our reflection. We are cleansed and washed by the water of the Word. As He is, so are we in this world.

• He is the Shewbread. In Him, we find rest. We do not inspect ourselves; we inspect Him.

• He is the Candlestick. We emit the light of His perfection. To be holy means that we shine the light on the darkness. Where we bring the light, darkness flees.

• He is the Altar of Incense, our intercessor. Intercessor means “to strike the mark with an arrow.” Jesus hits the mark for us. Where we failed, He succeeded, and it is a never-ending action that goes on and on.

• He is the Veil; Jesus removed what separated us from God. “We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil, we all become like mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into his very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18 TPT)

• He is the Mercy Seat. Now we have the boldness to come to the Holy of Holies. “And now we are brothers and sisters in God’s family because of the blood of Jesus, and he welcomes us to come into the most holy sanctuary in the heavenly realm—boldly and without hesitation, for he has dedicated a new, life-giving way for us to approach God. Just as the veil was torn in two, Jesus’ body was torn open to give us free and fresh access to him! And since we now have a magnificent High Priest to welcome us into God’s house, we come closer to God and approach him with an open heart, fully convinced that nothing will keep us at a distance from him. For our hearts have been sprinkled with blood to remove impurity, and we have been freed from an accusing conscience. Now we are clean, unstained, and presentable to God inside and out!” (Hebrews 10:19-22 TPT)