I’m still meditating on John 20.19 – 23, and a new thought popped out from verse 22:

After he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20.22, ESV)

You wouldn’t build a theology around the first part of this verse, but here’s what hit me:

• Breathed on them: the Holy Spirit
• Said to them: the Word of God

It’s both: the Spirit AND the Word. Most of our traditions emphasize one or the other. I know many learned Bible teachers who excel at sharing truth, but they’re not so good at the fruit of the Spirit. They’re not open to the movement of the Spirit in others. Some are not very loving or kind, especially to those who disagree with them. Other folks seek ecstatic experiences of the Spirit, but they are sometimes ill-informed on the Word.

One way to capture both is to read the Bible, not in an academic way, but while being open to what God’s Spirit may say to us while we’re reading.

Here’s the Apostle Paul receiving direct guidance from a verse that is clearly Messianic. Isaiah 49.6 is about Jesus…

Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” [Isaiah 49.6] When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. (Acts 13.46 – 49, NIV, emphasis mine)

Tomorrow I want to share an example from music.

The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. (John 6.63, ESV)