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John 20:19-31 : Christ in the Upper Room (Doubting Thomas)

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19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

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

23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

27 Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

True Christian Religion #146

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146. (iii) THE DIVINE POWER AND ACTIVITY MEANT BY THE SENDING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WITH THE CLERGY TAKES THE PARTICULAR FORM OF ENLIGHTENMENT AND INSTRUCTION.

The activities of the Lord listed in the preceding section, reformation, regeneration, renewal, quickening, sanctification, justification, cleansing, the forgiveness of sins and finally salvation, are sent by the Lord to affect the clergy as well as laymen, and they are received by those who are in the Lord and have the Lord in them (John 6:56; 14:20; 15:4-5). The reason why enlightenment and instruction are especially given to the clergy is that these things are a part of their duties, and that ordination into the ministry carries these with it. The clergy also believe that, when zeal leads them to preach, they are inspired like the Lord's disciples, on whom He breathed and said:

Receive the Holy Spirit, John 20:22; see also Mark 13:11.

Some even assert that they have felt it flowing into them. But they should take extreme care not to be convinced that the zeal, by which many are carried away while preaching, is God working in their hearts. For similar or even more ardent zeal is felt by fanatics and also by those who hold the falsest doctrines, even by those who care not a whit for the Word, but worship nature as god, and pack faith and charity away in the knapsack on their backs. When they are preaching and teaching they hang it round their necks like a sort of second stomach, from which they bring up and regurgitate such things as they know will appeal to their listeners' appetites.

Zeal considered in itself is an outburst of heat in the natural man. If it has the love of truth in it, then it is like the holy fire which affected the Apostles, as we read in Acts:

There appeared divided among them tongues as it were of fire, which settled upon each of them; and they were thus all filled with the Holy Spirit, Acts of the Apostles 2:3-4.

But if that zeal or outburst of heat has the love of falsity lurking within it, then it is like fire smouldering in a log, which bursts out and sets fire to the house. Do you, reader, if you deny the holiness of the Word and the divinity of the Lord, please take your knapsack off your back and open it, which you are free to do at home, and then you will see. I know that those from Babel, who are meant by Lucifer in Isaiah, on entering a church, and even more when climbing into a pulpit, especially those who call themselves members of the Society of Jesus, are carried away by a zeal which in many cases comes from a hellish love; and this makes them cry out more violently and heave deeper sighs from their chests, than those whose zeal comes from heavenly love. There are two more ways in which the spirit works upon the clergy, which will be mentioned later (155).

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.