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For a people with an earthly hope and earthly blessings, such an association is natural.
The effects of salvation must include a cancellation of sin and its accompaniments
(disease, pain, sorrow and death). The miracles of the Acts period were a foretaste of the
coming age when sin and judgment will be directly related, and when righteousness will
have a direct reward. This subject will be referred to again when the N.T. miracles are
considered. At the moment the question to be answered is, in what way could the
Apostles "forgive" sins? Also, how did their authority differ from that of other believers
at this time who could also heal?
In the absolute sense of "forgiveness", God alone can act; none can forgive but Him.
This much was recognized by the scribes and Pharisees when the Lord healed and
forgave the man sick of the palsy (Luke 5: 21). In what way then are the words of
John 20: 21-23 to be taken?
The writer does not pretend to have the complete answer to this question, but the
recognition that the Apostles stood to Israel in much the same way as did the O.T.
prophets, is a step towards a solution. The prophets of old spoke for the Lord, promising
blessing, promising judgment. They were the Lord's mouthpiece to the people of Israel,
and He filled their mouths with words (Jer. 1: 6-9).
The N.T. Apostles could forgive sins only in this respect, insofar as they spoke for the
Lord. They pronounced forgiveness, but He forgave. This authority was conferred by
the gift of holy spirit (John 20: 22), which they in turn could convey to others, by prayer
and laying on of hands:
"Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the
word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down,
prayed for them, that they might receive holy spirit (lit.): (for as yet it was fallen upon
none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then laid they
their hands on them, and they received holy spirit" (Acts 8: 14-17).
The "gift of holy spirit" at this time was a confirmation that the "belief" and "baptism"
of converts was genuine, and the outward evidence of the gift having been given was
"speaking in tongues", etc., according to the word of the Lord:
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved . . . . . and these signs shall follow
them that believe; In My name shall they cast out demons . . . . . speak with new tongues
. . . . ." (Mark 16: 16-18).
In this way the "forgiveness of sins" could be confirmed or otherwise by the Apostles,
by the laying on of their hands, but note how prayer (the seeking of God's will) preceded
this action (Acts 8: 15).
Although the Apostles had the God-given authority to confer the gift of holy spirit
(with its "signs" following) upon others, there is no evidence that they could transfer the
authority itself. Otherwise why was it necessary for the journey of Peter and John to the
Samaritan believers, for Philip, who had first evangelized them (Acts 8: 5-8), and was
himself "full of spirit and wisdom" (Acts 6: 3-6), could have conveyed the gift to them?