Section 3
and as everything to them. In the same way, the Son now sends us. He sends us with His life, His nature, and His presence. As the Father sent the Son by being one with the Son and by being within the Son, so in the same way the Son sends us by being one with us and by being within us.
The way the Lord sends us is by breathing the Holy Spirit into us (20:22). This was why, imme diately after saying, "I also send you," He breathed the Holy Spirit into them. By His breathing, He entered as the Spirit into the disciples to abide in them forever (14:16). Hence, wherever His disci ples are sent, He is always with them. He is one with them. As we shall see, to breathe the Holy Spirit into us means that the Lord breathes Him self into us. The Lord sends us by being within us. The only way that the Lord can be one with us and be within us is by breathing Himself into us. Therefore, we must receive the Spirit, which is the reality of Christ. If we have received the Spirit of Christ, we have received the reality of Christ. In other words, this simply means that we have received Christ Himself. By this we see that the Lord sends us by breathing Himself into us.
AUTHORIZING THE DISCIPLES
After breathing on His disciples, the Lord said