John 20:23

Plain English Version

When you tell people my message, some people will listen properly, and God will say that they are not guilty for the bad things they did, and he will not do payback to them. So you can also say that they are not guilty. But some people will not listen to that message, and then God will say that they are guilty of the bad things they did. So you can also say that they are guilty.”

Cross References

Matthew 18:18

Then Jesus told his followers, “Listen. You are the people that will know what God wants. If you all agree that something here on this earth is wrong, it will be something that God in heaven already said is wrong. And if you all agree that something here on this earth is all right, it will be something that God in heaven already said is all right.

John 20:22

Then Jesus breathed on them and said, “Take the Holy Spirit that I’m giving to you.

Acts 10:43

But listen, a long time ago, God sent his men to tell people his messages, and they all talked about Jesus. They said that if anyone believes in him, God will say that they are not guilty of the bad things they did.”

Acts 2:38

Peter told them, “You have to turn around and follow Jesus. Then let us baptise you, to show that you turned away from the wrong things you are doing, and now you follow Jesus Christ. Then God will not do payback to you for those bad things. And he will give you the Holy Spirit to live in you, just like he promised. You see, God promised to give the Holy Spirit to everyone that he picks to be his own people. That promise is for you, and for your kids, and even for people in other countries a long way away.”

1 Corinthians 5:4

I know that you will meet together as followers of our leader Jesus, and I will be thinking about you and praying for you. It will be like I will be there with you, and the powerful spirit of Jesus will be there with you too.

Ephesians 2:20

I will use a house as a picture story. It is like God used Jesus and all his people to build a special house for himself. He used Jesus Christ to start building that house. He is the most important one. Then God used Jesus’s special workers, and the other people that told God’s messages. They are like the cement slab that the house sits on. Now God is using you mob, with us Jewish mob, to make the rest of the house. It is like God’s people are the bricks and the wood. You mob are not Jews, but you are still part of that house. God’s spirit carefully joins us together, to make that house bigger all the time, and God lives in his special house. That picture of a house shows us that God is living in us all the time.

1 Timothy 1:20

Those 2 men, Hymenayus and Alexander, they are like that. So I asked God to let Satan punish those 2 men. Satan is the boss over the bad spirits, and I asked God to let him punish those 2 men so that they will learn not to tell lies about God.