The Creation of Man, Part Four
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
2/27 Reading Portions: Exodus 10; Luke 13; Job 28; 1 Corinthians 14
Genesis 2:7
then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
BREATH
Apart from the breath of God, man is nothing but clay “made out of mud,” as Tennessee Ernie Ford sang years ago. God breathed into the dust, clay, and grounded composition of man to give him life. This was not mere hyperbole, nor was it allegorical. It was literal, immediate, and yes, prophetic. Since the fall of man in the garden (Gen 3:6)—that God planted (Gen 2:8, which we’ll look at tomorrow)—mankind, that is, every single individual human being that sprung from the loins of Adam through his progeny, was dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1-2). Apart from God’s breath, without the exhalation of His living Word into our being (1 Tim 3:16-17) to receive the Holy Spirit, we could not be saved, nor would we have life at all. It is written,
….Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. Romans 8:9
This took place in the Temple area on the Day of Pentecost, which Jesus promised to the disciples twice before He ascended into heaven. First, when He appeared to the disciples when Thomas was present:
…He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:22
This indicated that Jesus truly was the very YHVH God who formed Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life. Jesus also promised this on the day He ascended into heaven, ten days before Pentecost:
And while staying with them He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said, “you heard from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:4-5
Then the third Person of the Triune God, the Holy Spirit, descended in the “house” of YHVH, the temple (Acts 2:1-4), fulfilling the prophetic act of Genesis 2:7, and the redeeming promise Jesus declared through the prophet in exile:
“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came…. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules.” Ezekiel 36:1, 26-27
And that promise for the redeemed is a forever indwelling (John 14:17). That’s why it’s called eternal life, not temporary life. Hallelujah! What a Savior!