The Breath of All Creation

{This is the third part of a twelve part series attempting to answer the question "Who is Jesus?". The song "I AM" by Mark Schultz is utilized in this series as a reference point, and the lyrics can be found in the "I AM series" post found earlier.}

The Breath of All Creation

What do you think of the word breath? What kind of associations does it trigger? For me, the word breath seems heavily associated with the word “bad”. In fact, fighting bad breath could be a billion-dollar industry. There is a myriad of products that breath-conscious people can ingest, chew on, gargle, or drink. Orbitz gum claims to make your "dirty mouth" clean again, there are about a thousand Altoids products and flavors, and in addition to fighting the gum disease known as gingivitis, Listerine will temporarily freshen your bad breath.

Rarely do you ever hear somebody say "Wow, she has really great breath!" Instead, you are far more likely to hear the opposite, "Did you smell that guy's bad breath?" I'm reminded of a Simpons episode where Barney has bad breath and a lady asks him if something crawled down his throat and died. He replied, "It didn't die." Although untrue, we all have mornings where it certainly smells or tastes like something died in our throats during the night. We're left with a serious case of death-breath.

What do you think of when you think of God’s breath? Anything at all? I’ll admit, thinking of God’s breath seems a little strange. In terms of scriptural sightings, God’s breath does not rank very high on the list. It doesn’t garner as much attention and adoration as his mighty hand and outstretched arm, but consider for a moment the life-giving properties of his supreme exhalations.

The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

Man was simply a husk, an empty body devoid of special significance until God breathed into him the very essence of what it means to be human. God made all of the creatures that inhabit the earth, but only mankind was made in His image. When God exhaled, man was set apart as the paragon of animals. Jesus did not come to earth to save the whales or to set forth a path for all dogs go to heaven, but to save mankind, God's most treasured creation, if they would receive him. In fact, Jesus had some life-giving breath of his own.

"Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22)

The Holy Spirit was first given to the disciples through the breath of Jesus Christ, before later being given in the Book of Acts to all who repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin (see Acts Chapter 2). The gift of the Holy Spirit is significant. Just as God's breath to the dust in Genesis gave mankind transient life, Jesus's breath containing the Holy Spirit gave his followers eternal life.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

What is the role of the Holy Spirit in a Christian? It teaches, instructs, and reminds us of Jesus (John 14:26), helps us to speak the word of God boldly (Luke 12:12, Acts 4:31), and stregthens and encourages believers (Acts 9:31). The bodies of Christ-followers are considered the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Thus, with God's help, men are able to do God's work, such as recording and translating the Bible.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16)

We have seen in the previous examples how powerful God's breath is. In the verse above, we learn that Scripture is God-breathed. Although written by men, collected by men, and translated by men, these men and women are working under the influence and guidance of God's Holy Spirit. Thus, to one who does not believe, it appears that God has had no influence in the collection of books that appear in the Bible or in the way it has been translated, but to the believer, God was working through the men and women who work on the Bible. There will be linguistic changes from version to version, but the overall theme of the Bible will never change.

I remember once at work my breath was described as "powerful". We had just eaten at Little Taipei and I had Snow Peas with Beef, with what seemed an entire clove of garlic. In this case, my "powerful" breath was not a good thing. On the other hand, God's breath is powerful, and it certainly is a good thing. As we have seen, his breath has given us life, his Word, and his Spirit. Surely, that's a breath of fresh air.