The Spirit Of God Is The Breath Of God

"The Spirit Of God Is The Breath Of God" – Genesis 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Not a sleeping being: a living one, because God breathed. That breath symbolizes the creation of man's spiritual life, and Adam lost it because he never became a spiritual man. The study follows that same breath through Scripture: in Psalm 18:15, where the blast of the breath of the Lord's nostrils divides the waters and pulls David out from among those who had sunk him; in Psalm 33:6, where creating the universe was as easy for God as breathing is for man; in Job 33:4, where Elihu declares that the breath of the Almighty gave him life; in Exodus 15:10, the song of victory; and in Acts 2:1-4, when a violent rushing wind fills the house and the church is formed. The message asks one question: how much is your contact with the Holy Spirit?

I. The breath that made us living beings (Genesis 2:7).

A. “And man became a living being”: not a sleeping being, because God breathed.

1. We are soul, body and spirit.

2. Either we develop the relationship with the Holy Spirit, or we keep feeding the flesh.

3. The flesh takes over, has opinions and suggests; and we look for a circle that thinks as we do.

B. Everyone has a conscience; not everyone has the Holy Spirit.

1. Conscience convicts; the Holy Spirit is another work altogether: He is life.

C. It is the act that symbolizes the creation of man's spiritual life.

1. Adam lost everything because he never became a spiritual man.

2. God breathed so that Adam would obey; and obeying is no burden.

3. Whoever does not obey must defend his rebellion, which cannot be defended.

II. The blast of the breath of His nostrils (Psalm 18:15).

A. The greater the difficulties, the more glorious the deliverance.

1. David appears assailed by his enemies, sunk as into the depths of the sea.

2. Those who were supposed to stand by him were the ones who sank him.

B. God, with one blast of the breath of His nostrils, divided the waters.

1. As at the Red Sea: He made the wide sea give room for His people to pass.

2. In whose favor does He breathe? In favor of the one who pleases Him.

3. Enemies may be stronger than we are, but the One who draws us out of the waters is the Lord.

C. A righteous person is not meant to be destroyed.

1. Martyrdom is a gift God gives to the one He predestined, not something that merely “happens”.

2. The one who bore the pain was Jesus Christ, who carried all our evil upon Himself.

3. There are few spiritual people because they grow so accustomed to the flesh.

III. By the breath of His mouth (Psalm 33:6).

A. Creating the universe was as easy for God as breathing is for man.

1. He made the heavens and their host of stars spending no more energy than speaking the word.

2. To the sea He said: stop, let My people pass.

B. If God does not breathe, Adam neither breathes nor moves.

1. We think we have it all under control, and what comes tomorrow we cannot control.

2. The only one who can breathe life into you is God.

C. The question is how much contact you have with the Spirit who testifies to the Father that you are a child.

1. It is not what we cry in one service or on one day.

2. Everyone talks; but talking does not drown what is inside.

3. The one who drowns you is you; and there the Holy Spirit has had to withdraw.

IV. The breath of the Almighty gave me life (Job 33:4).

A. Elihu says it, the youngest, while the other three elders were rebuked.

1. He would serve as Job's spokesman before God, without fear of divine wrath.

2. God Himself had called Job a just and good man before Satan.

3. Job had to live what needed to come out of him: “now my eye sees You”.

B. The breath of the Almighty makes one understand: we must be people of understanding.

1. The Holy Spirit dwells where there is holiness, for God is holy, holy, holy.

2. No one judges the spiritual man.

3. Sometimes we live half hidden; and the more hidden, the more exposed.

V. You blew with Your wind (Exodus 15:10).

A. It is the song of Moses and Miriam: there is the victory, when God breathes.

1. If we reach the heart of God, God breathes the breath of life.

2. Do you want victory with your children? You must seek Him.

3. What you hide, your children will not hide; bondages are passed on.

B. Moses was born to carry out the thoughts of God. And what were you born for?

1. He paid the consequences of a people: he saw the promised land from a mountain.

2. If Moses pays, we must take care, because we pay too.

C. Obedience is immediate: not in ten years, nor in fifteen.

1. God does not work by halves, nor by quarters, nor by thirds.

2. To Elijah, full of fear, God said he no longer had the strength to do it.

3. The mighty waters were not for the people: they were for the enemies of God.

VI. A violent rushing wind (Acts 2:1-4).

A. The Spirit's coming brought a sound to hear, a sight to see and a miracle to experience.

1. The sound came from heaven and filled the whole house: a strong, powerful wind.

2. Wind is one of the types of the Holy Spirit, along with oil, fire and water.

B. Tongues as of fire rested upon each one of the disciples.

1. The fire speaks of the origin of the gift and of the boldness and ardor of the proclamation to follow.

C. The Holy Spirit came to dwell in the believers, to equip them, and the church was formed.

1. That same Spirit comes upon whoever decides to live a spiritual life.

2. God is never deceived: He is fire, He is flame, He is just.

3. A lukewarm life, away from the Word and from prayer, leaves the soul in danger.