And the LORD God formed man
of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7
So Jesus said to them again,
'Peace to you! As the Father
has sent Me, I also send you.'
And when He had said this,
He breathed on them,
and said to them,
'Receive the Holy Spirit.'
John 20:21-22
Notice these two verses and their similarity inasmuch as God breathed on Adam and Adam became a living being. God gave to Adam life, not life as a plant, or tree, but life as a man, not as an animal, but to be a thinking man who has attributes that are of God, and man can think, act, and move due to his being able to think as a human being. When Jesus Christ breathed on the disciples this similarity cannot be overlooked, for it was this breath, the breath of God that would invigorate the disciples to do things that only God could do because now the Holy Spirit would reside in man, influencing man, guiding man, and as man would exercise this power God would do miracles. These two acts of God were assigned to certain people and never to given in such manner to anyone else. Eve did not receive the breath of God by God directly, and Christians do not receive the Holy Spirit directly as did the disciples who were breathed upon by Jesus Christ. Eve was a living being, a human being and could do all that Adam could do, she could bring forth life in her children, her progeny. The disciples could teach about God, His Son, what God had accomplished through Jesus Christ and those who were given grace and faith as a gift from God could also have the life given to them by the power of the Holy Spirit. God was the First Cause and in this life we are producers of second causes. God has never taken away our humanity. We are responsible for our actions and we will be judged according to what we have done: (Revelation 20:12-13). God as First Cause brought forth life, and Adam and Eve brought forth children; second cause. God is Providential and while allowing us to be human, to use the power of thought to do things according to how we think, we are the cause of second causes, but God has never released this world from His Providence. It was His will to create and His will is never thwarted, He controls all that happens so that His will is accomplished even though we make wrong choices. How can this be? It is due to one fact: God is God! God is not man, even though we often anthropromorphize Him. God is not as the Deist would have: sitting back allowing things to just happen. God is the First Cause and all else are second causes. God is not in everything as Pantheist would teach and believe. God is separate from all else that is created and all exists due to His power and control. All that happens is under His Providence and all will accomplish His purpose. That purpose is to have a people that will bring Him glory and live accordingly to His righteous commands.
There are those who teach that Jesus Christ is an angel, yet they ignore the facts that He breathed power into the disciples, as God breathed power into Adam. Could an angel do this and have the ability to not do this? Did God create a robot? No! This is God's world and we are a part of that world, but it is God's world and He controls all that happens while allowing us to be human. Then there are those who teach that somehow the soul of man is eternal, and then that soul is planted in a human body. Scripture never speaks of the soul of man as being eternal for if it was eternal then all that has been said is that the soul is a first cause. Where is God? Is not God God? Is not God the First Cause and is eternal? Yes? When are thinking is so askew by theology that is not Scriptural, when the Scriptures are said to be true according to correct interpretation and the interpretation is not allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture, then heresy is formed and people are misled and they create a set of standards according to their beliefs and not of Scripture. When Scripture is not the guide of man and only man's improper interpretation then Authentic Biblical Faith is not allowed to expand and possess more of the individual's life. The influence of the Holy Spirit, even though residing in a person, is limited and ineffective.
We are warned to take care of our hearts, our very lives by examining all things, and not to be weighed down by the cares of this world. Yet, there are those who would weigh down those who do not examine what is being taught by rules that are not of Scripture, but seem to be for they misuse Scripture to meet their ends. Jesus addressed such people whose goal is to further their causes and not His: "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and or a pretense make long prayers. these will receive greater condemnation." (Luke 20:46-47). Oh! These people put on a show of righteousness, but are nothing more than ravenous wolves: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits...." (Matthew 7:15:16a).
Does Jesus Christ possess you more and more? Does the truth of Scripture invade and control every part of your being? Are you willing to live for Him? Or, are you just so satisfied with where you are, all sounds so good, your emotions are so placated, that you will not do as Scripture has commanded: examine, change where it is needed, to live for Him and not for yourselves. If you allow yourself to be possessed by Jesus Christ and grow in sanctification, then you will be most blessed.
But Jesus said to him,
'Follow Me, and let
the dead bury their
own dead.'
Matthew 8:22
God is Great And He Blesses Righteousness
Richard L. Crumb
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