THE BREATH OF GOD

The Breath of God

Remembering that we are dust, when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son (Gen. 2:7; 3:19; Psa. 103:14; Gal. 4:4). Thus eternity entered the hourglass to be united with the dust of time. Then the Living Stone, the foundation and cornerstone of the new and everlasting world order, was laid on earth: Jesus was born (Pas. 118:22; Isa. 28:16; 1 Pet. 2:6-8). The hands of time clapped with grateful applause as the earth welcomed its Maker while heaven’s heart beat in time to the angel song, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’ (Luke 2:14). Pre-briefed by the angel Gabriel, the virgin was subsequently overcome by the Holy Spirit, and overshadowed by the power of the Highest. Thus the Son of Man was conceived in her womb (Luke 1:35).

As oil floats on water, so the Son of God as God remains above and distinct from His humanity. Yet humanity and deity are one in Christ, the Holy One. Divine. All creation marches to the beat of His drum, the sound of which keeps on echoing out into infinity! Tick-tock, rat-a-tat, time goes marching on till He orders it to pause for the grand transformation of the heavens and the earth.

‘Made of a woman, made under the Law;’ from the day He opened the womb, from the first moment the Royal lungs sucked in air, He breathed the same air His mother breathed – as you and I breathe. Eve, at the birth of her first son, said, ‘I have acquired a man from the LORD.’ Genesis 4:1. Her son turned out to be a destroyer of men. Mary’s Son is completely different. He is our Saviour.

Knowing the promises of the older covenant, before His birth Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour’ Luke 1:46-47. Mary’s cousin Elizabeth said upon Mary’s visit, ‘Why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Luke 1:43. Mary is the mother of the Lord! God is His Father. There is only one Lord, the Godman, the Divine Jesus Christ.

The eternal Father breathed out at the beginning and creation came into being by the power of the eternal Holy Spirit with the eternal Word (Psa. 33:6). Creation is held together by and in and for the eternal Word (Col. 1:16-17). The eternal Word breathed in when He entered creation as a human being by the power of the eternal Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35; John 1:1-3,14). Thus the Father and the Son share the same breath; that breath is the Holy Spirit – who eternally spirates from both the Father and the Son. Since the beginning of time the Holy Spirit has been creation’s ‘iron lung,’ as it were working the bellows: inhalation, exhalation, inspiration, expiration. Without the Spirit’s regeneration there is only expiration.

Like one struggling to recover from a punch to the solar plexus, mankind has been unable to catch its collective breath. We became spiritually dead when our covenant or federal head, Adam, struck our first blow against God in whose image we are made. Ricochet. In the Garden and in the sweat of his face Adam beat his ploughshare into a sword and his pruning hook into a spear. We physically perspire and subsequently expire because, like our father Adam, we are sinners. We are conceived and born into the rebellious mass of humanity. We are dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). Thus we will remain in the torments of corruption and subsequent everlasting death – if we are not regenerated by the Holy Spirit before we die physically.

The Lord drew His first breath as a human being (probably) in a stable. He grew in wisdom and stature. As an adult He marched up Calvary’s hill. Nailed to a tree He breathed His last – until He rose again on the third day. After He was raised from the dead He breathed on His disciples, saying, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ John 20:22. “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting’ Acts 2:1-2.

The Lord holds our breath in His hand, and, as the Psalmist says of God regarding animals, ‘What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good. You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth.’ Psalm 104:28-30. As Elihu says of God, ‘If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to the dust.’ Job 34:14-15. As the Psalmist says to God, ‘Do not take Your Spirit from me.’ Psalm 51:11b.

You may hold your breath until you are blue in the face, but dear reader, you and I are dust falling through the hourglass. Breathe in the breath of God while there is still time. Repent and believe in the Gospel.