“Then the LORD God took some soil from the ground and formed a man out of it; he breathed life-giving breath into his nostrils and the man began to live.” Genesis 2:7 GNB
“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 20:21-22 NIV
Our thoughts are on Genesis 2:7 where God breathes His breath of life into man. Shortly afterwards He makes woman, and man is still totally excited!! He realized that she is his companion and named her Eve (Genesis chapters 2 and 3). Everything was great, but they were told not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge, Good and Evil. We know the old saying that, “You always want what you can’t have,” or “The grass looks better on the other side.” We call it temptation! Yes, Satan who had been thrown out of heaven by God roamed the earth with Adam and Eve. Satan took every opportunity to tempt man to eat the fruit on the forbidden tree.
Then one day, Eve ate from the forbidden tree and gave some to Adam because he was standing right beside her. When we are complicit in our silence, and we do nothing to stop a bad act; then we become part of the problem. The legal term for that is an accomplice. They fell to temptation! God’s breath was instantly removed from them. They died! They died not a physical death, but a spiritual death because the Holiness of God could not be entangled with sin! I can’t imagine the immense panic, and loneliness that instantly entered their souls. The shame and defeat felt from sin (disobedience to God). The purity of their relationship was cut, and for the first time they needed to be clothed. What was that life giving breath that was breathed into man? How could they be dead and yet walk around with the living? I can only think that God’s breath is eternal! He made us to be eternal beings. Sin separated good from evil and now they knew what was wrong.
All of mankind was now sentenced to damnation because of their blatant disobedience (sin) and now our eternal destination needed to be fixed. We needed a savior! Someone Holy and righteous that could reconcile us back to God. Someone who could break the spiritual chains of death, and restore righteousness back to mankind. God had to remove them from The Garden of Eden, but He also gave them hope that one day a Savior would come and crush the head of Satan. We would be back in right relationship with God. The story of mankind’s death would not be the final chapter. A new chapter of life was given.
This chapter began with the birth of a baby king, whose name was Jesus! Thirty years later Jesus would be crucified and die on the cross, for man’s sins. As was predicted in the scriptures, He would be raised from the dead on the third day. He became the Savior of the world. Jesus carried the sins that separated us from right fellowship with God, starting way back in the garden with Adam and Eve, and purified them with his blood that we can now spend eternity with God. He fixed it and all who believe in their hearts and confess with their mouths that Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead are saved from their sins. The great part about this is he did it for everyone!
Everyone is able to receive forgiveness. We can’t even work our way to heaven because with Jesus it has to come from the inside. It comes with a change in your repentant heart! It’s super great because when you accept Jesus into your heart by believing and then receiving forgiveness from Him, You can Breathe again! With forgiveness comes the restoration of the Holy Spirit. God’s Breath that returns when your spirit is alive and in fellowship with Jesus. Those ungodly things can be worked out with the leading of the Holy Spirit. We call it sanctification. The process of becoming more like Jesus. Once you believe and receive forgiveness, the Holy Spirit returns to you. If you’ve ever wondered where God is take a few breaths. He is always with you!
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:8-10 NIV
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