But of course, a fuller answer to the question requires the rest of Genesis 2:7 which states: “...and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” What a difference that breath of God makes!
Van Pelt asks another question that essentially has the same answer as the above one. What is the difference between the Bible and other books? It turns out that the creation of the Bible has this very same ‘breath of God’ uniqueness. “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16).
Here is Van Pelt’s analysis of this similarity:
“According to the biblical account, therefore, the sixth-grader and the Bible share a common animating force: the very breath of God. Consider further that nothing else in the Bible is described in this way, only man as God’s image and the Bible as God’s Word. Or, to put it another way, the gigantic difference between a lifeless bag of dirt and a living, breathing person is the same difference that exists between the Bible and every other book ever written. Thoughtful consideration of this reality should stagger us.”
What an honor and what a privilege to have the breath of God give us life. What a gift to us to have the Bible, the inspired Word of God, to read and to receive every day.
And if we will be still and know that He is God, if we tune our spiritual ear to recognize the voice of the One who breathed air into our nostrils, we can also hear what He is trying to say to us. For example as I pondered these statements I looked up and before me was a book with the title "Life's Ultimate Privilege" Stories that will awaken your heart to...
ReplyDeleteI thumbed through the first few pages and my attention was directed to these words I thought they fit nicely with what Candy is saying here;
"Most of us who have had the opportunity to hear and to know God's Word, appreciate the importance of truth for our minds. We almost feel it would be impossible to fellowship with God if we did not have His Word. Who could eat without bread; who would think of going to the table without food; in similar manner, God's Word has become our daily bread. It is with our renewed mind that we felloship with God in His Word." The author goes on to say; "As we have pictured, these two distinct parts of man fulfill very important functions in his fellowship with God. The quickened spirit reaches out to know God; while the renewed mind seeks to understand more about God. Both are equally important in our fellowship with Him." The author sews 'the man and the bible' together in stating; "Since God has designed man for FULLNESS OF FELLOWSHIP, it is important that he learns how, with his quickned spirit, to 'touch' the Lord daily. It is of equal importance that he uses his renewed mind to feed upon the Word of God. If man emphasises only the fellowship of the spirit and neglects the Word, he tends to become too mystical. If he emphasizes only the letter of the Word, and neglects the Spirit of Truth, he is reading without the help of His Teacher-and tends to vain rationalism."
Thanks be to God for the breath of life and His Word.
Psalm 63:5 "My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You." DS