The Wind of God

Post date: Sep 6, 2019 9:55:27 PM

Here is a question to consider. Is spiritual growth dependent on church attendance, religious performance or the power of God’s grace? Recently I was speaking to a work associate who was sharing his desire to return to church so that he could grow spiritually. He explained that he had been taught, as a child, to attend church and was now, as an adult, desirous of rekindling this lost practice. As we spoke, it occurred to me that it was God who was calling him to return to relationship.  

John 3:7-8 Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

Jesus introduced a religious leader to His doctrine of rebirth by revealing the need for mankind to be spiritually reborn. He shared this mystery by comparing the spiritual life of the believer to the effects made by an unseen wind. In the leaders’ age, as well as in ours, poor teaching had blurred the line that separated the spirit and the soul. The leader believed that his religious accomplishments held merit with God, but Gods’ divine plan of salvation did not require human effort. Jesus’ prayed; “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17: 3)

Hebrews 11: 3 “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which were seen were not made of things which do appear.”

Who do you perceive God to be? Some describe Him as a man, or a woman or a higher power. The Apostle John wrote; “God is a spirit.” (John 4:24) The bible reveals that; “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” (John 1: 18) The Apostle Paul writes; “but without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) God is the Father of spirits. God is love. God is ever present. God is all knowing. God is full of mercy.

The writer of the book of Philippians describes Jesus best when he wrote; “Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2: 6-11) Jesus is our Savior. Jesus is the Redeemer. Jesus is healing. Jesus is our Intercessor. Jesus is our Lord. Jesus is the first-born of the dead and the only human in the Godhead.

The third and final member of the Godhead is the Holy Spirit. Jesus said; “If you love me keep my commandments, And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” (John 14: 16-17) Jesus continued,; “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14: 26)

1 Thessalonians 5: And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Humans are very complex beings. At creation “…God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1: 26) “…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 soul.” (Genesis 2: 7) God created Adam with a pure human nature which encompassed both soul and spirit. The soul is that “thinking part of our being which includes the mind, the will and the emotions.”  Like God, Adam was created holy, righteous, blameless and immortal. 

Definition of breathed: divine inspiration.

Genesis 2: 9 “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of good and evil.”

God created Adam for fellowship. He was placed in the Garden of Eden where he and God could commune together. It was also there where God commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil but to eat of the fruit of the tree of life instead. He was free to eat of this fruit continually.

Genesis 2: 17 “…but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in that day thou eatest thou shalt surely die.”

Here is another question. Did Adam die after eating the forbidden fruit? This is the place where many fail to comprehend the truth of Gods’ word. People tend to focus on the scope of man’s sin rather than on the spiritual life that was lost. The scripture records that man was banished from the garden after failing to follow Gods’ commandment. Adams’ error forfeited his access to the tree of life and the intimate communion that he once shared with God was lost. It was at this point that Adam died spiritually ignorantly exchanging his spotless spiritual nature for a corrupted one and his immortality for mortality.  

This writing is entitled “The Wind of God” but to this point I have not explained my reason for doing so. The wind like the spirit is an unseen force affecting those things in its path. The Greek word for Spirit is translated breath and in Hebrew it is translated wind. God breathed divine wind or divine inspiration into Adam and he became a living soul.

Following his resurrection, Jesus fulfilled his promise by sending the Comforter to his disciples’. The bible records; “And when He (Jesus) said this, He breathed on them, and saith;” Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20: 22) In just one breath Jesus restored life back to mankind.   

Romans 10: 9-10 “...confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”