Bible Verses About Breath
From the breath of God ice is made,And the expanse of the waters is frozen.
For as long as life is in me,And the breath of God is in my nostrils,
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,And the breath of all mankind?
The Spirit of God has made me,And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Man is like a mere breath His days are like a passing shadow.
His spirit departs, he returns to the earth In that very day his thoughts perish.
I will praise the Lord while I live I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Remember that my life is but breath My eye will not again see good.
But it is a spirit in man,And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
Thus says God the Lord,Who created the heavens and stretched them out,Who spread out the earth and its offspring,Who gives breath to the people on itAnd spirit to those who walk in it,
For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity.
You send forth Your Spirit, they are created And You renew the face of the ground.
If He should determine to do so,If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,
The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord,Searching all the innermost parts of his being.
Scripture Reading: Gen : 7 Prov : 27 Job : 8 Exo 3: 21 Num 1: 24 Deut : 30 Ezra : 1 5 Hag : 14 Jer : 11 Job : 4 : 12 1: 13 Psa : 5 : 2 3: 18 : 10 12 17 7: 3 6 7: 8 Prov 1: 2 Isa 2: 9a 5: 15
The verses listed above are the most precious and the most important verses in the Old Testament regarding the human spirit from Genesis 2 through Malachi 2. It is interesting to see that the first verse refers to the creation of the human spirit, while the last verse in the Old Testament regarding the human spirit exhorts us to take heed to our spirit. We should not just take heed to our outward behavior, but we have to take heed to our inward spirit, because our human spirit is the very source of all our behavior. If we are wrong in the source, regardless of how right we might be in our behavior, we are still wrong. If the source is dirty, then how could the issue be clean? It is impossible. So we all have to take heed to our human spirit. These verses show how strategic, how important, and how prevailing is this matter of our human spirit.
Breathe: God Breathes Life Into Humanity
Sometimes a Christian just needs to breathe! Unfortunately, breathing is something some people really do not do well! Breathing is really an amazing thing. From the moment we emerged from our mothers womb and filled our lungs to let out that first cry, we have been breathing.
One incredible about breathing is that one does not really have to think about. In fact, when was the last time you consciously thought about the act of breathing? Nonetheless, it is automatic, constant, and always a part of life.
Breathing is a very powerful biblical image. In Genesis God creates humanity from the clay of the earth. Yet the human being is merely a lifeless work of clay pottery until God breathes into the nostrils of the human. It is that first breath that gives us life. Aside from the physical birth of life through breath is the even greater significance that the breath comes straight from God. The Bible could have said that God had the winds of the earth or some other entity fill our lungs. Yet the scripture is very specific. God did it directly and personally.
The scriptures go on to say that at the point of death that same breath returns to God. As with our birth, the presence of breath is not only equated with biological life but that life is clearly attributed to the Author of Life, our sovereign creator God.
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The Breath Of Inspiration
The breath of God is fundamental to our understanding of the Bible. Gods breath is the inspiration of the scriptures. Paul writes that the Scriptures are God breathed . This is why we refer to the Bible as Gods Word. There is a divine origin to the biblical words. Peter writes Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophets own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit . The 66 books of the Bible contain but one author. The breath of God carried along the human writers they were but instruments to reveal the breathed-out words of God.
As it is Gods breath that inspired the words of Scripture, it is Gods breath that helps us receive the scriptures and understand them. The Word of God, we are reminded, is alive and active . The breath that inspired the writing of scripture also inspires the hearing of Scripture. When we read the Bible, therefore, we meet the breath of God. God breathes over our hearing and receiving of the divine Word. In reading the Bible, God speaks Gods truth into our lives.
The Disciples Receive The Holy Spirit
After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples. They were overjoyed to see Him. And Jesus then breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit .
Here again we see the breath of God corresponding to the giving of the nature of God. There is a sanctifying effect to the breath of Godin receiving it you are made to reflect Gods likeness.
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The Breath Of The Spirit
Gods breath animates us. It sustains us. It inspires us and guides us. This is because the breath of God is indistinguishable from Gods own presence. In the act of breathing life into creation, God breathes in Gods very self. Gods breath, therefore, is tantamount to Gods Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Spirit. Both the Hebrew word Ruach, and the Greek worked Pneuma contain this association. These words can equally be translated as Breath or Spirit
It is the Holy Spirit that animates the Christian life. Christians live in the power of the Spirit and receive the gift of the Spirit in baptism. John tells those who await the coming of the Messiah that one is coming who will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. The Christian person is immersed in the presence of Gods animating breath. The Spirit enlivens us.
We see a strong example of this in the Gospel of John. Following his resurrection, Jesus appears amongst the fearful disciples. After confirming his identity, Jesus breathes on them and says receive the Holy Spirit . In the act of breathing, Jesus imparts the Holy Spirit into the lives of the disciples. This serves as a foretaste of the full manifestation of the Spirit to occur at Pentecost.
Bible Verses About Breath Of Life
For as long as life is in me,And the breath of God is in my nostrils,
The Spirit of God has made me,And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
You send forth Your Spirit, they are created And You renew the face of the ground.
Thus says God the Lord,Who created the heavens and stretched them out,Who spread out the earth and its offspring,Who gives breath to the people on itAnd spirit to those who walk in it,
For I will not contend forever,Nor will I always be angry For the spirit would grow faint before Me,And the breath of those whom I have made.
But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret saying, As the Lord lives, who made this life for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over to the hand of these men who are seeking your life.
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The Light & The Darkness
After reading in the beginning and “the light” and “the darkness,” John appears to recall the first day of creation:
And God said, Let there be light , and there was light . And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness . God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
The creation account of day one uses a word meaning the-light three times and a word meaning the-darkness twice. Twice the-light is written as and once as and the-darkness is written as and . Johns use of the darkness twice appears to follow Genesis, however, his choice of word deviates from the LXX:
And God said, Let light come into being. And light came into being. And God saw the light that it was good. And God separated between the light and between the darkness . And God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night
In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light is shining in the darkness , and the darkness did not overcome it.
The LXX uses which means physical darkness . Where John uses which is metaphorically used as ignorance of divine things . This follows the central theme of a new, and therefore different creation from that described in Genesis.
There is no central theme yet the paired units of thought considered from the center display a pattern taken from the work of creation:
The Breath Of God Brings Perspective
I want to clarify here in this article that the breath of God, while it brings the likeness of God, does not make anyone or anything else God. The breath of God given to us does not mean we are now our own gods.
On the contrary, if we come to see how we, as Gods creation made in His likeness, were given His breath, we take on a sobering, humble perspective on our lives.
Consider these two passages from Scripture. First, David in the Psalms:
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!
And Job:
for my days are a breath.
Having received the breath of God as the source of our life , we can visualize how small and transient our lives are compared to the Almighty.
Our lives, everything we strive to do, everything we work for, is like a single breath for God.
As that breath, the best thing we can hope to do, and the one thing that will bring us the most satisfaction, joy, and fulfillment is to demonstrate and share the life of the one who breathedGod himself.
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The Importance Of Our Spirit
Zechariah 12:1 and Isaiah 42:5 are quite similar to one another. They tell us that in the whole universe there are three main things created by God: the heavens, the earth, and the human spirit. These two verses show us the importance of the human spirit. In the heavens there are many items, and on the earth there are many items, but God did not itemize those things. God just refers to the heavens and the earth. As human beings we also have many parts, but God did not say anything about all the parts of our body or the parts of our soul. God spoke of only one thing: the spirit of man. This shows the importance of our human spirit because our human spirit is the organ, the means, for God to contact us and to deal with us and for us to contact Him and to receive Him.
Bible Verses That Prove Gods Breath Is Within You
Welcome to Day 6 of 31 Days of Battling Anxiety with Biblical Truth!
Breath. Life. Value. This is where we have begun our series on battling anxiety. The Bible tells us that our life has value. And the very thing that affirms your life, your breath, also helps calm your anxiety. We can compare notes all day on the scientific benefits of the breath, and as a yoga teacher, Im certainly prone to do that. But I think the real reason that the breath is such a powerful tool for battling anxiety is because its driven by the very presence of God.
Here are ten Bible verses that prove the air you breathe is from God Himself. Because our goal for this series is to marry tangible tools for battling anxiety with Biblical truth, I encourage you to read them while practicing our calming breath technique we learned yesterday. Enjoy!
Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the mans nostrils, and the man became a living person. -Genesis 2:7
As long as I live, while I have breath from God, my lips will speak no evil, and my tongue will speak no lies. -Job 27:3-4
But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent. Job 32:8
For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4
If God were to take back his spirit and withdraw his breath, all life would cease, and humanity would turn again to dust. Job 34:14-15
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Gods Gift To All Creatures
Originally published in Creation 27, no 1 : 42-45.
References to breath or breathing are frequent in the Bible, with many allusions to God as the giver of breath to man and animals.
One of the best-known verses in the Bible is Genesis 2:7, And the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul. This verse sets a pattern for the rest of the Bible, where breath is often equated with life itself. In fact, references to breath or breathing are frequent in the Bible, with many allusions to God as the giver of breath to man and animals.
The respiratory system has many distinctive design features, which show forth the providence of God. Breathing also illustrates our human vulnerability and complete dependence upon God. One easy experiment to show this is to try to hold our breath. For most of us, air hunger becomes painful well within a minute, and we would die in just a few more minutes if completely deprived of air. So, our breathing apparatus is one of our most vital systemsabsolutely necessary to sustain us from moment to moment. How does it work?
Is The Life Referred To In John : 4 The Breath Of Life
Moses describes the making of Adam as consisting of fashioning a body from dirt and then animating the dirt by breathing into his nostrils:
NIV Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
But the 4th gospel says that the life in the logos is the light of men:
New American Standard Bible John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
Further on in the gospel Jesus claims to have “life in himself”:
New American Standard Bible John 5:26 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself
So is the light of men and the life that Jesus has in himself the selfsame breath that God breathed into the dirt and animated it, and is this the Holy Ghost?
Or is the life in himself that of the gospel, where faith in him is life-giving?:
Is “the life” in Jesus’ flesh the Holy Ghost or “gospel light”?
UPDATE:
Is the “life” in Jesus that is the “light of men” the “lights every man that come into the world” the Holy Spirit?:
New American Standard Bible Job 32:8 “But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
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The Word In The Gospel And The
In the Gospel John states Jesus is both the Word and the true light:
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
Thus the primary connection John is making to the Genesis account is with “the-light.”
After “the-light” is written three times on the first day of creation, it used once on the fourth day:
to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the-light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
Thus “the-light” was used in the Genesis account of creation four times: 3 times on the first day and once on the fourth. John’s use of “the Word” follows this pattern of “the-light” from Genesis:
First day of creation – “the-light” written 3 times. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Fourth day of creation – “the-light” written once. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
In addition to directly stating the Word is the true light, John uses “the Word” following the pattern of the use of “the-light” in Genesis.