Looking Towards Pentecost Part 3

I'm sure, brethren, you've noticed these weeks as we've moved out of the days on Leavened Bread and coming up now to the Feast of Pentecost, each Sabbath I've announced a count. And I've announced the count for a very important reason because as we count 50 to the day of Pentecost, 7th Sabbath, being complete to the moral after the 7th Sabbath, that count keeps our focus directed on that Holy Day. It keeps our attention focused on its purpose and its meaning for us as we walk through these days in the run-up to Pentecost. And right alongside that, I've structured my sermons as well to be looking in the direction of that Holy Day season. You know, we're in the midst of the season, I would say, and we've come from one set of Holy Days. We're moving to the next, and yet we keep it very much in our mind as a season. And so I've structured my sermons to look forward, once again, to the day of Pentecost as it approaches. And the same is true for today.

The title of my message today is Looking Towards Pentecost Part 3, subtitled The Breath of God.

The Breath of God. And today, brethren, we're going to explore what the Bible shows to be the crucial role of the Breath of God and what it plays in the process of salvation. You know, maybe you've not given a lot of thought to the Breath of God, but as I began to look through the Scripture, I was intrigued by what I found in the, again, the impact and the crucial role that the Breath of God plays in the plan of salvation and how God is working out and bringing salvation to the lives of His people. And so there's four key elements involving the Breath of God that I want to focus on in the Bible today. And as we go along, what you're going to notice is that each element builds one on top of another. You know, the first is a foundation, and then we add another layer and another layer and another layer, and it builds on each other towards God's ultimate purpose for our lives. And so we'll just dive right into it today, brethren, for point number one.

The first element involving the Breath of God leading to salvation. It is found in the book of Genesis. So we'll turn there to begin with and discover what this is. Again, pertaining to the Breath of God, Genesis. Let's go to chapter two and verse seven. Genesis chapter two, verse seven, we're going to jump right into the middle of the creation process as God is bringing life on this earth, refashioning, reforming everything that we see and know here today. Genesis chapter two and verse seven, a familiar passage. It says, in the Lord God formed a man of the dust of the ground, and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. It says, and man became a living being.

And so the first element involving the Breath of God leading unto salvation is the Breath of Life.

It's the Breath of Life. It is. This is the foundational element of where we even begin for God to bring children unto salvation. It begins with this creation and this Breath of Life.

Now, this is a very personal and a very intimate event that we read about taking place here in Genesis chapter two and verse seven. And it takes place with mankind in a way that we don't see recorded among the rest of the animal creation. Again, very personal, very intimate. In reading the account, we get this mental image of God literally, as I imagine it, is like getting down into the dirt and forming man out of the dust of the ground. You know, like the the master potter with the clay, taking and forming and shaping and molding man out of the dust of the ground.

And if it isn't remarkable enough to consider that, we then see this added dimension to the physical creation of man when it says that God breathes into his nostrils the Breath of Life.

Again, when you read this, it's very intimate. It's very personal. It's very much written as if God got down on his knees, bent over Adam, that first human being of his creation, bent over him and breathed into his nostrils the Breath of Life. And that first man became a living being.

And so what we find is God gave this starting breath, which infused life into the first man which he created. Now, why would God do it this way? You know, why don't we read, just like all the other animals God created them and was evening and morning? Why do we get this added description of God personally and intimately getting down, breathing forth into his nostrils the Breath of Life and not the other animals? Well, it's important we understand that mankind is the pinnacle of God's creation and he has been created for a very specific purpose.

If we go back just a chapter into Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26, we see the special purpose behind the creation of mankind. Genesis chapter 1 verse 26, then God said, Let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. God gave man dominion, set him apart from the animals, but we see he was created for a very special purpose and it was a purpose that puts mankind above the animal creation.

What we find in Genesis 1.26 is that God made man in the image and in the likeness of God.

And again, that is a distinction from the animal creation around us. It's also important we understand that here when it tells us that God said, Let us make man in our image, that this is a reference to both God the Father and the Word, the one who became Jesus Christ. They are both there together. They're present. They're working together, bringing this plan into action. And the us here, again, is God, the Father and the Word. It's not God and the angels. We are made in the image of God. James chapter 3 and verse 9 tells us that man has been made in the similitude of God.

Man was not made in the similitude of the angels. Man was made in the similitude of God.

Not even the angels were made in that similitude. It is God's creation of mankind that we would be made in his image. I'll remind you also of John chapter 1 verse 1 through 3, which tells us, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. And so the reference here in Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26, that reference to us, let us make man in our image, is a reference to God the Father and the One who became Jesus Christ. We are made in the God-kind image. Made in the image of God. Verse 27 continues on, it says, So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he made him male and female. He created him. And so physically we were created in the general form of God, in terms of how we look in that general sense, but the intent and the purpose for our creation, brethren, goes far beyond simply that of the animals. And we'll see that as we proceed today. The Bible clearly shows to us that mankind was created with the ultimate potential of becoming members of the spiritual family of God. That is our incredible human potential. That is our destiny to be children of God in the kingdom of God, glorified children, spirit beings, God as God is, alright? God beings as God is, glorified with him as his family for eternity. And so the fulfillment of that destiny begins with the God-breathed breath of life. It was breathed into the nostrils of the very first man. God said, let us make man in our image, and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

Ever since that time, every human being who has ever come out of the womb living, every human being proceeding from Adam has had this breath of life contained within them, again, for this very special purpose. We won't turn there right now, but Job chapter 33 verse 4 tells us that the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. And so it's another clear testimony that God-breathed life proceeds from God, infused in mankind, made him a living soul, again, for a very specific purpose, that life-breath which came from God.

So the very first element involving the breath of God leading to salvation, again, at its most fundamental point, is the breath of life. God breathed the best breath of life. And as I mentioned earlier, each of these elements as we go through will build one upon another. Now, the second element involving the breath of God leading to salvation is expressed in the book of Job as well. So I would like to turn to Job chapter 32 as we discover the second element of the breath of God leading to salvation.

Job chapter 32, here, Elihu, who is the youngest of Job's friends, is declaring to Job essentially his opinion of matters. You'll recall that Job here has essentially become in a very distressed circumstance, having lost so much, including now his health. And right in the middle of Elihu's discourse here is a very interesting concept, once again, to consider in all of this. Job chapter 32 and verse 8. Job 32 verse 8. Here, Elihu says, but there is a spirit in man.

And he says, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.

There's a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. And so, as we consider our physical creation, we've been given the breath of life, but we also understand, brethren, that there is a spiritual element to our existence that was God breathed into us at the creation. And we call it the spirit in man. There is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. That spirit in man, brethren, is a spirit of reasoning.

It's a spirit of intellect and understanding. It's a spirit that gives mankind the ability to be creative themselves, which is an attribute of God. You know, just as God built and created and fashioned for a purpose, mankind builds and creates and fashions for a purpose as well. It's a God-like quality. The God to breathe the spirit in man is what connects with the human brain.

So, you have this spiritual element that's been introduced by God, the spirit in man. It connects with the human brain, allowing mankind to function at the intellectual level that he does.

And again, God does nothing for no reason. There is a purpose for the spirit in man.

In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul, which is teaching in Athens, and he was explaining as he stood at the Areopagus why God of heaven should be worshiped as opposed to the idols made with hands. And it's quite telling in Paul's discourse here as it pertains to the purpose of the spirit of man. So, I want to go over there. Acts chapter 17.

Let's see what Paul has to say. You know, why would God possibly give us this intellect, this ability of understanding in reason as is included in the spirit of man?

Acts chapter 17, verse 24, we begin to have some insight into this.

Acts 17 and verse 24, here Paul, again, in Athens at the Areopagus, says, God who made the world and everything in it, since he is Lord of heavens and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is he worshiped with men's hands as though he needed anything, since he gives to all life, breath, and all things. And so we see from the beginning here that it is God who is the source of life and breath and all things, and included in all things, would be that spirit and man that God has poured out on us. Verse 26, he says, And he has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and he has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings. And I want you to notice why. This is very important. Why has God done all these things?

Verse 27, So that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring.

So what we find here is that God's intent and his purpose for creating mankind into breathing into his nostrils the breath of life and giving man through that breath the spirit of reasoning that is in man. God's purpose is so that we would have the capacity to develop a personal and an intimate relationship with him. That's God's purpose for us. If we were created to be a part of his family for eternity, that begins, number one, with the breath of life and the flesh that he's given us.

Now, number two, the spirit of man that he's infused us with that even gives us the capacity for this relationship. The spirit which was breathed upon us at creation was done so that we would have the ability to seek after the Lord, to grope for him, and to find him, again, for that purpose of building that personal and that intimate relationship.

I've known a number of church members over the years who, when they recount their story of how they came into the church, you know, they basically said, look, I was minding my own business, going about my own way, living life, and then one day I just stopped and pondered. You know, why am I here? What is my purpose?

You know, why did God create me? And is there more to life than what it is that I'm experiencing right now? And what they seemed to find very quickly is that they were searching for an answer, right? They were groping, they were reaching. There's a reason, brethren, why the church has sent out so many copies of the booklet, What is Your Destiny? It was also for decades called Why Were You Born?

And I believe we went back to that title in recent times, but the core element of that book is, why were you born? What is your destiny? What is the purpose of your life? And it has been one of the hot item booklets of the Church of God for decades, because mankind asks those questions and seeks after those answers and desires they reach and grope for the relationship that God created them for, whether they really recognize it in its infancy or not. You know what's interesting?

There's a difference between the spirit in man and the spirit in animals, and it's illustrated by the fact that you don't find an animal asking those same questions. You know, an animal does have a level of intelligence. It has a level of reasoning, but it's not the level that God has given us in the spirit of man.

We have horses. Just step outside these doors and you walk out into a pasture, and we have about 15 horses on the property, and Darla was just telling me this morning, you know, one of the horses, and she says, horses are smart, more than people give them credit for, but we have horses over time that have figured out how to unlatch the gates, how to untie whatever it is you got tied, shutting the fence.

She said yesterday she was out, and one of the horses, we have a gate that swings shut, and bailing twine with a loop on the end, and you put that loop over a post, and it holds that gate shut, and that horse was over there and had figured it out, and it stuck its head and neck kind of between the gate and the post, and it was lifting its head up, lifting that bailing twine off of the fence post. So, you know, that kind of answers the question why we wake up on occasion, and the horses are out and the gates open, right?

So there is a level of an intelligence. You can ride the animal, you can give them cues, they can be taught to do tricks in various ways, but it's not the same level of intelligent reasoning that the spirit of man has. You know, the horse doesn't ever stop while they're out there eating in the pasture one day and just ask itself, is this all there is to life? You know, why was I born?

You know, what greater potential do I have? The horses don't lay out there at night and gaze up to the stars and say, you know, what are equine that you are mindful of them? You know, there is not the reaching and groping for that relationship just as there is in the spirit of man. And God created it in us and breathed that into us again for that specific purpose. There's an interesting story in the Bible involving King Nebuchadnezzar that I believe illustrates this point very clearly, kind of the distinction between the spirit and reasoning of man and that of an animal. And it's a familiar passage to us. Let's go back to Daniel chapter 4.

Daniel 4, you'll recall that King Nebuchadnezzar reigned over the kingdom of Babylon, and it was a mighty superpower of its day. Nebuchadnezzar was the king, and you know, he felt pretty good about that. He was pleased with his accomplishments, with his might and his power to the degree that God decided to get his attention. So let's notice how God did that. Daniel chapter 4, and we'll pick it up in verse 27. Here Daniel is speaking to Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 4, 27.

And Daniel says, Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you. He says, Break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity. So Nebuchadnezzar had had this dream. He sought the interpretation. Daniel gave it to him, and there was a strict warning with that dream of prophecy of what would happen. And Daniel said, Change your act. You know, repent. Turn to God, and perhaps this will be averted.

Verse 28, it says, All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar at the end of twelve months, as he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, Is this great Babylon that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power, and for the honor of my majesty? You know, he's just full of himself, and power of his empire, and the pride by which, you know, he had, by his own estimation, accumulated those things himself. But you see, he wasn't giving God the glory, and he wasn't acknowledging the supremacy of the Almighty. Verse 31, it says, While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven. King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken, the kingdom has departed from you. And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen, and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and he gives it to whomever he chooses. Verse 33, that very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven from men, and he ate grass like oxen. His body was wet with the dew of heaven, and his hair had grown like eagle's feathers. You know, I'm seven weeks past due for a haircut. I'm starting to fight a few eagle's feathers. This was seven years for Nebuchadnezzar. All right. His hair had grown like eagle's feathers, and his nails like bird's claws.

And so, it's my personal opinion that this is describing the spirit in man being taken away from Nebuchadnezzar for a time. And for seven years, he would wander the fields. He would eat grass like a beast, like an animal, with reasoning departed from him, his understanding void, in order that he might learn the lesson that God would have him to learn. Verse 34, it says, And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and notice, and my understanding returned. He returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever. For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. He does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth no one can restrain his hand, nor say to him, What have you done? Verse 36, at that same time, notice, he says, My reason returned to me. His understanding was taken away, his reason was taken away, and now it has returned to me, he says, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles returned to me. I was restored to my kingdom, and exalted majesty was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, his ways justice, and those who walk in pride he is able to put down.

So what we recognize, brethren, is that upon receiving back of his understanding, again, this is my opinion, it was likely the spirit in man that was returned to him. He was no longer going to walk and crawl, actually, through the fields like an animal, the spirit of man which returned to him. As a result of that, then the King praised and he acknowledged God.

When his reasoning returned, he looked to heaven and he acknowledged the Most High, something that he could not do as he lived as virtually an animal, apart from his reason and his understanding. So I think it's a fascinating story. Again, it drives home the point that there is a purpose that God has given us this spirit of understanding, and it is that we might acknowledge him, reach for him, know who he is, and desire that relationship that he is extending to us. That spirit in man is what makes it possible. The book of Ecclesiastes talks about the fact that the spirit or breath of an animal goes down to the earth when it dies.

I don't have it in my notes, but I believe it's Ecclesiastes 3. It says that the spirit of the animal goes downward, but the spirit of man goes up, and it goes up to God, which is ultimately the point that sends back to God. And that's because there's a difference, again, in man and animals. Essentially, the implication is when an animal dies in its breath, it goes down into the earth that ceased to exist. There's not a spirit in the animal that would continue in order to be reinfused with an animal, shall we say, for a future purpose. God has no eternal purpose for the animals, but he has an eternal purpose for mankind. So what the Bible shows us is that upon the death of a human being, the physical body returns to the dust. But the spirit in man, as Ecclesiastes says, goes upward, and in essence, it returns to God. I do want to look at Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Solomon here reiterates this point. Again, it's important for us to recognize.

It all builds, brethren, upon the purpose for our existence. Ecclesiastes chapter 12 break into the context in verse 6. The context is, remember your creator. And in verse 6, it says, remember your creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. It's talking about a relationship with God. Have it while you can. Verse 7, it says, then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. So the emphasis here from Solomon is, use your time well. Use it well to reach out, to develop that relationship with God that He has offered to you now, while you have the opportunity to do so. Because there comes a point at the end of every human life when we lose the ability to do so, to pursue that relationship. There comes a point when we die, our body turns the physical body back to dust, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. The church has long taught, long believed, that the spirit and man acts very much like the permanent record. You know, it used to be kind of brought to the comparison of like a cassette tape or recording. I'd say maybe we need to update that a little bit to a flash drive or the cloud. Let's say, uploaded to the cloud. How about that? Not to not to steer it in the wrong direction, but again, the spirit of man was like a recording, something that was preserved of our life in terms of our character, our thoughts, our memories, who and what we were in that essence. The church has taught that for many years, and again, the purpose is so that our individuality is retained after we die. So then, upon our death, the spirit returns to God who gave it for safe keeping until the time of our resurrection at the return of Jesus Christ, when then that spiritual record is placed back into our refashioned spiritual bodies as we rise up in glory. It's not that the spirit is off, you know, living, having a good time off somewhere else in heaven. The Bible says death is sleep, and those who are engraved know nothing until the time of the resurrection. But our spirit, in the essence of who and what we are, returns to God for safe keeping.

The point of all this, brethren, is God has given us the spirit in man so that we would have the capacity to develop a personal relationship with him during this physical life. It is a spirit of reasoning, a spirit of intellect, a spirit of understanding, and brethren, it is God-breathed.

Now for our third element.

Third element involving the breath of God leading to salvation, building on the first two, is found in the book of 2 Timothy. So let's go over there now. 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 14. Again, I'm not visiting any wildly unfamiliar passages here, brethren. We've read these so many times over the years. It's important we understand the intent behind what it is God is doing. Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse 14. Here the Apostle Paul, in the last book he wrote before his death to Timothy, young minister in the faith, giving him encouragement and instruction in verse 14. Paul says, but you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

And so what we find is that the Holy Scriptures here are described as words of salvation, or words for salvation. It's wisdom that's imparted by God for our salvation. And again, notice what makes them so. Verse 16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. The phrase here in verse 16, that's translated by inspiration of God, comes from the Greek word theonustos.

Theonustos. I've given you that word before. This time I've written it in my notes so I can spell it for you. All right? I usually have to look this up. Theonustos. It's spelled T-H-E-O-P-N-E-U-S-T-O-S. Theonustos. And it's a unique word. It's used only one time in the New Testament. It's for a very specific purpose. It essentially means God breathed. Theos, God, nustos, breathed out.

And so it means God breathed or breathed out by God. And that's what the Word of God is.

That's what Paul is telling us here. The Holy Scriptures, which makes us wise for salvation, are such. They are wisdom. They are life because they are the God-breathed words which came directly from the mouth of God. Now, some might argue and say, well, didn't man write the Bible? Didn't men come up with these words? Well, yes, man did write the Scripture, write the Bible out, but the point is the originator of those words is God. Let's note 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 20. 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 20. It's important, brethren, that we always establish the authority of the words that we read, that we teach from, that we instill in our lives, and that we live by. The authority of these words are not of man. They are of God.

2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 20. Peter says, knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. That word interpretation in the Greek actually could also be translated origin. That Scripture is not of any private origin. Verse 21, For prophecy never came by the will of men, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. And so it was by God, through the Holy Spirit, that this inspired word was given, that men recorded it, and that it was preserved for us. But again, as the Scripture states, the source of these words is not of men. They are of God. You recall when Jesus Christ, he was fasting, he was in the wilderness 40 days. Now the accuser comes along, right? He's being tempted by the adversary, by the devil. And what is one of Christ's response to Satan the devil upon his temptation? Jesus said, It is written, Matthew 4 verse 4, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And so again, brethren, these words that proceed from the mouth of God are for our life. They are for our salvation.

They are theonustos. Again, they are God-breathed.

Now, if we were in a room full of a congregation, I understand, COVID-19, I wouldn't exhale like that in the same room with all of you. Run your virus scan on your computer after the sermon, if it would make you feel better. The point is, this is God-breathed, intimate, personal, expended upon us by God. And so we have another God-breathed element here, again, stacked on top of the others, the literal Word of God, words for life. And when we live them, we truly live.

We truly live. The fourth element I would like to look at involving the breath of God leading to salvation is found in the book of John. And now we're going to begin to kind of tie all this together as a package. Book of John, chapter 20. John chapter 20. We're going to find here now a specific element that actually points us directly to the day of Pentecost and what it is then that occurs on the day of Pentecost. But this is the forerunner. John chapter 20, and beginning in verse 19. This is following the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now he's going to appear to his disciples. John 20 verse 19. It says, then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and he said to them, peace be with you. Verse 20, then he said, when he had said this, he showed them his hands, his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw that it was the Lord. And so Jesus said to them again, peace to you, as the Father has sent me, I also sent you. Verse 22, and when he had said this, notice, he breathed on them.

Jesus Christ breathed on them, and he said to them, receive the Holy Spirit.

Receive the Holy Spirit. Now we understand the Holy Spirit did not literally come upon the disciples at that time. You read ahead, read Acts 1, read Acts 2. You understand it wasn't until the day of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit was actually poured out as an indwelling presence in their life.

Jesus said, Terry and Jerusalem until you receive that promise. So they didn't actually receive the indwelling Holy Spirit at this point, but the point was at this time, Jesus Christ did breathe on them.

Receive the Holy Spirit.

It seems that Christ's breathing on them was a demonstration of the life they would receive through the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit. And just as God breathed into the physical flesh of man the breath of life, Jesus Christ here was breathing spiritual life on his disciples with the instruction to receive it, which they did on that day of Pentecost, when that day had fully come. Now some might would stop at this moment and ask the question, I asked it of myself as well, why am I considering this moment to be a God-breathed event? Well, I consider it to be God-breathed because of who and what the Bible clearly shows that Jesus Christ was. In the flesh, Jesus Christ was Emmanuel. He was God with us. He was God in the flesh. Of course, we know that this is after his resurrection. And so Jesus Christ had returned to glory by this point. He had ascended to his Father, and he had been glorified back to the glory that he had with the Father before the world was. And what was that glory? Well, again, John chapter 1 verse 1 tells us the glory that he had with the Father before the world was was God with God. And so that was the glory that he had received restored. And as we've studied over the course of a number of years, God the Father through Jesus Christ is the manner in which those two have functioned in so many things, and will continue to function in the future in so many things as well. The creation of all things was of God by and through Jesus Christ. And there's a number of scriptures that back that up. I'm not going to go through that today. We've covered that extensively in the past, but I'm just reminding us of this principle. The reconciled relationship with God comes of God through Jesus Christ. Christ is the mediator of the new covenant. We come under his sacrifice to be washed clean of our sins in order to be reconciled to God. As I explained to you, last Sabbath the Holy Spirit proceeds from God the Father and is poured out through Jesus Christ. John chapter 15 verse 26 tells us that, as well as Acts chapter 2 verse 32 and 33, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and is poured out through Jesus Christ. The Bible further shows that our resurrection unto glory will be accomplished of God through Christ, and that the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth will be accomplished of God through Jesus Christ. Again, there's scripture after scripture. We've covered those points before. So the Bible is consistent in all of these things, and the giving of the Holy Spirit, brethren, is no different. This is a God-breathed event, and as we understand the Scripture, the Holy Spirit proceeds from God through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ breathed on them, and he said, receive the Holy Spirit.

Let's notice Thomas's reaction to Jesus just eight days after he breathed on his disciples. We're still in the same chapter, John chapter 20. Let's go to verse 26.

John 20 verse 26, it says, after eight days, his disciples were again inside and Thomas with them. He had not been there previous. Thomas with them, Jesus came, the doors being shut, and he stood in the midst of them and said, peace to you. Then he said to Thomas, reach your finger here and look at my hands, reach your hand here, put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. In the Greek, it's literally the Lord of me and the God of me. Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Bless are those who have not seen and yet have believed. So there's an acknowledgement here from Thomas as to who Christ was, all right, and the giving of the Holy Spirit. We're acknowledging it is a God-breathed event. Proceeds from God the Father through Jesus Christ, and in his event, that brethren leads unto salvation and the lives of those that would receive it.

And so you can take this event, the God-breathed Holy Spirit, okay, and you can stack it on top of the other elements that we talked about, the breath of life, the spirit in man, the word of God, and it forms a package. A package which actually brings us into a very special relationship with God. Let's skip forward to the complete fulfillment of this day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 2 and verse 1.

We're just gonna take a moment and briefly acknowledge the actual giving pouring out of that Holy Spirit. Acts chapter 2 verse 1 says, 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 mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. It's not, it's as if the breath of God blew from heaven, this mighty rushing wind, as the spirit is being poured out, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Verse 3, it says, then appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Interestingly, the Greek word here for spirit, as in Holy Spirit, the Greek word is pneuma indicating that it would be like a breath, like a wind, like something that was unseen that blew upon them, and yet it dramatically altered their life and their perspective, and that is what the Holy Spirit did in their life.

Brethren, when we commit to a relationship with God on a personal level, we repent of our sins, we're baptized, we have our sins washed away, we have the hands of the ministry laid upon us, and when that happens, we too receive the indwelling presence of God's Holy Spirit.

And just as the Spirit in man gives us an understanding that's beyond the animals, the animals aren't going to do arithmetic and basic functions of man, but man has that Spirit and that understanding, and like vain, when the Spirit of God is added and joined to the Spirit of man, it adds another element of understanding beyond what the man could understand of and by himself, apart from God. Notice 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 9. Again, this is the result, the consequences of the God-breathed Spirit, the Holy Spirit, which interacts with the Spirit of man. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 9, it says, but as it is written, I has not seen nor ear heard, nor is entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him. Mankind, apart from the Spirit of God, doesn't understand or know what it is that God has in store and prepared. You know, they may have a glimpse, they may reach for it and yearn for it, but that completeness of understanding isn't there. Verse 10 says, but God has revealed them to us, notice, through his Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man, except the Spirit of man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God, except the Spirit of God. And as the animals don't understand the things of man, man doesn't understand the things of God, apart from that Spirit being infused into their life. Verse 12, now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. Verse 13, these things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Again, brethren, understanding the spiritual things of God only comes through the God-breathed Spirit, the Holy Spirit that he pours out through Jesus Christ, infusing in our life, combining with the Spirit of man, which he has given us for intellect and understanding as well. When those combined, we understand the things of God, and we become so much more of a creation than we were of our own. In Genesis, God breathed into man's nostrils a breath of life, and he became a living being, a physical creation. But when the Spirit is God breathed into a man's life, he becomes more than a physical creation made after the likeness of God. The continuing creation process is bringing him now into a spiritual creation of the likeness of God.

Romans chapter 8 verse 14. Romans 8 verse 14. What we understand, brethren, is God's creation is continuing. It didn't stop in Genesis. Let us make man in our image according to our likeness in the form of God. That is not yet a completed process in our life. What we walk through these steps, these elements that God breathes upon us to bring this to pass. Romans chapter 8 and verse 14. Let's notice what we become with God's Spirit. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. It says, For you did not receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption or sonship by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.

So again, brethren, when the Spirit and man, and it is essential in the process to have it, when it becomes joined with the Spirit of God, we no longer just become the sons of God by physical creation, we become sons of God by spiritual creation in His image. Verse 17, we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

So what a beautiful concept! What an incredible creation our father and elder brother are working out in the lives of the people on this earth. God said, let us make them in our image.

The process leading to sonship begins with the breath of life that God has breathed into mankind at creation. It is further supported by the Spirit and man, that Spirit which allows us to seek after God, to grope for a relationship with Him and to find Him, a Spirit which was given to us by the breath of God. This sonship is contingent upon living by every word of God. Again, that word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, that word which is theonustos, it is God breathed. And finally, the parent-child spiritual relationship is sealed when those other elements are combined with the God-breathed Holy Spirit, and we become the children of God. Brethren, the beautiful truth of the Bible is that the sons and daughters of God will ultimately spend eternity with God, not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. You see, even for those who have received the Holy Spirit, now the transformation unto the fullness of what we shall be is not yet complete. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is known in the Bible as the resurrection chapter. We'll save it for another day, but I'll just remind us of verse 53 of 1 Corinthians chapter 15. It tells us that this corruptible, this flesh, which is corruptible and subject to decline and decay, this corruptible must put on in corruption.

And this mortal must put on immortality. So there is a change that will take place for all the children of God at the return of Jesus Christ. And that change, that final change, will then bring us into the fullness of what God has intended for us to be fully in the likeness of God.

As the apostle John states in 1 John chapter 3 verse 2, when God is revealed and this change has taken place, he says in 1 John 3 verse 2, we know that we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And so God, who stated in the beginning, let us make man in our image, is continuing that creation process, yet even today, through his God-breathed spirit. I'd like to conclude the message today with a small amount of speculation, and I label it as that. My opinion, my speculation, and I give it to you simply to consider. Brethren, could it be that the resurrection unto the fullness of glory could also take place by the breath of God? Those who are the saints, the faithful who lie in the grave awaiting the resurrection, could it be their resurrection unto glory, unto life, could come by the breath of God? I want to conclude in Revelation chapter 11 as we consider this. Revelation chapter 11, picking up in verse 7. Revelation 11 verse 7, the context here is the two witnesses who go out at the very end, proclaiming the truth of God as a witness to the world. They're hated, they're despised because they're speaking the truth, and they're performing the miracles that God has given them as a sign and witness of the truth they proclaim. And so we jump into the context here of Revelation chapter 11 and verse 7. And it says, and when they finish their testimony, the two witnesses, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And so the two witnesses, very much flesh and blood, physical human beings, but by the power of God working through them, they're performing great miracles and signs, but they're killed, and their dead bodies lie in the street. Verse 11 says, now after the three and a half days, notice, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven, saying to them, Come up here, and they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. Again, brethren, I'm of the opinion, all right, I'm of the speculation that this is not a resurrection unto physical life. You know, the Bible doesn't specifically say this is a resurrection unto spiritual life. That is, that is my opinion. I believe it's a resurrection to spiritual life. And yet the Bible says the breath of life from God entered them. They rose up. They, they stood on their feet. God breathed life once again. And so I pose the question, could it be that you and I, as the children of God, have one more infusion of the breath of God that awaits us at the resurrection unto glory, at the return of Jesus Christ? Could it be that the next waking moment will be God breathed into our spiritual nostrils the breath of life, and we rise to meet Christ in the air? I'll leave you to think about that, brethren, as we wrap up the message today.

What an awesome concept! What an awesome package that we have laid out for us in the Scripture that God from the beginning has been creating man in His image, and that spiritual creation continues yet still today. As we approach the upcoming day of Pentecost, now 15 days away, let us keep our eyes fixed on the awesome blessing that God has poured out on His church, as symbolized by that day, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, the sealing of the saints, the harvest unto eternal life for those that would respond to God in the relationship He's extended. Brethren, that day and that spirit and what God intends, it is the infusion of the Holy Spirit that completes this process by which we become the God-breathed, begotten children of God. As the day of Pentecost approaches, brethren, let us rejoice in that understanding, and let us, like Nebuchadnezzar, finally had to come to the point of doing through a trial, let us raise our eyes towards heaven and glorify the Most High who is King over heaven and earth.