by Gordon Robertson, CBN Chief Executive Officer

The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. ~ Genesis 2:7 NKJV

The Holy Spirit is introduced in the Bible in Genesis 1: The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light (vv. 2-3).

At the very beginning there was God’s Word, Jesus; there was God the Father; and there was the Holy Spirit. The Trinity was fully represented in creation.

On the sixth day of creation, we read that 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 being (Genesis 2:7). Adam was brought to life, body and soul, with the actual breath of God. God breathed life into him, and in doing so He created mankind in His own image.

The same thing happens when we are born of the Spirit. God brings our spirit to life through His own Spirit. In the Gospel of John, Jesus gave His disciples the Holy Spirit the same way that God gave Adam physical and spiritual life. Jesus breathed new life on His disciples: “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:21-22).

When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, we receive the breath of Almighty God. Try to imagine that. The Holy Spirit infuses us as often as we will allow Him; we don’t have to live our lives as though there are some moments when we’re filled with the Spirit, and other moments when we’re not. We can be continually filled with His presence if we believe that in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Just imagine how God’s own breath, or Spirit, can transform your life!

I want you to take that thought with you through the day, and throughout the coming year. Christians now, more than ever, need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Let me conclude with the last verse of the last Psalm: Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:6).

(Scripture is quoted from the New King James Version.)