Man lives by the breath of God. When we read that "He gives to all life, and breath, and all things," (Acts 17:25) we are not to understand that these things are something apart by themselves, but that God gives us himself in His gifts. It is God's presence, and that alone, that makes any gift of value. So the breath by which we live is God's own breath, the breath or life--God's own life. "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)
The physical structure of man has not changed since the creation. Mankind live now by the same means as then. We breathe in the same way that Adam did, and the same air, too. The first breath that a man draws is no different from every subsequent one. The same thing that was done for Adam, is done for every soul that is born into the world: God breathes into its nostrils the breath of life.
But that which we breathe, as well as that which Adam breathed from his first breath till the close of this life, is there. The breath of life is the air that surrounds us. This we know without being told; for if the air be shut away from us, so that we cannot breathe, we quickly die. But it is God who breathes into our nostrils this breath of life. Thus we see very plainly that the air that surrounds us is God's breath.
We have grown so accustomed to putting the Lord far away from us, that first it seems almost like sacrilege to say that He is so near and so real that the air is His breath. In fact, we have never in our lives, at least a majority of us have not, been accustomed to thinking of God as near at hand, as the One in whom we actually live. The statement, "in Him we live, and move, and have our being," (Acts 17:28) is very familiar, but to most people it is only a form of words. When we come to consider it as an actual fact, then many begin to shake their heads. They would limit the meeting and force of the Scripture by their own previous conceptions. Let us remember that the Word of God "is true from the beginning," (Psalm 119:160) and that it is "the truth." (John 17:17)
There is no exaggeration in God's Word. God says just what He means, and means all that He says.
What is air? From childhood we have been taught that it is a gaseous substance composed of a combination (not chemical) of two gases: oxygen and nitrogen. But that didn't tell us anything as to what it is. Even though it had been correctly analyzed, the mere naming of these two gases does not really add to our knowledge. The name is not inherent in the thing. The names by which the gases are known are simply arbitrary designations given by men.
But new scientists tell us that there are still other elements in the air, which they have never known before. We now have "argon" and "krypton," and still other things said to be constituents of the air. All this simply shows that human science really knows nothing as to what air is. This is aptly, though not very ingenuously, confessed in the name "krypton," given to one of the supposed elements of the air. It is not, as some might think, the name of anything whatever, but means hidden, concealed, unknown. It indicates that there is something there which the philosophers know nothing about.
Let us now take a little rest from these various "elements," which for all that anybody can tell, are different manifestations of one and the same thing, and come to a simple statement of what the air is. What is air? It is life. There is no doubt about it. To know that indeed is of more value than to know all the fictitious names which scientists have given to the supposed constituents of the air. It is the great agent by which God conveys to us His life. If we remember this, it will lead us to the possession of greater wisdom than can be learned in all the schools on this earth.
We have already seen that the breath that we breathe is God's breath, and thus that the air is the breath of God. Let us note two other texts which state this very explicitly. When Israel came to the Red Sea, "The Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided." (Exodus 14:21)
What was this "strong east wind" by which the waters were divided? In the song which Moses sang when filled with the Holy Ghost, we are told. Addressing the Lord, he said: "With the blast of your nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea." (Exodus 15:8)
The east wind that drove the waters back, was an ordinary wind, the same as we are so well acquainted with; but nevertheless it was the breath of God's nostrils. How much more we can appreciate the air, when we realize that it comes direct from God, and how this truth should teach us not to shut it out, and not to contaminate it with tobacco smoke and other vile odors.
And now to see that God is continually doing for us just what He did for Adam in the beginning--breathing into our nostrils the breath of life. How little we think about breathing when we are in health. If we had to think about our breath in order to keep it going, we should have no time to think of anything else. And we should not dare to go to sleep.
But we do go to sleep, and lose all consciousness, yet we breathe all the time. The breath comes as regularly as when we are awake, although not so often, because it is not needed so much. We do not do it ourselves. Who does? It is God. "He that keeps you will not slumber. Behold He that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper." (Psalm 121:3-5)
Because the Lord does not sleep, we can lay us down in peace and sleep. And what is more, we can awake, for the Lord sustains us. "I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me." (Psalm 3:5)
What a sense of the marvelous greatness God gives, to know that for the life and breath of every individual on earth God is personally responsible. How near we are to Him, when we receive the breath of His nostrils! Truly, He is not far from everyone of us.
Our life therefore is not our own. It belongs to God. Not merely in the sense that He has a claim upon it, but it is His own life. Because He lives, we live. In Him we live, because He is our life. This solves the problem of right living. We know that God gives us His own life. This shows that it is possible for Him to dwell in us. How easy then to see that if we but yield to Him, that He may direct His own life in His own way, we shall live righteous lives, because "as for God, His way is perfect." (Psalm 18:30)
Let God use His own breath in His own way, and our breath will be righteousness to us. We shall breathe in righteousness with every breath.
Can God make a man good simply by breathing on him? Certainly; that is what He did in the beginning. Adam was formed of the dust of the ground. He was man, but he was good for nothing as man. He was utterly useless. He knew nothing, and could do nothing. Then God breathed into his nostrils. That was God's last act in creation; and when God had done that, "[He] saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good." (Genesis 1:31)
That is to say, that breath of God changed man from a good-fornothing man into a very good man. As long as Adam received his breath as coming direct from the Lord, and was content to be simply the instrument through which God's breath should play, everything was harmony and peace and goodness. But as soon as Adam thought that he could live on his own account, all was discord. God can and does breathe righteousness into all who acknowledge Him in their every breath.
We live by breathing. But, "the just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17)
That is, the man who lives by faith is a righteous man. Now since we live by breathing, and by faith our life is made righteous, it is evident that we shall be righteous if we breathe by faith. It cannot be otherwise. If with every breath we were acknowledging God as the giver of every good and perfect gift, we could not fail to be righteous; for we breathe several times every minute, and if in all our ways we acknowledge God, He will surely make our ways right. "In all you ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:6)
Then, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." (Psalm 150:6)
And as the breath of God comes upon us moment by moment, let us remember that with every inspiration comes the blessed words, "Receive the Holy Ghost!" (John 20:22)--Present Truth, September 8, 1898.