Can the simple act of breathing hold the key to understanding the divine? Discover how breath, spirit, and life are interwoven in Scripture, offering profound insights into God's presence within us. This episode uncovers the hidden spiritual truths behind the Hebrew word "ruach" and the Greek "pneuma," both translating to spirit and breath. By examining pivotal biblical passages like Ezekiel 37, John 6:63, and Psalm 33:6, we explore how these terms not only signify life but also God's very breath in us.
Journey with us as we unravel the life-giving power of God's word, emphasizing how speaking, powered by breath, ties words to spirit and life. From the creation story to the prophecy of Ezekiel and the teachings of Jesus, we'll highlight the unity of breath, spirit, and life through numerous scriptures. This episode extends an invitation to recognize the sacred essence in our very act of breathing and speaking, bringing us closer to the divine. Don't miss this thought-provoking exploration that promises to inspire a deeper appreciation of the breath of life that animates us all.
Can the simple act of breathing hold the key to understanding the divine? Discover how breath, spirit, and life are interwoven in Scripture, offering profound insights into God's presence within us. This episode uncovers the hidden spiritual truths behind the Hebrew word "ruach" and the Greek "pneuma," both translating to spirit and breath. By examining pivotal biblical passages like Ezekiel 37, John 6:63, and Psalm 33:6, we explore how these terms not only signify life but also God's very breath in us.
Journey with us as we unravel the life-giving power of God's word, emphasizing how speaking, powered by breath, ties words to spirit and life. From the creation story to the prophecy of Ezekiel and the teachings of Jesus, we'll highlight the unity of breath, spirit, and life through numerous scriptures. This episode extends an invitation to recognize the sacred essence in our very act of breathing and speaking, bringing us closer to the divine. Don't miss this thought-provoking exploration that promises to inspire a deeper appreciation of the breath of life that animates us all.
Speaker 1:
Welcome and greetings to you. In the last episode I mentioned briefly the idea of the words spirit and breath ruach in the Hebrew and pneuma in the Greek. In that section of the last episode I mentioned that I would talk about that topic later and then never really revisited it. I apologize, it probably left some of you hanging. So to remedy that, I want to take time in this episode to discuss it in more depth. I want to show you how scripture equates the breath with the spirit and with the word and with life. All of them go together. I probably could do a whole series on this, and maybe I will. We'll see if I get through this episode without it being a lengthy one all on its own. In that last episode I talked about how the breath is what brings a baby to full life. I also talked about how, at the end of our lives, we are considered dead when we breathe our last breath, and I stated that breath and the spirit are the very life that is in us, that makes us a living being, and therefore, if you are alive today and you have natural breath, then you also have the spirit of life in you now and the breath and spirit that you have in you is God's very own breath and spirit. You would cease to exist if you didn't. I want to elaborate on this more in detail today.
Speaker 1:
There are so many references in Scripture that refer to breath equaling the spirit and then the spirit being life. But here are some other examples Ezekiel 37, verses 5, 10, and 14. Verse 5 says Thus says the Lord, god, to these bones, behold, I will cause breath to enter you, that you may come to life. Verse 10, so I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them and they came to life and stood on their feet an exceedingly great army. And verse 14, and I will put my spirit within you and you will come to life and I will place you on your own land. John, chapter 6, verses 63,. It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. Acts 17,. Verse 25, since he himself gives to all life and breath and all things. Ecclesiastes, chapter 12, verse 7,. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit will return to God who gave it. Psalm 33, 6,. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made and by the breath of his mouth and all their host. Galatians 5.25,. Since we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Job 33.4,. The Spirit of God has made me. The breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Speaker 1:
No-transcript, and I'm going to throw this one in here because we're going to talk about this later. But it doesn't necessarily talk about spirit and life and breath. But there is an equation and we'll get to it. Proverbs 18, 21,. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat of its fruit. And there are many, many more passages that lead to the same understandings. I want to take that a step further and show how the word is also equal to the breath and to the spirit and to life. What am I trying to say here? Let me see if I can break this down.
Speaker 1:
When God spoke in the beginning, god used words, let there be light, and there was light. Breath is used when speaking. One cannot speak without breath also being involved. Therefore, words are carried on, the breath to the receiver. Let's take that a step further.
Speaker 1:
In the Ezekiel passages, scripture equates breath with the spirit as well. In Psalm 33, 6, we have the word being likened to the breath. In both Old Testament and New Testament references to breath and spirit. They are literally the same words. As I mentioned, ruach in Hebrew and pneuma in Greek. So what we have is scripture equating breath with the spirit and life life.
Speaker 1:
The John 4.24 and 2 Corinthians 3.17 passages both refer to God and the Lord as being the Spirit. So if the breath and the Spirit are the same thing, then the Lord and God are the breath and the Spirit as well. Verse 63 of John, chapter 6, now equates the words that Jesus speaks with Spirit and life. Because of these verses, you can therefore make the leap that the Word, breath, spirit and Life all go together, and not only that, but they are all the same thing. Why is this important? It's important because when you think of words being carried on the breath, what is also being carried along with those words is the spirit and the life that goes with it. Words, breath, spirit and life are inseparable. They are the same things. John 6.63, as we mentioned, states that it is the spirit that gives life. But I want you to think about this the spirit not only breathes life into you and me, causing us to be living beings, but the spirit brings life to whatever words are being spoken in love.
Speaker 1:
Going back to Proverbs 18, 21 for a minute, it states that death and life are in the power of the tongue. The warning here is that be careful what you speak, because you have God's breath and spirit living inside of you. What you speak, you are speaking as a representative of God and with God's authority. As a representative of God and with God's authority, when you speak words of love, the Spirit must carry out and bring life to those words. However, when you speak words not out of love, you are quenching the Spirit's power and instead you are ushering in death. That Proverbs verse finishes with. And those who love it, the power of the tongue will eat of its fruit. That means that what you speak, you will reap the consequences of James. Chapter 3 says so also. The tongue is a small part of the body and yet it boasts of great things. Behold how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire Meaning. You can set a fire with the words you speak. It can inflame the people you are speaking to, or it can be a calming respite for those who need it. It's your choice. Choose wisely. When Jesus walked the earth. What he spoke came to be. Why? Because Jesus is the living word. Jesus is the spirit of God and he also said that he is the life, and his words were and are life still today. Jesus still speaks the word today, bringing life and spirit and breath to every person on earth.
Speaker 1:
1 Thessalonians 5, 12-23 is a passage that talks a great deal about how we should conduct ourselves living our lives by not repaying evil with evil, esteeming each other highly, appreciating others, living in peace with each other, encouraging each other and even admonishing, not condemning or judging each other when we get out of control. It goes on to say don't quench the spirit. I mentioned that just a moment ago and I want to stop and focus on that for a moment. Quenching the spirit has been questioned and studied a great deal. This is my personal opinion, but I believe that it means that we should be careful not only how we conduct ourselves, for how we behave can either delight the spirit or quench the spirit, but I also believe that how we speak can do the same thing.
Speaker 1:
If the spirit is the one that brings life to the words of love that we speak, don't you think it would disturb the spirit greatly when the voice of the spirit is killed off when we speak negativity. The word quench in the New Testament means to extinguish. I think that that means we extinguish or put out the flame of the spirit when we aren't doing and saying things in love, and anything not in love is creating death. We are all a prophetic people. We all have a voice inside of us, that is the Holy Spirit, that speaks to us, whether we know it or not, and we all have the ability to speak what that voice says to us. Yes, there are guardrails around how and when and to whom we should speak those words. So I don't want to say that we should always speak what comes to us whenever we feel like it. But one thing I know if we speak what we hear when we are supposed to speak it and to whom we are supposed to speak it to, then we are not extingu it and to whom we are supposed to speak it to, then we are not extinguishing the voice of God. Instead, we are bringing life to the words that we speak.
Speaker 1:
And I don't know about you, but isn't it debilitating when our own voices are silenced? Debilitating when our own voices are silenced. It's crushing. How much more when we silence the voice of God that they wish to speak through us. Silencing your voice is akin to losing yourself, isn't it? How much more the quenching of God's voice being akin to losing God themselves.
Speaker 1:
What we need, now more than ever, is to hear God, and that requires people who are willing and bold enough to share what they hear in due time. Think about it. Why is the world the way that it is today, or at least the world that's presented by the news and social media? Why is it so negative? Because we aren't speaking life. We aren't speaking what God is saying. We have so many false prophets out there speaking things that God never said in scripture, let alone is saying today. Instead, what we are doing is constantly speaking words that tear down or words that cause division and polarization.
Speaker 1:
We are collectively quenching the spirit. We need to speak words that bring unity and closeness, comfort and not hatred. We need to bridle our tongues, as James says, of the things that are not of love and rather speak all the things that lift up to encourage, to build up, to sing songs and psalms, so that we can bring about peace. What we need is the new generation to speak with a new prophetic voice, one that speaks what Jesus is speaking today and not the same old religious and political rhetoric. We need the Spirit to come forth and bring the fresh wind of new words, breath, spirit and life. Let's all pray for this collective voice to rise up and bring about massive positive change in our world. Can we world? Can we? Before I close this out, I want to also make a point that not only do we need to hear and speak what Jesus is speaking today to the world, but we need to do it to ourselves too. How much do we look at ourselves with negative eyes and we have that negative self-talk and we even sometimes say it out loud. Right, let's make sure that we're speaking life to ourselves as well as the rest of the world and the people around us.
Speaker 1:
If you would like prayer or spiritual counseling, please visit my website at kelly-browncom that's K-E-L-L-I-browncom and schedule some sessions with me. I would be happy to assist you in any way I can. In addition, if you're looking for a safe place to attend worship, please visit the Bridge Online. Their website is wwwthebridgeonlineca, and that's all one word the Bridge Online. I hope you've enjoyed this, have a blessed day and, if you like this podcast, please go rate the show, leave some comments like it on the social media platforms that you use and, most importantly, share it with your friends and family. I adore you all. God bless and talk to you next time.
