Sermon Central
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How Can I See God As Being Closer To Me? Series
Contributed by Jim Butcher on Feb 6, 2024 (message contributor)
Summary: Genesis 2:7 speaks of Adam receiving the breath of life. John 20:22 speaks of Jesus giving the spiritual breath of life (the Holy Spirit). This sermon unpacks the parallels and their implications.
- As we have throughout this series, this morning I want to look at the connection between a passage early in Genesis and one late in John. We’ll start in Genesis 2:7.
- In that verse it tells us that the “Lord God . . . breathed in [the man’s] nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Our focus is on that breath of life from God.
- Adam was not alive and then he was alive thanks to the breath of God.
- As we turn over to John 20, we have a parallel, as we have found in previous weeks as well.
- Let’s read John 20:21-22. In the latter verse, it’s after the resurrection and Jesus is meeting with the disciples. It’s Easter evening. As Jesus is meeting with them, He says something that might seem a bit unusual. Verse 22 picks up the story: Jesus “breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” What is that about?
- There’s more to it than this, but this morning I want to focus on it as a parallel to what we read in Genesis.
- Let me give you the point in the sermon outline and then we’ll unpack it.
THE BREATH OF LIFE: Adam was dead and then alive (physically); we are dead and then alive (spiritually).
- Romans 8:9.
- Let’s start by thinking back to Genesis. Adam was dead and then the breath of life from God made Him alive physically. It happened because of the breath of life from God.
- We also know (in general and from previous weeks in this sermon series) that the Fall quickly follows in the Genesis story. We don’t know exactly how much time expired in Eden before they got there, but man receives the breath of life at the beginning of chapter 2 and by the end of chapter 3 everything has fallen apart because of sin and the Fall.
- That, of course, brought physical death into the world. More important for what we want to talk about in John, it also brought spiritual death and separation from God.
- That takes us to John 20. We’ve all heard enough Easter sermons to know that Jesus’ death and resurrection brings forgiveness of sin and the hope of eternal life.
- What we read here gives us another way to understand what Jesus has accomplished. To go back to the outline, we are dead and then alive (spiritually). We were dead spiritually. That is, we were separated from God. But when Jesus gives us new spiritual life, one of the defining characteristics of it is that the Holy Spirit will be within us.
- Let’s pause to unpack the importance and presence of the Holy Spirit.
- Many people, even many Christians, don’t really understand the place or importance of the Holy Spirit. They understand that God the Father is over all. They understand the mission and purpose of Jesus. But they are confused about the Holy Spirit.
- He is within us to guide and direct us through this life. When you compare Him to the Law, it’s an amazing thought that we have God within us. He is the proof of God’s presence in our lives. (See Romans 8:9 on both points.) He is within us to empower this new life.
- We are alive spiritually because the Holy Spirit is within us.
- I am alive in the Holy Spirit.
AN INITIAL REACTION: We should rejoice in our rebirth.
- John 3:3-5, 16; John 20:22; 2 Corinthians 5:17.
- Let’s talk about three pictures the Scriptures give us on this count:
a. Born again.
- John 3:3-5, 16.
b. New creation in Christ.
c. New breath.
- John 20:22.
- The first two are more familiar phrases, but the third is equally Biblical.
- Take a deep breath and think of the newness of your spiritual life.
- God has done something new within us. We have been reborn. We were dead spiritually and now we have been brought to life.
- Before I get into some of the implications of that, let’s just take a moment to rejoice in this rebirth.
- We were dead and we have been given life.
- I have a “son in the ministry” who did a church plant in Charleston. He called it “Resurrection Church.” He called it that because he wanted to emphasize the idea that we aren’t just adding a little spiritually onto our already fine lives. No, we are being resurrected. We are being brought to life.
- This should be a source of great amazement and joy.
WHAT IF WE LIVED THAT OUT?
1. OUR TRUE IDENTITY IS THAT WE ARE A NEW BEING.
