Scripture Folios
Breath of Life
Receive the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Chapter Related Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. Chapter Related Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. Chapter Related Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Chapter Related Psalm 33:6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth. Chapter Related Psalm 104:29–30 When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to dust. When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth. Chapter Related Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord ! Hallelujah! Chapter Related Isaiah 42:5 This is what God the Lord says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it: Chapter Related Ezekiel 37:9–10 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord God says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, so that they may live!” So I prophesied as He had commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet—a vast army. Chapter Related Ezekiel 37:14 “I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord , have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord .’” Chapter Related Zechariah 12:1 This is the burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel. Thus declares the Lord , who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man within him: Chapter Related Matthew 3:16–17 As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Chapter Related John 3:6–8 “Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” Chapter Related John 4:23 But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. Chapter Related John 7:38–39 “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’” He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. Chapter Related John 20:22 When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Chapter Related Acts 2:2–4 Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Chapter Related Acts 2:38–39 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.” Chapter Related Acts 17:25 Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. Chapter Related Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you. Chapter Related 1 Corinthians 15:45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam a life-giving spirit. Chapter Related Galatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Chapter Related 2 Timothy 3:16–17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work. Chapter Related Revelation 11:11 But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who saw them. Chapter Related Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely. Chapter Related
In Hebrew one word does the work of three: ruach is breath, wind and spirit, and the Greek pneuma is the same. So in the Bible breath and Spirit are never far apart. The Spirit hovers over the waters; God forms a man from dust and blows the breath of life into his nostrils. Job knows that the breath of the Almighty gives him life and understanding, and a psalmist knows that when God takes breath away we return to dust, and when he sends his Spirit we are created. In Ezekiel’s valley of bones the one word keeps returning, as breath, as the four winds, as God’s own Spirit, until the slain stand on their feet. On the evening of his resurrection Jesus breathes on his disciples and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The Greek verb is the one the old Greek Bible used for God breathing into Adam. Some fifty days later a sound like a rushing wind fills a house. Even Scripture is God-breathed. The Psalms end with everything that has breath praising the Lord, and the Bible ends with the Spirit saying, “Come!”