“When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”
How is humanity made? The master craftsman might take wood and stone or even mud and turn it into an image. The master scientist might copy that which was already made but never near pure creation. The master mathematician might explain humanity with the flow of numbers. Masters of trades can never near the Master of the universe. So how is humanity made?
God’s craftsmanship is not found in the transformation of dust to flesh, because neither dust nor flesh makes a person. There is something more, which is explicitly stated, for God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And here, the active reader must pause. This is not resuscitation that God has entered into. Rather, this is the gifting of soul—of life and breath and being.
In the blink of an eye, Adam went from death to life, from heartbeat-less to heartbeat-ing, from meaningless to meaningful. And in it God revealed the need for the same kind of spiritual work now. This is the Master of the universe gifting life, and he does it not once but twice. First in existence (life). Second, in salvation (spiritual life). God’s Life-giving revelation is put on full display “in the beginning,” when no one and no thing could have anticipated the great need for spiritual life in the near future. God’s ways are mysterious, but his revelation is plain. He has given life and life everlasting though Jesus Christ our Lord!
“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!
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“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”