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We’ve been studying early Christian practices prior to and around the time of the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325. One fascinating practice associated with baptism was insufflation—the act of breathing upon a baptismal candidate or upon the water he was about to be baptized in.
Why would Christians do such a thing?
In the New Testament, pneuma can mean breath, wind, spirit, or Spirit. So when the New Testament speaks of being “baptized in the Holy Pneuma,” there is imagery contained in the Greek that you may not see with our english word “spirit”
Think about it: baptizō means to immerse, and pneuma belongs to a family of words associated with breath and blowing.
They were baptized in the Holy Pneuma—immersed in the Divine Breath.
Look at Genesis 2:7…
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being”
And look at John 20:22…
“And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit”
Perhaps those early Christians were simply mimicking what they saw God do in creation and Jesus do with His disciples—breathing upon new believers as a symbolic representation of God's life-giving Holy Pneuma.
Maybe those early Christians understood—or at least could hear—something that we easily lose in translation because we don’t have an equivalent English word that carries all of those different meanings.
We read “Holy Spirit"
They heard Pneuma—Spirit. Wind. Breath.
Without physical breath you can’t live
Without the Breath of God… you never really experience true life.
Take a deep breath and thank God for giving us both kinds.
I’ve started riding my bicycle up and down the new harbor bridge. This morning when I reached the top I noticed a truck and dump trailer pulled over with a flat tire… my worst nightmare that ranks right up there with being trapped in a crowded elevator on a cruise ship.
Anyway as I was headed down the bridge I noticed what I thought was a young woman lying down on the walkway. Of course going down hill you’re moving pretty fast and I didn’t stop figuring she was a drunk sleeping it off. But when I got to the bottom I worried that she might be injured or even dead so I called 911.
The operator got all my information and asked if this was about the truck/trailer stuck on top of the bridge. I said… no this is about a young woman who is either dead or asleep. There was a lot of foot traffic on the walkway but I guess no one had phoned her in.
As I was going back to the bridge I saw an emergency vehicle with lights on coming slowly down the bridge but I guess they didn’t see her and turned off their lights and moved on. I thought they might be coming back so I stopped my bicycle and could tell she was breathing.
Another passerby stopped and we were talking about the situation and the woman stirred and got up. I asked if she was okay and she didn’t answer she just stumbled off. Turned out she was not a young woman but a thin older woman.
Now I’m not one to judge but if I was my judgment would be that she was a drug addict of questionable moral character.
The 911 operator asked me when I called if I had stopped and I felt a little guilty but said… no. And I’m not sorry for that because you never know what you might get into in this kind of situation.
I’m sure if the Good Samaritan could have called Jerusalem 911 he would have.
The flat tire on top of a busy bridge would be one of my worst nightmares… but this woman laying on the bridge was living a nightmare. I hope she can find the strength and help to wake up
Consider Ezekiel 37 and the translation of “Ruach”
Ezekiel 37:5–6
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto these bones: Behold, I will cause RUACH (breath) to enter into you, and ye shall live.
And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put RUACH (breath) in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
Ezekiel 37:8
And I beheld, and, lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no RUACH (breath) in them.
Ezekiel 37:9
Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the RUACH (breath), prophesy, son of man, and say to the RUACH (breath), Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Come from the four RUACHOT (winds), O RUACH (breath), and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
Ezekiel 37:10
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the RUACH (breath) came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Ezekiel 37:14
And I will put my RUACH (Spirit) within you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it and performed it, saith Jehovah.
Notice with me that in the original Hebrew text the reader would consistently read one word “Ruach” while in our English translations we would read in the text “breath”, “winds”, “spirit” and “Spirit”
The Hebrew language had other words for “breath” and “wind”
“Neshamah” is a Hebrew word for “breath” and in fact is used in Genesis 2:7
“Neshev” is a Hebrew word meaning “wind” and in fact is used in Psalms 147:18
Both those words could have been substituted for “ruach” to provide clarity in the text… but weren’t.
Unfortunately in the English language there is not one word that could have the meaning of “breath”, Wind”, and "Spirit". If there was we would have read the text like God’s people of old did and perhaps been better off for it.
God chose to express himself in a language in which “Ruach” could mean multiple things. Perhaps to use the relationship between those things to stimulate our thinking and better explain the nature of the Holy Spirit.
Wind is invisible, but we can see what it does.
Breath is invisible, but it is evidence of life.
The Spirit is invisible, but we can see what He does.
Maybe Ezekiel wasn't merely telling us that the Spirit gives life.
Maybe the very word RUACH was helping him show us.
Howdy! We got one of those kinds of messages you never want to get on Thursday. One of our members, Savannah White, had taken her life. Of course her mom and dad, sister and grandmother attend with us. Just horrific and there aren’t adequate words to describe what her family is going through right now. Of course on our private Facebook page people express comforting words, as they should, but still it just doesn’t seem like it’s enough (to me). I remember when I found out my dad only had 12 months to live (lung cancer) and I had it announced at services that I was barely holding it together. Many people said kind words to me but then Emilio Sanchez came up to me and hugged me and started crying and we both cried… I’ll never forget that.
After my dad died mom let me read the letters people had sent when Dad was alive things like what mom and dad had meant to them. I still have those letters and I cherish them. There is a pain that never goes away. It might become muted and under control for the most part but it never goes away. Sometimes I’m driving in my truck by myself and I start thinking about my family and I just break down and cry.
But I’m proud of my Parkway family because they are doing what they can do. There will be words spoken, food shared, hugs and tears because it could happen to any family. It will bring us closer together as a family.
This morning I prayed to God that if he had anything against Savannah that he would forgive it and let her spend eternity in Heaven. Knowing God… I expect to see her… especially if we all say the same prayer.
Of course the “Godhead”, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have existed through out the Old Testament and the New Testament and through out all eternity.
The Father and The Son are identified as being a masculine gender. What gender the Holy Spirit is more challenging.
The greek word “Pneuma” is translated as Spirit”, “wind” and “breath” and has grammatical gender. It is “neuter”. Except for in John 14 where the Holy Spirit is referred to in the masculine form as "The Comforter” and because of that defenders of the Godhead concept refer to the Holy Spirit as being of the masculine gender. But everywhere else in the New Testament its (he’s) “neuter”
Jesus consistently speaks of the Spirit as a personal agent—the Spirit teaches, reminds, testifies, guides, hears, speaks, and glorifies Christ (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13–14)
Let’s look at the Old Testament. The Hebrew word translated “Spirit”, “wind” and “breath” is usually grammatically feminine. Hmmm.
Does the Bible identify the Holy Spirit as male or female?
Well the Holy scriptures do not explicitly tell us. What it does tell us is that the Holy Spirit is represented three ways grammatically: Feminine, Neuter and Masculine.
I don’t really have an answer or explanation for all this. But as good Bible students we need to know things. Sometimes when we’ve had time to think we’ll find an answer. Although I suspect in Heaven there will not be any genders, but that’s just a guess.
There are two primary prophets who foresaw the events that would take place on Pentecost… Joel and John (the Baptist). And as expected they have remarkable parallels with each other. Let’s take a look.
1. The Spirit. Joel says the Spirit would be poured out while John states that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit.
2. Fire. Joel says fire (and other wonders would occur). John states that Jesus would baptize with fire.
3. Judgement Day. Joel predicts a “great and terrible Day of the Lord” John predicts a “winnowing” judgement.
4. Salvation. Joel says that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. John states that the wheat will be gathered into the barn.
5. Fate of the wicked. Joel’s Day of the Lord includes God’s judgement on his enemies. John states that the “chaff” will be burned.
Remarkably parallel and a consistent message prophetically from the Old Testament to the New with a clear message… when the Messiah comes he will bring both Salvation and Judgement.
These prophecies explain each other and their fulfillment in Acts 2 gives absolute clarity to their meaning
What is also clear in these two prophecies and their fulfillment is that the prophecy was not complete on the Day of Pentecost but is progressive until the final Day of the Lord.
The coastal bend of South Texas has been under a historic drought for about the past three years. We didn’t have a Spring… everything was dead and dry. The reservoirs got as low as 8% total capacity and Corpus Christi was under severe water restrictions.
Of course as Christians we prayed for relief… for local rain and rain in our watershed which feeds our reservoirs.
Of course there was no answer to our prayers and for me personally I just kind of gave up on the prayers. I would still mention the need for rain in my prayers but after a while futility and disappointment set in and it didn’t seem too much like God cared about it one way or the other.
Finally we got some local rains and it greened up and the flowers bloomed and the birds started singing and we began seeing butterflies again. Hope started stirring in my heart but the reservoirs were still almost empty and we couldn’t water our plants because of the water restrictions.
And then something crazy happened we started getting historic rains. Where? Right where we needed it, in our watershed. The Frio river caused Lake Choke Canyon to to raise to about 25%. The Nueces river looks like it is going to fill Lake Corpus Christi to 100%.
We almost never see that kind of rain in our watershed. My personal opinion is that this rain was from the hand of God.
Things to learn; trust in God, his actions might not fit our timetable but he is all we have. Satan sure isn’t going to help us. Keep praying no matter what. God always answers the needs of his people.
I’m reminded of the old joke told in West Texas that when God flooded the earth West Texas only got four inches.
I’m also reminded of when our daughter moved to Houston and worked in a corporate office and a thunderstorm brewed up and she walked to the window to watch it. Her co-workers asked her what she was doing. She said you don’t understand where I’m from. When it rains we stop and watch God’s wonderful blessed gift.
Deep South Texas has spells of drought and always will but God can break a drought. Just pray.
