From “The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit” by Dwight Moody
THE BREATH OR THE WIND (in the original language, the
word “spirit” also means “breath”)
According to Genesis 2:7 God breathed upon Adam a breath
of life in the same manner as later on He will give to “the
new man” the breath of the Spirit. We read in Job 32:8:
“But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the AI·
mighty giveth them understanding,” and in Job 33:4: “The
Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty
giveth me life.”
Ezekiel prophesies and says: “Come from the four winds,
o breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live”
(37:9). Jesus Himself, speaking of the regenerative work of
the Spirit, says, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou
hearest the sound thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh,
and whither it goeth” (John 3:8). Then, when He sends forth
His disciples, He breathes upon them saying, “Receive ye the
Holy Ghost” (John 20:22). Finally, when the Spirit Himself
descends on the day of Pentecost, He is accompanied by a
sound as of a rushing mighty wind, which fills all the house
where the disciples are sitting (Acts 2: 2) .
What does this symbol mean? The above passages allow
us to think that he stresses the impetuous, invisible and un·
expected action of the Spirit; it shows also that this action is
heavenly, that it comes from above, that it is sovereign and
infinitely above man. Finally, if the Spirit is called the Breath
of the Almighty, it is because He is His direct emanation, the
manifestation of His very presence.
Since we are speaking of the impetuous action of the Spirit,
the following passages are of interest, as they will illustrate it
in a special manner: “And the Spirit lifted me up between the
earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God
to Jerusalem ..• The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto
the east gate . • • And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me,
and he said unto me … ” (Ezek. 8:3; 11:1, 5). “The Spirit
of the Lord caught away Philip . • • [who] was found at
AzotuS . • .” (Acts 8: 3 9-4 0) . In these different cases, does
not the Spirit seem to act as a sudden and mighty wind, which
seizes an object and makes of it that which He desires?
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