Expert: John Zalewski - 3/2/2011

Question
QUESTION: I am presenting the following verses and would like to know if based on them, is it safe to assume that God Resurrects people by breathing the "Breath of life," into them Just as he did with Adam causing him to become a living being - In particular Ezekial seems to indicate that this would be God's method of resurrection:

       1) Ezekiel 37:4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

      2) Job 33:4 "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life."

      3) Job 27:3 "as long as I have life within me,the breath of God in my nostrils,"

      4) Acts 17:25 "25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else."

ANSWER: Hello, Pete.

As far as I can tell, the word 'breath' is used in two ways in the Bible. It can refer to the physical breath that man and the animals have, but it can also refer to the 'breath of God,' which God imputes to those whom He saves.

One verse which refers to 'breath' being physical is I Kings 17:17, which speaks of a person who becomes so sick that he has no more breath in him.

To get to your verse, Ezekiel 37:4-10 is certainly talking about salvation. The word 'breath' in verse 4 (the same word translated 'wind' in verse 9) refers to God giving eternal life to a person. This is the moment He saves a person and fills them with the Holy Spirit. We see this in John 20:22, when Jesus breathes on the disciples and they receive the Holy Ghost. (It's probable that some or all of these disciples were already saved prior to this point, and this was some sort of a demonstration.)

In Ezekiel 37:4, God is speaking to dry bones, which typify unsaved people. Before salvation, we are dead in sins (Ephesians 2:5), and God has to do 100% of the work to save us. Notice that when God breathes on these dry bones, life enters into them (verse 9), and they finally stand up on their feet as the whole house of Israel (verses 10-11).

The Israel to which this refers are all of the children of God throughout time. This is not talking about national Israel. It's talking about anyone who has received eternal life through the grace of mercy of God. Galatians 6:16 teaches that the truly saved people are the "Israel of God."

This is also why Christ was called the King of Israel. He was, of course, not a physical King, but He is the spiritual King over all saved people, not just those of national Israel.

So, yes you are correct. God breathes His Holy Spirit into the lives of those He plans to save. This is the moment a person becomes born again. The Job verses also speak to this fact. Job 27:3 could be understood as physical breath, but it's the same Hebrew word from Genesis 2:7, where God breathed in Adam, making him a living soul. Job 33:4 is certainly talking about God's Spirit saving Job, or giving him life (eternal life).

I believe Acts 17:25 also speaks to this fact. The word translated 'breath' in that verse can also be translated 'wind.' This 'wind' is found in Acts 2:2, at the time of Penecost, just before about 3,000 people were saved. It's also found in Ezekiel 37:9, where it is definitely referring to the Holy Spirit.

Thanks for the question. Let me know if you have further questions.

May God bless you,
John

Numbers 14:20-21: And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word:

But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thankyou for that lengthy answer and thank you for addressing all the verses I listed. Since you were so thorough Im gonna ask you another question:  I am a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. When I go to my AA meetings there are a lot of people who worship allah and buddah and even one guy who is a pagan. They pray and worship these gods to get them sober and our REAL GOD helps them get and stay sober (He's the only one who can)  Why does he honor their desire to get sober if they are praying to other gods

Answer
Hello, Pete.

We have to keep in mind that God is absolutely sovereign in everything that He does. He decides if He is going to have mercy on a person, and it's not based on whether that person is in the correct religion, worshipping the proper God, or what the individual's prayer sounds like.

I John 5:14-15: And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us:

And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.

Ultimately, God works according to His will, not according to our will.

Philippians 2:13: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

The Philippians verse refers to God working in the lives of the saved people, but the principle also applies to the unsaved, in that God's will is done.

At the beginning of the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done, as in Heaven, so in earth" (Luke 11:2).

So, if someone is in AA, and they're in a false religion, or praying to a false god, God can still free them from their dependence to alcohol or drugs. But this doesn't mean that God is honoring that unsaved person's prayer. It just means that God is sovereign, and He can rescue someone from drugs or alcohol, regardless of what their personal beliefs are.

Also, keep in mind that before salvation, every human being is unsaved and in total opposition to God. Romans 3:10-18 gives an excellent picture of the unsaved person. There is none that does good, none that understands, none that seeks God, etc. This can vary as widely as someone in the Buddhist or Taoist religion, or someone who claims to believe in Christ, but is following a free will gospel. Consequently, because the person is unsaved, they will belong to a false religion and worship a false god, or believe in a wrong philosophy (atheists, for example).

Despite this, God still saves, and that's wonderful news, because without God's sovereign grace we'd all be without hope (Romans 9:15-16).

I hope this helps.

May God bless you,
John

Luke 12:28: If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more (will He clothe) you, O ye of little faith?