Spring 2001
The Lifting Power of His Spirit
Wade E Taylor

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living being.” Gen 2:7 NKJV.

Man was created to be dependent, not independent. Therefore, Adam was formed of dust, which has no shape or form within itself. Just as a sand castle cannot be built from dry sand, our natural lives, apart from God, cannot cling together with others in any lasting harmony. This is the root cause of the ongoing problems that persist between nations and races.

Had we been formed of clay, we would have been molded in a particular image which could maintain itself. But we were created of dust, which tells us that something external must be added, before we can have shape and purpose in life, which primarily is, "being conformed to the image of His Son." (Rom 8:28-29).

Therefore, God breathed into man the breath of life, and man became a “living soul.” In the original, the word “life” is plural, as man was intended to live on two different levels of life; the natural in relation to the earth, and the spiritual in relation to God.

This life, which was breathed into us be God, can only be maintained by Him.

"But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall
give him shall never thirst; but the water that
I shall give him shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life." John 4:14.

Because we were created to be dependent upon the Lord, a condition which required obedience was placed before Adam; he could choose which he would partake of - the tree of life, from which he could maintain his God breathed life, or, the tree of knowledge, which would result in immediate death to his spirit life, and gradually terminate his temporal life, as he no longer could partake of the tree of life.

Through transgression, man lost the higher realm of spirit life. Some say that man fell. He did not fall, rather, he died. Had man fallen, he could be picked up and put back together again. Worldly education and modernistic religion attempts to do this through reform and refinement. But it will never work, as man died, and the higher spiritual life can only be restored through a new birth.

"In the day that you eat thereof, you will
surely die." Gen 2:17b.

After the transgression, Adam continued to physically live. Peter said, "A day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day." Methuselah, the oldest man who ever lived, died short of that thousand year day.

There was an immediate death of the higher realm of spiritual life that took place. Now Adam and Eve lived only in the lower earth life. As a temporal (earthly) being, we have certain giftings, which includes our five physical faculties, in order to preserve our lives and enable us to function.

We either suffer or prosper because these giftings vary greatly. The comforts we have and the cars we drive are a result of these natural giftings and abilities. The natural man does not have the opportunity to enter the spiritual realm, as he is locked into the earth realm of life.

But there is a higher life that we were created for, and into which we are called to live. Adam, through the breath of God, had been given spiritual faculties, or abilities, to enable him to relate to and function in this spiritual realm. But these were forfeited through spiritual death.

Through salvation and regeneration by the Holy Spirit, we become a new creation and these abilities are re-birthed within us. Now we are back to the place that the Lord intended for Adam. But there is a difference.

Through the new birth, there is reborn within us spiritual faculties and giftings which enable us to relate to and function in the realm of the Spirit. But these spiritual abilities are only "potentially" available to us, as we begin our spiritual life as a new born child.

"As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word,
that you may grow thereby.” I Peter 2:2 NKJV.

These spiritual talents, which include the Gifts of the Spirit, must be developed in order to enable us to relate to and function in the spiritual realm. We must both learn to use and exercise them, as we grow in our new creation life. This takes place in a similar way to a baby gradually developing his natural abilities.

The natural inclination of a baby is to put into its mouth whatever it has in its hand. So also, as a spiritual baby, we need to eat the Word. If our main interest and emphasis is on the development of our natural abilities in order to make our temporal lives more comfortable, our spiritual faculties will remain under-developed and limited in their ability to function.

But if the desire and focus of our heart is toward eternal things; there will result the development of that which is of eternal value and purpose.

The amazing and marvelous thing is this. If we choose the spiritual, and place our emphasis there, our lives will be greatly improved on every level of life, both natural and spiritual.

"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt 6:33.

When we make the spiritual the goal in our lives, we will not only go further in things spiritual, but also, much further in the earthly realm.

It is important that we maintain our priority to seek after the spiritual, by our continuing to cultivate an on-going, deepening, personal relationship with our Lord; staying in the place of dependence upon Him, rather than independently seeking our own way.

Here, we can develop our spiritual giftings and live a life of communion with our Lord, as He originally intended.