The Inspiration of Creation
W.F. Adeney Job 33:4 The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life. Elihu assures Job that he is a man, made by God, and by his very creation having the Spirit of God in him. There is some pretentiousness in the manner of Elihu. Yet what he says is important, because it is not true of him alone, but of every man. I. MAN IS MADE BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD. 1. His origin is outside himself. Whatever man can do for himself, he certainly cannot make himself. When we come back to the question of origins, the most self-reliant person must confess that he could not have caused his own being. 2. His origin is from God. Man derives his life originally from the First Cause of the whole series of living creatures. Whether man was created immediately out of the dust of the earth, or, as evolutionists teach, mediately, through other creatures, he in common with all things living derives his being from the great Parent of nature. Evolution does not destroy creation; it only describes the process, and throws back the time of the beginning of creation. 3. His origin is in the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God at first brooded over the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). When man appeared God breathed into him the spirit of life (Genesis 2:7). The Holy Spirit is the Lord and Giver of life. In his spiritual nature man is especially related to the Spirit of God. He is a spark from the eternal Sun. 4. His very existence is maintained by the Spirit of God. Man lives only because God lives in him. By nature his life is an inspiration from heaven. At any moment, if God were to withdraw, man would perish. "In him we five, and move, and have our being." Thus not only the original creation, but also the present life, should be regarded as inspired by God. II. THE INSPIRATION OF CREATION IS A SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE. 1. The Maker may be known by his work. All creation reveals God; but man, the highest creature, most fully expresses the Divine. To us there can be no higher revelation of God than that which is made through a perfect man. Therefore the incarnation of Christ is our most complete vision of the Father. But all men are in a measure revealers of the hand that made them. 2. The spiritual nature of man is a type of God. All nature reveals God; suns and stars, trees and flowers, birds, beasts, and fishes, give lemons of the Divine; but they do so through their material structures. Man reveals God in the constitution of his spiritual nature. He is not merely the building that sets forth the ideas of the Architect; he is the child, himself made in the image of the Father. His spiritual nature is essentially like God. who is Spirit. Thus he is made in the image of God. 3. The indwelling of the Spirit of God is a permanent revelation of God. God not only makes himself known by what he has done, he is daily revealing himself by his present life in our midst. Nature is not like a fossil that shows in its dead lineaments the traces of an old-world life; she is a mirror of the Divine activity. Our own souls are witnessing to God by their vitality. The dwelling of God within us is a continuous proof that he lives, that he works, that he loves. We know what God is now by what God is now doing in our hearts and lives. - W. F. A Parallel Verses KJV: The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. WEB: The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.