[Diligent]

Originally Posted by George

Philippians 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
John 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

What kind of “word” is being spoken of? - “The word of life”. What kind of “words” are spoken? - The “words” of “eternal life”! What is significant about the “words" of God? – They are spirit, and they are life”! From hence do these “words” proceed? {“The WORD of Life” – the giver of all life!}

Now, notice the relationship between the “spirit” in man & “the breath of life”:

The above verses clearly demonstrate that, as far as receiving the “spirit” of man, (which is in all men) from God is concerned; Adam is NOT just an “isolated” case – “separate” from all the rest of mankind! God “breathes life” upon all the people of the earth and imparts to all men “spirit” and “life” - The question is: WHEN does He do it?

I can't agree. In the case of Adam, we are specifically told that God "breathed into" Adam. Nobody else in Scripture has this said of them. Eve, the second human, is not even created in the same way as Adam. We are all created in Adam's image, not God's. Only Adam was crated in God's image. We are created in Adam's and inherit his makeup from him.

Yes, God gives all living creatures the "breath of life" but of no one else is it ever said that god breathed it into them. This is not insignificant.

Notice the location of the breath (“the breath of life”) being IN THE NOSTRILS?

I would not take this spiritual/soul issue and make it physical. Otherwise, folks without noses wouldn't have a breath of life (people do lose them -- I remember a woman who had acid poured on her face and her nose was completely gone and her sinus cavity totally exposed).

I guess what this comes down to is if you believe that God "breathes into" a creature when it is born and takes its first breath. Not a single verse in the Bible says that. The only man this is said of is Adam, who was not born!

Such a position seems odd to me. There are babies who are born months premature and would immediately die had our medical tools not been there to help them live. (If a baby has only "breathed" through a tube that doesn't go through the nostrils, is it not really a tripartite being?)

And then there is partial birth abortion. Yes, I know you know it is sin, but it seems odd that inducing labor a few weeks before due date and then severing the baby's spinal cord is not murder just because the spine is severed in the birth canal before the head is exposed. One more minute and it is murder?

Ezekiel 37:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

This is resurrection of someone who has died.

And this brings up an interesting issue. If "breathing" must be there for life, then it is possible for me to resurrect someone with CPR. I can in fact inspire new life with my own breath then, can't I? People "die" and have no breath for extended periods of time and yet can be reanimated with simple CPR. And yet the Bible shows resurrection as a miracle. So clearly these "unbreathing" people aren't actually dead. CPR is not a method of resurrection.

It is clear to me that the "breath of life" is not about "air."

What kind of “breath” is being spoken of in all of the preceding verses? - “The breath of life”. What is significant about the “breath” of God? – it is spirit, and it is life”! From hence does “the breath of life” proceed? - Almighty God – The giver of all life!

Agreed. The question is if the "breath of life" is literally "air."

God giveth “breath”, and God giveth “spirit” to all the people on the earth (Job for example), and WHEN God does this they are made “alive”.

This is true of resurrection. It is a difference. If an unborn child is not "alive," how can it be "slain?"

Jeremiah 20:17 Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.

(Note again that Jeremiah says "me" -- he certainly didn't think he didn't exist before birth.)

So the question arises: WHEN does God do this? - At “conception”? During “gestation”? Or at birth? {It’s an honest, sincere, and respectful question – not “blasphemy” or “heresy”.}

According to the Holy Scriptures:

FACT #1. The breath of life comes from God.

FACT #2. The breath of life (from God) imparts “life” to men (women & boys, girls) and even animals {WHEN God “gives” it}.

FACT #3. The breath of life is IN the “nostrils” of men (women & boys, girls) and even animals.

Fact #3 is a problem if you apply "in the nostrils" to the literal body. Many animals (wherein is life) do not have nostrils. Some people lose theirs and yet still "breath" and are clearly alive.

Lots of "creeping things" do not breath through nostrils nor do they even have lungs, but they are said to be alive (Ge 6:20).

Yes, God breathed the "breath of life" into Adam's nostrils. But we inherit Adam's nature through our mothers; we aren't formed in the same manner.

FACT #4. A babe within the womb – DOES NOT BREATH!

It does not breathe air, but it has a circulatory system.

FACT #5. A babe within the womb gets its “life” (oxygen) from its mother.

Oxygen = life?

If the baby is alive in any manner, its life comes from God as you have already shown.

FACT #6. A babe does not BREATH on its own until it is “born” – at which time it

has BREATH in its “nostrils” for the FIRST TIME!

Have you seen an underwater birth? It's a method of natural birth where the baby is delivered under water (in a bathtub). If your teaching is correct, we then have a child who is not actually alive even after it is born.

God “breathes” onto all people in order for them to receive the “spirit” of man – so they might live. [James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.]

This isn't a literal "breathing into" like it was for Adam -- if God had come down and breathed into my son's nostrils when he was born (presumably after the meconium was vacuumed out of his lungs?) I think I would have noticed. The first breath my son took was the sin-filled atmosphere of this world.

The Bible said God "breathed into" Adam. No one else has this said of them. Everyone else has the "breath of air" "given" to them or "caused" to come "into" them.

I leave this post with this verse:

James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Only someone who hasn't gone through a pregnancy would be able to say an unborn baby is a dead body. And as we have already seen, an unborn child can be "slain" -- so it must needs be alive to be "slain" so it is not a "dead body." So if a living body has a spirit, then an unborn child has a spirit.