KIDRON CHRISTIAN COLLEGE AND SEMINARY

2

 

   In this verse of Scripture we can see that the Spirit of God moved face-to-face with the water. In other words, the Spirit came into the presence of the water. The Spirit and the water were face-to-face. It is as if the Spirit was brought into a working relationship with the water.

 

   This is the beginning of the concept of God’s love. At this point, this does not seem to fit, but you must remember that the concept has to be “developed.” In order to see the “picture” we must follow this idea throughout Scripture.

 

   In Genesis 2:7 we read,

 

“And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

 

   Man was formed יָצָר (yatzar) out of the dust of the ground. He was fashioned with as much care as an artist would fashion a sculpture. Man was fashioned out of the dust (red dirt) (Adam) and at the time of his creation, God blew into him the breath of life.

 

   Let us take just a moment and examine this more closely. When God blew into man the breath of life, He blew into him His נִשְׁמַ֣ת nishmath. This is translated Spirit. It is, in fact, His essence, His character, and His own personality. It is the Spirit of wisdom and life. When God blew into man the breath of life, He kissed him on the lips, a spiritual mouth-to-mouth creation. At that time man was face-to-face, eye-to-eye, with his creator. 

 

   Man, because of this kiss of God, became anima. That is to say, man became animated. He had not only life, but movement. The starting point of all life is the kiss from God upon the soul. Please think of this from a spiritual point of view.

 

   The sin in the garden did not just bring about spiritual and eventually physical death, it broke the face-to-face relationship that Adam had with God. This is why it is so important to remember that the New Testament calls Jesus the second Adam. He, by His sacrifice upon the cross, has made it possible for us to walk in a face-to-face relationship with God. 

 

   It is interesting to note that the word soul in Genesis 2:7 has been translated from the Hebrew word נֶ֥פֶשׁ nephish. Nephish is indeed translated soul, but it has a much clearer and even deeper meaning. Nephish means to take breath. It means to literally draw breath from the Spirit of God, total dependence upon God for everything, even the very breath that one takes. Nephish contains no idea of either mortality or morality. It is total innocence. There is no idea of corruption, death, or decay in this word, and certainly no idea of sin. 

 

   After the fall of Adam, the soul of man was no longer referred to as nephish, but lev לֵ֣ב. This word, which is also translated soul or heart, contains the ideas of mortality, morality, sin, decay, and corruption. 

 

   The journey that we call salvation is simply the process of going from a condition of lev to a condition of nephish. It is progressive, and will not be completed until we stand before Him. You see, God created us for Himself, to be in intimate relationship with Him. We must remember (and in some cases learn) that it always has been and always will be God coming after us. Everything in the Christian life must proceed from the relationship that we have with Him. Works do not matter apart from the relationship. More will be said on this subject later. Now we will continue the development of this concept.

 

   In Genesis 2:18, we read the following: “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”

 

   Consider the word for. This word continues to build upon the concept that we are developing. The word that has been translated for is the Hebrew word (נגד) nagad. Even though this is a different word than al-peney, it has the same basic meaning. 

 

   Nagad means to be in front of, to be in the front part, to be before one’s face, in one’s own eyes. The Lord said that it was not good for the man to be alone so He would create a help meet for him. When the woman was created, she was created nagad, that is, face-to-face with the man. 

 

   Have you ever heard the statement, “We don’t see eye-to-eye”? This is where this idea comes from. The fact is that the woman was created face-to-face with the man. 

 

   Do you see this same idea continued? Do you see a man kissing a woman? They are eye-to-eye, lip-to-lip and cheek-to-cheek. Any time anything comes into the relationship that interrupts this kiss, this intimate communication, the relationship is in trouble. It may manifest itself in a multitude of ways, but the basic problem is the same. The relationship is no longer face-to-face. 

 

   This idea is further elaborated upon in Exodus 20:3. In this passage, God is giving Moses the ten commandments. In verse 3 we read:

 

         “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

 

   In Hebrew this verse reads:

 

     לֹֽ֣א יִהְיֶֽה־לְךָ֛֩ אֱלֹהִ֥֨ים אֲחֵרִ֖֜ים עַל־פָּנָֽ֗יַ

 

   Translated, this verse says, “have no other eloheems (gods) face to face with you.” God is kissing you on the lips, so to speak. God is kissing your soul. You should not let anything be exalted to the level that it interrupts this kiss of God upon your life. He wants you to walk face-to-face with Him. 

 

   It is fair here to ask the question, "HOW DO I DO THIS? How do I walk face-to-face with the Lord?" 

 

   The first thing that a person must do is to accept the provision of the covenant. The face-to-face relationship can only be established by the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of your life. This is the beginning of your personal covenant with God. 

 

   Even as a person comes to Jesus as Lord and Savior, he should realize that he is secondary in the process. In other words, the Lord has come after you first. You are merely responding to His action toward you. It is as the old song says, “I love Him because He first loved me.” There are no words that can adequately express the depth of love that the Lord has for you. 

 

   In II Peter 1:4-5 we read:

 

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge.”  Continue