Genesis 2:7, commentary and pictures

God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and man became a living soul. The account is plain with no mystery and leaves no ground for supposing man came by slow evolution from lower animal or vegetable life, but shows the agency of a personal, self-existing God working through Jesus Christ. The body was first formed perfect in God's image but without vitality, then the inbreathed holy breath put the whole machinery in motion under physical law — heart, senses, mind and perceptions — making man a living, breathing, intelligent being. To be a living soul means the whole man, soul and body, made a partaker of God's own life with will and conscience and power to choose good, so man originates nothing and owns nothing, not even himself, but belongs to God. The breath was not left to run by itself like wound machinery, but the same ever-present God constantly supervises the organism so each breath and heartbeat is His direct gift, and that same life-giving voice still gives spiritual life to those dead in sin and will raise them, while the wicked who transgress are mortal and return to dust rather than suffer endlessly.

Forming and Breathing Life

God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that man became a living soul. The creation of man together with its provisions and surroundings attests to God's love for created beings in this life. As humanity's Creator, God can discern the intents and purposes of the heart.

The body was first formed in God's image, perfect in all its arrangements, but without vitality or life. Then God breathed the breath of life into that form, into the nostrils, and man became a living soul, a living, breathing, intelligent being. That inbreathed breath put the whole human machinery in motion and placed it under physical law, setting in action the heart, arteries, veins, tongue, hands, feet, senses, and perceptions of the mind. The work was done through Jesus Christ, who endowed man with intelligence and power, showing the agency of a personal, self-existing God and not nature. That breathing also gives understanding, and shows man as fearfully and wonderfully made by a living Creator worthy of thought, praise, and adoration.

The dust of the ground from which man was formed was pure, and the breath of life breathed into his nostrils was holy. God spoke and it was done, and the creation of man was perfect and complete and needed no undoing. Man was placed in Eden, the garden of God, where the undefiled atmosphere, the sunbeams blessing the earth, and the fountains and streams watering the garden were all holy, spotlessly pure, and unsurpassed in loveliness, in harmony with the character of the Father and the Son. The Father and the Son made the worlds, and in Christ was life, and the life is the light of men.

The account is plain with no mystery and leaves no ground for supposing that man was evolved by slow degrees of development from lower forms of animal or vegetable life, from developing germs, mollusks, and quadrupeds. It belongs to the record in Scripture that gives God's unchangeable standard of right-doing. It presents eternal truth that can never be changed and is to be read together with the law in Exodus 20 and the instruction in Exodus 31.

Humanity was made after the earth and its living creatures were made, when the Father and Son carried out their purpose formed before Satan's fall to make humanity in God's image. Adam came from his Creator's hand with noble stature, balanced proportions, and perfect, beautiful features. Eve was slightly shorter and likewise noble, symmetrical, and beautiful.

Personal Creator Revealed

Genesis 2:7 reveals the agency of a personal, self-existing God, not nature and not an impersonal principle or energy, working through Jesus Christ as Commander in the heavenly courts, who endowed man with intelligence and power. God first formed the human body in His own image, perfect in all its arrangements yet without vitality or life, then breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of that form. That inbreathed breath put the whole machinery in motion and placed it under physical law — heart, arteries, veins, tongue, hands, feet, senses, and perceptions of the mind — so that man became a living soul, a living, breathing, intelligent being. That inspiration gives understanding and shows man as fearfully and wonderfully made by a living Creator worthy of thought, praise, and adoration.

Man is the crowning work for whom the beautiful earth had been fitted up, made by the direct act of the great Creator as a being worthy of the hand that made him. Though formed from dust, Adam was a son of God, bearing dignity of origin in God's image. He was appointed monarch of the world under God's supervision, placed above all lower orders to rule the earth under God, to express God's thought and reveal His glory.

The creation of man together with its provisions and surroundings attests God's love for created beings in this life. The breathing of the breath of life reveals the ever-present God, the great I AM, in whom all unselfish ministry originates, who does not live unto Himself but for the benefit and blessing of every being and every object of His creation. That upholding did not end with Adam, for every leaf growing, every flower blooming, and every fruit developing happens by His power.

The breath was not left to run by itself like a wound clock or like machinery set in motion and left alone. The same ever-present God still constantly supervises the physical organism and the whole human being, preserving His wonderful workmanship. Each breath and each heartbeat now is His direct inspiration and gift, and in Him men live and move and have their being. Those God-given powers can be kept in health and soundness by being worked intelligently and proportionately, and more people die from idleness than from overwork.

As the One who made man from dust and gave the breath of life, God as Creator understands the human body and mind completely. He can discern the intents and purposes of the heart and knows a person's true condition when earthly physicians cannot. He can discern real physical disease from diseased imagination and morally diseased thoughts, and knows when a person is physically sound despite claims of sickness.

Human Nature Formed

Man was fearfully and wonderfully made in God's image with flesh and blood, nerve and muscle, and with mind, intellect and reasoning powers created by God Himself. That inspiration breathed into the nostrils gives understanding and brings man's powers into activity. By that breath the whole man became a living, breathing, intelligent being, a living soul.

Adam came from his Creator's hand in perfect, beautiful form — noble in stature, well proportioned, strong, comely and pure, with perfect features. He was more than twice the height of men now living, with a healthy ruddy complexion. Eve was slightly shorter than Adam, likewise noble, symmetrical and beautiful.

To be a living soul means the whole man, soul and body, made a partaker of God's own life and nature by the breath of the Almighty. In that state man is capable of living through eternal ages. Therefore man originates nothing and owns nothing, not even himself, but belongs to God.

The inbreathed spark of divine life makes human powers a sacred gift with moral endowments — a will to direct action and a conscience that under God's control approves right and condemns wrong. It brings the privilege of becoming a partaker of the divine nature, with power to conquer evil and to love and choose good. It brings also the privilege of fellowship, of walking and talking with God as Enoch did, open to all who believe.

Human beings were designed for equal use of mental and physical powers, for active use of brains, nerves and muscles. They were created to till the ground and to dress and keep the garden planted in Eden. Adam's life breathed by God was dependent on God and was to be perpetuated through access to the tree of life. Adam was appointed monarch of the world under God's supervision.

The forming of man leads directly to the making of woman from Adam's rib as a help meet for him. From this comes the marriage union in which a man leaves father and mother and cleaves to his wife and they become one flesh.

Original Purity and Fall

Adam was created and placed in Eden pure and noble, with no tendency to evil, for sin was no part of God's purpose for humanity. He came from the Creator's hand in a perfect and beautiful form, filled with great vital force, standing in innocent, unfallen human nature. The weakness and disease later known came only through violation of physical law and indulgence of appetite and passion.

Adam and Eve were created for life in Eden, humanity's true home, but by transgressing God's law they lost that home. Man was made of the dust of the earth, and after sin the appointed end is to return to dust in dissolution. That return comes at the close of a life of perpetual toil and anxiety instead of happy labor, afflicted by Satan's temptations and subject to disappointment, grief, and pain. Adam's life was breathed into him by God and was therefore dependent on God, to be perpetuated through access to the tree of life, but by disobedience he forfeited that privilege and the human family came under the penalty of death. People must not transgress as Adam and Eve did but be obedient to all of God's requirements, overcoming by perfect obedience as Christ overcame His Father's commandments, and through that obedience be brought back to the Eden home, bending footsteps heavenward and pointing others there.

By infinite power God formed Adam from the dust of the earth into a living, beautiful form and in love gave him Eve as his companion. That merciful and benevolent Creator had power to give life, and that same creative power could have supplied Eve's place if she must die for disobedience, so Adam did not need to share her transgression and death to avoid separation from her. Adam failed to trust and realize this, letting love for Eve overbear love, gratitude, and loyalty to the Creator, wrongly fearing the loss of Eve more than the loss of faithfulness and its blessings, and resolved to share her fate and die with her.

For the Son of God to take even Adam's innocent nature would have been an almost infinite humiliation, exchanging the throne of heaven for fallen earth and rebuking human pride and self-sufficiency. He did not take that innocent nature but accepted humanity as weakened and defiled by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity shown in the history of His earthly ancestors, to share human sorrows and temptations and to give the example of a sinless life.

Death Not Endless Torment

Man was formed from the dust of the earth, from the dust of the ground. After sin the appointed end is to return to dust in dissolution. That return comes at the end of a life of perpetual toil and anxiety instead of happy labor. That life is afflicted by Satan's temptations and subject to disappointment, grief, and pain. The wicked are mortal beings who are consumed by fire and return to dust. They are destroyed utterly as though they had never been, rather than suffering endlessly in hell or living in heaven.

Spiritual Life Through Christ

The word that gave life to the first man still gives spiritual life to those dead in sin when it is received in faith. The same God who breathed the breath of life into man and made him a living soul has breathed a vital, life-giving power into the Scriptures. In the same way He breathed the breath of life into His Word, so Scripture carries life-giving power.

The expiration of breath by the Lord of life is the inspiration of every Christian. The Lord formed man from the clay of the ground and breathed the breath of life into him, so that the vital, living element gave life to the lifeless form and he became a living soul. That same breathing was repeated when Jesus Christ breathed upon His disciples almost immediately after His resurrection, and they received the Spirit of Christ into their inner lives and became His living witnesses. Christ likewise gives life to every human worker, and ministers who bear the most solemn message ever given must in these last days be breathed upon by the Lord Jesus to have life and vitality by the Holy Spirit's quickening influence.

The church needs the breath of life breathed into its people by Christ so they can rise from spiritual sluggishness to active service and help others. The breath God breathed into man is the breath of divine life that must be breathed into believers now. Receiving it cures the leprosy of unbelief that makes service weak and inefficient, and brings reconversion and reconsecration. It makes workers of one accord with freshness and power, makes them channels through which light and grace are sent to the world, reclaims backsliders, and pours floods of spiritual power upon those prepared to receive it. That preparation comes through wrestling prayer for the Holy Spirit in every heart and through putting away sin by confession and repentance and humbling the proud heart before God.

The voice that gave life to man formed from the dust of the earth is the creative voice that gave life to the paralytic's dying, decaying body. Human life came by the creative voice speaking life into man formed from dust, and restoring health to the decaying paralytic required nothing less than that same creative power. The same voice that first gave life to dust spoke life to the dying man. The same power that gave life to the body renewed the heart dead in trespasses and sins, bringing life to a soul dead in sin, so healing of the body is evidence of power to forgive sins and give spiritual life. Christ still has that same life-giving power to forgive all iniquities, destroy the works of the devil, give abundant life, and impart vigor to the mind and health to the body.

As God gives life by breathing into humanity, Christ can likewise breathe life into people who are fallen, diseased, and weak, and make them partakers of the divine nature. God longs to breathe the breath of life into prostrate humanity. Heaven's plan of salvation is broad enough to embrace the whole world, including sincere seekers in heathen lands with no knowledge of the written law or of Jesus. This inbreathing meets sincere longing for something higher and nobler than the world can offer, so no sincere soul will be disappointed.

Daily Life Application

The forming of man from dust and the breathing of life into him established equal use of mental and physical powers as part of the original design. He was created to till the ground and to dress and keep the garden planted in Eden, so true education carries out that design by combining study of books with useful physical employment such as cultivation of the land.

Human beings were made for active use of brains, nerves, and muscles, and useful labor and exercise preserve health and happiness. The powers of the body are gifts that are brought into activity by divine inspiration and are to be worked intelligently and proportionately rather than weakened. Kept in health and soundness they enable the body to be offered as a living sacrifice, and more people die from idleness than from overwork. The organism was not furnished as machinery set in motion like a clock and left to itself, but is constantly preserved by divine agency.

Life is to be sustained by full, free breathing of pure fresh air according to the laws of being. The chest must have room to expand fully so the lungs can take full inspirations, because strength depends in great degree on the amount of oxygen received. Restriction by tight bands, waists, or corsets hinders the free flow of blood, limits oxygen, vitiates the blood, and brings disease. Observing this law of life enables living the allotted term instead of dying of consumption, while confinement indoors without invigorating sunlight and exercise in the pure open air completes the ruin begun by wrong dress toward feebleness and premature death.

By receiving the breath of life man originates nothing and owns nothing, not even himself. All skill, tact, ability, capabilities, and possessions come from liberal divine supply as Guardian and Counselor, which man only collects as first originated by God. Therefore everything a person is and has belongs to the Lord and is to be used in doing Him service. By creation, soul and body with flesh and blood, nerve and muscle, mind, intellect, and reasoning powers are entrusted with abilities and talents to be used, improved, and returned in the appointed way of service. Because a living soul is capable of living through eternal ages and is bought by redemption with the blood of the only begotten Son, the salvation of one soul is worth more than costly buildings, gold, or silver. Therefore no human leader may treat men as mere machines, take them under human control, dictate to and seek to control chosen instrumentalities, or drive them away by partiality, insincerity, and unjust dealing, for those souls will be required at the hands of those who wrong them.