PneumaSample

Pneuma and Ruach

We are enabled to walk in abundant life through understanding who the Holy Spirit truly is. We already saw that the word for the Spirit in the New Testament, in Greek, is pneuma. In the Old Testament, the word for the Spirit in Hebrew is ruach. It also means a wind, a violent exhalation, a blast of breath. Both Hebrew and Greek agree. The Holy Spirit is God’s breath, a breath of fresh air, a life-giving Spirit.

We can see the Holy Spirit’s nature in the creation account. God breathes, and when He exhales, He breathes life into existence. He breathed life into the first human being (Genesis 2:7). In Job 33:4, it says, “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” We need ruach, pneuma, the wind, the breath of God the Holy Spirit.

The wind is unseen. It can be unpredictable. Jesus had told His followers to wait for the Holy Spirit. Though they feared persecution and it was politically awkward, they heeded His command and waited for the promise. Acts 2:1–2 tells us, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” Pneuma. It filled the whole house where they were sitting. Sometimes wind can be powerful. Consider the force of a tornado or a hurricane, winds that blow so strong and so violently that they can annihilate everything in their path in a matter of seconds. This wind didn’t have that effect. Instead, the disciples “were filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4).

There's a story about a little boy who was flying a kite on a windy day. The kite rose higher and higher, so high that it was out of sight. A man walking by looked up and could not see it. He asked the boy, “How do you even know there’s a kite up there?” The boy confidently said, “I can feel it.” See, although we can’t see the Holy Spirit, we can sense His presence. Even when we do not see it, He’s working. When we’re surrendered to Him, trusting and abiding and walking in Him, we know who the Holy Spirit is.

God, fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Help me sense His presence in my life.