Spirit

Breath

"By the Word of the L-RD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host." ~ Psalm 33:6

"..then the L-RD G-d formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." ~ Genesis 2:7

"Thus says the L-RD G-d to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live... So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army." ~ Ezekiel 37:5,10

"And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." ~ John 20:22

The Walk

Romans 8 is one of the most beautifully informative and tragically misunderstood passages in the writings of Rav Shaul. Too often, it seems, many believers tend to equate its idiom of “walking after the Spirit” to be living a self-determined, boundary-less adventure. They're comfortable handling the things of G-d however they like – nestled in some nebulous state of "freedom" – while they often view those “walking after the flesh” as living according to regulations, legalism, and the commandments of G-d. In this errant rendering, Yeshua died to end the standard, rather than lived to provide us one. This misunderstanding can largely be traced to the text of Romans 8, where many have mistaken an exposition on how we cannot, in our flesh, measure up to the holiness of G-d's instruction - or obtain salvation based on our own merit - to mean that we are not to, in the Spirit, pursue the holiness of G-d's instruction - walking righteously before HaShem.

The spiritual life of "make it up as you go along" and "do what (spiritually) feels right" is somehow made superior to the legalistic life of simply adhering to the commandments of G-d – even though, our Master, Maran Yeshua, lived in complete obedience to the instruction of G-d, and further, instructed us numerous times to do the same (Matt 5:19, 19:17 & 23:3, John 14:15, 21 & 15:10). This "no rules" misreading, I believe, is nothing more that a vestigial perspective from the era when gentiles usurped the fledgling Messianic faith, and eventually, seeking to distance it from Judaism, severed theological ties with its basic tenets and Torah appearances. Bolstering the distorted framework that enables this chasm between what we clearly read in the text and what many have been taught, is a time-honored tradition - and one that has been so tenaciously maintained, and for so long, that many are completely unable to perceive its existence, much less, error.

Having come to understand Romans 8 differently, it is apparent to me that the “walking”, the halacha, is non-negotiable. You either walk after the flesh or after the Spirit, but still, you must walk. You must adhere to the commandments of HaShem. The question is, how do we “walk”? How do we keep G-d’s teaching? Do we keep it according to His will, through His Spirit – allowing Him to live out His holy life through us? Or do we tend to walk things out in our own flesh – picking and choosing what we will obey, deem necessary, important, “outdated”, “legalistic” or “done away with”, in direct contrast and disobedience to His Spirit? Further, do we keep Torah to somehow obtain our own salvation or standing before G-d - or do we keep it because our Master did and commanded us to be a light to this darkened world? Yes, everyone walks - some with HaShem, some in the wrong direction, and some in the right direction, but without ever reaching the destination that their loving Father has prepared and intended for them.

"If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love." ~ John 15:10