Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted,

       for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth; and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

 

       But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.

       Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;

       and man became a living being (Genesis 2:5-7).
 

 

Why didn't the Lord just speak man into being, like He did other parts of the creation? Instead He formed man, and fashioned him like an artist with his pottery. He then breathed His own life into man. The word that is translated "breath" in this text is the Hebrew word neshamah (nesh-aw-maw'), which could have been translated "divine inspiration," or "intellect." Man was to be made in the image of God, not just in appearance, but with some of His own ability to reason and perceive. Man was to be unique in the creation.

 

Man was fashioned from the earth, and the earth was to be his realm, but he was also born with a heart to reach for the God who created Him. God is Spirit, and man was created to have a special fellowship with God who is Spirit. Because of this, there is a spiritual void in every human being that can only be truly fulfilled when in fellowship with God.

 

Man is natural, and born from the earth, but he was given his spark of life from God who is supernatural. Because of this, there is a yearning for the supernatural in man. If this spiritual hunger, and attraction for the supernatural, is not filled with a relationship to God, man has proven repeatedly that he will fill the void with the most base forms of spiritism and the demonic supernatural. As the saying goes, "If you deny a man food he will gobble poison." Man must have God.

 

Without God, our most noble ventures, and our highest successes, will still leave us empty. We were created for Him, and the very breath that we breathe yearns for the One who gave it to us. We were created for Him, and we will never be complete without Him. The entire six thousand-year history of man declares this truth with bold underlines. We have tried to substitute everything for God, but now we know that it is better to lose everything than to lose our relationship with Him.

 

To have fellowship with God is essential and elementary to our being, but it is also an unfathomable privilege. What could possibly be more exciting than to have fellowship with the Almighty? What could possibly be more interesting? As King David asked, why would the Lord even be interested in man? It is hard to understand, but God loves us, and wants to be close to us. We were created for God's pleasure! The One who stretched out the heavens like a tent curtain enjoys being close to man. Is it not our greatest and most tragic folly to fail to take advantage of this incomprehensible opportunity to have fellowship with Him?

 

In I Corinthians 1:6-9, the Apostle Paul states all of this with extraordinary brevity and clarity:

 

       Even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you,

       so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

       who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

       God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
 

 

The testimony concerning Christ is confirmed in us when we are not lacking in any gift. The gifts of the Spirit are named in I Corinthians 12:4-12, and we are told in verse 31 to "earnestly desire the greater gifts," and again in I Corinthians 14:1 to "Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy." Jesus demonstrated all of the gifts of the Spirit in His ministry. Therefore, the testimony that Christ is fully functioning through us is confirmed when all of the gifts are functioning through us. This is not singular, but corporate. He has distributed the gifts to individuals so that we must come together for the full testimony of Him to be confirmed through us.

 

It is right for us to "earnestly desire" spiritual gifts. This fulfills the yearning for the supernatural that is in every human soul because we were created to have fellowship with a supernatural God. Through the moving of the Spirit that is given to us, we have fellowship with Christ. When the Spirit moves through us to heal, we are touched by His compassion for the sick. When He speaks a prophetic word through us, we are touched by what is on His heart, etc. Having spiritual gifts is a way we have fellowship with God who is Spirit.