“He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” – Luke 1:15
(Words spoken by the angel Gabriel to Zacharias concerning his son, John the Baptist).
There is an increasing number of Christians who believe that human life begins with breath. They say scripture supports the idea that life has not begun until breath fills the lungs of a human being. For instance, when God made Adam, he was not alive until God breathed breath into his nostrils. I suppose I can see how people can get confused about this. But, when you understand that the word “breath” in the scriptures is frequently translated as the word “spirit” you get a better understanding of when life begins in God’s eyes. You see, the word “spirit” (especially in the New Testament) comes from the Greek word “Pneumatos” which means “breath or air.” In the scripture above, concerning John the Baptist’s birth, Gabriel says, “He will be filled with PNEUMATOS (which means “spirit,” though it is also translated “breath”) from his mother’s womb.” While this child was still in his mother’s womb, God said he would be filled with “the breath (spirit) of God.” So, an “unborn” child can have the breath of God in him before he ever takes a breath of air outside the womb.
Hebrews 12:9 tells us that God is “the Father of spirits.” You guessed it.. the word “spirits” comes from the word PNEUMATOS which means both “breath” and “spirit.” James 2:26 says, “As the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also.” Once again, the word “spirit” here is PNEUMATOS. A body without a spirit is dead … it’s not a living being. It’s not talking about breaths of air here. It’s referring to the spirit within man … the spirit that God breathed into man which gave him life in the very beginning. It wasn’t just “air” coursing through his lungs that made him alive. NO! It was God’s spirit breathed into him.
It’s so important in this day and age to understand that even though the word PNEUMATOS can be interpreted as “breath,” it is more accurately interpreted as “spirit.” If a baby in his mother’s womb can be filled with the Holy Spirit, then there is something incredibly powerful and pure about the heart of an “unborn” baby that should be considered holy. Babies have a spirit … the BREATH OF GOD is in them.
