HoHum:
There were 3 preachers in Barnie’s Coffee shop discussing the time when life begins. They each gave their opinion of when life begins. One preacher said "Life begins when the child takes his/her first breath." The other said "NO," then he finished, "It begins when the child is conceived." But the last preacher said "You both have the wrong answer! Life begins when the last child leaves home and the dog dies!"
Thesis: Eccl 11:5 helps us to see that 3 things are God’s Work
For instances:
Creation of body is God’s work ("how the body is formed in mother’s womb")
Many translations of this verse say, “(know not) how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child (KJV)”. The body is formed around the bones. The bones are the building block of the body. This is speaking about the human body.
“You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalms 139:13, NIV. “My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.” Psalms 139:15, 16, NIV.
Unborn babies have detectable heartbeats at 18 days and detectable brain wave activity at about 40 days after conception. Arms and legs appear during the first month after conception. Fingerprints are discernible during the second month. All bodily systems are functioning by the end of the second month after conception.
By the end of the 5th month, the baby weighs about one pound, is about 12 inches long. Hair is on the head. There are eyebrows, eyelashes. Nails are present, at the fingertips, at the toes. At the beginning of the 6th month, the baby can cry, can suck, can make a fist. She kicks, he punches. The mother can feel all of this. His eyelids, until now closed, can open. She may look up, down, sideways.
“So what, God is putting together all the parts but it is still a fetus until it is born and takes its first breath.” An argument for this comes from the account of Genesis 2. “the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7, NIV. “See there, the man breathes and then and only then is he a living being. After the fetus is born and takes its first breath on its own can it be called a baby, a living being.”
Not so fast, there is another phrase at the beginning of Ecclesiastes 11:5. In translating from the Hebrew it is difficult to know whether this phrase is grouped together with the second phrase or if it stands on its own. A big part of the trouble is that there is one Hebrew word (ruach) to describe 3 different words in English: breath, wind, or spirit. NIV has it stand on its own “you do not know the path of the wind.” For time being rejecting that.
The second way to translate this is to make that one Hebrew word ruach mean “spirit.” This is what the KJV does, “As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit,” however, the KJV still separates the two phrases. Here is what the English Standard Version says, “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.” This is a description of the spirit/soul being also formed in the womb. The entire human being is formed and present in the womb
The Creation of the Spirit/ Soul is God’s work
Rich Deem says this, “Many Christians believe that the Bible is silent in regard to God’s view on life before birth. Although the Bible does not specifically define when life begins, it does give us enough information to formulate a solid biblical position.”
Even though the Bible does not use these terms, human life begins at the moment of conception. George Faull says, “We are not merely a product of chance, we are a product of God’s thoughts” for God is the Maker of all things. Scripture indicates that the fetus is a person and has a spirit, even in the womb. Almighty God is involved in the prenatal state from conception to birth. Melody Green writes, “God doesn’t wait until a baby moves or becomes completely ready for life outside his mother before he knows it, loves it, and recognizes it as a tiny human being. So why should we think differently?”
“What I Saw at the Abortion Clinic” by Richard Selzer. In this article he talks about witnessing a 19 week old fetus being aborted by an injection procedure no longer in use. He described the abortionist sliding the needle of the syringe into the woman’s belly, and then, he writes, “I see something other than what I expected to (see) here... it is the hub of the needle that is in the woman’s belly that has jerked. First to one side. Then to the other side. Once more it wobbles, is tugged, like a fishing line nibbled by a sunfish.” This image horrified him. Selzer concludes his essay: “Whatever else is said in abortion’s defense, this vision will not vanish from my eyes. And it has happened that you cannot reason with me now. For what can language do against the truth of what I saw?”
Barry McCarty says, “In 1979 I debated Dr. Robert Thompson, the medical director of the largest abortion clinic in Pittsburg. My case in that debate had two major contentions: 1) That every human being has an unalienable right to life; and 2) that from the moment of conception an unborn child is a living human being. To my great surprise, Dr. Thompson admitted all of the evidence I presented on my second point. He conceded that from the moment of conception, every unborn child is a living human individual. He simply argued that the woman’s freedom to do what she wanted with her own body outweighed the baby’s right to live.
In 1970, before abortion was legalized by the Supreme Court, the California Medical Association referred to the “scientific fact, which everyone really knows, that human life begins at conception and is continuous... until death.”
If this is not convincing then look at this verse: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” “As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” Luke 1:41, 44
The Recreation of human beings is God’s work
Notice that I said earlier that the Hebrew word ruach can be translated as breath, wind or spirit. Ecclesiastes 11:5 is not referring to the Holy Spirit. Look at 11:5 in NIV. The Greek has a similar issue with pneuma. It can be translated into English as wind, breath, or spirit. The context determines the translation of the word. Makes a study of the Holy Spirit difficult.
But all of this reminds me of what Jesus said in John 3:3-8
Vs. 8- Wind is pneuma and the the last Greek word in vs. 8 is a form of pneuma. Jesus is making a play on words here. Just as we cannot see the wind but only hear its sound and see its effects, in the same way we cannot see the Spirit in someone’s life but we can see the effects of the Spirit on their lives. Everyone who is born of the Spirit, has the Spirit within them and the Spirit makes changes in that person’s life.
Vs. 3- We cannot see the Kingdom of God unless we are born again. Nicodemus has questions about this and rightfully so. But how are we born again?
Vs. 5- Born of water and the Spirit. When we are baptized we are born again. Acts 2:38 we have the forgiveness of sins and the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit.
We are made new, regenerated or resurrected into a new life. Jack Cottrell- As a boy I saw an advertisement in a comic book that appealed to my scientific nature. The product being offered for sale was called a “miracle plant.” The ad declared that the plant would be dead when received by the purchaser; but when placed in water, it would soon “miraculously” return to life! I ordered this wonder of nature, and sure enough, when it arrived it looked absolutely dead, with leaves that were brown, dry and brittle. I placed it in a pan of water and expectantly waited. I’m not sure how long it took, but lo and behold: as the water was absorbed into this plant, it actually did “come to life” again, becoming green and soft. I had worked a miracle! I have learned since that this is actually called a “resurrection plant.” This natural phenomenon is a good illustration of the supernatural working of the HS in the event of regeneration. We enter the baptismal waters with a soul that is dry and brittle and lifeless because of sin; and in that moment when the body is immersed in the water, our soul is spiritually immersed in the Living Water and is infused with new spiritual life.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV.
“I did not experience that dramatic of a change.” Well, when we became united with Christ’s death in baptism, our old sinful self was put to death- not by our willpower but by the cross of Christ. It is as if, in His death, Jesus became a flame that is capable of extinguishing everything having to do with sin and death. When we are baptized into Christ’s death, we touch this flame; and it consumes the “old man” of sin, and sets us ablaze with a holy fire that continues to purge the sin from our lives. Notice that the HS continues to purge. Many changes do not happen all at once. We cannot see the wind but we see and feel its effects. In the same way, we cannot see the HS but in our lives we can see and feel His effects, changes over time.
With over 57 million abortions in US since 1973 good chance that some of the women here have gone through an abortion.
Post abortion syndrome: * Guilt * * Depression/Crying * Inability to forgive oneself * Intense grief/sadness * Anger/Rage * Emotional numbness * Marriage problems * Lowered self-esteem * Nightmares * Anorexia or other eating disorders * Drug or alcohol abuse * Suicidal urges. The Lord can recreate you, forgive you and make you new. The Lord can help you with all of this.
“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” Deuteronomy 30:19, NIV.
