33. Word as Air

© Daniel Yordy – 2020

God chose two metaphors, very similar to each other, to enable us to know the most unknowable part of Himself, His Spirit. Those two metaphors are water and air.

And then we discover that God does NOT want us to know ABOUT the Holy Spirit. In complete contrast, it is the Spirit who teaches us about God, about Jesus, and about ourselves.

We live in the air. When we are walking down the road, only the soles of our feet are upon the ground, and then only half the time, all the rest of our beings are found in the air. Even the sole of our foot taking the next step is relatively high into the air.

Paul said, to a crowd in Athens, “We live and move and have our being inside of God.”
Of course, the sole of our foot on the ground also remains rooted and grounded in Love, that is, in God. A God of fire is also thin like air, fluid like water, and thick like rock.

God is omnipresent Spirit, but when we say, “omnipresent Spirit,” we mean, all here now. All of God is here, wherever “here’ might be; all of God is now, whenever “now” might be.

The Greek word translated “spirit” is pnuema, as in “a pneumatic or air tool.”

Air, both in the natural and in the spirit, is a much bigger part of our lives than we ever think about. We live entirely inside of air as atmosphere and inside of air as heaven.

But what is our purpose in studying word as air?

Our first purpose is to KNOW the heart-gut thinking of God, our second purpose is to know the heart-gut thinking of this one individual created in the likeness of God, and our third purpose is to know how to weave these two together.

Understanding Air
Air is many things. Everything air is comes out from the nature and being of God, and everything air is shows us the purpose and function of much Word inside God’s being that comes into our lives through the speaking of Jesus.

Let’s continue our musings about air, for air, I think, is becoming a fascinating subject. Because air seems insubstantial, we think little about it, but we find so many things that exist in our lives only because of air. And I am just bouncing around from one thought to the next.

Before the age of technology, spoken words existed only as air. Yet even now, words that exist as radio waves can also be considered part of the broader concept of “air.” And before the printing press, almost all words that existed, were found only inside of and through air.

When a word goes from one to another in conversation, it becomes air, and passes through air before it becomes word as thought again in the other person. Air, then, is the bridge between, the path of communication. Voice is entirely an air word.

Spirit and word are always together; you can’t have one without the other in full. You can’t have Jesus without the Holy Spirit; you can’t have the Holy Spirit without Jesus. Yet we have learned that, while we can talk about Jesus distinctly – and word most definitely, we cannot talk about the Holy Spirit distinctly for God does not really give us the means to do so. Air is formless and shapeless.

The wind blows where it wishes and the sound of it you hear, but do not know from where it comes and to where it goes, thus is everyone having been conceived out from the Spirit (John 3:8). – Notice that Jesus is not comparing the wind to the Spirit, directly, but to you and me because we are conceived out from the Spirit.

Consider the atmosphere. The atmosphere is used throughout the Bible as a metaphor of the spiritual heavens. Yet we also know that “heaven” is not a “place” far away, but the spiritual heavens are an integral part of our everyday lives, part of this place called “earth.”

Jesus said, “The Son of Man who is inside of heaven.” We used to think of this as an aspect of “super-Christ-ness,” now we know it’s just normal to all humans.

For this reason, we can safely assume that, while the atmosphere is synonymous with heaven, it is also conterminous with heaven, that is, occupying the same “space.” I think that I am quite right in my speculation that the spiritual heavens pertaining to our lives upon earth is within the boundary of the earth’s magnetic field. And that all humans who have lost their physical bodies as well as almost all angels, exist entirely and only inside that space.

Yet it is not living in the spiritual heavens all around us that is astonishing to us, or even anything beyond “normal.” Rather it is the concept air gives us, of living entirely inside of all of God everywhere and in every moment, that is wondrous beyond measure.

Every electron exists inside of all of God. Everything and everyone is filled with all of God, there is no other possibility. Again, the distinction is always the knowledge of God, not God Himself.

All smells come to us through the air, both sweet perfumes and overwhelming stench. Aromatherapy is a wondrous element of health, the wholesome aromas of plant oils coming through the air to become health in our bodies.

Air is essential to all music. Without air, the notes, the instruments, and the hands of the musicians have no meaning or purpose. Without air, no music can pass into the enjoyment of the audience.

Finally, we consider those creatures that live mostly in the air, that is, birds. In fact an albatross will live for years in the air without ever landing on earth. God created birds of the air to show us that the spiritual heavens are filled with living beings.

We know that birds at times represent demon spirits, whereas insects in the air represent humans without bodies filling the lower heavens. (Read Return from Tomorrow by George Ritchie.) At times, however, birds of the air represent both good angels and sons of God.

Then, to us, an eagle flying high in the air is the essence and epitome of liberty.

And so – where the Spirit (Pneuma) of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3).

Air in Nature
Let’s start with the many definitions of air. I had thought to do “atmosphere,” but its definitions do not add anything except that atmosphere is from the Greek, meaning, “circle of vapor.”

Air (Webster’s 1926): 1. The invisible, odorless, and tasteless mixture of gases which surrounds the earth; the atmosphere. It consists chiefly of nitrogen and oxygen, nearly in the ratio of four volumes to one, together with 0.9 percent (by volume) of argon, about 0.03 percent of carbon dioxide, varying amounts of water vapor, and minute quantities of helium, krypton, neon, and xenon. It contains also varying small amounts of other substances… (acids, etc.) …as well as suspended particles of dust, bacteria, yeast, spores, etc. Of the principal constituents, the oxygen supports combustion and renders the air respirable for animals, the carbon dioxide is the source of carbon for growing plants, the nitrogen and argon are inert. …Like other gases, air is compressible and elastic; it transmits sound, and is used, as compressed air, to transmit mechanical energy. It is liquefiable. The atmosphere extends perhaps 100 miles above the earth, but with rapidly decreasing density; half its mass is within four miles of the earth’s surface. It’s pressure at sea level is about 14.7 pounds to the square inch.

2. Symbolically: Something unsubstantial, light, or volatile. 3. A particular state of the atmosphere, as respects heat, cold, moisture, etc., or as affecting the sensations, as a smoky air, a damp air, the morning air, etc. 4. Figuratively: that which surrounds and influences. 7. Air in motion; light breeze, gentle wind; figuratively: breath.

11. Outward appearance; apparent character; semblance; manner; style. 12. That particular look, appearance, or bearing of a person; attitude, action, or mien particular to, or expressive of, some personal quality or emotion; demeanor or manner; as the air of a youth, a lofty air. 13. An artificial or affected manner; show of style or vanity; haughtiness, as to give one’s self airs, to put on airs.

As you can see, when I said that air is “insubstantial,” I was speaking of our human perception. Scientifically and figuratively, air is a big deal.

Let me add one more thought to this section. It is suggested by creation scientists that the levels of oxygen in the pre-diluvian world, were much higher than they are today. And that decline in oxygen levels is a significant part of the decline in human longevity.  The suggestion is that higher levels of oxygen foster a much healthier state for our physical bodies, that cells do not break down as fast when they have access to more oxygen.

This remains a suggestion, of course, though very plausible.

Air in the Bible
Here are links to two words studies I have done. First, Pneuma and Zoe in the New Testament, (that is, spirit and life). And second, Ouranos and Ge in the New Testament, (that is, heaven and earth). Both words, pneuma and Ouranos, are pertinent to verses on the topic of “air.”

In the Old Testament, the same word, ruach, is used for breath, spirit/Spirit, wind, and courage. It is clear that the different English words are necessary for each context. Nonetheless, we can see these several things as found in God’s larger concept of “air.” Then shamayim is used for both heaven and sky. These two words, then, pull in more verses than most.

There are times when shamayim is clearly referencing “sky” as in “the stars of the sky,” and other times when it is clearly referencing “heaven,” as in “the God of heaven.” Nonetheless, it seems, when looking across the many verses that include ruach or shamayim, it seems to me that there is a continuity of meaning, that is, that “heaven” and “sky” or “breath” and “spirit” are two parts of the same thing. What I mean to say is that the verses of the Bible support and do not contradict the concept that, although the atmosphere is a metaphor of the spiritual realms, the spiritual realms are found primarily inside the atmosphere.

Nonetheless, both the sky and the spiritual heavens are clearly created.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The word “heavens” is plural, thus referring to both the atmosphere and the realms of spirit. This is an important point because these things are so mixed up and fantasized in much Christian thinking. Atmosphere is that kind of a metaphor, found often in Scripture, in which the Spirit of God goes back and forth between the metaphor and what it represents on a continuous basis, for example, “the Lamb of God.”

The “dew of heaven” and the “rain of heaven” are typically metaphors of the abundance of God outpoured. The manna came with the dew. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure” (Malachi 3:10). May his land be blessed by the LORD with the precious dew from heaven above and the deep waters that lie beneath, with the bountiful harvest from the sun and the abundant yield of the seasons (Deuteronomy 33:13).

Clouds are typically a representation of God’s presence. And the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way (Exodus 13:21). When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:15).

Wind can be destructive, representing judgment, but wind also speaks of the Holy Spirit. The word “rush” in this line is the meaning of wind. So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward (1 Samuel 10:6).

Withholding the rain is also judgment. Now Elijah the Tishbite… said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives— the God of Israel before whom I stand— there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!” (1 Kings 17:1-2).

Psalm 18, the mighty response of God to David when David cried out for help, is filled with air words – He parted the heavens and came down – He soared on the wings of the wind.

Two Old Testament chapters stand out when referencing the aspects of “air”; the first is Deuteronomy 4. To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him. Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire. This entire picture of voice speaking out from the heavens and out from the fire is central to God as Word.

Then, in both 1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 6 (both chapters are the same) is found Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple. Solomon’s prayer is filled with metaphorical references to the heavens. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!

This also is what Isaiah says, and it is clear that the dwelling place of God, “heaven,” and a contrite spirit, are the same meaning. Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” says the Lord. “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word (Isaiah 66:1-2).

Finally, there is the concept of God’s faithfulness, mercy, and covenant “reaching to the clouds.” Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds (Psalm 36:5).

Here then is the primary reference to “air” in the New Testament, which, I think, carries most of God’s meaning. Remember that the word “spirit” is the Greek pneuma, which is “air.” Jesus answered, “Let it be, let it be as I say to you, if anyone not be conceived out from water and Spirit, he is not able to enter into the kingdom of God. That having been conceived out from the flesh, is flesh, and that having been conceived out from the Spirit, is spirit. Do not wonder that I said to you, ‘It is inevitable for you to be conceived from above.’ The wind blows where it wishes the sound of it you hear, but do not know from where it comes and to where it goes, thus is everyone having been conceived out from the Spirit” (John 3:5-8).

Air in Shadowfell
Before bringing in the fourth part from the Shadowfell story, I want to justify again my use of a “new age” author, that is, a self-professed druid. Jesus said that sometimes the children of this world are wiser than the children of light.

But consider Jesus’ example in John 10. He said that some enter into Christ without going through the door, that is, through Himself. Then we see that the majority of Christians refuse to enter through Jesus into the things of the Spirit. Rather, they sit outside and accuse those who live in all the Bible verses expressing the life of the Spirit, as being “new age.” This justifies their refusal to know God by the Spirit and their practice of cutting verses out of their Bibles.

But the other side of the picture is that those believers in Jesus who move in the things of the Spirit are in the same “place” as those non-Christians who also know spiritual realities. More than that, Joel and Peter said that God pours out His Spirit upon ALL flesh. Thus it is no surprise that a person with a good heart, like Juliette Marillier, would sense truths of the Spirit that fundamentalist Christians refuse to know. Neither would it surprise me if such people receive Jesus with joy the moment they know that the serpent image of “God” in Christianity is untrue.

I love story, human stories, and God speaks to me through every good storyteller. Nonetheless, I would never make such use of any story that contains uncleanness. I find no such uncleanness in either Juliette Marillier or J.R.R. Tolkien. The Shadowfell story is a tale of goodness, respect, and human kindness. At the same time, I would never draw from any story if it is not Bible verses flowing into my knowing, verses that are connected with me by that story. God is all about a new age, the Age of Tabernacles. And even the term, “The Age of Tabernacles,” contains the essence of air.

I use a “new-age” story, then, ONLY because it enables me to know more clearly many things that God does say in the Bible. I want to know God, not wander off into any dead-end. And because I refuse to live anywhere but inside of Jesus by His BLOOD, I rest always in safety.

In the Shadowfell story, Juliette Marillier presents the Guardian of the West as a female who is invisible, but who shows herself through the gathering of many little fairy creatures all flying together. She speaks through their voices together, but it is her speaking. Yet each one of these, her “body,” are individual persons of respect. In the great battle, she appears on the scene as a multitude of these little fairy creatures in the shape of a large woman, and she speaks with great authority through their many voices.

This is entirely what God means by the “body” of Christ. Jesus Himself dwells inside our gathering together and we are His visible representation inside heaven-earth. We are His body and members in particular. God speaks through our many voices together; God is known by the spaces in-between us as we gather, that is, as Love among us.

This concept, that the Body of Christ is as a “swarm,” and that it is forever, that is, the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Christ (forever) who fills all inside of all (Ephesians 1:23), this concept is of absolute importance to our understanding for there is no other revelation of Jesus Christ. People pray, “Thy Kingdom come,” but will they receive a Jesus who shows Himself through their brothers and sisters in the Church?

Air in Meaning Expressed by Words
Again, I will not bring in all the air words and air synonyms as I did in “Word as Fire” and “Word as Water.” Yet I leave this section here in order not to leave out the thought of the innumerable shades of meaning found in air words. A major study of this topic would spend time on many of those aspects of air suggested by all the varying words.

Aspects of Air
Fire cannot burn without air, the oxygen in the air. That’s chemical fire, but electrical fire was always known as in the air, that is, lightning, until humans learned to tame electrical fire with copper wires.  For the most part, no air means no fire.

Even in the knowledge of an electrical universe, the flow of electrons through space, even though those electrons are relatively far apart, is as an extension of the atmosphere, for there is no real vacuum anywhere. What I mean to say is that particles continue beyond the atmosphere, but only as isolated electrons that become fire when they discharge on the largest body in an area of space.

What I mean to say, it’s just fascinating how these four broad “elements,” fire, water, earth, and air, are so intertwined together. And of course, the thing that ties them all together the most is a plant growing out from the ground.

Let’s list the aspects of air.

Air that is negative: Wind that destroys. Also, in our day, air contains most that is human pollution, with water containing most of the rest.

Air with Fire: The entrance of life. The source and causation of life.

Air with Water: Two dimensions of that Spirit that contains all living things. The windows and blessings of heaven, as rain falling upon the earth. The abundance of God poured out.

Air with Earth: The place where a people dwell, the land. The place of plants growing. Also, liberty itself can be conceived of in terms of a “place,” that is, the land of liberty.

Air with itself: Heaven, the realms of spirit, the flowing and movement of the Holy Spirit. The medium in which voice and word are found.

What an incredibly fascinating study! And even that thought is synonymous with “the air.”

Connecting Air with Liberty
Let’s bring in the entire verse. – Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom/liberty. We all, then, having been unveiled in face, are reflecting the glory of the Lord [to one another] as a mirror and are being transformed into the same image from glory into glory, just exactly as from the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

Then, let’s also bring in the other “liberty” verse. – The hope that creation itself will also be made free from the slavery of decay into the freedom and liberty of the glory of the children birthed out from God (Romans 8:20-21).

And again – The wind blows where it wishes, and the sound of it you hear, but do not know from where it comes and to where it goes, thus is everyone having been conceived out from the Spirit. With that verse, then, consider this verse: Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped (Psalm 124:7).

Commitment comes out from the heart of an individual person. The moment a tentacle of obligation attaches to them, however, they have come under bondage. They are no longer protected by the rock, but are bound to it. Liberty inspires commitment, but NEVER allows any hint of obligation. Love ALWAYS sets free; it never binds to itself. This is the sorrow and the joy of God.

An eagle landed upon the rock surveys all the joy of its domain, and it is upon the rock that the eagle kills the serpent. But it is hard to come up with a more tragic picture, a travesty, than that of an eagle chained to a rock or imprisoned in an iron cage.

God reveals Himself through that swarm that is the body of Christ, but ONLY when all are together freely out from their own hearts. The moment obligation ties people together, Father, Himself in Person, disappears from the sight of everyone.

These are things to consider deeply, especially in the midst of life together as a local church. Again, I find myself astonished and overwhelmed.

Calling a God of Air
I wrote most of this chapter before I did “Air in the Bible” and “Air in Shadowfell.” For that reason, I want to draw only from those two together for this final section.

Everything found in this study thus far on “God coming through” is supported and explained by the many Bible verses on air and spirit and voice. In fact, we ought to do an entire study on “voice.” Voice is a large part of God coming through.

Consider that, the very act of “calling” is an air word, for it is voice, and voice exists only as the vibrations of air.

And just to have that picture of an invisible spirit being showing herself through many together as one, as the Shadowfell story gives us, is a vital piece of understanding all must have who are part of the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Our gathering together really is “magical,” for in our midst and through our love for one another, Jesus shows Himself to all.