Wade E Taylor
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7
Adam was created from dust. Because God used dust, man was created to be dependent upon his Creator, as dust is incapable of holding its form. Had Adam been formed of clay, the image into which he was made would have been able to maintain itself.
God breathed into Adam “the breath of life” (plural). In the Lord’s original intention, man was formed to live and function on two different levels of relationship and experience – the “earthly” realm and also, the “heavenly” realm. The “breath” that God breathed into Adam was the sustaining power to maintain him on each of these levels of life.
Due to the high calling of man to commune and fellowship with his Creator, and to exercise dominion over the earth, man was required to be tested in order to maintain this state of dependent submission.