"Chi"-ting Yourself

Q: What is your view on the use of chi? Such as gathering and using chi for extra energy, strength, and faster healing. And what if God is given the praise and thanks for it? Your help is appreciated. Thank you.

A: Thank you for your question. The literal translation of chi, more often written as qi, is "breath, air or gas." In traditional Chinese culture, qi is an "active principle forming part of any living thing" and is "frequently translated as life energy, life-force, or energy flow." In my opinion, to be involved in trying to "gather" qi is to participate in something totally against the teachings and understanding of Jesus Christ and the Bible. Various forms of qi are used in godless, pagan religions like Buddhism and Hinduism. It has even been suggested that qi is the influence behind terms used in popular culture like "The Force" in the Star Wars movies. I would not think you would actively participate in Buddhism or Hinduism as a Christian, nor do I think anybody would take you seriously if you thought "The Force" was something real. If we accept the definition of qi as "breath" we can see how it can be used to deceive people away from the truth of God's Word. During the creation of man, recorded in the book of Genesis, we see the term "breath" used to described the life of God.

In Genesis 2:7 it reads, "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." The life of God is described as the "breath of life." This life is the Holy Spirit, it is not some sort of arbitrary and ambiguous "life-force" such as qi. Understanding this "breath of life" is essential to understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the salvation of mankind. God created Adam and "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." The life of God made Adam a living being, not in the physical sense, but the spiritual sense. The indwelling life of God made Adam a "living being;" he was alive to God. However, soon after making Adam alive, God gave him a warning. "And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Genesis 2:16-17).” 


Adam, along with Eve, disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But, he did not die physically. The Bible records that Adam lived to be 930 years old. So, what death did he experience? Adam died spiritually. The "breath of life" that God "breathed into his nostrils" was removed from God. He was physically alive to the world, but spiritually dead to God. Because of Adam's disobedience all mankind is born into this world in his image; alive to the world, but spiritually dead to God in sin. If the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the "Good News," what I have just described can be considered the "Bad News." God in His love wanted to once again indwell mankind like He once indwelt Adam in the Garden of Eden. But, before He could indwell us again, He had to first deal with the sin that caused Him to remove His life in the first place. That is why Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, had to die on the cross. He was the only man born with a life to give that would satisfy God as payment for our sins. Of Jesus, the Apostle John wrote, "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10)." The death of Jesus Christ completely took our sins away from the eyes of God for all eternity.

Now that the sin issue was resolved, God was able to offer His life that He once breathed into Adam as a free gift to mankind through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is why the Bible says, "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life (Romans 5:10)." The life of God is not qi (chi); a life-force or energy flow to be gathered for extra energy, strength and faster healing. The "energy" (Colossians 1:29), "strength" (Philippians 4:13) and spiritual "healing" (1 Peter 2:24), that Christians have is the indwelling Holy Spirit of God guiding us from within. It is the real "breath" of God, not the false "gas" of qi misleading us. There is nothing to give praise to God for when that which you are praising Him for is not from Him or giving Him glory. You are free to investigate qi, but I guarantee you that you will only end up feeling further away from God then when you began. He will still be indwelling you because of your faith in Jesus Christ, but you will not know your God, only those things He preaches against. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God and "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16)." The only true "breath" to gather is the Holy Spirit of God received through faith in Jesus Christ and His Word found in the Bible.