The Fire of God’s Spirit

Scripture: Read Acts 2:3 (NIV); Exodus 3:2-5 (NIV); Isaiah 6:3-7 (NIV); Hebrews 12:28-29 (NIV); Matthew 3:11-12 (NIV)

ACTS 2:3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

EX 3:2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up… 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

ISA 6:3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

HEB 12:28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

MATT 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Devotion

With the wind came the fire that separated into flames that rested on every believer. The fact that the fire fell on everyone is very significant. The Holy Spirit was no longer just empowering special people for special ministry. God was now indwelling every believer through His Holy Spirit. Every one of those 120 followers of Jesus in that upper room got the fire. This was incredibly new and important. As Jesus had promised, the Holy Spirit was now filling every believer, not just the leaders.

But what did the tongues of fire symbolise about the Holy Spirit’s work in every Christian? This is certainly not the first mention of a connection between fire and God in the Bible. Let’s explore a couple of examples to understand the significance of this symbol.

The first is in Exodus 3:2-5. Moses was raised in Pharaoh’s family with access to incredible wealth, power, and education. But he took God’s work into his own hands and killed an Egyptian. At 40, Moses was forced to flee Pharaoh’s revenge and ended up as a nomadic shepherd. For forty years, his life was uneventful until one day in the desert, he saw a bush that was on fire (“flames of fire” – similar to “tongues of fire” in Acts 2:3) but not burning up. As Moses approached this strange sight, God said from the fire that this was “holy ground.” The fire was a sign of God’s holiness.

We often sing about God being holy, but what does this really mean? At its core, holy means set apart, special and different. God is different from His creation, including humans. We are made in God’s image, but God is still very distinct. God’s holiness especially involves His purity and perfection, but He is also different because He is all-powerful, everywhere, outside time, sovereign, beautiful and magnificent. So as Moses approached the holy God represented by the flames, he had to get his shoes off immediately to show his respect.

Another mention of fire and God in the Old Testament is in Isaiah 6:3-7. In this Scripture, Isaiah is confronted by God’s holiness and recognises his own unworthiness and brokenness. He knows that he is in trouble. But a live coal (fire) from the altar touches Isaiah’s lips and his guilt is taken away. He is put right with a holy God. In this case, the fire of God turns out to be cleansing and healing.

So, just like real fire, God’s holy presence (represented by fire) can be both a danger and a blessing. Fire burns. If people are not right with God, then they will eventually be consumed by God’s fire (Heb. 12:29). God’s holiness is a frightening thing for His rebellious creation. But if we are trusting in Jesus, the fire actually burns away our evil and completely removes our sin (as it did for Isaiah). This is such a blessing because it allows us to love and relate to our holy God with no fear or barriers.

We need to be clear that the removal of our sin comes, not through the work of the Spirit, but through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for us. But our experience of holiness in our relationship with our holy God is facilitated through the ministry of God’s Spirit.

Let’s come back to Pentecost. What is happening here as the tongues of fire settle on each of these followers of Jesus? The holy purity of God is filling their lives, burning up their guilt and brokenness. The Spirit is assuring them that their sins are forgiven and that they are holy people in right standing with God. He is setting them free to please and serve God, and to love what is right. They know that they are no longer trapped by their failures and brokenness. They are pure with a holy desire to do good. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire that John the Baptist predicted in Matt. 3:11-12.

Of course, like the early disciples, we face an ongoing battle with sin and failure. But God’s Holy Spirit helps us in our hearts and minds by assuring us of our forgiveness, releasing us from our shame, leading us away from temptation, giving us strength in the battle with sin, and helping us to desire what is good and pure (holy). Through the work of the Spirit, we live as holy people who love God and welcome and enjoy His way.

Please pray for the Holy Spirit to fill you and to do His cleansing and freeing work in you.

“Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with Thee I will one will,
To do and to endure.”

Written by John Sweetman