Jesus is like a refiner’s fire; He shall purify us! The three baptisms are water, Holy Spirit, and fire. We must do them all. We are purged and purified by the spirit of judgement and burning.
Jesus had already received John’s baptism. He refers to his trial, crucifixion and death as His baptism of fire. Jesus refers to His trial, crucifixion and death as the cup that He was about to drink. Jesus was our Passover lamb. The lamb roasting with fire is a picture of Jesus trial, crucifixion and death. Everyone will face his own baptism of fire as we participate in the fellowship of his sufferings. Our faith is tried and strengthened by the fire of the manifold trials that we go through. He tries us because he cares for us and he refines us as silver is refined. He purifies us in the furnace of affliction. Before he brings us to a watered place.
Mal 3:1-3 RV
(1) Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he cometh, saith the LORD of hosts.
(2) But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
(3) and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver; and they shall offer unto the LORD offerings in righteousness.
Jesus is like a refiner’s fire; He shall purify us!
Mat 3:5-12 RV
(5) Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan;
(6) and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
(7) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
(8) Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance:
(9) and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
(10) And even now is the axe laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
(11) I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire:
(12) whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.
The three baptisms are water, Holy Spirit, and fire. We must do them all.
ISA. 4 : 1 – 6 [4] Isa 4:1-6 RV
(1) And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saving, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name; take thou away our reproach.
(2) In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
(3) And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
(4) when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
(5) And the LORD will create over the whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for over all the glory shall be spread a canopy.
(6) And there shall be a pavilion for a shadow in the day-time from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain.
We are purged and purified by the spirit of judgement and burning.
Luk 12:49-53 RV
(49) I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what will I, if it is already kindled?
(50) But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
(51) Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
(52) for there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
(53) They shall be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother in law against her daughter in law, and daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 20:20-23 RV
(20) Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, worshipping him, and asking a certain thing of him.
(21) And he said unto her, What wouldest thou? She saith unto him, Command that these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom.
(22) But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? They say unto him, We are able.
(23) He saith unto them, My cup indeed ye shall drink: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left hand, is not mine to give, but it is for them for whom it hath been prepared of my Father.
Jesus refers to His trial, crucifixion and death as the cup that He was about to drink.
EX. 12 : 1 – 20 [5-10]
Exo 12:5-10 RV
(5) Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats:
(6) and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at even.
(7) And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it.
(8) And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
(9) Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; its head with its legs and with the inwards thereof.
(10) And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remains of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
1Co 5:7-8 RV
(7) Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our Passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ:
(8) wherefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
(1Co 1:9 RV) God is faithful, through whom ye were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Php 3:9-11 RV
(9) and be found in him, not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
(10) that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death;
(11) if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead.
Mar 9:42-50 RV
(42) And whosoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it were better for him if a great millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
(43) And if thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.
(45) And if thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell.
(47) And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell;
(48) where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
(49) For every one shall be salted with fire.
(50) Salt is good: but if the salt have lost its saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace one with another.
Everyone will face his own baptism of fire as we participate in the fellowship of his sufferings.
1Pe 1:6-9 YLT
(6) in which ye are glad, a little now, if it be necessary, being made to sorrow in manifold trials,
(7) that the proof of your faith—much more precious than of gold that is perishing, and through fire being approved—may be found to praise, and honour, and glory, in the revelation of Jesus Christ,
(8) whom, not having seen, ye love, in whom, now not seeing and believing, ye are glad with joy unspeakable and glorified,
(9) receiving the end of your faith—salvation of souls;
Our faith is tried and strengthened by the fire of the manifold trials that we go through.
1Pe 4:12-19 YLT
(12) Beloved, think it not strange at the fiery suffering among you that is coming to try you, as if a strange thing were happening to you,
(13) but, according as ye have fellowship with the sufferings of the Christ, rejoice ye, that also in the revelation of his glory ye may rejoice—exulting;
(14) if ye be reproached in the name of Christ—happy are ye , because the Spirit of glory and of God upon you doth rest; in regard, indeed, to them, he is evil-spoken of, and in regard to you, he is glorified;
(15) for let none of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evil-doer, or as an inspector into other men’s matters;
(16) and if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; and let him glorify God in this respect;
(17) because it is the time of the beginning of the judgment from the house of God, and if first from us, what the end of those disobedient to the good news of God?
(18) And if the righteous man is scarcely saved, the ungodly and sinner—where shall he appear?
(19) so that also those suffering according to the will of god, as to a stedfast Creator, let them commit their own souls in good doing.
Psa 66:8-12 YLT
(8) Bless, ye peoples, our God, And sound the voice of His praise,
(9) Who hath placed our soul in life, And suffered not our feet to be moved.
(10) For Thou hast tried us, O God, Thou hast refined us as the refining of silver.
(11) Thou hast brought us into a net, Thou hast placed pressure on our loins.
(12) Thou hast caused man to ride at our head. We have entered into fire and into water, And Thou bringest us out to a watered place.
Image by Courtnie Tosana on Unsplash
How wonderfully all these subjects lock together.
The subjects that Richard has chosen in his blogs thus far has struck me as a powerful message of salvation. Each subject grasps onto the next with the same theme, the salvation of God through faith. Believing in the salvation of God is believing in Jesus or Yeshua, as His name means God’s salvation. If we believe on His name we shall be saved, which is the same as to be “delivered”. The process of which is adding virtue through His Spirit, giving us a “heart of flesh”, while cleansing us by the “fire” of His word and Spirit that we through faith will be made righteous.
The word of God is like notes in a song that when played together makes a tender melody of grace and love.
Sometimes the word fire is speaking of light, or warmth or even love. “Our God is a consuming fire”. How you enter into that fire depends solely on your relationship with Him.
The Word of God as notes of a song. It’s a new song, the song of Moses and the Lamb.
When one looks at “fire” it comes down to my place in the Lord and my understanding of HIS will for me. As we see in the book of Hebrews 12:3 – 11 verse 5, “regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord.” And as this setting tells us in verse 11, “All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous.” We just must understand that our Father has a plan for us. Look at chastening and get the correct perspective of what the writer is saying to us In the book of Hebrews. Chastening is really “tutorage, that is education or training and really the word just implies disciplinary correction, this is the definition in the Strong’s Concordance. As a child of the Lord we should look at chastening, education and training as just a test like we had in school. We did not like test day because we had the wrong perspective. A test is not to show me how dumb or lacking I am but to show me that percentage or portion that I need to improve on. So if I get a 92 percent on a test I should not stand pat on my 92 percent but look at the 8 percent. This test has show me where I am lacking to motivate my improvement and to go to work on the 8 percent until I have it all right. This same principle should be at work in me in my walk with the Lord. His chastening, education and training are to help me see what I lack in my walk with him. Jesus is calling for a bride who has made herself ready. He is looking for those that will live and reign with him during His one thousand year kingdom. These test are just to help us put on our white robe and that simply is “the righteousness of the saints.’ Take your test, walk through your training and do that with faith as by His grace, we will come out after test day with 100 percent! Fire is not joyous, however, it works in us an eternal glory and only in the Lord.