In the period between Passover and Pentecost, Jesus met with the disciples. We read in Acts 1:4–5: And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
The expression “baptized with the Holy Spirit” does not occur again in the book of Acts; only in these words of the Lord is the word baptize used in reference to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We read other expressions such as, “They were filled with the Holy Spirit,” “The Spirit fell upon them,” “Hands were laid upon them and they received the Holy Spirit.”
The New Testament opens with the message of John the Baptist: “And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. As for me, I baptize you in water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not even fit to remove His sandals; He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Notice that he was talking about two fires. If you do not bear fruit, you will be cut down and cast into the fire. But if you submit to the Lord, He will baptize you with fire. You either will bear fruit or you will experience the fire of judgment.
“And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:10–12. The chaff is the substance that clings to the wheat.
When we lay hands on people and prophesy over them we want to see them thrust into the threshing and the burning process. No one can be talked into a walk of discipleship. It must be a revelation to them. A work of the cross must be wrought in our life, and the fire must deal with our heart.
Gideon’s victory is a good analogy of this. Each of Gideon’s three hundred had a fire hidden in a vessel—a lamp that was covered—and when the hour came for victory over the Midianites, the trumpets blew, the vessels were broken, and the fires blazed forth. The trumpet is a symbol of prophecy, and the fire in the broken vessel symbolizes the hidden fire of God’s dealings in our life. Their shout, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon,” symbolizes the living Word that is coming forth today.
Three hundred men turned aside the armies of an entire nation. But before all that happened, there had to be a sifting. There were thirty-two thousand men in the field. And the test came, “Are you fearful of losing your life? Are you afraid to go all the way and walk with God, then go home.” Twenty-two thousand failed that test and went home. But still there were too many. Gideon took the remaining ten thousand down to the water for another test. Only the watchmen can God use.
The baptism of fire is the process that identifies God’s remnant. First it brings forth the sifting. What is added to the remnant from that time on is pure. In the book of Acts, we read these phrases: “With great power they gave witness to the resurrection,” “Many signs and wonders,” “The word increased,” and “They spoke the Word of God.” Christ was seen by more than five hundred at one time after the resurrection. God sifted that five hundred down to a remnant of one hundred and twenty who were gathered in the upper room. When God had a remnant, a remnant of fire, then He began to move in a special way.
After John prophesied the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire, Jesus came to Him to be baptized. It was the baptism of the Holy Spirit that He was to receive. The Holy Spirit came upon Him like a dove. And the voice of the Father confirmed His sonship. The Father was well pleased.
After Jesus received the Holy Spirit, He was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He was tested. He came back, in the power of the Spirit victorious over Satan, and began His ministry. Jesus said, “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo” (literally, “to be baptized with”), “and how distressed I am until it is accomplished
It is possible to receive the Holy Spirit without experiencing a baptism of fire.
James and john wanted to sit on the right and left hand of Jesus. But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” Mark 10:35–38.
This was the same baptism of which Luke wrote, where Jesus said, “I am facing this baptism, and how concerned I am to see it accomplished.” This is the attitude God wants us to have. He wants us not only to receive the Holy Spirit, but enter into the God who is a consuming fire and get the chaff removed. We cannot walk in the full level of anointing and power and ministry until this has taken place.
And they said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized
After the baptism of fire, you never again find ambition among the apostles. When the cloven tongues of fire sat upon them, ambition and greed disappeared. Even the sense of ownership disappeared. No one said, “This is mine”; that attitude had been burned out of them.
Ambition and greed do not characterize those who truly walk with God. The dealings of God upon a true son will burn away all ambition.
Without the fire we will not have the power and the glory that God wants us to enter into. It is the way into the Kingdom. It is the way to be seated on His right hand or on His left.
When we go through the fire we enter into the sufferings of the Lord. If you suffer with Him, you shall also reign with Him (Romans 8:17). People with whom we used to have fellowship with may thrust us out. It may be unpleasant, but is not suffering.
The sufferings of Christ are the fires that we go through. If we want to reign with Him, we must allow the fire to burn out the self. If we want to inherit the earth, we must be filled with the meekness of Christ. That comes by identifying with Christ Jesus the Lord in His baptism of fire. It is one thing to glorify God for the cross on which Jesus died for us: it is another matter to glorify Him for the cross of Christ whereby we die.
We have to be identified with the fire of God’s holiness. As the fire burns within us, changes take place in a very special way. God is doing the deep work of fire in our life because He is looking for worshipers. He is Lord, and we are to have a pure worship before Him. But the worship God seeks reaches an impasse when we are not a purified channel of worship before Him.
We have to be dedicated to the fire’s application. We have to be put us on the threshing floor where we are completely exposed.
Usually the channels of threshing and of fire come internally, from within the Body of Christ. In that way God causes the Body to relate to itself. We are taught to have love and faith for our brother and sister. God will not allow us to walk any other way. Therefore He deals with us until the chaff is burned in the fire.
We need to be concerned with our relationship to the Body of Christ. We must accept our brother and sister even though there are things in their life that are not yet right.