For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord.
“Therefore [earnestly] wait for Me, says the Lord, [waiting] for the day when I rise up to the attack [as a witness, accuser, or judge, and a testimony]. For My decision and determination and right it is to gather the nations together, to assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them My indignation, even all [the heat of] My fierce anger; for [in that day] all the earth shall be consumed with the fire of My zeal and jealousy.
For then [changing their impure language] I will give to the people a clear and pure speech from pure lips, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one unanimous consent and one untied shoulder [bearing the yoke of the Lord].” (Zephaniah 3:8-9)
This verse speaks of purging the land of sin and purifying the people by the fire of God's jealousy. Hebrews 12:29 says “For our God is a consuming fire.”
Throughout the Bible at various places, God has displayed Himself in fire. To Abraham, He was a smoking firepot with a blazing torch as He appeared to Abram to make a covenant (Genesis 15:17). To Moses, he was a burning bush (Exodus 3:2-6). To the Israelites, He was a pillar of fire at night (Exodus 13:21).
Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary notes that in the Bible, fire is often a symbol of God’s presence and power (Lev. 10:2). [1]
When Jesus came, it was to baptize people with fire. John says in Luke 3:16b-17, “He [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
In Luke 12:49-50 Jesus says, “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and how greatly and sorely I am urged on (impelled, constrained) until it is accomplished!
One commentary notes, “The Spirit, like fire, melts the heart, separates and burns up the dross, and kindles pious and devout affections in the soul, in which, as in the fire upon the altar, the spiritual sacrifices are offered up. This is that fire which Christ came to send upon the earth. Lu. 12:49.” [2]
Often, like water baptism, we think of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a one-time event. However, as Pastor David Johnson, has noted in a sermon some years ago, there can be more than one baptisms of the Holy Spirit. We can be immersed and empowered by the Spirit more than once in our lives to fulfill His kingdom purposes at the time.
Peter rejoiced as He saw tongues of fire resting on each of the people as they spoke in various languages and told the people, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”
What had only been available to a few select people was now available to all who believe and receive this baptism of fire. The Spirit of God has come to rest on the people of God who would receive him.
A few examples in the New Testament of believers being baptized in the Holy Spirit:
In Acts 19:6, after some disciples were baptized into the name of Jesus, accepting Him as Savior and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, Paul placed his hands on them. It says, “when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”
The Holy Spirit came upon the believers as Peter was speaking the message in Acts 10:44, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.”
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not the same as receiving the Holy Spirit. One receives the Holy Spirit at the time of salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14). However, an immersion (baptism) into the Spirit occurs as the Holy Spirit rests upon a believer through the baptism of fire.
1 Peter 1:23 says, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable..."
Receiving the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ, we have a new disposition. Instead of being disposed towards sin, we are disposed towards righteousness. [3] We desire to put the old man to death and pursue righteousness. This new disposition also moves also us towards greater unity in the body.
1 John 3:9-10 says, “Those who are born of God will not continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they know they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are: Those who do not do what is right are not God's children; nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.”
1 John 1:7-10 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”
Throughout the Bible at various places it is our lack of purity in our relationship with Christ, running after idols, that keeps us from having unity with one another. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:10, “But I urge and entreat you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in perfect harmony and full agreement in what you say, and there be no dissensions or factions or divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your common understanding and in your opinions and judgments.”
James confronts the church in James 4:1-5 for their impure intentions creating division and strife in the body. He writes, “What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members?
You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled; [so] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.] You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask.
[Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures.
You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose that the Scripture is speaking to no purpose that says, The Spirit Whom He has caused to dwell in us yearns over us and He yearns for the Spirit [to be welcome] with a jealous love?”
As Stefan Van Voorst noted of his sermon this past weekend and Paul Anleitner spoke about a few weeks ago, unity with others comes about first through our connection with God.
Ruth Haley Barton writes, “In his classic work of Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer points out, ‘Christian community is founded solely on Jesus Christ and in fact, it already exists in Christ. It is not an ideal which we must realize, it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. It is a spiritual and not a psychic reality in that it is created by the Spirit’” [4]
Jesus prays for all believers in John 17:21-23, “That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.
I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one: I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me.”
It is through Jesus that we are then connected with other believers. The same Holy Spirit that dwells in me, making me a son or daughter that dwells in fellow believers. Through the Spirit that dwells inside of us, we genuinely come into unity as brothers and sisters in Christ as we allow Him to purify our hearts and minds.
Paul tells the church in Romans 8:13-16, For if you live according to [the dictates of] the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the [Holy] Spirit you are [habitually] putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the [evil] deeds prompted by the body, you shall [really and genuinely] live forever.
For all who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father! The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God.”
According to Ruth Haley Barton, for Christians, unity is not just one good priority among many, but the core of what He was looking for. She writes, "It seemed to be all Jesus wanted as everything else fell away and he faced his death. For those of us who are leaders in Christ's kingdom, there is nothing more important than seeking this unity with all our hearts." [5]
Paul says in Ephesians 4:1-16, "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.” Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Love is the perfect bond of unity (Col. 3:14). And as Paul Anleitner noted a few weeks ago, it is through this unity with God and with others that people will recognize the Lord. It is through the workings of genuine love that the Lord is manifested for the world to see.
Unity demonstrates His power and love. Ruth Haley Barton writes about Jesus coming to earth, "He chose a few individuals 'whom he wanted,' the Scriptures say (Mark 3:13), and he chose them first and foremost to be with him and, by virtue of their relationship with him, to be present with each other. Out of that togetherness and without much of a strategy, they changed the world." [6]
They were a group of disciples filled with the Holy Spirit and His power. While the baptism of the Holy Spirit is most frequently demonstrated externally by gifts of tongues and prophesy, it is more than this. It is a baptism of immersion in the Spirit for the purposes of God just as it was in the Old Testament.
According to the prophesy in Zephaniah 3:8-9, the result of God pouring out His purifying fire (baptism of fire), people receive greater purity of heart in their relationship with Christ, calling on the name of the Lord (rather than idols) and coming into unity with each other -both in word and in deed.
Commentary notes, “language will be purified from all of the oaths and prayers used in placating their idol gods. They will use a pure language, which is a fitting vehicle to call upon the true Jehovah. The life that follows will be consistent with their call; for they will serve him with one consent (Heb shekem, shoulder), a figure drawn from the use of a yoke whereby two animals could be linked together and serve as one. [7][a]
"Set a fire down in my soul, that I can't contain, that I can't control. I want more of You God!" sings in the background.
When the Spirit of the Lord came to rest upon Jesus, it was an empowerment to fulfill His Father's kingdom purposes. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus says (quoting Isaiah 61:1), “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. “
In Luke 24:49, Jesus told the disciples about Pentecost, “ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
And in Acts 1:8 Jesus says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Witnesses here is the word martus, Strongs #3144, and means to be martyred, witnesses of Christ by their death. [8] More significant than our witness to others by our words is our witness by our actions.
1 John 3:16 says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for one another.” The strongest witness to others is love in action, even in the midst of hate and persecution.
1 John 3:18 says, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth... No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us (1 John 4:12)... This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus" (1 John 4:17).
When the Spirit of the Lord came upon the apostles and other disciples at Pentecost in power, they were empowered to be witnesses. They spoke in the tongues of the Jews “from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). Peter then preached the gospel and about three thousand accepted his message and were baptized that day (Acts 2:41). Right after the baptism of fire, the apostles were moving in signs and wonders, and the community of faith devoted themselves to God's word and fellowship together, many being added to their numbers daily. (Acts 2:42-47)
And in Acts 4:3, Peter and John were seized and thrown in jail. Despite their difficult circumstances, they were witnesses with boldness and courage. When they were commanded not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus, they replied, “Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).
It goes on to say in Acts that when Peter and John returned to their fellowship and reported what happened, they all prayed to God: “Now Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.'” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:30-31).
And as a baptism of fire started the last days at Pentecost, the ultimate baptism of fire will also end the last days. Malachi 4:5 says, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Elijah was known for calling down fire (Luke 9:54).
2 Peter 3:5-7 says, “But they [scoffers who say, where is this coming he promised?] deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”
Isaiah 66:15-16 says,
“For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.”
Jesus will take “His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” The Spirit will come as fire, melting hearts, separating and burning up all dross, and our hearts will burn with passion as our spiritual sacrifices of love are offered up and consumed on His altar. We will become one with Him as His pure and spotless bride.
Malachi 3:2-6 says, "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like a fullers' soap; He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the priests, the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord offerings in righteousness.
Then will the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in ancient years. Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the false swearers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and who turn asid the resident from his right and fear not Me, says the Lord of host.
For I am the Lord, I do not change; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed."
An example of fire residing and burning that purified but did not destroy is in Exodus 3:2, "The Angel of the Lord appeard to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked; and behold, the bush burned with fire, yet was not consumed."
Lord, we look to you and long for the fullness of what You have for us in this season. Would you send Your fire, purify our hearts and draw us into unity so that the world may experience Your love and behold You more clearly.
a. Isaiah 46:20-23 also speaks of dealing with idols and bringing unity through pure speech. It says, “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about [in religious processions or into battle] their wooden idols and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
Declare and bring forward your strong arguments [for praying to gods that cannot save]; yes, take counsel together. Who announced this [the rise of Cyrus and his conquests] beforehand (long ago)? [What god] declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a rigidly and uncompromisingly just and righteous God and Savior; there is none besides Me.
Look to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear [allegiance].”
1. Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary; Includes index. Nashville: T. Nelson.
2. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible. Located at: http://mhcw.biblecommenter.com/acts/2.htm Last Accessed: 8/25/10.
3. Willard, Dallas. Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ. NavPress, Colorado Springs, Co. 2002.
4-6. Barton, Ruth Haley. Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership:Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Il. 2008.
7. KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 1781
8. BibleTools. Church of the Great God. Greek-Hebrew Definitions. Located at: http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Lexicon.show/ID/G3144/martus.htm. Last Accessed: 4/24/12
For then [changing their impure language] I will give to the people a clear and pure speech from pure lips, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one unanimous consent and one untied shoulder [bearing the yoke of the Lord].” (Zephaniah 3:8-9)
This verse speaks of purging the land of sin and purifying the people by the fire of God's jealousy. Hebrews 12:29 says “For our God is a consuming fire.”
Throughout the Bible at various places, God has displayed Himself in fire. To Abraham, He was a smoking firepot with a blazing torch as He appeared to Abram to make a covenant (Genesis 15:17). To Moses, he was a burning bush (Exodus 3:2-6). To the Israelites, He was a pillar of fire at night (Exodus 13:21).
Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary notes that in the Bible, fire is often a symbol of God’s presence and power (Lev. 10:2). [1]
When Jesus came, it was to baptize people with fire. John says in Luke 3:16b-17, “He [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
In Luke 12:49-50 Jesus says, “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and how greatly and sorely I am urged on (impelled, constrained) until it is accomplished!
One commentary notes, “The Spirit, like fire, melts the heart, separates and burns up the dross, and kindles pious and devout affections in the soul, in which, as in the fire upon the altar, the spiritual sacrifices are offered up. This is that fire which Christ came to send upon the earth. Lu. 12:49.” [2]
Often, like water baptism, we think of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a one-time event. However, as Pastor David Johnson, has noted in a sermon some years ago, there can be more than one baptisms of the Holy Spirit. We can be immersed and empowered by the Spirit more than once in our lives to fulfill His kingdom purposes at the time.
Peter rejoiced as He saw tongues of fire resting on each of the people as they spoke in various languages and told the people, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”
What had only been available to a few select people was now available to all who believe and receive this baptism of fire. The Spirit of God has come to rest on the people of God who would receive him.
A few examples in the New Testament of believers being baptized in the Holy Spirit:
In Acts 19:6, after some disciples were baptized into the name of Jesus, accepting Him as Savior and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, Paul placed his hands on them. It says, “when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”
The Holy Spirit came upon the believers as Peter was speaking the message in Acts 10:44, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.”
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not the same as receiving the Holy Spirit. One receives the Holy Spirit at the time of salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14). However, an immersion (baptism) into the Spirit occurs as the Holy Spirit rests upon a believer through the baptism of fire.
1 Peter 1:23 says, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable..."
Receiving the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ, we have a new disposition. Instead of being disposed towards sin, we are disposed towards righteousness. [3] We desire to put the old man to death and pursue righteousness. This new disposition also moves also us towards greater unity in the body.
1 John 3:9-10 says, “Those who are born of God will not continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they know they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are: Those who do not do what is right are not God's children; nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.”
1 John 1:7-10 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”
Throughout the Bible at various places it is our lack of purity in our relationship with Christ, running after idols, that keeps us from having unity with one another. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:10, “But I urge and entreat you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in perfect harmony and full agreement in what you say, and there be no dissensions or factions or divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your common understanding and in your opinions and judgments.”
James confronts the church in James 4:1-5 for their impure intentions creating division and strife in the body. He writes, “What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members?
You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled; [so] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.] You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask.
[Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures.
You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose that the Scripture is speaking to no purpose that says, The Spirit Whom He has caused to dwell in us yearns over us and He yearns for the Spirit [to be welcome] with a jealous love?”
As Stefan Van Voorst noted of his sermon this past weekend and Paul Anleitner spoke about a few weeks ago, unity with others comes about first through our connection with God.
Ruth Haley Barton writes, “In his classic work of Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer points out, ‘Christian community is founded solely on Jesus Christ and in fact, it already exists in Christ. It is not an ideal which we must realize, it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. It is a spiritual and not a psychic reality in that it is created by the Spirit’” [4]
Jesus prays for all believers in John 17:21-23, “That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.
I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one: I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me.”
It is through Jesus that we are then connected with other believers. The same Holy Spirit that dwells in me, making me a son or daughter that dwells in fellow believers. Through the Spirit that dwells inside of us, we genuinely come into unity as brothers and sisters in Christ as we allow Him to purify our hearts and minds.
Paul tells the church in Romans 8:13-16, For if you live according to [the dictates of] the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the [Holy] Spirit you are [habitually] putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the [evil] deeds prompted by the body, you shall [really and genuinely] live forever.
For all who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father! The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God.”
According to Ruth Haley Barton, for Christians, unity is not just one good priority among many, but the core of what He was looking for. She writes, "It seemed to be all Jesus wanted as everything else fell away and he faced his death. For those of us who are leaders in Christ's kingdom, there is nothing more important than seeking this unity with all our hearts." [5]
Paul says in Ephesians 4:1-16, "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.” Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Love is the perfect bond of unity (Col. 3:14). And as Paul Anleitner noted a few weeks ago, it is through this unity with God and with others that people will recognize the Lord. It is through the workings of genuine love that the Lord is manifested for the world to see.
Unity demonstrates His power and love. Ruth Haley Barton writes about Jesus coming to earth, "He chose a few individuals 'whom he wanted,' the Scriptures say (Mark 3:13), and he chose them first and foremost to be with him and, by virtue of their relationship with him, to be present with each other. Out of that togetherness and without much of a strategy, they changed the world." [6]
They were a group of disciples filled with the Holy Spirit and His power. While the baptism of the Holy Spirit is most frequently demonstrated externally by gifts of tongues and prophesy, it is more than this. It is a baptism of immersion in the Spirit for the purposes of God just as it was in the Old Testament.
According to the prophesy in Zephaniah 3:8-9, the result of God pouring out His purifying fire (baptism of fire), people receive greater purity of heart in their relationship with Christ, calling on the name of the Lord (rather than idols) and coming into unity with each other -both in word and in deed.
Commentary notes, “language will be purified from all of the oaths and prayers used in placating their idol gods. They will use a pure language, which is a fitting vehicle to call upon the true Jehovah. The life that follows will be consistent with their call; for they will serve him with one consent (Heb shekem, shoulder), a figure drawn from the use of a yoke whereby two animals could be linked together and serve as one. [7][a]
"Set a fire down in my soul, that I can't contain, that I can't control. I want more of You God!" sings in the background.
When the Spirit of the Lord came to rest upon Jesus, it was an empowerment to fulfill His Father's kingdom purposes. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus says (quoting Isaiah 61:1), “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. “
In Luke 24:49, Jesus told the disciples about Pentecost, “ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
And in Acts 1:8 Jesus says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Witnesses here is the word martus, Strongs #3144, and means to be martyred, witnesses of Christ by their death. [8] More significant than our witness to others by our words is our witness by our actions.
1 John 3:16 says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for one another.” The strongest witness to others is love in action, even in the midst of hate and persecution.
1 John 3:18 says, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth... No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us (1 John 4:12)... This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus" (1 John 4:17).
When the Spirit of the Lord came upon the apostles and other disciples at Pentecost in power, they were empowered to be witnesses. They spoke in the tongues of the Jews “from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). Peter then preached the gospel and about three thousand accepted his message and were baptized that day (Acts 2:41). Right after the baptism of fire, the apostles were moving in signs and wonders, and the community of faith devoted themselves to God's word and fellowship together, many being added to their numbers daily. (Acts 2:42-47)
And in Acts 4:3, Peter and John were seized and thrown in jail. Despite their difficult circumstances, they were witnesses with boldness and courage. When they were commanded not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus, they replied, “Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).
It goes on to say in Acts that when Peter and John returned to their fellowship and reported what happened, they all prayed to God: “Now Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.'” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:30-31).
And as a baptism of fire started the last days at Pentecost, the ultimate baptism of fire will also end the last days. Malachi 4:5 says, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Elijah was known for calling down fire (Luke 9:54).
2 Peter 3:5-7 says, “But they [scoffers who say, where is this coming he promised?] deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”
Isaiah 66:15-16 says,
“For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.”
Jesus will take “His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” The Spirit will come as fire, melting hearts, separating and burning up all dross, and our hearts will burn with passion as our spiritual sacrifices of love are offered up and consumed on His altar. We will become one with Him as His pure and spotless bride.
Malachi 3:2-6 says, "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like a fullers' soap; He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the priests, the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord offerings in righteousness.
Then will the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in ancient years. Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the false swearers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and who turn asid the resident from his right and fear not Me, says the Lord of host.
For I am the Lord, I do not change; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed."
An example of fire residing and burning that purified but did not destroy is in Exodus 3:2, "The Angel of the Lord appeard to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked; and behold, the bush burned with fire, yet was not consumed."
Lord, we look to you and long for the fullness of what You have for us in this season. Would you send Your fire, purify our hearts and draw us into unity so that the world may experience Your love and behold You more clearly.
a. Isaiah 46:20-23 also speaks of dealing with idols and bringing unity through pure speech. It says, “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about [in religious processions or into battle] their wooden idols and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
Declare and bring forward your strong arguments [for praying to gods that cannot save]; yes, take counsel together. Who announced this [the rise of Cyrus and his conquests] beforehand (long ago)? [What god] declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a rigidly and uncompromisingly just and righteous God and Savior; there is none besides Me.
Look to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear [allegiance].”
1. Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary; Includes index. Nashville: T. Nelson.
2. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible. Located at: http://mhcw.biblecommenter.com/acts/2.htm Last Accessed: 8/25/10.
3. Willard, Dallas. Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ. NavPress, Colorado Springs, Co. 2002.
4-6. Barton, Ruth Haley. Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership:Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Il. 2008.
7. KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 1781
8. BibleTools. Church of the Great God. Greek-Hebrew Definitions. Located at: http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Lexicon.show/ID/G3144/martus.htm. Last Accessed: 4/24/12
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