The Bible contains the life of God. Every written word in the Bible brings forth life in the lives of people. No word of God shall return void. Therefore you would think that Christians spend a lot of time in the Bible and listen to the words of God and obey the words of God and apply them into their lives. 然而, the practice shows something else. This is mainly because God’s Word is confronting and reveals and judges the works of the old man. The Word is clear about God’s thoughts 和 His ways and what God likes and dislikes. But the people are proud and rebel and don’t want to submit to the Word and therefore they don’t do what the Word says, because they still love themselves and love the works and life of the old man. Therefore they are not willing to give up their own lives in the world and put off the old man and his works and therefore they avoid the Word. Because God’s Word is a consuming fire that devours the nature and works of the old man. The Word means life to the new man, but death to the old man.
God is a consuming fire
Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God (申命記 4:23-24)
Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire (希伯來文 12:28-29)
God is a holy and righteous God. The Word says that the Lord God is a consuming fire that deals with the wickedness; the iniquities and sins of man. The fire has many symbolic meanings in the Bible, including the holiness and righteousness of God.
God loved His people and revealed His will and nature to them by giving the law to Moses. His Word set His people apart from the Gentiles, who belonged to the world.
As long as they kept the law, the people of God restrained themselves from engaging in the works of the Gentiles, which were evil in the eyes of the Lord.
God led His people during the day in a pillar of cloud and during the night in a pillar of fire. God protected His people and went before them as a consuming fire and brought the pagan nations down and delivered them into their hands.
God delivered them into their hands, not because of the righteousness of His people but because of the wickedness of the pagan nations. And so God was a consuming fire for the Gentiles (哦. Exodus 13:21, 申命記 9:1-6).
But unfortunately, God’s people didn’t always listen to His voice. Many times they deviated from 他的誡命 and statutes and did all those wicked things, which the Lord God had forbidden His people. And so His people engaged in the evil works, which were an abomination to God
Since God is a God of His Word, He dealt with the proud and rebels of His people, who had become His adversaries through their works, according to His Word (哦. 以賽亞 30:27-30, 耶利米 4:4).
For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against Me, 耶和華說. They have belied the Lord, 並說, It is not He; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, 看, I will make My words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them (耶利米 5:11-14)
Is not My word like as a fire? 耶和華說; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? (耶利米 23:29)
God’s Word is a consuming Fire
But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appears? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ 肥皂: 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, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. (Malachi 3:2-4)
耶穌, 上帝的兒子, is the living Word and the reflection of God, who came in the likeness of man to the earth.
As God was a consuming fire, so Jesus was also a consuming fire. Because Jesus preached the truth and righteousness of God.
Jesus spoke the words of God, called the people to 悔改 and manifested the Kingdom of God on earth. Whereby Jesus exposed the lies and the works of the devil in the lives of people and destroyed them.
But not everyone was excited about the coming of Jesus to the earth, since Jesus exposed the lies and the works of the devil and dealt with the iniquities and sins of the 肉體的老男人.
To them, who had a fear for God and loved His words, Jesus was a living Stone; a Rock, who possessed the living water.
But to those, who loved themselves and the world, Jesus was a Stone of stumbling (另請閱讀: 耶穌; a precious Cornerstone or a Stone of stumbling?)
Jesus sent fire on the earth
I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. (路克 12:49-52)
Although Jesus didn’t come to the earth to judge the world, because it was not HIs time to judge, Jesus testified that their works were evil.
Therefore the sons of the devil (the workers of iniquity) wanted to get rid of Jesus and extinguish the Light, so that they could continue their evil works and their lives in darkness, without any interference and condemnation.
The same thing happens today. There are many, who belong to the world and want to extinguish the lights, that shine in the darkness. And so they wrap a lie into a half-truth, so that the darkness can enter unnoticed in the lives of believers. As soon as the darkness enters, it will proliferate. First in the life of the believer, then in the lives of other believers, causing the Church to be affected and the Light to be extinguished.
The Holy Spirit is a consuming fire
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (使徒行傳 2:1-4)
Just like God and Jesus are a consuming fire, the Holy Spirit is also a consuming fire. Because on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven and filled the house, where all the disciples of Jesus were gathered together and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, that sat upon each of them. At that moment, all the disciples, who were present in the upper room were filled with the Holy Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit took His place in the lives of the new creation and gave them tongues like as of fire, that preached the truth and righteousness of God.
The disciples had become servants of righteousness; flaming fires, who preached the wonderful works of God and His righteousness and called the people, who belonged to God’s people, 到 悔改.
Because of the tongues of fire, the people were pricked in their hearts and 3000 souls repented and were baptized and received the Holy Spirit of God on the day of Pentecost
那些, who have the Holy Spirit and yield themselves to God’s Word and obey His commandments, shall become just like Jesus.
They shall be just like Jesus, who sent fire on the earth, bring the truth and righteousness of God to the earth. Because of their righteousness in Christ and their righteous walk, they will expose the wickedness of the world and testify that her works are evil.
神聖的靈魂, the Spirit of truth, who dwells in them, shall testify of Jesus Christ and reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment because of the perfect work of Jesus Christ.
The new man shall call sinners to repentance and the removal of sin, so that they will no longer be bound to the kingdom of darkness and the death, but shall live in freedom in Christ in the Kingdom of God.
God’s Word devours the old man
For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another (馬克 9:49-50)
The Holy Spirit speaks the same words of God, which Jesus spoke to the people and are written in the Bible. 那些, who belong to Jesus and listen to His words, shall obey His words and speak His words shall remain in His love.
God’s Word is a Mirror to them and shows them, who they are in Jesus Christ.
Although God’s Word is a Mirror for the new man, at the same time God’s. Word is a spiritual Sword, that divides spirit and soul and a consuming fire that devours the old man.
Because although man has become a new creation in Jesus Christ in the spiritual realm and has received His nature, this transformation must become visible in the natural realm.
Therefore the new man shall go through the process of sanctification and shall be purified and refined by the words of God, so that the works and remnants of the old man will be devoured by the words of God and only the new man remains.
God’s Word is clear and reveals the 聖靈的果子 and the works of the flesh and confronts the old man with his works. At that moment, a person has a choice to obey the Word and remove these carnal works, so that the person will be cleansed and sanctified or a person can disobey the Word and reject the Word and obey the flesh and keep doing these carnal works (另請閱讀: A reprobate mind).
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind (homosexual practices), Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God (1 哥林多前書 6:9-10).
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, 淫亂, 不潔, lasciviousness, Idolatry, 巫術, 仇恨, variance, emulations, 憤怒, 衝突, seditions, 異端, Envyings, 謀殺, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (加拉太書 5:19-21)
因此，要克制你們在地球上的成員; 淫亂, 不潔, 過度的感情, 惡欲, 和貪婪, 這是偶像崇拜: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 你們也曾在其中走過一段時間, 當你們住在其中時. But now ye also put off all these; 憤怒, 憤怒, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds (歌羅西書 3:5-10)
But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; 知道這一點, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind (homosexual practices), for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust (1 蒂莫西 1:8-11)
The words of the devil devour the new man
Since the devil knows how powerful God’s Word is and what the words of God do in people’s lives, and he doesn’t want to lose his power in the lives of people and don’t want his kingdom to be robbed, he steals and kills the words of God in the lives of believers.
The devil will do anything to keep believers far away from the Bible; the Word of God as possible. Because God’s Word reveals the truth of God and exposes the lies of the devil.
Therefore the devil keeps them busy and creates all kinds of distractions and 娛樂, which ensures that a person spends all his/her precious time on the things of this world; his kingdom, instead of the Word and the things of the Kingdom of God.
He feeds them with his entertainment, (社會的)media and education, and via the senses, he takes possession of the minds of people.
He dominates their mind with his words, which are spoken by his servants, but contradict the words of God, and cause believers to doubt the words of God and destroy the seed of God in the lives of people
The devil sows corrupt seed; lies in the lives of people and brings forth destruction in the lives of people. And so the devil destroys and devours many lives on earth and leads them to the abyss.
If you don’t listen to God’s Word and don’t obey the words of God and don’t put off the old man (肉) and devour his works, but instead listen to the words of the devil and obey them, the devil shall devour the new man through your life as the old man.
If you don’t devour your flesh through God’s Word, but sow in your flesh, then eventually you flesh shall devour you. Since the Word says, that if you sow in your flesh, you will reap corruption (加拉太書 6:7-8)
Therefore it is necessary to dethrone the devil as head in your life. How to do that? By not listening to him and by not doing his will and not obeying his words. Don’t give in to your carnal lusts and desires, but take authority over them and reign over your flesh.
Jesus shall baptize every person
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 Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire (馬修 3:11-12, Lu 3:16-17).
Every born again believer shall go through the process of sanctification and will be purified with the holy fire through the Word and His Spirit during his/her life on earth. So that the new man arises and becomes visible and the old man dies.
耶穌; the Word shall baptize every person with fire and the people may decide themselves when this happens; during life on earth or on the Day of Judgment.
A person can choose to believe and yield to Jesus Christ and repent, become born again and receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit, Who will purify the person with His holy fire (the truth and righteousness of God) which shall devour the old man, or a person can choose to reject Jesus Christ and stay the old man and be baptist on the Day of Judgment by Jesus; the Word with fire in the eternal lake of fire.
‘成為地球之鹽’
