In Spirit and Fire

The Spirit of God descended on Jesus, thus equipping Christ for his messianic mission. He baptizes his followers in the Holy Spirit and Fire - Matthew 3:11-12. John proclaimed a baptism in water for the remission of sins, and he announced the imminent arrival of the Messiah. The Baptist was the forerunner sent before the savior of Israel and the nations, as promised in the Scriptures:

• “The voice of one crying: Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness. Level a highway for our God. Every valley will be exalted, and every mountain and hill will be made low, and the uneven will be made level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it” – (Isaiah 40:3-5).

• “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple. And the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he is coming, says Yahweh of hosts” – (Malachi 3:1).

• “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight” – (Mark 1:1-3).

[Photo by Andrey Andreyev (Kiev) on Unsplash]

The baptism administered by John prepared the way for the arrival of the Messiah, for the King and his kingdom. The Baptist summoned the nation of Israel to repent, and he warned the nation’s religious leaders of the coming judgment that would befall them if they failed to do so.

The day is coming when it will be too late for the sinner to repent and amend his ways, namely, the Day of the Lord. On that day, the Messiah will expel unrepentant men from his kingdom forevermore:

• “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance! And do not presume to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father. For I say to you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham! And even now, the axe lies at the root of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that does not produce good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. I baptize you in water for repentance, but he that is coming after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He will baptize you in holy spirit and fire, whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor. And he will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire” - (Matthew 3:7-12. Compare Isaiah 66:24, Malachi 4:1).

John’s baptism in water was preparatory. The coming Messiah would “immerse” or ‘baptize’ his people “in holy spirit and fire.”

The Gift of the Spirit was an expectation of the Last Days. It is foundational to the New Covenant promised in the books of Ezekiel and Jeremiah. By His Spirit, God will circumcise the hearts of His people and write His laws in their hearts - (Deuteronomy 30:6, Isaiah 44:1-4, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:25-27, Joel 2:28-32):

• “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. And I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them. And they will be my people, and I will be their God” – (Ezekiel 11:19-20).

• “This is that which has been spoken through the prophet Joel: And it will be in the last days, says God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh. <…> And it will be, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” – (Acts 2:16-21).

• “Repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” – (Acts 2:38).

The phrase recorded in the Book of Matthew, “in Holy Spirit and fire,” indicates two aspects of the single baptism of the Holy Spirit. This immersion into the Spirit will be bestowed by the Messiah. In the Greek clause, ‘spirit and fire’ are not two separate events or baptisms, but one. Only one preposition governs both nouns, namely, “in” (‘en’ - εν).

And so, ‘spirit and fire’ together form the direct object of the verb “baptize” or ‘baptizô’, and the verb is in the singular number. Both fire and spirit characterize the baptism of the Spirit. It is a baptism of fire-and-spirit.

In the context of Matthew 3:11, ‘fire’ refers to judgment, whether for purification, destruction, or both. The warning applies to individual members and to the whole nation of Israel.

THE FIRE

John’s reference to ‘spirit and fire’ is part of his response to the Pharisees and Sadducees. They appealed to their biological relationship with Abraham as justification before God rather than repent and do works of righteousness and mercy as called for by the Baptist. Did not the Hebrew Scriptures demand this very thing?

• “And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Indeed, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes! Cease to do evil, learn to do well. Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow” - (Isaiah 1:15-17).

The members of the Jewish nation who do not respond to John’s message with repentance and submission to water baptism will be destroyed by “the axe” of Divine Judgment.

The term ‘fire’ in the words of John indicates the burning of the “chaff” by the Messiah. The Son of Man will gather his wheat into his barn, but the wicked and unrepentant will be consumed like straw, and with the unquenchable fires of judgment.

• “But who can abide the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap” – (Malachi 3:2).

• “The lawless men are not so. They are as chaff driven about by the wind. For this cause, the lawless will not rise in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For Yahweh acknowledges the way of the righteous, but the way of the lawless man will disappear” – (Psalm 1:4-6).

• “As therefore the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, to it will be in the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those that do lawlessness. And he will throw them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth” – (Matthew 13:40-42).

Every man and woman will experience this messianic baptism. For those who respond to the Gospel with repentance and faith, it will be a baptism of the Spirit. Jesus has absorbed the fires of judgment on their behalf through his sufferings and death.

• “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what do I desire, if it is already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am distressed until it is accomplished!” – (Luke 12:49-50).

• “But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” – (Mark 10:38).

However, for those men and women who do not repent and submit to the Messiah, it will be a baptism of fire, of judgment, whether for purification or final destruction.

• “Jesus said to them, Did you never read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner; this was from the Lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing the fruits. And he that falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. But on whomever this stone falls, it will scatter him as dust” – (Matthew 21:42-44).

[NOTE: Text printed in small capital letters represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Messiah Arrives - (The reign of God began to invade the Earth in the ministry of Jesus, starting with his baptism in the Jordan River – Mark 1:1-3)

• The Forerunner - (John the Baptist prepared the way for the Messiah, the Herald of the Good News of the Kingdom of God – Mark 1:4-8)

• The Son of David - (Jesus is the Son of David and heir to the Messianic Throne, the beloved Son of God, and the Suffering Servant of Yahweh)

• Dans l'Esprit et le Feu - (L'Esprit de Dieu est descendu sur Jésus, l'équipant pour sa mission messianique. Il baptisait ses disciples dans le Saint-Esprit)