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Baptism by fire -

InSpiritInTruth

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Luke 3:16 "John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

What does this mean to you?

The Lord cleanses with water and with fire, as is shown in the law.

1 Peter 1:7
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:


When heated in the fire, all the dross is purged out of the heart, leaving nothing over but the most precious gold of your faith.
 
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John Stefanyszyn

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...to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Baptism is the process of being spiritually washed, immersed, cleansed, changed, renewed, reborn.
Christ is telling us that this change to follow Him will be completed with the help of the Holy Spirit to those who confess Christ and the One True Way of Life....and that this change (purification / commitment) will also be done with fire....with persecution from man and his way of life which will force the followers of Christ to carry His cross or cause them to compromise and accept another "first love" before Christ and the One True Creator God.

Why fire, persecution, death?.....because man and satan reject the One True Way of Life....because man and satan embrace the desire to do their will, their self-rights and not the Will of God....it is because of this that the professing followers of Christ will be tested by this fire and will be persecuted till death to test their faith and loyalty to Christ.....however many will compromise.
 
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DamianWarS

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water baptism is rooted in Jewish cleansing rituals and through that any kind of NT phrase that uses "baptism" like Baptism in the Holy Spirit or Baptism in fire also inherit these root meanings of cleansing as well as introducing their unique elements.

The introduction of fire I believe is just a contrast from the old system that was incomplete and could never fully cleanse to the new system that is perfected through Jesus Christ and fully cleanses. When something goes through fire it comes out fully pure which is also rooted in the sacrificial system of the OT which was only best completed through brunt offerings. It is us now that are purified not through physical fire but through the product of purification of fire which is perfection. This is only accomplished through Jesus Christ.
 
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ViaCrucis

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Luke 3:16 "John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

What does this mean to you?

It was fulfilled on Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. Christ baptized the whole Church with the Spirit, who appeared as tongues of fire. It's not a repeatable act that happens for each of us, rather it was God's act signalling the the outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh, first on the disciples in Jerusalem, then in Samaria, and finally among the Gentiles in Cornelius' house. To be a member of the Church means a participation in that Pentecostal event.

-CryptoLutheran
 
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Shiloh1-49-10

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What does it mean to me?

I think the last comment made above touched on the prophecy of John the baptist who referenced Jesus. The Lord eventually completed the work the Father sent Him to do (John 17) but just before that He told His disciples that He must depart and return unto the Father in order that the third Person of the Godhead could come and continue the work. Christ died for us; then He sent the Holy Spirit to do a work in us. That work began on the day of Pentecost with the 120 gathered in the upper room, then in Samaria, then in Caesarea with Cornelius and the other Gentiles. The fire speaks of cleansing/purifying for the "one body" that was formed on that day...the church...became collectively the temple of God by the Holy Ghost, and the fire testified to the purity of that abode. The church was formed on that day and ever since then every new believer is added to the church the moment he/she accepts Christ as Saviour. [As individuals also our bodies are temples of the Holy Ghost...both thoughts are brought out in 1 Cor. 3 and 6; hence the exhortation to "Be ye Holy" in our practical walk.
 
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