CHRIST IN US, THE HOPE OF GLORY: Holy Fire

“Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:”  (Psalm 104:4)

There came a time when Moses desired to see the glory of God.

“And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.” (Exo. 33:18)

God answered Moses in the Book of Exodus chapter 33 verses 21 and 22,

“And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:” (Exo. 33:21-22)

As long as Moses was on the rock or in the rock, he was able to behold the glory of the Lord as He passed by.

God teaches us in the New Testament that Jesus Christ is that spiritual Rock.

“And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” (1Cor. 10:4)

In the same way that Jesus said He was in the Father and the Father in Him,

“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” (John 14:10)

Christ is in us and we are in Christ.

As long as we are in the Rock, in Christ, and the Rock (Christ) is in us, we are in a position to behold the glory of the Lord.

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Col. 1:27)

We have seen that there are certain benefits in understanding that the Spiritual Rock in us is “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. There is water, honey, and oil found in the Rock.

The Bible tells us of a time when God also caused fire to come out of a rock.

“And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.” (Judges 6:20)

“Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.” (Judges 6:21)

In the Book of Judges we read of a time when the people of God were oppressed by the Midianites. God heard their prayers for deliverance and sent an angel to visit a man by the name of Gideon.

The angel told Gideon that he was a mighty man of valor and that God would use him to defeat the Midianites. Gideon doubted that the message was from God and asked for a sign to prove to him that the message was true.

“And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.” (Judges 6:17-18)

“And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.” (Judges 6:19)

When Gideon brought his present or offering to the angel, the angel told him to place it on a rock. The angel touched the rock with the end of his staff and fire came out of the rock and consumed the offering or sacrifice.

Here we see that there was fire contained in the rock, and when that fire was released, it consumed the sacrifice that was upon it.

In the same way that there was fire in that rock, there is spiritual fire in the Spiritual Rock of Christ.

The Bible says that we are to present our bodies a “living sacrifice.”

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom. 12:1)

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Rom. 12:2)

When our faith grows and we accept Christ in us as the Spiritual Rock, then we can have faith that God will release fire from the Rock to spiritually consume the sacrifice of our physical bodies with all of its sins, weaknesses, and insufficiencies.

Once our bodies have been refined by God’s holy fire, then we are transformed and sanctified so that we may “prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

“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:” (Mat. 3:11)

Another aspect of this holy fire is that once it is released from the Spiritual Rock of “Christ in us”, it will make the Word of God like “fire shut up in our bones.”

“Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” (Jer. 20:9)

The Prophet Jeremiah was known as “the weeping prophet”. He was called by God to prophesy during the difficult time when God was bringing judgment upon His people.

Jeremiah complained that everything God gave him to prophesy was “gloom and doom”, and so he decided that he wouldn’t speak anymore in the name of the Lord.

However, God caused His Word to be like fire shut up in Jeremiah’s bones and he could not refrain from declaring the Word of God.

Thankfully, we are living in the time of God’s grace and we are not called upon to preach a message of gloom, doom, and condemnation.

God has called us to declare His message of love, mercy, forgiveness, and grace upon all that repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:17)

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mat. 11:28-30)

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Rom. 10:9)

If we hunger for the Word of God, if we study to show ourselves a “workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth”, if we present our bodies a “living sacrifice”, if we put away all things that offend and we desire to be a “vessel fit for His use”, then God will make His Word and the message of Jesus Christ like fire shut up in our bones.

We shall open our mouths, and as Jesus promised, the Holy Ghost will bring to our remembrance what He has said to us, we shall boldly speak the Word of God in the Name of the Lord, and David’s prophecy about the fire will be fulfilled in us,

“Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:” (Psalm 104:4)

There is another aspect of God’s Holy Fire.

The fire should never go out.

“The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” (Lev. 6:13)

However, we are living in the last days. We find ourselves in the same situation that Lot was in.

“And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds)” (2Peter 2:7-8)

Because of our “righteous souls being vexed”, we are seeing the fulfillment of Jesus prophecy happening around us.

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Mat. 24:12)

Sometimes it seems that no matter how hard we try, the flames of fire are not burning as bright and as hot as they used to.

Jesus understands.

He has promised that if there is still just a smolder, even if there is only a little smoke, if we trust in Him, He will not quench it but will fan that spark into a roaring fire for the glory of God.

“A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.” (Mat. 12:20)

“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.” (Mat. 3:12)

The Bible teaches us,

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17)

And again, in another place, the Bible declares,

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6)

It is impossible to please God without faith. Faith is the vehicle by which we receive from the Lord.

When we receive the word of God, whether it be by preaching or by reading, the Holy Spirit takes that word and gives us spiritual ears to hear.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” (Rev. 2:29)

Once we begin to hear in our heart the understanding that the Holy Spirit gives, the faith that is resident in our heart through the Holy Spirit comes alive and saturates our being with the ability to believe God.

It does not matter what our senses perceive as reality or what we rationalize. We believe God over all, in all, and through it all.

This miraculous ability is not something that we have to go and find. It is already in us because of the state of salvation that God has placed us in through Jesus Christ. It is in us because God’s Kingdom is in us.

“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21)

The more we discover about Christ and His Kingdom that is contained in the Holy Scriptures, then the more we can realize that these same aspects are already spiritually in us because of our salvation.

Whether it be Christ in us as the Redeemer, or the Savior, or the Rock that brings forth the water, the honey, the oil, and the fire; it is still Christ already in us by faith ready to be revealed in us by the revelation and power of the Holy Ghost.

“Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God;” (Col. 1:25)

“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:” (Col. 1:26)

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Col. 1:27)

“Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:” (Col. 1:28)

“Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” (Col. 1:29)

The Bible says that it is the glory of God to conceal a matter but it is the honor of kings to search it out.

“It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.” (Prov. 25:2)

The Bible says that we shall rule as kings with Christ.

“And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (Rev. 1:6)

It is our responsibility and duty to search out the hidden mysteries of God so that they can be revealed in us for the glory of God and His Kingdom.

“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” (Dan. 11:32)

Next- CHRIST IN US, THE HOPE OF GLORY: His Peace

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