The Word of God

THE WORD OF GOD

“In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:1-3 & John 11:14

Jesus is the Word of God. Jesus is the total Message—everything that God wants to communicate to man. The first chapter of John gives us a glimpse inside the Father/Son relationship before Jesus came to earth in human form. He preexisted with the Father, He was involved in the creation of everything. The Word (Jesus) is the full embodiment of all that is God (Colossians 1:19; 2:9; John 14:9). But God the Father is Spirit. People found it easy to disregard the message of an invisible God and continued in their sin and rebellion. So the Message (the Word) became flesh, took on human form, and came to dwell among us.

“All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being”. (John 1:3)  “The Word” is the sole means by which reality finds its existence—He is the Creator of all things, and without Him no created thing would exist. Before anything was created, “the Word” existed.

The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. No wonder they called Jesus, the Word of God. Jesus left His heavenly place to dwell among us, to teach us and to be a living sacrifice for us so that we can be with Him forever. However, before He could start His ministry He had to be baptized first.

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11).

So you may ask, "so why all the fire in the painting?" Spirit and fire are inseparable. The one cannot be present if the other is excluded. The Holy Spirit brings peace and joy; the fire consumes the self-life. Just as the fire dwells in the Spirit, so the Spirit dwells in the fire, for God is Spirit, but He is also a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29.) and in Deuteronomy 4:24 it tells us "For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire..." and even Jesus said in Luke 12:49, "“I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!"

God’s holiness is the reason for His being a consuming fire, and it burns up anything unholy. The holiness of God is that part of His nature that most separates Him from sinful man. The godless, Isaiah writes, tremble before Him: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?" Isaiah answers this by saying that only the righteous can withstand the consuming fire of God’s wrath against sin, because sin is an offense to God’s holiness. On the day of Pentecost, as the disciples saw “what seemed to be tongues of fire” resting on them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3–4).

The Bible describes God as “a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), so it is not surprising that fire often appears as a symbol of God’s presence. Examples include the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), the Shekinah glory (Exodus 14:19; Numbers 9:15-16), and Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 1:4). Fire has many times been an instrument of God’s judgment (Numbers 11:1, 3; 2 Kings 1:10, 12) and a sign of His power (Judges 13:20; 1 Kings 18:38).

So one might ask, "How can a God of love and compassion, also be a God of fire?" To understand this better, we must understand that the fire of God is a purifier, not meant for destruction. Fire is a wonderful picture of the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is like a fire in at least three ways: He brings God’s presence, God’s passion, and God’s purity. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God as He indwells the heart of the believer (Romans 8:9). In the Old Testament, God showed His presence to the Israelites by overspreading the tabernacle with fire (Numbers 9:14-15). This fiery presence provided light and guidance (Numbers 9:17-23).

For obvious reasons, fire was important for the Old Testament sacrifices. The fire on the altar of burnt offering was a divine gift, having been lit originally by God Himself (Leviticus 9:24). God charged the priests with keeping His fire lit (Leviticus 6:13) and made it clear that fire from any other source was unacceptable (Leviticus 10:1-2).

In the New Testament, the altar can serve as a picture of our commitment to the Lord. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called upon to offer our bodies as “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1), engulfed by the divine gift: the inextinguishable fire of the Holy Spirit. At the very beginning of the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is associated with fire. When the Holy Spirit began His ministry of indwelling the early church, He chose to appear as “tongues of fire” resting on each of the believers. At that moment, “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:3-4).

The Holy Spirit is like a fire dwelling in each believer. When Paul writes, “Do not quench the Holy Spirit,” he is cautioning Christians not to suppress the fire of God’s Spirit that burns within us. This command to the Thessalonians is similar to reminders Paul gave Timothy “to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6, 

When we “quench not the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19, KJV), He burns within us like a living letter written on the tablets of our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3). Our lives are set ablaze to shine forth the truth, light, and love of God to everyone we encounter (Acts 11:23; John 3:21). When we do not quench the Holy Spirit, His fiery presence brings unity, blessings, and fellowship (2 Corinthians 13:14; Philippians 2:1, 1 Peter 4:14), along with freedom, peace, and resurrection life (2 Corinthians 3:17; Romans 8:2, 5–11). As the fire on the altar in the temple was never to go out (Leviticus 6:12), so we must never quench the Holy Spirit of God on the altar of our hearts.

Instead, we are to remain "on Fire" for the Lord. To be “on fire” is to be eager, zealous, or “burning” with enthusiasm. Sometimes we speak of “lighting a fire under” someone, by which we mean “motivating” that person or “urging” him or her to action. Related expressions used in the church include on-fire Christian (“a zealous Christian”) and on fire for the Lord (“filled with enthusiasm for God”). Such idioms are not in the Bible, but we do find examples there of people with “burning” zeal and descriptions of the Lord’s work using terms associated with “fire.”

When I created this piece the Holy Spirit said it was imperative that it be engulfed with fire, the fire of the Lord. I hope you now have abetter understanding why the fire in the painting was needed.