A Fire Called Holy 圣灵与火

[Dexu Xia]

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Luke 3:16

After several years of drought, the wildfires of Southern California left some residents thinking of them as acts of God. This disturbing impression was reinforced when news sources began referring to one as the Holy Fire. Many unfamiliar with the area didn’t realize it was a reference to the Holy Jim Canyon region. But who was Holy Jim? According to local history, he was a nineteenth-century beekeeper so irreligious and cantankerous that neighbors tagged him with that ironic nickname.

John the Baptist’s reference to a baptism of “the Holy Spirit and fire” also came with its own story and explanation (Luke 3:16). Looking back, he was likely thinking of the kind of Messiah and refining fire foreseen by the prophet Malachi (3:1–3; 4:1). But only after the Spirit of God came like wind and fire on the followers of Jesus did the words of Malachi and John come into focus (Acts 2:1–4).

The fire John predicted wasn’t what was expected. As a true act of God, it came with boldness to proclaim a different kind of Messiah and holy flame. In the Spirit of Jesus, it exposed and consumed our futile human efforts—while making room for the love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22–23). Those are the acts of God that He would like to work in us.

How has your life been affected by the work of the Holy Spirit? What does it mean for you to pursue a holy—set apart—life before God?

Father in heaven, please replace our fear of Your Holy Spirit with a love, joy, and peace that is as priceless as our stubborn ways are worthless

 

圣灵与火

祂要用圣灵与火给你们施洗。-路加福音3章16节

经过几年的干旱，南加州野火频频发生，有些居民认为野火是上帝的作为。当新闻媒体将其中一次野火称为“圣火”时，愈发令人不安。许多对南加州不熟悉的人都没有意识到，其实发生在圣吉姆峡谷（Holy Jim Canyon）的野火，才被称为“圣火”。那么，谁是圣吉姆呢？根据当地文献记戴，他是十九世纪的养蜂人，没有宗教信仰，脾气暴躁，所以邻居就给他取了这个讽刺意味浓厚的绰号。

在施洗约翰提到“圣灵与火”的洗礼时，背后同样有其典故和解释（路加福音3章16节）。他当时可能是想到先知玛拉基所预言的弥赛亚和炼金之人的火（玛拉基书3章1-3节，4章1节）。但只有在上帝的灵如同风和火降临在耶稣的门徒身上之后，玛拉基和约翰所阐述的真理才显明出来（使徒行传2章1-4节）。

施洗约翰所说的“火”并非是人们所理解的火，这是上帝真实的作为，宣告超乎人类想像的弥赛亚以及神圣的火焰。藉着耶稣的灵，这火焰会显明人的罪，烧尽人毫无意义的努力，炼净我们，使我们能结出圣灵的果子：仁爱、喜乐、和平、忍耐、恩慈、良善、信实、温柔和节制（加拉太书5章22-23节）。这正是上帝要在我们的生命中做成的工作。

天父，求祢使我们不再畏惧圣灵，
并以爱、喜乐和平安充满我们的心。
让我们明白，这才是宝贵的，而顽固行事是枉然的。

圣灵的工作如何影响你的生命？
在上帝面前过分别为圣的生活，对你有何意义？