According to Hebrews chapter twelve, the Bible tells us, "For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). Everything we know of the essence of God's person is that he burns with an eternal fire, pure and holy. Ezekiel described what he saw in an open vision of the throne of God with this: "And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, FROM THE APPEARANCE OF HIS LOINS EVEN UPWARD, AND FROM THE APPEARANCE OF HIS LOINS EVEN DOWNWARD, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about" (Ezek. 1:26-27).
When the LORD appeared on Mount Sinai, it mentions his appearance. It states, "And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly" (Exo. 19:18). From what we can tell about creation is that when God created man in his image, after his likeness, he crowned him with glory and honor - meaning that man had such light around him and upon him that he burned with the fire of God. We get some intimation of this when Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration. The Bible says, "...and his face did shine as the sun, (which is nothing more than a ball of fire) and his raiment was white as the light" (Matt. 17:2). Reading Peter's account of this, he says, "For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount" (2 Pet. 1:17-18). My point is, if Jesus' face shone as the sun because of God bestowing upon him honor and glory, I can only imagine that is exactly what occurred in Adam in creation. Of course, he lost that brilliance when sin entered into his life.
What a dilemma it must have been for God, who is a consuming fire, to look down upon his man and know that he was unable to engage in the level of intimacy that he once shared with him. Had God approached man in his fallen condition, he would have destroyed him. Paul wrote Timothy concerning the Lord, and said, "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting, Amen" (1 Tim. 6:16). In other words, it's not that God doesn't desire to physically reveal himself, it's the fact that he can't - not in the full strength of his glory and majesty!
You may recall Moses while in the Mount, when he spoke to the Lord and said, "Show me your glory?" (Exo. 33:18). God's reply was, "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live" (v.20). As long as we are in these earthen vessels, we cannot survive the full impact of his fiery presence. But here is the wonder of God's saving grace, when he put his Spirit in our hearts he lite us up with the light of heaven. Proverbs twenty says, "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord" (Pro. 20:27). David said, "For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness" (Psa. 18:28). By God lighting our spirit with his light, we now have a fire shut up within. As we consecrate our lives to him, we become a partaker of his divine nature, allowing us to burn with zeal and a passion for more of him.
This baptism of fire was God's way of drawing us to himself. What happens when any consumable product catches fire? It is consumed. What happens when any combustible product catches fire? It explodes. But when you mingle fire with fire, it blends together into one. Fire doesn't change fire. Nothing within its nature changes, it simply becomes absorbed into itself.
This is the essence of covenant. When God cut a covenant with Abraham, fire mingled with fire, testifying to an unbreakable bond. When we as believers draw near God, we mingle with his fiery presence until we become ablaze. How can you tell when a person is truly baptized in the Spirit and fire? They are consumed with a passion for God. The fire of their devotion has caused them to be utterly consumed with him!
