Question: "What is the baptism of/by/with fire?"
Answer: John the Baptist came preaching
repentance and baptizing in the wilderness of
Judea, and he was sent as a herald to announce
the arrival of Jesus, the Son of God ( Matthew
3:1-12 ). He announced, “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 ).
After Jesus had risen from the dead, He
instructed His apostles to “…wait for the
Promise of the Father which you have heard
from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but
you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not
many days from now” ( Acts 1:4-5 ). This promise
was first fulfilled on the day of Pentecost ( Acts
2:1-4 ), and the baptism of the Spirit joins every
believer to the body of Christ ( 1 Corinthians
12:13 ). But what about the baptism with fire?
Some interpret the baptism of fire as referring
to the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit
was sent from heaven. “And suddenly there
came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where
they were sitting. Then there appeared to them
divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon
each of them” ( Acts 2:2-3 ). It is important to
note that these were tongues as of fire, not
literal fire.
Some believe that the baptism with fire refers to
the Holy Spirit’s office as the energizer of the
believer’s service, and the purifier of evil within,
because of the exhortation “Do not quench the
Spirit” found in 1Thessalonians 5:19 . The
command to the believer is to not put out the
Spirit’s fire by suppressing His ministry.
A third and more likely interpretation is that the
baptism of fire refers to judgment. In all four
Gospel passages mentioned above, Mark and
John speak of the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
but only Matthew and Luke mention the baptism
with fire. The immediate context of Matthew
and Luke is judgment ( Matthew 3:7-12 ; Luke 3:
7-17 ). The context of Mark and John is not
( Mark 1:1-8 ; John 1:29-34 ). We know that the
Lord Jesus is coming in flaming fire to judge
those who do not know God ( 2 Thessalonians
1:3-10 ; John 5:21-23 ; Revelation 20:11-15 ), but
praise be to God that He will save all that will
come and put their trust in Him ( John 3:16 )!
