There are so many subjects in the Holy Bible that have been misunderstood by many. This is one of them. Many people misquote the Bible and don’t even realize it by just repeating what they’ve heard others say. Some just read a line or two and don’t get the context, but there are some who actually twist the scriptures to try to make them support what they already believe. Let’s see what the Bible really says about the Holy Ghost and Fire.
In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:”
Some use this verse to show that when the Holy Ghost comes upon a person it is like a fire affecting your body. That’s not what John was saying at all. He was saying that one group of people would receive the Holy Spirit and another group of people would burn in hell fire. The very next verse explains exactly that.
Matthew 3:12
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Here John is using an analogy of someone separating the wheat from the chaff to describe Jesus separating the saved from the lost, or the sheep from the goats, or the righteous from the wicked. Again, he was saying that some would receive the Holy Spirit, and some would burn in hell fire. John was not saying the Holy Spirit is like a fire inside us.
The other verse used in conjunction with Matthew 3:11 has been misquoted to describe a feeling some say the Holy Spirit gives. The verse is Jeremiah 20:9. When quoting this verse, some say, “Jeremiah said, the Holy Ghost is like a fire shut up in my bones,” but that’s not what he said. Read it carefully.
Jeremiah 20:8-9
8 For since I spoke, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach to me, and a derision, daily.
9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
8 For since I spoke, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach to me, and a derision, daily.
9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
These verses say it’s God’s word that’s like a fire, not the Holy Spirit. Look at Jeremiah 23:29.
Jeremiah 23:29
29 Is my word not like a fire? says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
29 Is my word not like a fire? says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
We need to be honest with ourselves when studying and looking for proof-texts in the Bible. Otherwise, we’re misleading ourselves and others, and that’s not acceptable to God. We’ll be judged by everything we say and do (Rev. 22:12).
So, instead of twisting the scriptures to fit what we believe, we need to read the Bible and follow the clear instructions of our Lord. Only then can we worship him in spirit and in truth.
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