Luke 3:16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John was quite the character living on grasshoppers and honey. A strong man ….wild in appearance…Bold in manner … but humble before his Lord
Slaves were often used to untie the sandals of their masters John states he is unworthy to even be Jesus’s slave.
The Holy Spirit is the Third person of the trinity not a it or a thing but a person …. He Thinks, wills, and feels. He is intelligent, guiding, and teaching. The Holy Spirit can be grieved. He gives gifts according to his will. Teachers, convictions, and futurists show us a larger life picture and the long-term will of God.
In these times when self-centered narcissism seems to prevail in our culture, he completes our life, bringing wholeness. He convicts us of sin, shows us Christ's righteousness, and reminds us this world has been judged. He brings long-term hope and peace.
John the Baptist, in his prediction of the coming Messiah, said He will “baptize with fire.” There is disagreement as to whether this occurs with believers or unbelievers or perhaps both. Is the baptism of fire something desired or something to be dreaded?
Those who think it occurs with believers see it as referring to a refining process. Indeed, fire is used symbolically in Scripture as that which cleanses us from our sins. Thus, a baptism with fire would be a reference to the believer being cleansed from his or her sins.
On the other hand, there are those who think this prediction has unbelievers in mind. This is supported in the next verse where John uses the analogy of unbelievers being like chaffs which will be burned in unquenchable fire. Indeed, Scripture says that unbelievers will eventually spend eternity in a “lake of fire.”
There is the possibility that it may be a reference to both refining and judgment. Fire will be used to purify the believers while it will also be used to punish the unbelievers. Therefore, the baptism of fire may be something that all people experience in one form or another.
May God Bless you as you grow in your Faith and knowledge of the Almighty
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