Baptism of Fire and Baptism by Spirit
The "baptism of fire" is only mentioned in two places in the Bible:
"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Matthew 3:11)
"John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."" (Luke 3:16)
Before Jesus coming, there was water baptism. John was baptizing in the Jordan River, and probably assisted penitents by either dipping them into the water himself (or perhaps by assisting them to dip themselves). Jesus did not annul this form of water baptism but continued it, having own disciples baptize believers in his name (see Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; John 3:22, 26; 4:1-2; Acts 2:38, 41).It is commonly thought (as you mensioned also) that water baptism is a baptism of repentance still, since by submitting to Christian baptism, a person either tacitly or explicitly acknowledges his need for cleansing, and therefore his sins that demand forgiveness and cleansing.
While John immerses his disciples in water, the Messiah will immerse his followers in the Holy Spirit. Here comes the spirit baptism. The "baptism of the Holy Spirit" involves being covered with, immersed in, empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the very basis of our life in Christ and our connection to God. Jesus floods us with the Holy Spirit.So, it is the best gift that we can get from Jesus after spiritual baptism. In my opinion, if you received this spiritual gift, you get reborn no matter how much water our church may use. Water is just a symbol of cleansing. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is the actual agent of cleansing and empowerment.
John the Baptist also mensioned the fire baptism. There are three possibilities:
- Some people believe that Christians will automatically be "baptized with fire" at the same time that they are baptized with the Holy Spirit (such as the "tongues of fire" that came onto the disciples at Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4). In other words, being baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire is essentially one act (one baptism).
- Another interpretation is that Christians need to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit after salvation, but we also need to receive a separate "baptism of fire" which will "set us on fire" for the Lord (or for evangelism, etc.). In other words, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire are two separate baptisms for Christians. A similar view says that Christians will be refined by "fire," which would also mean that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire are two separate baptisms for Christians.
- A third interpretation is that Christians will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, but non-Christians will be "baptized with fire" (i.e. the "lake of fire" in Revelation 20:15). In other words, Christians will never receive the "baptism of fire."
For the first possibility: the New Testament describes the "tongues of fire" at Pentecost, but this is never referred to as the "baptism of fire." Further, in all of the other descriptions of people receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, there is never any mention of a "baptism of fire" happening at the same time. Therefore, we have no Scriptural support for the idea that people are always baptized with fire when they are baptized with the Holy Spirit. In addition, we can't point to any Scripture passages which show that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire are meant to be interpreted as a single baptism.
For the second possibility: Some people might point out that our faith will be refined by fire, and that our earthly works will be tested in the fire:(1 Peter 1:6-7) (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).While it's true that these passages describe certain kinds of "fire," notice that the above situations are never referred to as "baptisms of fire." Therefore, we can't dogmatically claim that these situations are, or are not, the "baptism of fire."
For the third possiblility: None of the three main views of the "baptism of fire" has overwhelming Scriptural support, but in my opinion the third view has the most evidence to back it up.John the Baptist says:
"He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (3:16d-17)
What should disciples learn from this? First, we need to get off the fence and determine whose side we're on. We need to learn a healthy fear of God.
FYR:
http://www.layhands.com/WhatIsTheBaptismOfFire.htm
http://www.jesuswalk.com/lessons/3_15-18.htm
