The Baptism of Fire: A New Exodus into Sonship

Stirring Up First Love: Falling in Love with Jesus of the Scriptures

It’s always amazing how the Scripture connects and comes together. The beginning of Galatians 4 speaks right into what the Lord has been stirring in me:

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)

And then verse 6 hits me every time: “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’”

I declare this over my life regularly. Because I am a son, the Spirit of His Son is in my heart crying “Daddy, Daddy.” Even when my emotions, thoughts, or desires feel contrary to that cry, the truth of the Word is more real than what I’m feeling in the natural. Confessing the truth shifts the heart. It’s one of the most practical things we can do.

Falling in Love Again with Jesus

Lately the Lord has been stirring up first love in me—falling in love with Jesus of the Scriptures, His words, and the life He modeled. If we are going to partake of His divine nature, we need to know the words He spoke and the life He lived. You can’t truly partake of someone’s nature if you haven’t been meditating on who they are.

A lot of people have a philosophy of Jesus. They say “I believe in Jesus,” but they don’t believe His words or the life He lived. That’s not really believing in Jesus. Paul warned about people preaching “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11). Believing in the words of Jesus is believing in Jesus. I was reminded of this watching a conversation where a woman affirmed that Jesus is the Messiah and that He died for our sins—yet she rejected that He is the Son of God. Jesus repeatedly declared that truth about Himself. If we don’t believe His words, we don’t fully believe Him.

The Heart Jesus Looks For

Look at Matthew 11. We love quoting the end of the chapter—“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” But earlier Jesus rebukes the cities where most of His mighty works had been done because they did not repent.

Repentance is more than turning from sin. It is a change in the way we see God. The mighty works revealed the nature and goodness of God, yet the people’s hearts remained self-sufficient. Jesus grieves over the heart that thinks it doesn’t need Him. He is looking for dependency and humility—the kind that wakes up each day and says, “God?”

That posture is the doorway into the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15). He is looking for sons and daughters who are learning to walk holding their Father’s hand, knowing He never lets go.

Setting the Stage: Matthew 3 and John the Baptist

We’re reading through the Gospels this month—three chapters a day through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I encourage you to join us. Approach them with a new heart, as if you’re reading them for the first time.

In Matthew 3, John the Baptist appears preaching in the wilderness: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” He is the voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord (Isaiah 40). Isaiah 40 is full of comfort and the announcement that warfare has ended. Jesus is coming to accomplish a finished work.

John is an unusual figure—camel’s hair, leather belt, locusts and wild honey. Crowds from Jerusalem, Judea, and the region around the Jordan come to be baptized, confessing their sins. But when the Pharisees and Sadducees show up, John doesn’t soften his message: “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance…” He warns them not to trust in their lineage—“We have Abraham as our father.” God can raise up children to Abraham from stones. The axe is already laid to the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Baptized with the Holy Spirit and Fire

John then points to the One coming after him: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I… He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

That baptism thoroughly cleans the threshing floor. The wheat is gathered into the barn; the chaff is burned with unquenchable fire. The fire of the Spirit burns away every useless and idle thing. It is a baptism into the love of God. If someone claims to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire but has no love for their brother, they need a fresh immersion.

This is also the launching pad of Jesus’ public ministry. He performs no mighty works until after this moment.

What He offers us is a new Exodus.

Baptism foreshadows the crossing of the Red Sea—leaving the domain of darkness and being transferred into the kingdom of His dear Son. We abandon the affections of this world and become citizens of a new kingdom under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 2:13-15 puts it beautifully:

“And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us… having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”

Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. When we walk in our sonship, the devil has no authority except what we give him.

A Simple Invitation

Father, thank You for Your Word and for Your Spirit who illuminates it. Soften our hearts with Your love so we can receive what You are saying. Stir up first love in us again. Help us fall in love with Jesus of the Scriptures—His words and the life He modeled. Teach us to live as sons and daughters who cry “Abba, Father,” and who walk daily holding Your hand.

Amen.

If you’re reading the Gospels with us this month, I’d love to hear what the Lord is highlighting to you. Let’s keep stirring up that first love together.