Tuesday, November 26, 2019

"..our God is a holy, devouring fire" Hebrews 12:28-29 (TPT)



I love this passage in Hebrews which tells us about our inheritance and our response to that inheritance.  We are heirs, not just the run of the mill people who inherit something passed down by a relative, but something greater, something royal, significant and all-encompassing. 

"We are "receiving our rights," the writer of Hebrews uses a specific Greek word “paralambano” for rights, It was often used in classic Greek literature where a King or ruler had a son who was an heir who had the “rights of succession” to a throne.

The writer also speaks in the present progressive tense “we are receiving,” we are in the line of succession for receiving a Kingdom which has been created by God for His people to rule and reign with Him.

“But the holy ones of the Most High God will receive that kingdom which will last for all the ages to come, forever and ever.” Daniel 7:18 (VOICE)

Even in this Old Testament passage in Daniel there is this present progressive tense “will receive” which clarifies that this is a foregone conclusion, it has already been determined that the right of succession has been established by God and it will come to pass as prophesied.  

This Kingdom is “unshakable” no matter what happens in the earth whether it be famine, flood, war or any another type of crisis, the Kingdom of God will stand unmovable and unshaken as a light in the darkness, and hope where despair is prevalent.  That is one of the amazing things about the kingdom of God, it never changes, God’s love for humanity stands firm and fixed, never to be thwarted or overcome by the enemy, it is unmoveable.

In light of this inheritance “we should be extremely thankful,” we are a people who have nothing to offer our Holy God other than to give our gratitude and devotion for the gift of this royal privilege offered to us through Jesus Christ.  

As royal heirs, we should “offer to God the purest worship,” our lives are living sacrifices of praise to our God.  We stand in the courts of our King as His son’s and we are awaiting coronation as successors to the earthly thrones.  Our lives should reflect the honor and dignity that the position demands so that our hearts are in alignment with the King and His purposes.
 
When we are properly prepared to receive this inheritance and we worship God by our devotion not only to Him but His purposes for us, it delights His heart and gives Him great pleasure that we take this lofty goal seriously and not for granted.  

Our attitude should be that of Jesus as He humbled Himself before the world as our example, we are representing a Kingdom of love, grace, and truth, with so much to gain by doing good deeds and loving others as Jesus loved, we are building equity in that heavenly Kingdom home.

As Jesus laid down His life in surrender to the purpose for which He came to earth which was to declare the good news of this Kingdom, it also delights God’s heart when we “lay down our lives in absolute surrender” for it leaves more room for Him to fill our lives with Jesus and have Him  live His life through us by the Holy Spirit.  

This is the desire of the Lord that He may direct our lives in ways to bring others to the awareness that they too have an inheritance in a royal Kingdom and that they are also in line for succession.  The Aramaic text reads this way “We have received grace to serve and we please God in awe and tender devotion” (by submission).

This is an awe-inspiring journey to the throne which Jesus has laid out for us.   Jesus paid the ultimate cost for this privilege which we could never pay for on our own because it would take a King's ransom to purchase it, and that is exactly what Jesus paid for us.

The passage above ends with this statement “For our God is a holy, devouring fire!”  This is not saying that our God is a God or wrath or anger, but a God of cleansing and purging by fire.  

When we put on nice clothing it can be said that “we clean up well” and we look the part, this is what the fire of God does within our lives, it cleans us up and purges us from all sin and unrighteousness and replaces it with the righteousness of Jesus Christ that we become pure and clean before Him.

There has been much misunderstanding regarding the “devouring fire” of God, we have been traditionally taught that it was for punishment, but that is not God’s nature, we need only look at Jesus Christ to see the nature or character of God and His love for us, and we find that the “devouring fire” was always for purging and cleansing and not punishment.                                                                                                  
The Aramaic text for verse 29 can be translated “consuming light,” Jesus referenced this in Matthew 5:16, that as others see the light of Christ within us they will respond.

“So don’t hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others, so that the commendable things you do will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their praise to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (TPT)

The purpose for the “devouring fire” is to remove anything within us that is contrary to the life of Christ being revealed within us so that we may become witnesses of the light that others may be drawn to Jesus through the things we do.

May the “devouring fire” purge all things from our lives which does not give God glory, and may the light of Christ fill us to reach others with the message that they have a place and inheritance waiting for them in God’s Kingdom.

Be Blessed;
Stephen Barnett

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