The Lord’s Ways Revealed in the Natural World
We sing praises and give glory to our heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord use these words to edify and draw near those called by His name. Peace and grace to the scattered brethren, may the Lord strengthen your faith.
The physical world reveals how things work in the spiritual realm. Over the years, burning firewood to warm our homes in winter has reinforced this understanding. Understanding the lessons shared can help all who wait for the Lord to grow and be prepared for the coming of Christ to them for salvation. Let’s start by reminding ourselves what the Lord has made.
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
The things seen, the physical world, were framed by the Word of the Lord, which is higher than our thoughts and ways. The Lord’s ways are consistent; thus, physical creation shadows the ways of the spiritual realm.
Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the [physical] worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
The Kingdom of God comes without observation, yet the invisible things of the kingdom are revealed in the Lord’s physical creation. The further we walk with the Lord, the greater our understanding of this connection.
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Using the physical to ascertain things in the Spirit is valuable for studying Scripture and reveals some of God’s mysteries. This wisdom helps bring us to our appointed day of Christ. When the Comforter comes, one of many terms for the Holy Spirit, what is Perfect has come to us. When the Living Christ comes, the importance of such knowledge and the speaking of tongues [the parables/mysteries] diminishes.
1Co 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
1Co 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
1Co 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
When the Living Christ comes, the indwelling Holy Spirit teaches us a new way by comparing spiritual things with spiritual. In our day of Christ, God’s hidden wisdom and deeper mysteries are revealed to us.
1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
One can take almost anything in the physical and outward world and, with the mind of Christ, apply the Scriptures and sound principles to rightly divide the Word and prove the macro truth of Romans 1:20. In this study, we look at the realm of physical fire, specifically how wood is burned, and compare the physical experience with how the Lord works the spiritual application of fire and wood. May some who read be edified and provoked to study the Scriptures and meditate more on the Lord.
Physical Fire versus God’s Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in a chemical combustion process, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products and residue such as gases, smoke, and ash. Likewise in spirit, the Word of God is the fire that makes rapid changes when Christ, the Living Word of Commandments, comes with the Promise and dwells in us. The fire of Christ combusts with the carnal-mindedness and worldliness, which is the spiritual wood. All things begin to be made new, the old is burned up, and it all happens relatively quickly.
Rom 9:28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
Rev 11:14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
The fire of the Word remakes us from a natural and sinful firstborn Adam into a holy man, a son of God via judgment by the Living Word. All things are made new, the old is burned up, and the new man emerges from the fire.
Jer 23:29 Is not my word like a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
Jer 5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Fire can be both good and bad in the physical and spiritual realms. Physical fire is used to cook food, warm dwellings, and bring new life to forests and fields. However, it also destroys, kills, burns, and harms what it touches. Likewise, in the spiritual, the Lord’s fire does both good and bad, as the Word of the Lord is a two-edged sword.
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
This paper addresses some of the positive and negative aspects of spiritual fire using physical experiences as an example. All things of the Lord work for good in the end, and the destruction of the old man by fire brings forth the new man by fire, Christ in us, the hope of glory. How great are these wondrous works of the Lord to the children of men!
The Fire of God Saves Us
Having our old “natural” way of life burned up is not pleasant to flesh and its desires, yet it is necessary for us to be saved and made partakers of His Holiness. Fire produces heat, and heat is the fiery trials, the grace of God, that burns up all that defiles us and takes away our sins. It is the way of salvation.
Psa 119:71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
Mal 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
Mat 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
The commandments are what judge us and bring correction by the chastening of our loving Heavenly Father. Those who dwell in the devouring fire of the Lord’s Word, the Gospel, are those being delivered from sin and remade into the image of the Son. This is the way in which we should walk, and the Lord teaches us as we abide in His fire.
Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
Mankind is likened to trees in the Scriptures. In the negative view, trees and wood symbolize our carnal mind and carnal way of life. That is what God’s fire is making combustion with when our day of the Lord, judgment day comes upon us.
Jer 7:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
Joe 1:19 O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.
God’s spiritual fire, the Living Word that is the Commandments, also known as the Gospel, accomplishes its purposes to whom it is sent. It does not return void; the wood is burned up, and salvation is the result.
What is needed for fire to combust? Physical fire comes from a chemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and a fuel source, which is wood in our spiritual lesson. The mere presence of these things is not enough, as combustion requires a spark and heating of the wood to its ignition temperature. The heat needed to spark a fire can come from many different things: a match, focused light, friction, or even lightning.
The spark that lights the fire of the Gospel is the coming of the Lord, the day and hour, the Promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit comes to make its abode within us. When the Living God lives in you, the fire lives in you, and the consumption of all the wood, representing carnal mindedness and sins, is underway. The Lord has come to the earth for salvation.
Luk 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Luk 12:50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
Our time of many trials has come when the fire within us has been lit. The trials of our faith are precious to the Lord, as they are what save us. It is only by enduring these many tribulations that salvation comes and we enter into the kingdom of God.
Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
When the Lord comes to us, He likened it to lightning in the natural. Lightning comes suddenly with great power and sparks many fires. So, it is in the Spirit when Christ comes and makes fire within us.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
The enmity between flesh and the Spirit [Gal 5:17], the living commandments bring friction that starts many spiritual fires needed to save us from our sins.
1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ
Wood fires produce smoke: Smoke is a symptom of a burning fire and contains the trapped gases along with other organic matter. The winds then drive away these pollutants. The winds that are God’s judgments by the Spirit of the Commandments sweep away these pollutants from us.
Hos 13:3 Therefore they [our sins and idols] shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.
Torment to our old man and beastly nature is a good thing. In our patience and endurance through this torment, we are being saved.
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Where the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Commandments are, there is always smoke on the mountain, and the fire is hot like a furnace, and salvation from our sins is taking place.
Exo 19:18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
Psa 37:20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
Psa 68:2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
The burning and smoke define the great and terrible day of the Lord that begins when we experience Pentecost. Joel’s prophecy is fulfilled in our lives. The Living Christ has come, and the fire and smoke are soon seen.
Act 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Small pieces of wood burn easier and faster than big ones: The size of the fuel affects how easily it catches fire. A larger tree log, for example, requires a lot of heat to ignite and stay burning. Raising a large piece of wood to ignite takes a lot of heat energy. For comparison, contrast a tree log with a toothpick made of the same wood. A toothpick catches fire easily with a simple match after a few seconds. In the spiritual realm, our big sins are like tree logs and take a much bigger and hotter fire to burn up. Our smaller sins can be overcome more readily with a less intense fiery trial from the Lord. The Lord knows what is needed and gives us fiery stripes according to what is necessary to accomplish the task of salvation.
2Pe 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
The Lord deals with the small wood before He moves on to the big logs needing to be burned out of us. We are matured little by little as Christ, the fire, comes to us little by little.
1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
The harder the wood or the more of it, the hotter the fire: Fire burns hotter when the wood is hard and/or there is lots of it. The Lord knows how to create trials to bring us into obedience in our day of the Lord. He dials up the heat and the flames by the indwelling Spirit of Grace to accomplish His work in us. All things are being made new by the fervent heat. Hardened and rebellious hearts take a very big and hot fire to burn the selfish and beastly nature out of us.
Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Eze 24:9 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.
Eze 24:10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.
Softer wood, such as pine, burns more easily and quickly in nature. The Lord knows what is needed to remake us, change our hearts, burn out the wood, hay, and stubble, and perfect us when the time comes. When we know to do right and do not do it, that is hard wood, and the fiery judgment is more severe. To whom much is given, much is expected, and the consequences of disobedience are increased to bring correction.
Luk 12:47 And that servant, which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
Luk 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Seasoned wood is dry wood and burns the best. The Lord prepares us to be burned in His fire by drying us up in a spiritual famine and drought. These famines of hearing the Word of the Lord cause us to be overcome by the flesh and walk in disobedience. The Lord seeks such occasions to humble us, soften our hearts, and bring the fiery judgment to save us.
Jer 2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee:
Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear?
The choicest wood is seasoned wood prepared and dried, waiting for its time to be burned. Likewise, the Lord seasons us and prepares us for our day of judgment.
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Wood that is not seasoned struggles to be burned; thus, in His infinite wisdom, the Lord knows when to bring the fire to accomplish His purposes. He forebears and long suffers with us, waiting for the time appointed.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
The baptism of fire does not come until the Gospel is preached and the man of sin living in all flesh is revealed. When the Gospel is heard and received, the abomination of desolation is revealed, and then the fire of great tribulation comes to work salvation.
Mat 24:14 And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Wet wood does not burn: There are two perspectives to cover on these criteria regarding wet wood, as there are two sides to the sword of God. In the negative sense, water or wetness is associated with the flesh and our walking by that mindset. When we are still wet with that mindset, we have not been prepared for judgment, and the commandments are not yet burning up our old man, and we remain beasts and aliens and strangers to Israel of God. Before faith comes, through hearing the Gospel, the trees of the field stay wet and are not yet ready for burning. We need to have faith and believe the Lord to become seasoned and prepared for the fire to come in our last day.
Joh 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
The other side of wetness is when the Spirit, the Promise comes, and we are drenched in God’s latter rain, which is the Living Gospel. The resulting fiery trials do not harm us and instead perfect us. The lake of fire is our third day, the day of the Lord, when we abide in the fire and fiery furnace, of the lively hope living in us, which is the Commandments. The beast, the false prophet, all that defiles, and even Satan, are burned up as the Lord makes a new heaven and earth where righteousness dwells.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
The coming of the Living Christ, after our baptism of John, is the living fire that will totally devour all the adversaries of the Lord’s commandments.
Luk 3:16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire:
The new man who rests in faith of the Commandments, the Living Gospel abides in the fire and is not harmed.
Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Dan 3:24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
Fire brings warmth that gets us through winter. Fire generates heat, which warms us physically and spiritually, helping us endure through periods of cold and winter. The Gospel, which is the commandments abiding in us and our thoughts focused on them, keeps the fire burning through all seasons of life when things get cold and spiritual fruit is scarce. Iniquity is disobedience and brings on spiritual winters in our lives, all part of the seasons of the inward earth the Lord is working. Keeping some fire burning is the only way we endure to the end.
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
It is easier to survive winter when we abide in the fire that is the assembly of the saints, hearing the Gospel preached and being admonished.
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine
We wash each other’s feet and thus keep the fire of the commandments always in focus as we walk the narrow highway of holiness. Christ gave us the example.
Joh 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.
Fire provides light in times of darkness. Fire is a big help in times of darkness. Before electricity was invented, mankind only had fire as their means for light to see in the darkness. In the Spirit, the commandments, the Living Christ is the only light that guides our feet and brings others lost and wandering about to the light of Christ, which we now project.
Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
The Lord kindles the fire in His chosen ones, and they become the bearers of the light, bringing the flame of the commandments to the rest of spiritual Israel.
Isa 10:16 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.
Isa 10:17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;
Those who preach and obey the Gospel are the lights unto the world. When we obey the Lord, we are spiritually transfigured and become lights that shine the righteousness of Christ to the world.
Mat 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God, the commandments is the true Light that all men who sit in spiritual darkness see in the appointed time. Christ draws all men to the Light in due time.
Mat 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
The flame color of fire indicates relative temperature: The color of the flames of fire varies depending on intensity and temperature. Blue and white flames are the hottest, which ties wonderfully to the symbolism of colors in Scripture. Blue and white are the apparel worn by the Lord’s ministers who bring the Gospel to others.
Est 8:15 And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.
The garments of salvation, the righteousness that is Jesus Christ is white as is the fine linen of the saints who have the Gospel living inside of them. It takes coming through the great tribulation of intense spiritual heat and fire to be made into a saint and dressed in white garments of salvation.
Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
More air makes a better burning and hotter fire: A poorly burning fire is usually quickly fixed by giving it more air, which brings needed oxygen. Our measure of faith [Rom 12:3] is our earnest deposit of the Lord’s Spirit given solely on the Lord’s determination. When we struggle in our walk, we seek the Lord, meaning to seek the commandments, going to the throne of grace in our time of need. Seeking more of the Spirit of the commandments brings the fire back to life and actively burning in our members.
Jer 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Psa 86:7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.
The Lord gives us more of Him, the Living Bread of life, when we seek Him. He promises to answer and give us what we ask and bring the fire back to life.
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Mat 7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Mat 7:9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
If we love God, we seek the fire, His coming to live in us, with our whole hearts. We press inward to the commandments, striving to be holy in all our behaviour to hasten His coming.
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
The residue of a wood fire is ash: Typically, wood ash is thrown away; however, this fine residue of a fire has many good uses. Wood ash cannot be burned and consists of elemental minerals suitable for fertilizing gardens and trees and promoting new life. Ash is also used in making soaps to wash and clean bodies, and is used to control foul odors [landfills], and even to deter and kill insects. This has great spiritual significance when we apply Romans 1:20 to what the Lord is doing with us in this age, when judgment has fallen on the Lord’s house and the fire of the commandments begins to burn up our carnal thoughts and way of life.
Mal 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
The commandments, the Gospel, grind the old man, our carnal life to fine powder in the day of His coming.
Mat 21:44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
The ashes of the sacrificed heifer [our bodies, our reasonable service] is the water of separation that purifies us and sets us apart from the world.
Num 19:9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.
Num 19:10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Repenting in dust and ashes is giving up our lives for the Lord and obeying Him. It takes the Lord coming with the Fire of Judgment, the Gospel living inside, to grant this to Israel. The old life becomes ashes, burned up in the fire, and replaced by the beauty of Christ and His righteousness.
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Ashes retain their heat for quite some time, depending on the hardness of the burned wood. The burning process creates an insulated barrier to keep heat in the residue of wood ash. Pockets of trapped air trap the heat to keep the ash warm. So, it is in the Spirit when the grace of God comes to live with us, there is always heat and warmth from the commandments working in us.
Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Lev 6:10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.
Fire is made up of many burning pieces of wood. Keeping a single piece of wood burning in a fire is challenging. But if one puts multiple pieces together in building a fire, the fire burns more easily and consistently. This brings to mind the truth that the priests of the Lord, those whom the Lord raises first by His coming to them, are likened unto ministers of fire who preach and teach the Gospel in the assemblies. In turn, the Lord’s ministers of the Gospel set fire to all the other wood that gathers together in Jerusalem.
Zec 12:6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
The fire of Christ is spread by the angels of the Lord, the cherubim, who are also the preachers of the Gospel. Fire and flames is always in view.
Eze 1:4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
Heb 1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
The way to the tree of life, the living commandments, the Gospel, is through the cherubim whom the Lord places in His church.
Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Those who have the resurrected Christ in them, the children of the resurrection, are the mighty angels of the Lord who bring the Gospel and the flaming fire that judges all men in their appointed time.
2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
All born again by the water and the Spirit become the fire, the flaming ministers of the Gospel. With Christ living in them, they have become the saviours who perform the greater works of Christ and bring all mankind to the light and fire that is the Living Christ, the Gospel.
Oba 1:18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.
Dirt and creeping insects are found in and on firewood. If one has worked with firewood, they learn that dust and dirt readily cling to firewood, and there is always cleaning needed where wood is stacked. Firewood is also a haven for many creeping insects, such as ants and roaches, who hide in the crevices and behind the bark and thus can enter our houses unawares. The first man Adam, the carnal man, is by nature filthy and their earth full of creeping things which are hidden sins. A total remaking by fire in the hands of the Potter is required.
Gen 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air …
Job 15:16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?
In Spirit, creeping things of the earth represent our many little sins that defile us and make us unclean. These creeping things are carnal thoughts, reasoning, and arguments contrary to the pure and undefiled Bread of Life that is the commandments of the Living Christ. Creeping things are the little sins that so easily beset us.
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us
Creeping things are not to be eaten, meaning taken into our hearts and minds but rather burned in the fire of the Lord.
Lev 11:41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
Lev 11:42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.
Lev 11:43 Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.
Lev 11:44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
The carnal reasonings of men, contrary to the Gospel, are likened to dust that we are to shake off and move on when the Gospel is rejected.
Mat 10:14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
A day of remaking comes to all men when the Gospel is heard and received, and we come to the light of Christ, that is also the fire
Joh 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
A fire goes out when the wood is consumed: The fiery trials endured when the Spirit of Grace comes is how we are caused to learn to do righteousness. When we overcome, the fiery trial has worked its work, and the heat and suffering come to an end. Likewise, in nature, the fire goes out when the wood representing man’s carnality is burned up. God, who is Spirit, is a consuming fire that consumes what is needed, leaving behind only what is pure and undefiled. Only the good, the new man, the faith of Christ, and His righteousness remain when the Lord comes as the consuming fire.
Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Eze 22:31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
We are not appointed to wrath but for salvation. Yet the way of salvation is enduring the Lord’s wrath, our chastening by our Heavenly Father. This is how salvation is manifested now, and then the wrath is no more.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Isa 66:15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
The wood of our carnal mind is not entirely consumed until these clay vessels are gone. Hence, we endure to the end, always pressing onward to the high calling of being holy in all our behavior. The work of Christ, the living commandments, is finished in the appointed time when judgment by the Holy Spirit finishes its work in perfecting us.
Pro 26:20 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer [no carnal mind], the strife [the fiery trial] ceaseth.
One of the biggest lies most of the Christian world believes is that God torments His creation in eternal hell and punishment. Anyone believing that knows another Jesus and their time of coming to the true fire of God has not yet come. Here was an article that covered the egregious lie of eternal hell. The Lie of Eternal Torment
All drawn near to the Gospel should be confident in the Lord to finish the work when their day of Christ comes.
Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Those to whom the Living Christ has come with the Promise become the bearers of the Lord’s fire and are always at work to keep that fire burning in the temple of God. Salvation is a process with a lot of wood, hay, and stubble burning, requiring fires and trials of varying intensity. When one trial is over, another follows until our perfection is completed.
Lev 6:12 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.
Lev 6:13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
Seek the Fire is Seeking Salvation
The Lord’s fire and the resulting judgment they bring should be pursued, as it is how salvation, the most basic promise of the Lord, is manifested. When judgment has fallen on our house, the house of God, we should be glad and rejoice. We are being saved, and the Lord is finishing the job.
Psa 48:11 Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.
Eph 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
The old must be destroyed for the new man Christ in us to come forth. For a new vessel to be made, the first one needs to be destroyed in the hands of the Potter.
Joe 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Mat 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Every man is redeemed unto God in the times appointed by the Father, being born again from the Gospel, first by the baptism of water, and then the baptism of fire. We have been redeemed, bought with a price, and now belong to the Lord. All His works of fire and the resulting sufferings work for the good of making us righteous and holy in the image of the Son.
Isa 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
Isa 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
The description of the Living Christ, who sees and judges all things, has eyes likened unto flames of fire. Salvation and overcoming are the work of the Lord, the Living Word of God, who reigns in our heaven and watches over our earth, judging righteously by the commandments that are a fire.
Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God [THE CONSUMING FIRE]
The lesson on wood burning and fire is over. We hope this study stirs one’s zeal to read the Scriptures and pursue the Gospel, the commandments that save them from their sins. By applying a spiritual understanding of what the natural world reveals, we can grow in knowledge of the ways of the Lord. Think about the things above.