The Holy Spirit and Fire

By Katie Kafka

Let’s dig deeper into the miraculous moment on Mount Carmel where God’s glory is on full display (1 Kings 18:30-40). We see His power outshine pagan gods and pagan efforts at a place where pagan worship was normative, even legislated. Our study gives us a chance to pause and explore who God is in this moment and how it can translate to us now.

I want us to first take a biblical look at the Holy Spirit. We believe in only one God, the Creator, who is infinite, personal, eternally existing in three persons. He is revealed to us in Scripture as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Eternally created, He has been the same forever.

The Holy Spirit is God. Just as Jesus is fully God and fully man, so the Spirit is fully God. He is the third person of the Trinity and although He is a person, the Bible often documents or describes Him in terms of wind, breath, and fire.

We see Him as fire in the story of Elijah. In the Old Testament, fire symbolized the manifest presence of the LORD among humanity. This symbolism continued into the New Testament, where fire is often tied to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. The Holy Spirit’s ministries include convicting all people of sin; calling, regenerating, indwelling and baptizing believers into the Body of Christ; setting them apart to a holy life; and teaching, keeping, and empowering them day by day.

The Holy Spirit calls and empowers all believers to be part of something that will last forever. Evidence of the presence and filling of the Holy Spirit should be the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, self-control). These qualities are the refining fire of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.

You cannot talk about the Holy Spirit and fire without including an opportunity to experience the gift of the Holy Spirit in prayer. Romans 12:1 says,

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Next, I would like you to spend time preparing a worthy sacrifice through a guided personal prayer time. This will give you the chance to talk to God about what He has revealed to you as we have studied Elijah. Praying Scripture is a discipline that encourages the most profound kind of communication with God. It elevates His Word to living and active. Using the attached prayer journal sheet, take some time to pray the Truth we found on Mount Carmel.