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Scripture Reading: Isa. 6:3-9; Luke 12:49-50; 1 Cor. 3:12-15; Heb. 12:28-29; Rev. 1:13-14
Every service to God must be based on the fire from the altar of burnt offering. In the Old Testament the priests burned incense before God. The burning of incense symbolizes the service rendered to God by man. The fire used to burn the incense had to be taken from the altar of burnt offering (Lev. 16:12-13). If a person did not burn incense with the fire from the altar of burnt offering, that is, if he offered strange fire, his service was not accepted by God, and he suffered the judgment of death (10:1-2). This example shows that our service to God must be based on the fire from the altar of burnt offering.
When the children of Israel followed the tabernacle in their journey through the wilderness, their service before God began with the burning of the fire on the altar of burnt offering. The fire on the altar of burnt offering descended from God (9:24). The children of Israel could not begin their service to God until the fire descended. Although they had been delivered by God out of Egypt, had crossed the Red Sea, and had raised up the tabernacle at the foot of Mount Sinai, they could not serve God, because they did not have a basis for their service. The basis of their service was the altar of burnt offering with fire burning upon it. It was not adequate to have the altar of burnt offering. The altar had to have the fire that descended from God.
God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt so that they might serve Him (Exo. 3:12; 9:1). After the Israelites were rescued out of Egypt, they were in a position to serve God. However, they could not serve Him, because they did not have the altar. Even after the tabernacle was raised up and the altar of burnt offering was put before the entrance of the tabernacle, the children of Israel still could not serve God, because fire had not yet descended from heaven. At the beginning of Leviticus God was before the Israelites, yet they still could not serve Him. It was not until chapter 9 that God led them to do what was necessary for fire to come down from heaven.
The offering of the burnt offering was the prerequisite for fire to descend from heaven. Merely having the altar was not sufficient; the burnt offering had to be placed on the altar. After the sacrifice of the burnt offering was killed, skinned, cut, washed, and placed on the altar, fire could descend from heaven. God wanted the service of the children of Israel to be based on this fire. The burning of incense was their service to God, but the fire used for burning incense had to be taken from the altar. Hence, the service that we render to God must originate from the fire on the altar of burnt offering, and our service must be the issue of the burning of this fire.
Instead of using the fire from the altar, Nadab and Abihu used their own fire to burn incense in their service to God (10:1). Consequently, their service was not accepted by God, and they suffered the judgment of death (v. 2). This incident is a warning from God that our service must be based on the fire from the altar of burnt offering. We cannot use any energy other than this fire. Every item of the service of the children of Israel before God issued out of the fire burning on the altar of burnt offering.
Fire is a source of energy. Everything that moves in the physical world uses energy, and energy is produced through burning. In order for our service to be full of energy, our service must pass through the fire on the altar. This is not strange fire, which is of man and of the earth. Rather, this is holy fire. This fire is of God and of heaven. Our service must come out of the burning of God’s fire. This fire should be the energy, the driving force, the impulse within us. Then our service will be out of God, not out of ourselves.
God accepted the service of the Israelites based on the fire from the altar of burnt offering. Shortly after entering the land of Canaan, the children of Israel failed, became desolate, and the Ark was carried away. As a result, the people could not serve God properly. After a period of desolation, David was raised up by God. David had a desire to serve God and to build a house for God. This desire was fulfilled through his son Solomon. After Solomon finished building the temple, he took the bronze altar, the altar of burnt offering, and put it in the temple. He also offered sacrifices and the burnt offering upon the altar (2 Chron. 7:1). At that time the service to God was resumed.
Therefore, the service of the children of Israel in the temple was based on the fire from the altar of burnt offering. Every time they burned incense and served before God, they had to pass through the altar of burnt offering. They had to use the fire taken from the altar to burn incense. The fire was kept burning on the altar continually until the destruction of the temple (Lev. 6:13).
When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He was the tabernacle of God, the temple of God (John 1:14; 2:21). Anyone who had the desire to serve God had to serve through the Lord Jesus. They had to go to Him. The Lord also set up an altar—the cross on Golgotha—and offered Himself upon it as the burnt offering. Then one day fire came down. This fire was the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). The Lord Jesus Himself was willing to go to the cross and offer Himself to God. He also led Peter, John, James, and the rest of His lovers and followers to offer themselves to God, just as He did. Therefore, God accepted them as a satisfying fragrance of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 2:15). Before Pentecost a hundred and twenty lovers of Jesus gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem (Acts 1:13-15) and presented themselves to God. As a result, on the day of Pentecost the Spirit descended upon them as tongues of fire. This was the beginning of the New Testament service. The New Testament service began on the day of Pentecost with the fire that came down and began to burn.
The energy and the motivating power for the New Testament service did not originate in man, that is, in the Galilean fishermen. The energy and the motivating power for the New Testament service began with fire from heaven. The fire that descended upon the Galilean fishermen became the energy and the motivating power within them. After the day of Pentecost they could speak for God, preach the gospel, save sinners, and establish churches. The disciples were not the source of the power for their work. The source of that power was heaven; the power came from the fire that descended from heaven.
At the time of Pentecost there was a great number of people in Jerusalem. However, the fire descended only on the hundred and twenty because they were on the altar of burnt offering. The fire of the Spirit descends only on the altar of burnt offering. This was not the fire of judgment, which will come in the future. This was the fire of salvation (Luke 12:49). This fire burns on those who love God, who offer themselves to God, who are willing to forsake everything for God, and who are willing to place themselves in His hands in order to be slain and broken. Their service to God is the issue of the burning. Whether in the Old Testament type or in the New Testament reality, man’s service to God always comes out of the fire from the altar.
The only thing that God does concerning man’s service is to send His fire to burn within man. To serve God and to work for Him mean that man is joined to God and is mingled with God. It seems as though man is serving God. However, the service comes out of God; it does not originate in man. The service is God moving through man. Without the human element, there cannot be service. However, if there is only the human element, the service is not acceptable to God. In order for our service to have spiritual value and be acceptable to God, He must move through us and serve through us. This is the purpose of the altar. God is calling those who love Him and desire to satisfy His heart’s desire to offer themselves on the altar.
In Romans 12:1 the apostle Paul exhorts us to present our bodies a living sacrifice. This means that we must pay the price to forsake everything of ourselves. If we are willing to present ourselves on the altar, the divine fire will come down on us and pass through us. The issue of this burning will be our service, our work. On the one hand, such a work may be considered our work because we have a part in it; on the other hand, it is not our work because it is not out of us. This work is God working through us by being joined to us.
On the one hand, it was Peter who stood up on the day of Pentecost to preach the gospel (Acts 2:14-41); on the other hand, it was God who preached the gospel. It was the fire of God burning in Peter and speaking through Peter. This is an example of man being gained by God and of God being gained by man. God and man were joined and mingled together.
This is the service that God desires. When iron is being purified in fire, the iron seems to be swallowed up by the fire, but at the same time, the fire seems to burn in the iron. The iron becomes red because fire is burning in the iron. Then the fire burns wherever the iron is placed. We may say that it is a rod of iron, or we may say that it is a ball of fire. The fire and the iron become one. This is an illustration of the Christian service and work.
Genuine Christian service is not of man. Rather, genuine Christian service is God moving through man. God does not force man to receive Him. God has erected an altar, and those who are willing, those who love Him, may come forward willingly to be dealt with, broken, and placed on the altar. Such a person can say, “Lord, here I am. My only desire is to satisfy Your need.” If we would offer ourselves sincerely in this way, fire will descend from heaven and burn us. This burning will become the energy that moves us. The issue of this burning will be our service. God wants His fire to burn in us.
Some of us might say that the Lord Jesus came to the earth “to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10). Others might quote another verse and say that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). This also is a wonderful verse. Some might quote John 10:10, which says, “I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly.” We are familiar with these verses. However, in Luke 12:49 the Lord Jesus said, “I have come to cast fire on the earth.” The Lord Jesus came to the earth not only to save us but to cause fire to burn on us: “I have come to cast fire on the earth.”
The Lord cast fire on the earth so that it might be kindled. Therefore, the Lord continued, “How I wish that it were already kindled!” (v. 49). The Lord desired that the fire would be kindled in people. Verse 50 says, “I have a baptism to be baptized with.” The baptism with which the Lord was to be baptized was His death on the cross. If the Lord had not died, the fire would not have been cast down. The Lord had to die. He had to take up the cross, go to the altar, and present Himself as a burnt offering.
If the Lord had not placed Himself in the Father’s hand, the fire could not have been cast to the earth. This fire is the Spirit. When the Lord Jesus went to the cross and suffered death, He was gained by God, and God poured out the Spirit as fire from heaven. This fire descended on the hundred and twenty disciples and burned in them. All the service in the New Testament age comes out of that burning.
Now we will consider how to apply this fellowship. We need to know what the Christian service is and what the work of the church is. We cannot start a service or initiate a work simply because we like it or are enthusiastic. To do so would be to serve God with strange fire, because the service would be of man, not of God. Strange fire is unacceptable to God. It is not what He wants.
The service that God desires is carried out through the fire on the altar of burnt offering. The altar of burnt offering has already been set up, and fire has also descended upon it. The altar of burnt offering is the cross of the Lord Jesus, and the fire is the Spirit. The Spirit has descended and is burning through the cross as the altar of burnt offering. Any person who is willing to touch the cross, that is, to receive the cross by applying the death of Christ, will be gained by God. Then the fire on the altar of burnt offering, that is, the Spirit, will burn in him until it produces a service. All genuine service comes out of such a burning.
There was a young brother who was born into a good family and was loved by his parents. One day he learned of the salvation of the cross and received it. Then something unexplainable happened in him; the fire of the Spirit burned in him. The more he prayed and the closer he drew to the Lord, the more the fire burned within him. Finally, he said, “Lord, I consecrate myself to You willingly. I do not care about my future, and I do not care about my possessions. I am willing to be wrecked, slain, and broken. I am willing to meet Your need and let my life be terminated on the cross.”
The more he prayed, the stronger the fire burned within him. The fire became so intense that the young brother would weep for unsaved sinners around him. The zeal burning in him and moving him was so intense that he had to preach the gospel. He was beside himself for the gospel. This was an experience of the fire on the altar of burnt offering.
When I was twenty years old, I was studying with a determination to accomplish something in the future. One day I heard that a young lady would be preaching in a certain chapel. I was full of curiosity because at that time in northern China it was unheard of for a young lady to preach the gospel in public. Therefore, even though I was very busy, I went to listen to her because I was curious and wanted to see the situation.
As soon as I walked into the meeting place, I felt the situation was special. It was even more special once the singing began. The young lady spoke concerning how God needs man and wants to gain man and how Satan usurps man in order to prevent God from gaining man. She spoke from the book of Exodus. Her words penetrated me, and every sentence burned in me.
I forgot that I was there as a spectator. My inner being was altogether subdued by her speaking. Every time she spoke a sentence, I would bow my head and respond inwardly, “Right!” I said to myself that I wanted to be a person gained by God. After listening to her message, I believed in the Lord and was saved. After I walked out of the chapel, my life was changed. I said, “Even if Satan would give me the whole world, I do not want it; I do not want anything. I want to forsake the world; I want to leave Egypt, which is under Pharaoh’s usurpation. Satan, the Pharaoh of this world, has usurped me; I want to go out.”
Through the Lord’s grace, many years later I served together with this sister who preached the gospel to me, and I learned how she was saved. She believed in the Lord while attending a Christian school. Later, she was revived and consecrated herself to serve the Lord after hearing the gospel from another young woman. Those who are acquainted with the history of Christianity in China know that in the early part of the twentieth century, a woman by the name of Dora Yu was greatly used by the Lord. Dora Yu was a native of Chekiang Province.
Sister Yu grew up in a wealthy family and received a good education from her youth. After she graduated from medical school, her parents sent her to England to further her studies. While she was on the ship sailing to England, she spent much time with the Lord in prayer and was brought by the Lord to the altar. As soon as she was placed on the altar, the fire of the Spirit began to burn in her. By the time her ship was in the Mediterranean Sea, the fire within her was burning so fiercely that she felt she could not go to England to study.
Sister Yu wondered how she could turn back, because her parents had already spent a large sum of money to pay for her travel expenses and tuition. In those days it was extremely difficult to be trained as a medical doctor. Nevertheless, the fire kept burning within her, urging her to get off the ship and return to China in order to preach the gospel.
When the ship arrived at Marseille, Sister Yu told the captain that she had to go back to China. Although the people on the ship thought that she was crazy, she got off the ship in Marseille and found another ship going to China.
When she returned home, her family was very disappointed. They asked her why she decided to return home. The more she explained her desire to preach the gospel to the Chinese people, the more her family considered her to be crazy. They said that her believing in Jesus had caused her to become confused and insane.
Her family and relatives tried to counsel her, but they could not change her mind. The more she prayed, the more intensely the fire burned within her. Eventually, her family let her leave home. Under the burning of the fire of the Spirit, Sister Yu went to Shanghai, where she was without a home. She wanted to preach Jesus so that people might repent and be saved.
Sister Yu met someone who loved the Lord and who, understanding her desire, rented a house for her. Then she began to preach the gospel. As a result of the fire of the Spirit burning within her, her preaching of the gospel was powerful. Afterward, she went to preach the gospel in Foochow, and Brother Watchman Nee was saved through her preaching. Some have testified that while she was preaching from the podium, those listening to her wept. They wept so hard that there were puddles of tears on the floor. Through preaching the gospel she was able to lead many to repentance and salvation, and others were revived.
Our work is related to that burning of the Spirit within Sister Dora Yu. This work was produced out of the burning of the Spirit. Human initiation, promotion, discussion, or motivation are not the basis of genuine service to God. The basis of genuine service is knowing the cross and placing ourselves on the cross in order to be gained by God and to allow the divine fire to burn within us. This produces service.
Such service is the burning of incense in the Holy Place, is accepted by God, brings man to God, and joins God to man and heaven to earth. Such a work is of God, passes through God, and goes back to God. This work comes from God to man, it brings man to touch God, and it brings God to pass through man. The continual cycle of coming from God to man and from man to God is the story of the burning of the fire of the Spirit. The only basis for this burning is our being on the altar.
The saints who pray and apply the death of the cross will receive grace from God, and His holy fire will burn within them. Such saints do not care for themselves or set their mind on themselves but care only to satisfy God’s desire. Their work will be the issue of God moving through man. Their work will be a sweet-smelling fragrance to God.
Those who experience the altar of burnt offering build with gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Cor. 3:12). Gold refers to the divine life and nature. Silver refers to Christ’s redemption and to the principle of the cross. Precious stones refer to God’s image. The work of believers who experience the altar of burnt offering is full of the element of God, has the power of the cross, and expresses God.
Those who do not experience the altar of burnt offering work according to what they are. They build with wood, grass, and stubble (v. 12). Wood refers to the nature of the natural man. Grass refers to the man of the flesh (1 Pet. 1:24). Stubble refers to things grown out of the earth, earthly things. Human methods and common practices in society are of the earth, not of heaven. Precious stones denote the heavenly atmosphere; in contrast, stubble denotes the earthly situation. Only work that is produced through burning is of gold, silver, and precious stones. The work that is not produced through burning is of wood, grass, and stubble.
The day will come when the work of each will be tested by fire (1 Cor. 3:13). If our work is the issue of fire, our work will stand the test of fire. Gold, silver, and precious stones are of God and are produced through His burning. As such, the work of gold, silver, and precious stones will endure being tested by God’s fire. Furthermore, those who carry out such a work will receive a reward (v. 14). If our work is according to the natural man, by the flesh, and earthy, it is of wood, grass, and stubble. When the work of each is manifested by fire, such a work will not endure the test but will be consumed, and we will suffer loss (v. 15).
Those who have a desire to serve God must remember that our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). When God comes to the earth, fire comes to the earth. When God enters into man, fire enters into man and burns in him. The degree of burning may be different, but every believer experiences being burned. God is not cold. He is fire that energizes and burns. Those who draw near to God experience the burning. God is a consuming fire, and His eyes are like a flame of fire (Rev. 1:14). Whoever touches Him will be burned.
The divine fire burns on the altar for acceptance and for salvation. A person who is willing to come to the altar will be saved and accepted. If a person approaches God according to his concept, instead of being burned on the altar, he will be consumed, just as Nadab and Abihu were consumed by fire. Nadab and Abihu did not touch the fire on the altar of burnt offering. As a result, they were consumed by God at the incense altar. If we are not willing to be burned at the altar of burnt offering, we will be burned at the incense altar. If we will not let the cross kill us, one day the eyes that are like a flame of fire will burn us. God is a consuming fire, and He will burn us either way.
Someone might stubbornly say, “I will not be a Christian; then I will escape the burning.” Every Christian will surely be burned either in this age or in the coming age. However, if you are not a Christian, you will definitely be burned in the end. Even the devil will ultimately be burned by fire (20:10). All those who are not found written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire (v. 15). No one can avoid being tested by fire. If we know the Bible, we also know that the destination of the old creation is the burning of fire (2 Pet. 3:7, 10, 12).
Those who are willing to be burned on the altar of the cross today will be accepted and saved by God in that day. However, those who are not willing to be burned by the cross will one day suffer loss before God, just as Nadab and Abihu suffered loss. Contrarily, those who reject salvation and the Savior will end up in the lake of fire. No one can avoid the fire of God.
These words are not intended to threaten anyone. The corrupted human race, the natural man, needs to go through fire. However, there are three kinds of burning. The first kind is the burning at the altar, which is for salvation and acceptance. It is precious and glorious. The issue of this burning is that we become a sweet fragrance to God, and we have the appearance of precious stones. The second kind of burning is for the believers who are not willing to be dealt with or to be broken. One day their work will be proved by fire. They will suffer loss, but they themselves will be saved, yet so as through fire. These two kinds of burning are for believers. The third kind of burning is for those who reject the Lord and His salvation. These people will be cast into the lake of fire forever. Everyone will be burned; no one can escape.
The best kind of burning is the burning on the altar of burnt offering. This is sweet and glorious. May the Lord have mercy on us and show us where we should stand and what we should do. The service in the New Testament is not of us but of Him working through us. We should place ourselves on the altar of the cross, not pitying or loving ourselves, but rather hating and dealing with the self by putting everything we have on the altar in order to be gained by God. Then fire will descend on the altar to burn us. The issue of this burning will be a service. May the Lord grant us grace.
