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Friday, December 01, 2006

Consuming Fire

"Our God is a consuming fire." The author of the biblical book of Hebrews 12:29 thusly describes Gods' essence. God is a raging inferno of heat, a blazing torch that lights the universe. The author of Hebrews quotes this statement about God from Deuteronomy 4:29 and 9:3. This is striking in light of Christ's death and resurrection. Why?

Moses who wrote Deuteronomy states that God is a consuming fire, reminding the Israelites that they saw God descend on Mount Sinai in smoke, noise, fire, and an earthquake. God's presence shook the Israelites to fear so much so that they acknowledged that if God spoke to them any longer they would melt to death.

Despite this potential to die from God, who is a consuming, the author of Hebrews avers that God remains a consuming. What does this mean for Christians? It means that in Christ God is still a consuming fire. What?

In Christ we will have resurrected bodies in which we will endure and enjoy the heat of God. Think about it. The sun is 27,000,000 degrees at its core---what does that say about God who created the sun. Well, because we are in Christ, who is God, instead of experiencing a melting death, we will absorb all God, all his fiery presence as everlasting joy and power.

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