KBM Baptism By Spirit & Fire

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week and I am excited for our study today as we continue our Impact 3:16 series. Today, we will be examining Luke 3:16 wherein John the baptizer has been preaching to the Jews and preparing the way for the Messiah. Now as you can imagine the people that were hearing him preach and were being baptized by him were wondering if John was the Messiah. It is in this context that we find John’s words in our text. Let’s read Luke 3:16-17.

Luke 3:16–17 ESV

16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Now concerning the baptism or immersion of the Holy Spirit, we are given a lot of additional insight into this from other passages. Jesus attributed what John said to what would happen to the apostles on the Day of Pentecost before his ascension.

Acts 1:5 ESV

5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Peter later reaffirmed this by pointing out that Cornelius’ family was baptized with the Holy Spirit, according to John’s prophecy, like he and the other apostles were in Acts 2.

Acts 11:16–17 ESV

16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

So the baptism of the Holy Spirit was God’s way of fulfilling Joel 2:28 which confirmed that “all flesh” both Jew and Gentile would be saved. But what about the baptism of fire?

The reason we read Luke 3:16-17 is because verse 17 explains what the baptism of fire is when we compare it to the parallel account in Matthew 3:10-12.

Matthew 3:10–12 (ESV)

10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

The baptism of fire is the same fire being discussed in verse 10 and 12 which is a direct reference to the day when “all will be judged” when Christ returns in the clouds. For the goats, on that day, they will be baptised with fire by being cast and thus immersed in the “eternal fire” (Matthew 25:31-46).