Daily Bread - JAN/04/08

1 Thessalonians 5:19 - Do not quench the Spirit.

When the church was anointed with the Holy Spirit, tongues of fire came and rested upon each one of them (Acts 2:3-4). The tongues of fire then began to be expressed through their words as their tongues were set on fire of God. The word that is used here in this text (sbennute) refers to the putting out of that flame which has ignited every dimension of the manifestation of the Spirit in the lives of those who believe. This particular word (sbennute) is used in several other verses in the New Testament and in each case in reference to the putting out of fire (Ephesians 6:16; Hebrews 11:34; Matthew 12:20; Mark 9:44, 46, 48).

The tongues of fire that came by the enduement of power from on high is very important to the church and to the individual believer. It was an activity of the Spirit so important to Paul that he boasted that he spoke in tongues more than anyone (1 Corinthians 14:18). It was one of the signs given to the believer that would be used to evangelize the world as they spoke with new tongues: tongues that had never existed before (Mark 16:17; 1 Corinthians 14:21-22). It is a power of prayer that results in the saints of God being built up and strengthened to function in every supernatural realm of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:2, 14-15; Jude 20; Ephesians 6:18). To the first century church, tongues of fire was the evidence that a person had been baptized by Jesus in the Holy Spirit and fire (Acts 10:45-47; 11:15-18; 19:2, 6). The tongues of fire are the only manifestation of the Spirit that is associated with the fire of God in the New Testament (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16; Acts 2:3). Tongues of fire is both the first gift to the church and the one representing the enduement of power from on high (John 7:38-39; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:5,8; Acts 2:33).

Be blessed,

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
abidingplace.org