OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE

Hebrews 12:29 (ESV)

For our God is a consuming fire.

God is called fire, but not just any fire — He is a consuming fire. That means He does not merely burn; He completely consumes, devours, and causes everything to vanish.

An example of this can be seen in the fire that fell upon the altar Elijah built. When that fire came down, it did not spare anything not the water, not the wood, not even the sacrifice. Everything was completely consumed.
(1 Kings 18:38, ESV)

Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

Unlike ordinary fire, which only burns or melts things and changes their form — like when metal is melted but not destroyed — the fire of God makes nothing remain. It consumes everything completely and without distinction.

This is a spiritual fire, not a physical one. When you are filled with this fire, nothing impure can survive in you. Wherever it touches, it destroys the works of the devil completely. When this fire dwells within you, it burns away all evil in your life.

That is why the Lord desires that we, His children whom He has redeemed, be filled with this consuming fire. He even tells us how to receive it in the following passage:

Isaiah 33:14–15 (ESV)

“Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”
He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
and shuts his eyes from looking on evil.

Do you see who can dwell with the consuming fire? Not everyone — only those who live by these qualities.

In other words, those who strive to live holy and righteous lives.

This is the race we all run
for the true strength of a Christian, after salvation, is holiness.
That is the consuming fire within us.

OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE