The goal of this article is to focus on how God led His people to offer sacrifices on altars as He required. When those sacrifices were offered faithfully and according to His commands, His fire would consume them, which proved His acceptance. These moments ultimately point to the greatest sacrifice: Jesus Christ and those who belong to Him.
Jesus' altar was the cross, and His entire ministry was marked by sacrificial love. At the very start of His ministry, at his baptism, He identified with humanity's sins—even though He Himself was sinless. In a symbolic act, He embraced the purpose of taking our place in judgment, which is represented by the waters of baptism. When He accepted this mission, the fire of God—the Holy Spirit—descended upon Him. Jesus lived His life as a pleasing sacrificial aroma to the Father, and the Father affirmed this by declaring that Jesus was His beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased.
Jesus' sacrificial ministry reached its culmination on the cross, where He fulfilled His mission and declared, "It is finished." His offering of full payment for the sins of His own people was accomplished. Following His death, He was buried. Yet, His sacrifice was proven to be pleasing to the Father, as the fire of the Holy Spirit ignited life in His lifeless body after three days. After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven in the cloud of the Holy Spirit, as a well-pleasing aroma to the Father.
As we are united with Jesus and partake in His priestly work, we become sacrifices ourselves. This truth is evident from the very beginning of the church. When the first believers began to understand and accept what had occurred in the cross, burial and resurrection, they were instructed to remain in Jerusalem and to wait for power from on High to be witnesses. Identified with Jesus—the ultimate sacrifice who obeyed unto death—they demonstrated their own sacrificial obedience by faithfully following His command, remaining in the very city that had crucified their leader.
Being rightly related to Jesus, they became living sacrifices on the altars of their daily cross-bearing. And then, the fire came. When the fire of God consumed these sacrifices, Scripture reveals that flames of fire rested upon each of them, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit began to reach the nations through these offerings.
The first offerings from humans in the bible were the story of Adam of Eve’s children, Cain and Abel. According to Hebrews, Abel offered his sacrifice by faith. We can assume that Cain’s faith was spurious. Abel was rightly related to God, and His offering was accepted. Cain on the other hand, was not rightly related to God, and His offering was rejected. Many of the offerings in the Old Testament were consumed by heavenly fire; therefore, some scholars believe that this is how Cain and Abel knew whose offering was accepted. Cain was corrected by God but refused to turn from his sin. As Cain turned to sin instead of God, he grew angrier and killed his brother out of envy for having an acceptable well-pleasing offering and relationship with God.
Cain could not bear the fact that God consumed his brother’s sacrifice with fire while his own was left untouched. Similarly, self-promoted people struggle to accept God’s fire resting upon His holy ones—those whose altars are the crosses they carry daily. But we cannot allow threats from the “Cains” to silence our worship! All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Being accepted by God does mean the world will persecute you.
Lay it all down. Hold nothing back. Offer your very best—all for the gospel of Jesus Christ! And then, watch the fire fall. Many desire the fire of God, but they refuse to carry the altar of Jesus. Remember, it’s His calling you are called to carry, not your own. You must take up the mission of Jesus—His gospel mission—that is your altar! Jesus said you cannot be His disciple unless you take up your cross daily and follow Him. If you keep your life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for His sake, you will find it.
If you refuse to embrace this truth, don’t make the mistake Cain made. Instead, acknowledge the folly of expecting God’s fire to ignite a life built on the wrong altar. God’s fire falls only upon the acceptable sacrifice—the one found in Jesus Christ. And it ignites all who faithfully follow Him! So let’s take up our altars and follow Him!
Holy Fire, fall upon us! Send us! Ignite us!
