利六13　火要在坛上一直不断地烧着，不可熄灭。

　　代下七1　所罗门祷告已毕，就有火从天上降下来，烧尽燔祭和别的祭。耶和华的荣光充满了殿。

　　徒二3　又有舌头如火焰向他们显现出来，分开落在他们各人身上。
　　火……乃是一个巨大的推动能力。……人在神面前的事奉，要有一股热力，也是要经过烧的，也是要有火的。然而这火不是凡火，不是出乎人的，不是出乎地的；这火乃是圣火，是出乎神、出乎天的。人在神面前所有的事奉，都应该是神的火烧出来的。神的火就是我们里面的热力，我们里面的推动力。这绝对不是我们自己有的，乃是从神来的（建造神家的事奉，二〇至二一页）。

　　Lev. 6:13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.

　　2 Chron. 7:1 And when Solomon had finished praying, the fire came down from heaven and devoured the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of Jehovah filled the house.

　　Acts 2:3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which were distributed; and it sat on each one of them.

　　Fire is a source of energy....In order for our service to be full of energy, our service must pass through the fire on the altar. This is not strange fire, which is of man and of the earth. Rather, this is holy fire. This fire is of God and of heaven. Our service must come out of the burning of God's fire. This fire should be the energy, the driving force, the impulse within us. Then our service will be out of God, not out of ourselves. (The Service for Building Up the House of God, p. 20)

　　以色列人……所有的事奉……能够蒙神悦纳，都是根据于燔祭坛上的火。……经过一段荒凉的时期后，大卫被神兴起，要事奉神，为神造一个圣殿。他的这个心愿，……在他儿子所罗门身上得了成全。当所罗门把圣殿造好之后，他把铜祭坛，就是燔祭坛再搬来，摆在圣殿中……，把燔祭牲献在上面。……（代下七1）。从那时候起，圣殿里的事奉就又开始了。
　　所以……以色列人……在圣殿里一切的事奉，都是根据于燔祭坛上的火。他们每一次到神面前烧香事奉，都要经过燔祭坛。……这火多年、长久地燃烧，直烧到圣殿被毁坏为止。
　　主耶稣来到地上，祂就是神的会幕，祂就是神的圣殿（约一14，二21）。人要事奉神，非经过祂不可。……祂也设立了祭坛，这个祭坛就是各各他的十字架。祂……把自己献上为燔祭。……到了有一天，也有火降下来。这火……就是五旬节的圣灵（徒二1~4）。因着主耶稣肯到十字架上，把自己献给神，并且带了彼得、约翰、雅各，以及另外一百多位爱祂、跟随祂的人，和祂一样把自己献给神，神就悦纳了他们，当作基督怡爽的馨香之气（参林后二15）。在五旬节之前，他们一百二十人在耶路撒冷的一间楼房上（徒一13~15），……把自己的一切都摆在神面前。所以五旬节那天，圣灵就像火焰一样烧在他们身上。……新约的事奉就是从那时候开始的。……因为天上的火从那一天降下，开始焚烧起来。
　　新约事奉的热力和动力……是出自天上的火。乃是天上的火降下来……烧在那些加利利渔夫身上，作了他们里面的热力，作了他们的动力；因此从五旬节那天起，他们就能……替神说话，传扬福音，拯救罪人，设立召会。这些工作的能力，一点都不是出于他们自己，那个能力的源头是出于天，出于从天上降下来的火。
　　为什么天上的火只烧他们这一百二十人……？乃因为只有他们是在燔祭坛上；圣灵的火只降在燔祭坛上。那个火不是审判的火，审判的火是在将来；那个火乃是悦纳的火，是拯救的火。……这个火是烧在……那些爱神、把自己献给神，肯舍弃一切的人身上。是烧在那些甘愿自己被杀、被破碎，肯把自己摆在神手里的人身上。……从这个烧里，就生出一个事奉。所以，人在神面前的事奉，不论在旧约的预表，或是在新约的实际里，都是出自于祭坛的火（建造神家的事奉，二一至二三页）。
　　参读：建造神家的事奉，第二篇。

　　God accepted the service of the Israelites based on the fire from the altar of burnt offering....After a period of desolation, David was raised up by God. David had a desire to serve God and to build a house for God. This desire was fulfilled through his son Solomon. After Solomon finished building the temple, he took the bronze altar, the altar of burnt offering, and put it in the temple. He also offered sacrifices and the burnt offering upon the altar (2 Chron. 7:1). At that time, the service to God was resumed.

　　Therefore, the service of the children of Israel in the temple was based on the fire from the altar of burnt offering. Every time they burned incense and served before God, they had to pass through the altar of burnt offering....The fire was kept burning on the altar continually until the destruction of the temple (Lev. 6:13).

　　When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He was the tabernacle of God, the temple of God (John 1:14; 2:21). Any people who had the desire to serve God had to serve through the Lord Jesus....The Lord also set up an altar—the cross on

　　Golgotha—and offered Himself upon it as the burnt offering. Then one day fire came down. This fire was the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). The Lord Jesus Himself was willing to go to the cross and offer Himself to God. He also led Peter, John, James, and the rest of His lovers and followers to offer themselves to God, just as He did. Therefore, God accepted them as a satisfying fragrance of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 2:15). Before Pentecost a hundred and twenty lovers of Jesus gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem (Acts 1:13-15) and presented themselves to God. As a result, on the day of Pentecost the Spirit descended upon them as tongues of fire. This was the beginning of the New Testament service. The New Testament service began on the day of Pentecost with the fire that came down and began to burn.

　　The energy and the motivating power for the New Testament service began with fire from heaven. The fire that descended upon the Galilean fishermen became the energy and the motivating power within them. After the day of Pentecost they could speak for God, preach the gospel, save sinners, and establish churches. The disciples were not the source of the power for their work. The source of that power was heaven; the power came from the fire that descended from heaven.

　　At the time of Pentecost...the fire descended only on the hundred and twenty because they were on the altar of burnt offering. The fire of the Spirit descends only on the altar of burnt offering. This was not the fire of judgment, which will come in the future. This was the fire of salvation (Luke 12:49). This fire burns on those who love God, who offer themselves to God, who are willing to forsake everything for God, and who are willing to place themselves in His hands in order to be slain and broken. Their service to God is the issue of the burning. Whether in the Old Testament type or in the New Testament reality, man's service to God always comes out of the fire from the altar. (The Service for Building Up the House of God, pp. 21-22)

　　Further Reading: The Service for Building Up the House of God, ch. 2