路十二49　我来要把火丢在地上，若是已经着起来，那是我所愿意的。

　　林前三12~13　然而，若有人用金、银、宝石，木、草、禾秸，在这根基上建造，各人的工程必然显露，因为那日子要将它指明出来；它要在火中被揭露，这火要试验各人的工程是哪一种的。
　　祭坛的火乃是事奉的真实动力。……神对人的事奉，只作一件事，就是把祂的火烧到人身上。……事奉和工作乃是人与神联合，神与人相调。好像是人事奉神，却不是出于人，乃是出于神，是神从人经过。
　　神是把一个祭坛摆在这里，凡愿意的人，凡爱祂的人，都可以甘心前来，对付自己，破碎自己，把自己没有条件地摆在这个祭坛上，对神说，“神啊，我在这里，我只求能满足你的需要。”我们若是这样诚心地献上自己，天上的火就会烧到我们身上。这个烧就变作推动我们的热力，结果就烧出我们的事奉来。今天……神所要作的事，就是把祂的火这样地烧到人身上（建造神家的事奉，二三至二五页）。

　　Luke 12:49 I have come to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled!

　　1 Cor. 3:12-13 But if anyone builds upon the foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, stubble, the work of each will become manifest; for the day will declare it, because it is revealed by fire, and the fire itself will prove each one's work, of what sort it is.

　　The fire from the altar [is] the genuine motivating power of service. The only thing that God does concerning man's service is to send His fire to burn within man. To serve God and to work for Him mean that man is joined to God and is mingled with God....The service comes out of God; it does not originate in man. The service is God moving through man.

　　God has erected an altar, and those who are willing, those who love Him, may come forward willingly to be dealt with, broken, and placed on the altar. Such a person can say, "Lord, here I am. My only desire is to satisfy Your need." If we would offer ourselves sincerely in this way, fire will descend from heaven and burn us. This burning will become the energy that moves us. The issue of this burning will be our service. God wants His fire to burn in us. (The Service for Building Up the House of God, pp. 22-23)

　　在路加十二章，主耶稣自己说过一句话：“我来要把火丢在地上。”（49上）……主耶稣到世上来，不光是要拯救你，还要叫火烧到你身上。
　　主若不把自己的一切都摆在神手里，这个火是下不来的。这个火就是……神的灵……。所以当主耶稣上了十字架的祭坛，因着受死而被神得着以后，神就从天上把圣灵像火一样倒下来。
　　这火降在那一百二十人身上，就把他们烧起来了。今天整个新约时代，所有的事奉，都是从这里烧起来的。祭坛的火……烧出有力的事奉。……燔祭坛就是主耶稣的十字架，而这火就是圣灵。……圣灵……已经降下；祂借着十字架这燔祭坛，一直在那里烧。……无论什么人，只要肯到十字架跟前，……接受十字架，把十字架的死接受到他身上，肯……让神得着，燔祭坛上的火，就是圣灵，立刻要在这个人身上烧起来，烧出一个事奉。……所有真实的事奉，都是从这里烧出来的。……对神真实事奉的根据，……乃是……人认识了十字架，把自己摆在十字架上，让神得着，让神圣的火烧在我们里面，这才产生事奉。
　　若是在这里有一班弟兄姊妹，肯在祷告中，……接受十字架的死到自己身上，不顾念自己，……不体贴自己，只愿满足神的心意，这班人就能蒙到莫大的恩典，就有神的圣火烧在他们身上。……这时，他们所建造的工程就是金、银、宝石（林前三12）。……金是神的生命和神的性情；银是主的救赎，是十字架的原则；宝石是神的形像……。所以到这时候，他们的工作就都满了神的成分，满了十字架的能力，也满了神的形状。
　　只有经过火的工程，才是金、银、宝石的；不是经过火的工程，就是木、草、禾秸的。……有一天，这个火还要出来，试验我们（13）。如果原初我们的工程，是这个火烧出来的，那一天这个火来试验时，这个工程当然经得起火烧。……若是〔我们〕一切的工程都凭自己，靠自己，出于自己，并且是照着世界，那个工程就是木、草、禾秸。有一天，当那个火出来试验的时候，〔我们〕的工程就经不起，必定被烧掉，而〔我们〕就要受亏损（15）（建造神家的事奉，二五至二七、三一至三三页）。
　　参读：建造神家的事奉，第二篇。

　　In Luke 12:49 the Lord Jesus said, "I have come to cast fire on the earth." The Lord Jesus came to the earth not only to save us but to cause fire to burn on us.

　　If the Lord had not placed Himself in the Father's hand, the fire could not have been cast to the earth. This fire is the Spirit. When the Lord Jesus went to the cross and suffered death, He was gained by God, and God poured out the Spirit as fire from heaven. This fire descended on the hundred and twenty disciples and burned in them. All the service in the New Testament age comes out of that burning.

　　The fire on the altar [burns] and [produces] a powerful service....The altar of burnt offering is the cross of the Lord Jesus, and the fire is the Spirit. The Spirit has descended and is burning through the cross as the altar of burnt offering. Any person who is willing to touch the cross, that is, to receive the cross by applying the death of Christ, will be gained by God. Then the fire on the altar of burnt offering, that is, the Spirit, will burn in him until it produces a service. All genuine service comes out of such a burning.

　　The basis of genuine service is knowing the cross and placing ourselves on the cross in order to be gained by God and to allow the divine fire to burn within us. This produces service.

　　The saints who pray and apply the death of the cross will receive grace from God, and His holy fire will burn within them. Such saints do not care for themselves or set their mind on themselves but care only to satisfy God's desire.

　　Those who experience the altar of burnt offering build with gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Cor. 3:12). Gold refers to the divine life and nature. Silver refers to Christ's redemption and to the principle of the cross. Precious stones refer to God's image. The work of believers who experience the altar of burnt offering is full of the element of God, has the power of the cross, and expresses God.

　　Only work that is produced through burning is of gold, silver, and precious stones. The work that is not produced through burning is of wood, grass, and stubble.

　　The day will come when the work of each will be tested by fire (1 Cor. 3:13). If our work is the issue of fire, our work will stand the test of fire....If our work is according to the natural man, by the flesh, and earthy, it is of wood, grass, and stubble. When the work of each is manifested by fire, such a work will not endure the test but will be consumed, and we will suffer loss (v. 15). (The Service for Building Up the House of God, pp. 23-25, 27-28)

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