Fr. Lawrence OGUNDIPE, SDV

The abuse of the Holy Ghost fire has become a dangerous trend in Christianity, stemming from the influx of Pentecostalism. Christians all over the world want the fire of the Holy Ghost to destroy their imaginary enemy. But I must warn you that the Third person of the Most Holy Trinity is not an assassin, Stop sending him to kill your enemy by Fire.

First of all, the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity is God, second of all, He is Known and called Holy Ghost, comforter among many other titles. He is the Paraclete promised by Christ. What is Paraclete? The word came from two Greek words; ‘Para’ meaning side by side and kalew. Meaning whispering; put together, whispering by the side. Hence the paraclete is to whisper to us what God wants us to know. The Holy Spirit is symbolized as Fire, wind, dove, water, etc. so that we can concretely feel his divine work in our day-to-day life.

My dearest friends, the fire of the Holy Spirit purifies not destroy, contrary to what we see today in our society people who gather to pray; shouting Holy Ghost!!!!! Fire!!! Why? To destroy their so called enemy; but wait a minute, do you realize that you are also some one’s enemy? What if the person also prays the same prayer? Do you think anyone would remain? What make you think that God who created us in his own image would begin to destroy one image of his for just the same image? God is not human, he does not discriminate No! We are all his children, his Imago Dei yes! We are all dear to his heart, when Jesus said when I am lifted up I will Draw all men to myself. (John 12:32) There was no exclusion.

According to the catechism of the Catholic Church No: 696: “While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. The prayer of the prophet Elijah, who "arose like fire" and whose "word burned like a torch," brought down fire from heaven on the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. This event was a "figure" of the fire of the Holy Spirit, who transforms what he touches.”

The Holy Spirit comes as fire to work something deep into the substance of our lives that will shape things around us, rather than us taking on the shape of the world.

As against the current use of Holy Ghost Fire the Holy Spirit works in a dual way: to probe the inner recesses of our life and to refine us as gold or silver is refined in the fire; and to temper our personalities by causing there to be the penetration of fire into our system. Hence the Holy Spirit purifies rather than destroy.

The Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit being “a spirit of judgment and burning” (Isa. 4:4). Judgment has to do with deliverance, in the way the judges of Israel led people out of bondage. The Holy Spirit, coming like fire, burns away any binding grip that the Devil has imposed on us. The spiritual tradition of the Church has retained this symbolism of fire as one of the most expressive images of the Holy Spirit's actions, not to kill our enemies but rather to destroy the devil in them; we must therefore, distinguish between the person and the devilish acts of the person.

The “Spirit enables all men to be one and in unity to be a multitude” He is also the principle of the communion of the saints, by this the Holy Spirit transcends both time and space, hence it is an eschatological gift, the supreme and ultimate gift of God as grace. According to Yves M. J.  Congar, “The Church was Manifested in the world by Pentecost, which gave it a vocation to universality, which was to be achieved not by means of a uniform extension, but by that everyone understood and expressed the marvels of God in their own language” (Acts 2:6-11. The Spirit is the source of unity amid diversity. She does not eliminate diversity, but she makes it possible to rejoice in it instead of fighting over it.

Thomas Aquinas in the Prima Secundae of summer theological q.113 teaches that the Spirit does not coerce or dominate our lives through fear. He is rather God's gracious gift to us, enabling us to become God's children with the privilege of addressing the Almighty and Eternal God as "our Father." Do not entertain fear because it leads to inordinate prayers. Pray for your enemy to be touched by the purifying fire of the Holy Ghost, so that they may live to see you bouncing and happy in the Lord. Remember this always “The Holy Ghost is not an assassin Stop sending him to kill your enemy by Fire.”