6. Strange Fire
Christ accusing Christ? I don't think so.
There are two stories in the Bible, one Old Testament, the other New, that are set there by God at the beginning of His first two great works among men, to warn us at this present time concerning the incredible thing He is doing now, this third time, upon the earth.
The first story is found in Leviticus 9:23-10:7. The tabernacle has been built, and the glory of God has come upon it. Moses has sanctified Aaron and his sons to do the work of sacrifice.
When Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s two older sons, see the fire of God come down and consume the sacrifice, they decide it would be a great idea to create their own fire and offer it to God.
God is not impressed, Nadab and Abihu fall dead, and God commands Aaron not to mourn, but to continue in his office holy unto the Lord.
The second story is found in Acts 4:32-5:13. The Church has just been birthed on the Day of Pentecost. Everyone gathers together as one, filled with joy at the wonderful new thing God has birthed upon the earth. Many who have means see the need to help meet people’s needs, so they sell what they have and give it to the Apostles.
Meanwhile, a man and wife, Ananias and Saphira, decide they want both the approval of the Apostles for doing something “holy,” and the money as well for the sale of their property. So they sell their property, pocket part of it, and then lie to Peter about how much they sold it for.
God is not impressed. Ananias and Saphira fall dead, and the church fears God. God continues to pour Himself out upon His church.
Both of these stories are the same thing!
Both events occur right at the beginning of a new dispensation of God’s dealings with man. In both cases, the fire of God came out of the Holy of Holies to consume the offering sanctioned by God. In the first instance, that offering was the sacrifices on the altar, bulls, sheep, and goats. In the second instance, that offering was the free-will from-the-heart giving of the church of Christ.
In both instances, two individuals who had experienced the power and life of God as given in each dispensation, offered “strange fire” back to God. In the first, it was their own incense lit by their own fire; in the second, it was a lie to the Holy Spirit in the form of an attempt to “look good” to the apostles of Christ.
Nadab and Abihu died; Ananias and Saphira died.
In both instances, that reality of God caused great fear in the congregation. In the first instance, God required a continuation of the oil of the anointing; in the second instance, the power of the Holy Spirit continued in greater measure – both are the same thing.
Because the first instance is Old Testament, we could dismiss it as irrelevant. Because the second instance is identical to the first, and because it stands inside the grace of God, inside the church of Christ, in the same place in which we live right now, we know that both instances must speak to us.
More than that, both of these stories, coming at the beginning of God’s next dispensation with His people, fit entirely into the realm of the prophetic, that is, they are simply a foreshadowing of the real. They speak to us of something critical in the fullness of times.
In other words, the “strange fire” of these two instances is a warning to us concerning the “strange fire” we will witness being offered in fullness in our day.
Now, before going one line further, I must draw a firm line in the concrete.
No one who reads this letter is anywhere near the “strange fire” side of that line. I am not writing to anyone who is in any way being “tempted” to offer “strange fire” to God. I am not warning any person against offering that strange fire, as if it is something you or I face.
Yet, I recently witnessed an offering of this strange fire from one who professes faith in Christ. What I read so shocked and stunned me, reminding me of Nadab and Abihu, of Ananias and Saphira, that I knew I must write this letter.
I write for one reason, and that is so that we as sons moving forward in all the purposes of our Father, might understand reality as He has placed it before us to know. God put those stories there in our Bibles so that we, upon whose shoulders are placed the end of the ages (as Paul said), might understand all reality as it is and as our Father has crafted it.
More than that, the truth of eating, eating, eating of the tree of life without reference to sin or no sin whatsoever, requires this letter to show the counterbalance that God would have us keep.
I read words that were accusation against a brother, which IS accusation against Christ. Then, the person engaging in this accusation made this claim (my paraphrase), “Since Christ is living as me in this world, since I naturally feel like accusing people falsely, since whatever I am and do is Christ as me, since I am accusing you (Christ), then this accusation against you is simply “Christ as me.”
Christ throwing accusations at Christ.
The strange fire offered by Nadab and Abihu and the strange fire offered by Ananias and Saphira are placed before us by God to instruct us concerning the REAL strange fire that comes, now, in the birthing of the age to come through us. That strange fire is enclosing the deliberate practice of evil inside “Christ as me.”
Christ as me is found ONLY in the light. It is a phrase and a truth that is given only to those who walk in the light, in the ever flowing blood of Christ.
What does that mean, to walk in the light?
The fact that I see the blood flowing continually over me IS a continual and full recognition of my NEED for that blood. I, Daniel Yordy, NEED the blood of Christ to flow over me at all times AS my only covering. I stand in the light. I never try to hide myself or cover myself over with anything other than His great kindness and mercy as demonstrated by the one invaluable element by which all value is measured – the Blood of the Lord Jesus shed for me.
Adam and Eve covered themselves with fig leaves, they hid behind tree trunks, they pointed fingers of blame and accusation, and they did all of that for one reason only – to stay out of the light. Even after they had sinned, even after they had tried to cover their shame with “Looking good, baby,” they were still completely free to walk out from behind the tree trunks, to stand fully in the light of God, and to say “Here am I,” and to add nothing more to that. No buts, ifs, or ands, not even, “Have mercy on me,” which is just one more human pretence. None of that, just, “Here am I.” Nothing prevented them from standing in the light.
No one who stands in the light points any finger of any kind of blame or shame at any time at anyone else, ever.
There is a difference between blame and accusation on the one hand, and warning people concerning the certain consequences that must come upon evil actions, or being grieved over arrogance and violence. We understand that difference. More than that, if God should give a word concerning another, that is ALWAYS a private sharing, heart to heart, with the one giving the word walking in the light, that is, always confessing “I myself am weak, I blow it all the time, and God covers me, just like He covers you.”
Now, here is the greatest evil the flesh can commit; we will witness this evil being committed recklessly as we go forward. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” (Alexander Pope)
Bringing the liberty of Christ into all creation as manifested sons of God is the most incredibly glorious activity we could imagine being involved in. Seeing rivers of living water flow out of our bellies across this earth, transforming everything, clearing all demons out of the atmosphere, restoring all the destruction caused by “scientific” man, healing and giving life to all things, this is a wonder beyond all wonders.
But all that glory, as glorious as it is, is but a dim shadow, almost unimportant, when set beside the most precious truth – Christ living as me in my weakness.
Christ as me is the most precious thing there is, beyond all valuation, beyond all knowledge. You see, Christ as me makes the Lord Jesus Christ close to me and me to Him; we are one. Every time I look at myself, I see Jesus filling every part of me. Every time I look at Him, I see me, carried fully in Him. We walk together in sweet communion. I, weak, He, the One upon whose breast I lean my head.
All the glory of the future that lies before us, all the adventure, wonder, and power, none of it can be compared to the precious, holy knowledge of Christ living as me in my weakness.
You see, Christ as me in my weakness is the covering of LIGHT. It is how I am clothed, covered, protected, how all shame is washed away from me. After a thousand ages of adventures with God, containing Him, revealing Him, we will still count leaning our heads upon His breast as the thing that really matters. We will still know as well as remember Christ as us in our weakness.
ALL posing, pretending, and fakery are simply the multitudinous ways by which flesh hides itself from the light. All dressing ourselves up to look good in the eyes of others, all human effort we place between us and God, attempting to appease Him, all blaming, pointing, and accusing, ALL of it is nothing other than keeping our own flesh out of the light.
Look at those who accuse. Look at the websites that warn against all the “false doctrines” in the church of Christ. Where do you find inside of those accusations any personal admission of fault, of deception, of failure?
It is impossible to say, “Here am I, Oh God,” and to accuse one’s brother, both at the same time. The blood is found only in the light. What time I am accusing my brother, the blood cannot be flowing over me. Yes, I can turn from my accusing; I can turn, and instantly the blood is there free and full. But while I am accusing, my back is turned to the blood; I cannot see it.
Those who stand in darkness cover themselves with fig leaves, tree trunks, and accusation of others. Those who stand in the light cover themselves with the Blood, with Christ living as me in my weakness.
There is no greater offense than for a Christian, one who has tasted of the forgiveness of Christ personally, who has known the powers of the age to come, turning and accusing his brother, pointing the finger, AND THEN covering his accusation against Christ with “Christ as me.”
Understand this. We all get grumpy, we all are tempted with bitterness, and we all do stupid and foolish things. That’s fine. That’s covered. God takes care of our weakness. We always turn our backs on the tree of knowledge while we eat of life. But what we never do, we can’t because it’s not in us, is to continue on and JUSTIFY a practice of evil with, “Well, it’s just Christ as me. I feel like ripping you to shreds, accusing you falsely, making up lies and throwing them at one for whom Christ died, and since I ‘feel’ like doing that, it’s just Christ as me, so tough.”
“Christ as me” IS God’s covering for those who stand in the light, whose eyes are always turning to the One who fills them with His glory. “Christ as me” used as a sham, a cover, a way to hide in the darkness while accusing a brother or sister who is Christ IS the real strange fire that those earlier strange fires were placed by God in the Bible to warn us about.
There IS a time and a place where one is far better off to bite one’s tongue until it bleeds rather than to speak accusation against others because I “feel like it,” especially under the banner of “Christ as me.”
When I saw accusation excused by “Christ as me,” I knew I was looking at something horrible. It is the patterns God has placed in His word that enable me to understand what I instinctively knew in my gut.
Now, someone might say, “Listen, that’s a brother in the Lord doing that, God forgives everything, and it’s all working for good anyway, so what’s the big deal?”
That’s why I refuse to depart from all that God says in the New Testament. Ananias was as much a brother in Christ as anyone else, yet God took his life because he lied to the Holy Spirit inside this present age of grace. Yes, in the ages to come God will show forth His kindness to all through us. But that does not prevent His wrath upon evil in this age.
Shall I lift up the skirts of the Bride of Christ and holler at everyone to come and look at the uncleanness of His woman, of the one with whom He sleeps? Does His blood not cleanse her? Shall I, in open mockery of His blood, cry to all who are wicked, “Oh, come and see, I’m holding up the skirts of Jesus’ woman, see how dirty she is?” And then SAY, “Hey, I like looking under the skirts of Jesus’ woman to see how dirty she really is; I like inviting wicked people to look with me, so Hey, it’s just Christ as me!!!”
I’m being stark and graphic for one reason. It is stark and graphic. This IS exactly what is happening, it is exactly how the Lord Jesus sees this practice.
Murderers, pimps, prostitutes, and homosexuals are right now flocking into the Kingdom of God. All their sins are washed away in one moment. But more than that, find the worst perverted, murdering pimp you can find, one who will not repent, not in this age. Listen, he has it easy compared to the one who will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and hear this question, “Why were you messing around with My woman?”
But that one will have a breeze giving answer to the Judge of heaven and earth compared with the one who messed around with His woman, as I have described, and then covered his own iniquity with “Christ as me.”
Christ accusing Christ. I don’t think so.
Now, we are always inviting people to step out of the darkness into the light. We are always inviting people to enter through the door of “It is finished,” into the precious glory of Christ as me in my weakness. We are always suggesting to people that it’s okay to say, “I have sinned.” Or “I am deceived.” Or “I blew it, I was wrong.” It’s okay to be weak, to be infirm, to be in need. The Lord Jesus Christ swallows all of that up inside Himself.
If we see someone accusing others and calling it “Christ as me,” we will continue towards that one as towards everyone else. “Hey, brother, it’s all right. You can be weak. You know you messed up yesterday; you fell short of God’s glory. You know that, we know that, but it’s fine. You don’t have to cover your sin with accusation of someone else. Just stand in the light, the Blood washes over you, and Christ carries all your failure inside Himself.”
More than that, we ourselves always obey Jesus who always says, when we concern ourselves with anyone else, “What is that to you? I do whatever I want with My own. You follow Me.” I heard those words again from Him just the other day after I was momentarily “burdened” with some other believer who in my “wise” opinion just doesn’t “get it.”
Those who belong to Jesus (everyone on this planet) are not our concern. Our concern is the revelation of Jesus Christ.
So, the purpose of my writing this letter is not that we need to concern ourselves with the actions of anyone. Not at all. My purpose is so that we will understand these things as they take place, so that we know clearly the dividing line God has placed between “Christ as us” in the light versus iniquity and darkness.
Paul said it this way, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!”
He said this, more than once, because people were always accusing him of teaching a gospel that made us free to sin all we want because “grace” will simply cover it up. No one who teaches the good news of Christ as us ever teaches such a thing. Yet, there will always be those who practice what I have laid out, and by these things the serpent seeks to bring disrepute upon the wonderful grace of God.
Eating of Christ causes us to turn our backs on sin, period. It causes us to turn our backs on sin and it causes us to turn our backs on “defeating” sin. Both. We are busy eating of life and have no thought or care for sin or any thought for missing or not missing God. Life transforms us from the inside out – with power.