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Phil Vincent
Consider these two things: First, our God is a consuming Fire. (Hebrews 12:29 and Deuteronomy 4:24) This God lives within us, because the Holy Spirit lives within us.
Also, there is a testing by fire that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. Some believe this happens once only, at some future Day of Judgement. I believe this happens to our spirits when we need cleaning. We need to periodically get rid of our accumulated useless iniquities, as well as spirit parasites that latch on to us like ticks. And the only way to do that is to take it to God. He burns off the bad stuff, leaving us fresh and clean. This happens in the spirit realm. Your brain and body may not even notice it, except you feel a lot better.
Baptism means washing. Remember what Jesus said when he was washing the diisciple's' feet. "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet] but is entirely clean." (John 13:9) The "feet" are the lower extremities of our being, that which "walks" in this world, with all of its corrupting influences.
Jesus was able to walk around down here without getting dirty, but for the rest of us, not so much. That's why He told Peter, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." (John 13:8). We need this. It's a good thing.