The Lamp of The Body - Part 3 - The Eye Is The Lamp of The Body

In elementary school I remember the days that we would get to watch a film in class. It was always exciting to have a break from the normal routine and do something different. The teacher would get out the reel of film and put it on the projector, and as it fluttered through the machine the pictures of the film strip were displayed on the the screen for the class to see. The warbled audio and bright fluttered picture would always captivate a class of elementary school kids.

In the same way, whatever goes in our body is lighted and reflected outward. Our body is a lamp that project what is put in front of the lens, our eyes and mind. Something will always occupy the space in our minds, and we have to be intentional to fill it with the right things so there isn’t space for the other things that will drag us down.

Proverbs 3:3-6 “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Athletes are constantly monitoring the food that they intake to make sure that they will get optimum performance from their body. If they put in good fuel, then their bodies will function at peak performance as they were designed. But if they fill their bodies with any and every craving for the sweet treats and tempting foods, they will find themselves inhibited and their bodies not working to the full potential. The same thing is true for each of us with what we intake into our hearts and minds. So.... “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23).

I was once showed this graphic analogy that always stuck with me, and I feel relates well to the topic at hand. If you open up a fresh bottle of water, there would be no hesitation in drinking its contents. It is pure and clean and will give your body what it needs. But place a tiny piece of dog poop in the same bottle of water, and most people wouldn’t drink it for $100. While it is just a tiny speck, it contaminates the whole bottle of water and renders it useless for its purpose. That same reasoning is why Jesus says what He does in Matthew 5:29 “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. For it is better for you to loose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Whatever thing in your life that is filling your reservoir up with unwanted pieces, it is better to loose those relationships, or that piece of technology, or that food or drink, or next best thing, rather than find your entire self useless for the purpose you were created and on a path of destruction.

When we pour over the scriptures and let the truth consume us, a brilliant light radiates, even greater than those little film projectors from elementary school. The glory and radiance of God shining through us is the result...... “Isaiah 58:8 “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.” Isaiah 58:10)

This is the natural result of knowing Christ. But it is only when we commit to seeking Him first. If we seek to shine and radiate light apart from the source, there will always be darkness because we are not seeking the source of true light. We directly reflect the object of our attention, and God’s glory described in Isaiah 60:1-2 is what is reflected when He is our focus.

Isaiah 60:1-2 “Arise, shine, for your light has come,

   and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

2 See, darkness covers the earth

   and thick darkness is over the peoples,

but the Lord rises upon you

   and his glory appears over you.

Seek first His Kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Mathew 6:33

Join me next time for part for of this series on the Lamp of the Body, See To It That The Light Within You is Not Darkness.

The Lamp of the Body Part 2 - A Light Put On Display For All To See

Every year I take a trip out to Colorado or Wyoming with a group of guys with Flatline Adventures. We spend time hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and have some great adventures. Of all the beautiful scenery that I have seen on these trips over the last 7 years, one sticks in my mind. When at Jones Park in Colorado Springs, we hike down from the place we set up camp, and there high up on the mountain is a clearing that allows you to see across the state of Colorado. On a clear night you can see every light in the big nearby cities. It is a magnificent light show that shimmers in the beautiful view. It is one of the coolest sights. I would imagine if that city were on top of the mountain lighting it up, it would be just as spectacular from ground level, and visible for miles and miles.....

Last time I shared about the truth of our salvation, how God’s Spirit lives in us, our new identity, and how we are seen just as Christ is seen by God. Today, I will continue in this 5 part series as we look through the eyes of Christ on calvary, and talk about this light that is not hidden, but put on display for all to see.

Luke 11:33 No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.

At the time, many saw Jesus death on the cross as the end, defeat, and no more, but in actuality His death and resurrection were the decisive blow against Satan, taking back life, overcoming death, and redeeming all of mankind. Jesus looked at the cross with joy set before Him because He knew the result.

Hebrews 12:2 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The joy set before Him was knowing that you and I would have the chance to be saved and redeemed. His love is so deep and burns so intensely for us that He willingly endured one of the most agonizing deaths imaginable so that we may have life abundant.

Christ made a public spectacle of this decisive blow against Satan so that all of creation in Heaven, Hell, and earth could see the triumph over all powers and authorities,  by the power of the Cross.

  Colossians 2:13 “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities. he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

Jesus pursued the hill carrying his cross with the joy set before him of freeing mankind from death and separation from God. He carried the heavy planks that he would give his life on to the top of the hill for the very people that were beating him, spitting on him, hurling insults, and cursing His name. Jesus was the light on the hill, proclaiming victory over the sin of all mankind, once and for all. Jesus was a light set on a high place for all to see and for God’s glory to shine, even in mankind's darkest hour. (Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”)

As people were mourning and wailing for Jesus as he was being led to the cross, Jesus said in Luke 23:28 not to weep for him, because he knew the victory and triumph that was about to take place in his death and resurrection.

In Matthew 27:40 some scoffers were yelling at him “Come down off the cross if you are the Son of God.” But really, Jesus stayed on the cross because He is the Son of God, knowing his sacrifice was necessary to save mankind. The sin of mankind separated us from God, but because of Christ sacrifice we can be united with Him through the salvation offered us by God’s grace. Romans 6:23 - For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord. (AMP)

This is the Gospel, the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. It is the power of God that has given us salvation, and is the light that is put on display for all to see. Jesus made a public spectacle of it, so that it may shine through us, as our body is the lamp.

Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God’s power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance

Join me next time for the third part of this series, The Eye Is The Lamp Of The Body, as we look at the next verse of this parable. Luke 11:34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness.

The Lamp of the Body - Part 1 - A Light Not to Be Hidden

                                  The Lamp of the Body

         33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy,[g] your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy,[h] your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

The purpose of a lamp seems obvious to most, to shine for all to see, to light up a room, and to dispel darkness so that we can see. The Parable of the Lamp of the Body that Jesus told is making a parallel between a physical truth and a spiritual truth, something that exists in the physical sense for us to see or touch or experience, that helps us understand a spiritual truth that we cannot necessarily touch or feel in a tangible way, but that has great effect on our lives each day.

As believers in Christ, we are full of light. As our eyes are fixed on Jesus, the object of our focus, His Glory is reflected through us. Our purpose is to know God and His son Jesus and seek Him first, and like light in a mirror we will reflect the object of our focus. If our focus is daily on Christ, then our reflection will be of the things listed in Phillipians 4:8-9 as those things are who Christ is. The light as it is referred to in this passage is God’s glory shining through us, and this is why it shines through us.

Phillipians 4:8-9 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.And the God of peace will be with you.

When we accepted salvation we were filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:12 “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession - to the praise of his glory.”) We are forgiven our sins, God sees us as righteous, and His Spirit lives in us. God cannot be a part of sin or have anything to do with sin. Since we have died to our old self, the sinful self, He sees us as righteous. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone the new has come.

We are raised with Christ who is seated at the right hand of God. The highest place for the most humble hearts. Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in hi kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

We can affirm this another way. The prophet Isaiah, writing Gods words, wrote a description of Jesus the Savior of the world 700 years before He walked the earth. Isaiah 59:16-17. Then Paul writes while he is in prison in Rome for sharing the Gospel, the book of Ephesians through revelation the Lord has given him. He ends the letter by encouraging all believers to stand firm in the spiritual armor we are suited with because we are one in Christ

“13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:13-17).

Notice that the description of believers in the armor of God is the same as Christ is described 750 years prior to Pauls account. We are one with Christ!

We have established why God’s glory shines through us, and the new life that we have in Christ as we are seen as righteous, forgiven, and redeemed of all of our sins. Join me next time as we look through the eyes of Christ on Calvary, what we can learn about how this great truth came to pass, and how Christ shined like a city on a hill when He made a public spectacle of the victory of the cross.