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.
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