(tm) The Light of the World
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Light was an important feature of the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles. The new Jerusalem will be filled with the light of the Glory of God in Christ.
At the time of Jesus it was a custom during the feast of Tabernacles for the Jews to come to the Temple carrying torches. Lampstands were lighted in the Temple of Herod. The result of the combining of the torches of the worshipers with the lampstands of the Temple was a flood of light that lit the surrounding area, just as will be true when the light of the Glory of God, at the coming of our Lord, Christ, is combined with the inner light of each of the Christian believers.
It is the light of God in Christ in the saints, both on the earth and in Heaven, that will be as the lightning that "cometh out of the east, and shineth even to the west."
It was in the context of the torches and candlesticks [lampstands] of the celebration of Tabernacles that the Jews could understand the meaning of Jesus when He presented His Church as the light of the world.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. (Matthew 5:14)
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
When one studies the traditions that have accumulated around the Jewish celebrations, of which the lights of the feast of Tabernacles are an example, one can see the guiding influence of the Holy Spirit. The Jews are so close to the truth of Christ that when God opens their eyes they will move into the worship of God through Christ in such power and glory that Jerusalem truly will be the joy of the whole earth.
Let us never forget, however, that the inheritance of the saints is available today—now—to whoever will move forward in faith and grasp the fullness of God in Christ. The inheritance is open to all—Jew and Gentile, male and female, young and old.
Now is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation.
There are at least three dimensions of the light that is to shine from the Body of Christ:
Christ shining through the Church in godly behavior.
Christ shining through the Church in supernatural power.
Christ shining through the Church in revelation concerning the Person, purpose, and way of God.
These three constitute:
What the Church is in moral character.
What the Church can do.
What the Church states.
The "good works" that mankind sees in the saint of God are the actions that spring from the nature that has been transformed by the Holy Spirit and filled with the Substance of Christ: good deeds performed in love; the maintaining of a joyful spirit in all kinds of difficulties; peace in the midst of turmoil; patience in the face of threats and belligerence; self-control and temperance in the use of the world; cleanliness of speech and behavior (Galatians 5:22,23). These good works enable the people of the world to gain understanding of the true Character of God. They are the light in the darkness of the present hour.
The supernatural works of power that the Christian Church is enabled to perform also serve as a light to the world. Faith that comes from God and that brings about God’s intervention in circumstances; extraordinary healings and miracles that temporarily set aside the laws of nature; the ability to discern the good and evil spirits that are active in a given situation—these are the Lampstand of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, to speak figuratively.
Supernatural manifestations of wisdom and power are the shining of the Glory of the Spirit of God in the material world (I Corinthians 12:8-10).
The light of Christ was revealed not only through the moral perfection of His Nature but also through the miraculous signs with which His ministry was surrounded. If Christ had been morally perfect but had not performed miraculous deeds, He would have been the world’s greatest teacher and example of how people should conduct themselves but He would not have been the Teacher from God.
On the other hand, if Christ had worked His many miracles but was not morally perfect, it would have been evident that He came from another world but there would have been a question as to which world He came from. Also, He would not have been able to serve as the unblemished Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
What the Church is and does in moral character and behavior is one dimension of the light of the world. What the Church is able to perform in the area of miraculous works of power is a second dimension of the light of the world.
A church made up of members who are morally perfect but who are not exercising works of Divine power may be the world’s greatest example of righteous living, but part of the Divine witness is lacking.
A church composed of members who perform supernatural works in Jesus’ name, but who are careless about their moral conduct, is in contact with spiritual power; but the testimony is sullied and the members will be rejected by if they do not repent. God cannot operate His plan of redemption when His people are continuing in uncleanness and unrighteousness.
The third aspect of the light that is to shine from the Body of Christ concerns what the Church has to say about God’s attitude and plan with regard to the peoples of the earth. The Church possess the truth of God. The Holy Spirit provides Divine wisdom and knowledge; oracular utterance that reveals the mind of God; instantly-gained ability to speak and understand foreign languages.
The ascended Christ has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers in order to build the Church, the Lampstand of God, so through the Church the knowledge of the Lord can be given to the nations of the earth.
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; (Philippians 2:15)
As the spiritual darkness is settling on the earth in our day, just before the coming of our Lord, there appears to be a growing willingness of people to openly mock and scorn the Lord Jesus and His teachings.
God knew well in advance that this darkness would come upon us. He always is in perfect control of every situation because of His unlimited power and foreknowledge. God never turns back from what He sets out to do. God never changes.
It is the will of God that the peoples of the earth walk in accordance with the laws of His Kingdom. The laws of His Kingdom are the guides to human conduct Jesus presented in the Sermon on the Mount. How, then, in view of the fact that people are moving further away from rather than closer to these guides, will God have His way in the earth?
God is moving according to the principle of the firstfruits. First came Jesus. He is the One who perfectly observed the laws of the Kingdom of God in the earth. One Man among the hundreds of millions on the earth. Yet He walked without fault, keeping all the laws of the Kingdom of God.
Next, the saints of the Lord are being guided and strengthened by the Holy Spirit so they can keep the laws of the Kingdom. Keeping the laws of the Kingdom in a demon-filled world is not easy, and doing God’s will means a complete overthrowing of the works of darkness in our lives. How our flesh kicks and rebels! But little by little, command upon command, rule upon rule, teaching upon teaching, the Spirit of God is converting us from the inside.
The Holy Spirit begins in the core of our being, in our "holy of holies," creating Christ in us. Total conversion from our wild fleshly nature to a person who walks in the Spirit of God does not take place overnight. But if we follow the Spirit of God as He brings us to Christ, our conversion to righteous, holy, and obedient conduct is as certain as the promises of God.
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