Lamp On A Stand Or A Lamp Under The Basket, Which Is Logical And Practical?
Always we should understand that Jesus used certain earthen imageries to describe the heavenly truth of the Kingdom of God that is being established on earth. Heavenly realities cannot be fathomed and experienced in our lives, unless we become familiar to identify with the workings of God that are already true in our lives. With better understanding of the truth, we become better users of the truth in our lives. Glory to God!
Come on here we go...
Matthew 5:14-16 — "14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
Here in the above parable, Jesus says, 'You are the light of the world.' Light is something that reveals, darkness is something that conceals. The Bible affirms to us believers that, "We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one. (1 John 5:19, CEV). In other words, we know within us when we are born again and that we belong to God (John 3:3-8; 1 John 3:24; 4:13; John 1:12), because already we sense the light of God shining upon us confirming with assurance within us through the Holy Spirit that we are a child of God and that God has saved us from sin (Rom 8:14, 15-16, 23-26). Praise the Lord! Do we see ourselves now as the light of the world?
Babies are the closest thing to heaven because they are not born with darkened mind (Mark 10:13-15). People are not born with darkened mind of sin, but the devil influences all the people in this present world to become darkened in their minds through their unthankfulness to God by sowing seeds of unbelief that grow within them to defile them through a debased mind of the soul instead of being led by the Spirit of God (Rom 1:21, 28; 8:14). So plainly we were darkness before we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior of our life which saved us from sin and death to make us receive eternal life within which has made us to become light in the Lord (Eph 5:8). Before we were saved, we concealed ourselves within our own belief and religious fervor that God rejected since time began (Gen 4:7). All our law keeping and religious works and self righteousness are like filthy rags of sin that reveals our spiritual nakedness with which we have no rights to stand in the Presence of the Lord which is holy (Isa 64:6; 6:5; Matt 22:12). But thank God for his mercy and grace and love, when we have believed Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, from that moment onwards we have been clothed with garments of salvation and robe of righteousness (Isa 61:10).
A man who is born again is like a man who is set as a city on a hill, his good works cannot be hidden from the world or to himself as they become filled with the Spirit (Acts 10:38; 6:15, 55-56; 2:4, 14; Acts 13:9). So why city on a hill is the example Jesus used? Because the city in itself is the city of God on the hill of Zion in heaven, about which Abraham our father of faith dreamed along with other great saints who lived to desire for it intensely while they were alive (Heb 11:13-16), and Jacob saw it being connected to the earth through a ladder which is Jesus Christ (John 1:51; Gen 28:11-13). The human who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and is saved suddenly lifts his head not to other humans but to the hill of the Lord in heaven (Psa 121:1-2), the city of God (Heb 12:22-24, 25-29), from where his help comes from. So the very symbolic language used by Jesus represents that every believer is set in the heavenly places along with Jesus, to which the component of his spirit within lifts him up to see from within his spirit the city where He stands upon and longs for where God dwells (Eph 2:19-23; 2:6).
Therefore we are exhorted to “put on our beautiful garments” (Isaiah 52:1), and be prepared to meet our King, as we are saved for good works..therefore we the bride of Christ must be “arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: . . . which is the righteousness good works of the saints” after they believed Jesus Christ and got saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-10; Revelation 19:7,8). God wants a radiant and a glorious Church to be presented to himself as the bride of Christ (Eph 5:26-27), hence the last days revival will be the "washing with water [i.e. of the Spirit] through the WORD", so that we will not become spotted by the world, flesh or self to stay as pure virgin to Christ and be holy and blameless in His Presence (2 Cor 11:2; Eph 1:4; 1 John 2:15-17; Luke 9:23-26; Gal 5:13; Rom 13:14). Let us know and learn through our born again experience to let our light of the life of Jesus out from within us to the world around us to save as many as we can so that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us all who have been saved with Jesus and present us all with you in His presence on the last day (John 1:4, 9; 2 Cor 4:14; 1 Thess 5:23-24). While garment of salvation is a single item of clothing given at the time of salvation that stays with a beleiver for eternity, the robe is a long loose outer garment, that will be given often signifying honorary stature which depends on the works of the believers done after salvation. So saints, fight for the honor that comes from God and that which will stay with you for eternity ahead and not the temporary honor of men which will soon pass away (Gal 1:10; John 5:44).
Mark 4:21-25 — "21 Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lamp stand? 22 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”"
The Gospel of Mark gives a better understanding about the what is the light that the lamp of the Lord emits in relation to reality of God's existence. So here again Jesus says, the lamp of the spirit within a believer is not to be put under subjection of the soul or the body, but rather the soul and body of a believer should be put up on the lamp stand of the spirit direction. So in the above explanation we see the soul as the basket, or the bed as the fleshly body of a believer and finally the lamp stand as the spirit of the believer.
So what is the light which comes out of the lamp of the spirit of believers? First of all the Presence of God is hidden to all humans as they all have a dead spirit within them without believing in Jesus Christ. So this light of the revelation of God's existence will be revealed to all believers and will no more be kept as a secret anymore after they become a believer (Rom 8:9). The consciousness of God's Presence is the hallmark of the believer's life in Christ Jesus after they become saved from sin unto eternal life (1 John 2:27). If a person is saved already, he will have his inner spiritual ear opened already to hear the voice of God the Spirit from within his spirit-man (Heb 12:25-29). Again Jesus has insisted us believers in Him to be very careful to hear the voice of God and not the voice of the soul which operates by the fleshly desires of food, sex and comfort, so that a little obedience may be able to bring more of His guidance and leading through out our lives on earth to make it a blessed pilgrimage within the Presence of God where the perfect will of God will be fulfilled through our lives. God rewards us by the measure of percentage we obey to His voice and the Word of God which is the lamp upon the lamp stand of the spirit. Perfect submission and obedience brings perfect blessings upon our lives. Lesser percentage of submission and obedience brings lesser percentage of blessings upon our lives. The guarantee of hearing the voice of God and feeling the Presence of God to have consciousness of it in our lives depends on the percentage of our response to the voice of God we have in our lives. The more we obey, the greater will be the blessings of God in our lives which will keep on increasing in every area of our lives. Whoever starts to live out of their soul and body, and does not even bother to hear more of His voice and His Word of the promises of God in their lives, will lose even the small percentage of capacity they have to hear the voice of God and feel the consciousness of His Presence in their lives to guide them.
Luke 8:16-18 — "16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lamp stand, that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”"
Here in the above context, the same theme of the lamp, light, lamp stand comes, where the lamp of the Word of God that gets lit to become en-flamed by the Holy Spirit, is kept by choice of ours to hear its instruction and let the lamp stand of the spirit man hold and direct the soul and the body in its light (Psa 119:105; Prov 20:27). When the spirit searches the soul to find the will of God to make us reject the wrong and accept the right direction that God has planned in our lives by the consciousness of God's Presence (Heb 4:11-13), then the good works naturally flow out of our lives where ever we go and what ever we do in our lives to bring Glory to God (Acts 10:38-39). So only those who take care to set the lamp stand in its place to shine out the light to others, will only likewise be able to see the light themselves, or else even after salvation some soulish believers are continuing to walk in darkness like in the days they were unsaved without ever having the light of the revelation of God's conscious Presence in their lives (Heb 13:4-6). Such a pathetic and miserable life they will have on earth without the consciousness of God's Presence because of the lukewarmness of being directed by their soul and body and not by the spirit. If a believer hears the voice of self from soul to a certain level, and not the voice of the Spirit from his spirit wholeheartedly, according to the percentages he will be blessed with the Presence of God in his personal life and the resultant works of God and help from Him will be proportional to the percentage of obedience to the voice of his spirit and the soul's and body's subjection to it (1 Cor 14:30, 32-33).
When Jesus says, "therefore take heed how you hear," it means that we should realize the power of our choice to choose to hear the voice of self or the voice of the Spirit which will decide what kind of blessing of God we will experience now on earth and also that which will influence our reward and inheritance from God to lavish upon us for eternity ahead. God cannot be mocked, because according to the law of sowing and reaping that God has already set to rule in the spiritual realm and atmosphere of the spirit, only what we sow we will reap. If we sow to the flesh we will reap corruption, but if we sow to the Spirit by hearing his voice and obeying it constantly we will reap everlasting life of honor, glory and power forever and ever in Jesus name (Gal 6:7-8, 9-10; Jude 1:25; Rev 5:13; 7:12). Amen!
Luke 11:33-36 — "33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lamp stand, that those who come in may see the light. 34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”"
In another context the same type of parable is explained by Jesus, and here in the above verses we see "No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket", which means a child of God after he or she is born through the spoken word of God which opens up a channel within him and brings in the atmosphere of the Kingdom of God to hear the voice of God from heaven (1 Peter 1:23), he is expected to put that soul with the stored Word of God [i.e. Logos] under the direction of the Spirit through his spirit within, which will transform the Word of God to become a continued light of good works of Jesus through his life so that they who are chosen by God to see the light of heaven may be able to see and receive it in their own lives which will causes treasures in heaven to be stored on the name of the believer for the Glory of God and tangible blessings of heaven will be felt over their lives on earth.
In other words, Jesus explains that there are two eyes within the life of a believer who is saved on earth by Him, one is the soulish bad eye driven by the fleshly desires of the body for instant gratification and satisfaction like a animal and identifies itself with the way others sees them from around, the other is the spiritual good eye which is able to see our own lives and others the way God sees us and values us by what he has done for us through Christ Jesus. When we look through the eye of the spirit within, the light of God will shine through our soul and our body. But when we start to look at our own lives through the eye of our soul independently apart from God by the influence of our soul controlled by the flesh, our whole body will experience darkness in forgetting the Presence of God and the consciousness of His indwelling Presence in our body which has been declared by God to be the temple of God (1 Cor 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16). Those who experience darkness will always tell that they have no need of anything from God anymore than what ever they have already, but those who are full of light will be desperate for more of the revelation of the light of the Word of God and the Power of the Spirit in their lives. So Jesus wants all believers to take heed to the voice of the Spirit from their spirit within, so that the so called light within the lives of believer may not be the soulish fleshly darkness of self.
Further Jesus wants the believers to have no part or compartment or department of their lives to be under the soulish fleshly influence which will bring them in to darkness and make their lives so ineffective for the Kingdom of God. He wants every believer to confess their sins as soon as possible to God and be with an humble repentant attitude of a child which is the most acceptable before God which makes them to shine the brightest to others around them for the glory of the Kingdom of God.
The bad eye of the soul without God will only bring darkness and more darkness to our body. The good eye of the spirit from within with God will only bring light and more light to our body.
The heavenly truth which Jesus has conveyed through this earthly parable of the lamp and the lamp stand is, whether we will be soul driven believers or spirit guided believer as we live on earth for the Glory of God. In fact, Jesus wants us to be Spirit led and spirit guided believers, so that we may shine the light of the revelation of the existence and works of Jesus through allowing his life to work out from within, the plans and purposes of our Father God in Heaven to the whole world around us which lives in darkness. Hence by seeing it, they themselves may be able to come to the light and receive it as much as possible, and glorify the Father in Heaven! Several context, but the one consistent message of the light, lamp and lamp stand has nearly been the same. So let us live a life worthy of the calling of Jesus and bring great glory to our Father God in Heaven! Glory to God! Amen.
Much Blessings...
Come on here we go...
Matthew 5:14-16 — "14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
Here in the above parable, Jesus says, 'You are the light of the world.' Light is something that reveals, darkness is something that conceals. The Bible affirms to us believers that, "We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one. (1 John 5:19, CEV). In other words, we know within us when we are born again and that we belong to God (John 3:3-8; 1 John 3:24; 4:13; John 1:12), because already we sense the light of God shining upon us confirming with assurance within us through the Holy Spirit that we are a child of God and that God has saved us from sin (Rom 8:14, 15-16, 23-26). Praise the Lord! Do we see ourselves now as the light of the world?
Babies are the closest thing to heaven because they are not born with darkened mind (Mark 10:13-15). People are not born with darkened mind of sin, but the devil influences all the people in this present world to become darkened in their minds through their unthankfulness to God by sowing seeds of unbelief that grow within them to defile them through a debased mind of the soul instead of being led by the Spirit of God (Rom 1:21, 28; 8:14). So plainly we were darkness before we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior of our life which saved us from sin and death to make us receive eternal life within which has made us to become light in the Lord (Eph 5:8). Before we were saved, we concealed ourselves within our own belief and religious fervor that God rejected since time began (Gen 4:7). All our law keeping and religious works and self righteousness are like filthy rags of sin that reveals our spiritual nakedness with which we have no rights to stand in the Presence of the Lord which is holy (Isa 64:6; 6:5; Matt 22:12). But thank God for his mercy and grace and love, when we have believed Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, from that moment onwards we have been clothed with garments of salvation and robe of righteousness (Isa 61:10).
Therefore we are exhorted to “put on our beautiful garments” (Isaiah 52:1), and be prepared to meet our King, as we are saved for good works..therefore we the bride of Christ must be “arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: . . . which is the righteousness good works of the saints” after they believed Jesus Christ and got saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-10; Revelation 19:7,8). God wants a radiant and a glorious Church to be presented to himself as the bride of Christ (Eph 5:26-27), hence the last days revival will be the "washing with water [i.e. of the Spirit] through the WORD", so that we will not become spotted by the world, flesh or self to stay as pure virgin to Christ and be holy and blameless in His Presence (2 Cor 11:2; Eph 1:4; 1 John 2:15-17; Luke 9:23-26; Gal 5:13; Rom 13:14). Let us know and learn through our born again experience to let our light of the life of Jesus out from within us to the world around us to save as many as we can so that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us all who have been saved with Jesus and present us all with you in His presence on the last day (John 1:4, 9; 2 Cor 4:14; 1 Thess 5:23-24). While garment of salvation is a single item of clothing given at the time of salvation that stays with a beleiver for eternity, the robe is a long loose outer garment, that will be given often signifying honorary stature which depends on the works of the believers done after salvation. So saints, fight for the honor that comes from God and that which will stay with you for eternity ahead and not the temporary honor of men which will soon pass away (Gal 1:10; John 5:44).
Mark 4:21-25 — "21 Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lamp stand? 22 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”"
The Gospel of Mark gives a better understanding about the what is the light that the lamp of the Lord emits in relation to reality of God's existence. So here again Jesus says, the lamp of the spirit within a believer is not to be put under subjection of the soul or the body, but rather the soul and body of a believer should be put up on the lamp stand of the spirit direction. So in the above explanation we see the soul as the basket, or the bed as the fleshly body of a believer and finally the lamp stand as the spirit of the believer.
Luke 8:16-18 — "16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lamp stand, that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”"
When Jesus says, "therefore take heed how you hear," it means that we should realize the power of our choice to choose to hear the voice of self or the voice of the Spirit which will decide what kind of blessing of God we will experience now on earth and also that which will influence our reward and inheritance from God to lavish upon us for eternity ahead. God cannot be mocked, because according to the law of sowing and reaping that God has already set to rule in the spiritual realm and atmosphere of the spirit, only what we sow we will reap. If we sow to the flesh we will reap corruption, but if we sow to the Spirit by hearing his voice and obeying it constantly we will reap everlasting life of honor, glory and power forever and ever in Jesus name (Gal 6:7-8, 9-10; Jude 1:25; Rev 5:13; 7:12). Amen!
Luke 11:33-36 — "33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lamp stand, that those who come in may see the light. 34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”"
In another context the same type of parable is explained by Jesus, and here in the above verses we see "No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket", which means a child of God after he or she is born through the spoken word of God which opens up a channel within him and brings in the atmosphere of the Kingdom of God to hear the voice of God from heaven (1 Peter 1:23), he is expected to put that soul with the stored Word of God [i.e. Logos] under the direction of the Spirit through his spirit within, which will transform the Word of God to become a continued light of good works of Jesus through his life so that they who are chosen by God to see the light of heaven may be able to see and receive it in their own lives which will causes treasures in heaven to be stored on the name of the believer for the Glory of God and tangible blessings of heaven will be felt over their lives on earth.
Further Jesus wants the believers to have no part or compartment or department of their lives to be under the soulish fleshly influence which will bring them in to darkness and make their lives so ineffective for the Kingdom of God. He wants every believer to confess their sins as soon as possible to God and be with an humble repentant attitude of a child which is the most acceptable before God which makes them to shine the brightest to others around them for the glory of the Kingdom of God.
The bad eye of the soul without God will only bring darkness and more darkness to our body. The good eye of the spirit from within with God will only bring light and more light to our body.
The heavenly truth which Jesus has conveyed through this earthly parable of the lamp and the lamp stand is, whether we will be soul driven believers or spirit guided believer as we live on earth for the Glory of God. In fact, Jesus wants us to be Spirit led and spirit guided believers, so that we may shine the light of the revelation of the existence and works of Jesus through allowing his life to work out from within, the plans and purposes of our Father God in Heaven to the whole world around us which lives in darkness. Hence by seeing it, they themselves may be able to come to the light and receive it as much as possible, and glorify the Father in Heaven! Several context, but the one consistent message of the light, lamp and lamp stand has nearly been the same. So let us live a life worthy of the calling of Jesus and bring great glory to our Father God in Heaven! Glory to God! Amen.
Much Blessings...
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