YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (1)

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid – Matthew 5:14

“…when the Scripture says “You are the light of the world,” it means that we are the light. In other words, there is no other light. The word “the” used here is exclusive. We are the only light. The world has no other light. Jesus declared, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world,” (John 9:5). But now that He is not physically in the world, we are His representatives. Therefore, in His place, we are the light of the world. If we do not give light, there is no other source to which the world can turn or look for light. This means that the world is totally dependent upon Christians for light….

There is a simple illustration in the Old Testament that teaches us how significant we are as the light of the world. In the tabernacle that God commanded Moses to build, there were two compartments. The first was called the Holy Place, and the second was called the Holiest of All, or the Holy of Holies….In the Holy Place, there were only three objects of furniture…the golden altar of incense…a seven-branched candlestick…the table of showbread…these items were symbolic – they contained a message to the church of Jesus Christ…

In Scripture, the candlestick always typifies the church. It had seven branches typifying the sevenfold nature of the church…the “candles” were bowls with channels filled with oil. Little wicks were dipped in the oil, and the light was produced by igniting the wick, which set the oil in the wick on fire. Unless there was oil in the candles, and unless that oil was ignited, the candles gave no light. And, in the Holy Place, the candlestick was the only source of light. If there was no light coming from the candlestick, there was no light at all.

…We, too, are the only light. There is no other light. We are the seven-branched candlestick. We give light only when we are filled with oil and then the oil is set on fire….the church can give light only when it is filled with the Holy Spirit and set on fire by God. The candlestick, in itself, was incapable of producing light without the oil and without the fire…”