Light of the World

All throughout the world, nations are facing a wide variety of crises. In fulfilling our destiny as God’s people, we have a vital role to play as salt and light in the changes needed in our nations.

In the introduction to the powerful book from which this series, Living as Salt and Light, is drawn, Derek Prince writes these words:

I am firmly convinced that our countries need to be changed and can be changed … and that we are the people who must bring about that change. My goal will be to show you from the Word of God how we can accomplish it.

The goal stated above will be the focus of our three-part Teaching Legacy series, Living as Salt and Light. The first part begins by examining what Jesus meant by the words, ”You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

The Light Of The World

The Sermon on the Mount is universally accepted by Christians as the measure of faith and life that Jesus set for all true believers. It is not a special message just for those who have leadership roles, such as teachers, apostles, prophets, evangelists, or preachers. In this passage of Scripture, Jesus revealed the will of God, or God’s standard, which applies to every faithful Christian.

For our opening text, I would like to present what Jesus said in Matthew 5:13–14:

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Speaking to all Christians, Jesus tells us three very important facts about ourselves: 1) we are the salt of the earth; 2) we are the light of the world; and 3) a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. As an introduction to my theme, I want to point out some of the self-evident implications of these three statements. We will take them in the reverse order in which they were spoken by Jesus, beginning in this letter with the last two of the three roles He gave us. In our next letter, we will cover the first statement.

Conspicuous Christianity

First of all, we are “a city that is set on a hill [and] cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). This fact is true of every person who publicly professes faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The moment you make that profession publicly, you become a city that is set on a hill. You cannot be hidden. You are conspicuous: eyes will be on you from every direction, at all times, whether you are attending school or working at a factory or in an office. These eyes will be turned in your direction to see if your Christianity is real. What will those watching you be asking themselves about you? Is your faith genuine? Do you truly believe what you claim to believe? Do you live it out?

People will analyze every aspect of your life—your family life, your business life, your social life, and so forth. They will also analyze the conduct and testimony of the church you attend. In most cases, they will form their judgment of Christianity from what they see in you. You are a city that is set on a hill.

As a young man in the Anglican Church in Great Britain, I came to the conclusion that Christianity was a failure. I formed my opinion by looking at the people around me and deciding they did not really believe what they claimed to believe.

So, you must realize that the moment you profess faith in Jesus Christ, you become conspicuous. You cannot avoid this reality. If you don’t want to be conspicuous—if you don’t want to be watched, judged, and analyzed—then don’t profess faith in Jesus Christ. But if you profess faith in Jesus Christ, this will be your situation: people will begin observing you. From that time on, you will be a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden.

No Other Light

Second, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). At various times and places in my life, I have been a teacher of the English language. I understand English well enough to know that 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.

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.

Fresh Oil

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, and one of them was a seven-branched candlestick.

In Scripture, the candlestick always typifies the church. We would be wrong to picture this candlestick as the same kind we have today—wax candles standing firmly in some kind of base. In the tabernacle, 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.

Do you see how this is true of the church? 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 when the oil in us is set on fire.

In Scripture, oil is always a type of the Holy Spirit. This symbolism tells us that the church can give light only when it is filled with the Holy Spirit and set on fire by God.

Our Main Purpose

The function of the candlestick was to cast light on the object that was immediately opposite it, which was the golden table of showbread in the Holy Place. The showbread, of course, represents Jesus Christ, who said,

I am the bread of life. … I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. (John 6:48, 51)

The whole purpose of the candlestick was to do one thing and one thing only: to illuminate the table of showbread. This is exactly true of the church of Jesus Christ. We are here on earth for one purpose and one purpose only: to cast light on Jesus, the Bread of Life. And we do this only when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and set on fire by God.

Here we have a remarkable picture of the church. Apart from the candlestick, there was no source of light in the Holy Place. Apart from the church, there is no light in the world. Just as the candlestick can give light only when it is filled with oil and set on fire, the church can give light only when it is filled with the Holy Spirit and set on fire. The candlestick had only one object upon which to cast light—the table of showbread. The church has only one “object” upon which to cast light—the Lord Jesus Christ.

The only reason you and I, as Christians, are here is to cast light on Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. This is the primary purpose of our presence on the earth. Everything else we may do is secondary to that. We are the light of the world.

Let’s ask the Lord now to help us fulfill His purpose for us: