You are the light of the world.
Summary: The Bible teaches us about our spiritual nature, yet even though we are being taught, it is hard to understand.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5: 14-16)
I love this passage because, for me, it illuminates the heart of Scripture. If we have an active and living faith in Jesus, and if we live out that faith in our daily lives, people take notice. Our lives become our testimonies to the people who know us.
But what, exactly, do our lives testify to?
Do our lives testify to how great we are and how much we’ve accomplished, or do our lives testify to how desperate and lost we were and how much Jesus has done for us?
Jesus teaches us, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) How are we to “deny” ourselves? What does that mean? How does that relate to being “the light of the world?”
When God created Adam and Eve, he created them spiritual beings with human bodies. (This human body is also referred to as the “flesh” in Scripture.) When Eve was tempted by the serpent, the serpent succeeded in awakening the flesh’s sense of “self.” When Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, the physical “flesh-self” was fully awakened, and the spiritual “self” died.* (See Genesis 2-3)
Jesus came to give us new life. Literally. He says, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3: 5-6) These two selves are in opposition to each other. The “flesh-self” wants to be king, while the “spirit-self” wants to serve the real king, King Jesus.
When Jesus says we must deny ourselves, he refers to our “flesh-selves.” When he says, “You are the light of the world,” the “you” refers to our “spirit-self.” There is a world of difference between the two selves. This difference is why Paul writes, “I myself in my mind (spirit-self) am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature (flesh-self) a slave to the law of sin.” (Romans 7:25 – parenthetical additions are mine.)
There is a world of difference between the two selves.
The “light of the world” does not come from the flesh. The light shines through our spirit-self, reborn through the power of Jesus Christ. Those who only know the flesh-self see something they don’t understand. Those who know the Spirit, see the light of God. There is a difference.
The difference between these two selves is why it is important to proclaim Jesus from the “spirit-self.” It is also why Jesus doesn’t mention preaching in this passage. Jesus compares the “light that shines” to our “good deeds” that “glorify your Father in heaven.” These are the “good deeds” that occur when we allow our spirit-selves to obey God’s Word and love our neighbors as ourselves. When this happens, God’s will is done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Application: Examine your own life and discern the difference between what your flesh-self wants to do and what your spirit-self desires to do.
Food for Thought: What are some ways we can tell the difference between our flesh-self and our spirit-self?
*See “Matthew 7:24 — Three In One” and “Matthew 22: 40 — Line Blind” for background information on this concept.
The flesh refers to our sinful nature – thus it wants to feed its desires. Our carnal nature is at war with the spiritual life that God has awakened in us through faith in Christ. So one way we can tell the difference is if we are seeking to glorify the Lord and seek His desires or if we want to glorify the flesh and its desires. The realm that we feed bears fruit. The fruit speaks for itself. Galatians 5: 16 – 26; Romans 6: 8 – 23.
Well said, Rich.
Excellent choice of Scriptures, too. The one remaining challenge we have is becoming aware that we have blind spots. Like driving a car and trying to change lanes only to hear a horn honking at us because someone is in our blind spot, we sometimes assume we are in the right spiritual lane only to be blindsided by our flesh.
My flesh self is selfish, my spirit self is more into giving,..my two of my fleshes conflict with each other. One wants to hold onto everything this self has accumulated in this life and the other wants to give it all away. My flesh self has settled on giving away of what I have learned about Jesus and in someway my spirit self is satisfied, the two do have a odd way of working together for the most part, but there are days when my flesh self stands out more than my spirit self, but Jesus has a way of shining the light on what my flesh self is really after,.. more of a good thing,..
What’s wrong with that though, I ask Jesus,.. He leads me to what I need to hear, experience and read. Then there I am again, thanking Him for what He did at the cross and the answer that both of my fleshes have received.
John,
I love how you bring this back to Jesus. He embraces us where we are; flesh and spirit. He renews our spirit with his Holy Spirit and fills the flesh with his light, chasing out the demons that haunted us in the darkness before we knew Christ.
What are some ways we can tell the difference between our flesh-self and our spirit-self?
Who benefits?
Who gets the glory?
Sometimes it’s what’s tangible vs not. As we cannot always see the benefits of the spiritual right in front of our eyes.
There are many lists in the New Testament of fleshly actions and spiritual actions. As physical beings we like these lists. Even if we also hate them. We like lists because it’s something concrete to fall back on when we don’t know what else to do. Good, then let’s use these lists as our guide. Our main caution on these lists is to not add to them. Jesus spent a good portion of His ministry trying to correct that very mistake and showing us what truly matters.
Dear T & A,
I’ve heard it said that two heads are better than one. If true, that is certainly reflected in your joint comment. Well said!
“Who gets the glory?” is a GREAT test question.
I also deeply appreciate your comment about lists. As Rich often points out, context is soooo important. Fitting our personal context to an item in a list can be misleading if we are not careful to include both the context of the entire Scriptures and the context provided by the Holy Spirit.
I would say the Flesh cannot comprehend the Spirit. That is why living righteously is deemed foolishness by those that do not have a resurrected Spirit through Jesus.
J,
Very nicely put! So if the “flesh” thinks it is crazy, then we should pay extra attention to what the Spirit is saying. 🙂
12-18-2022, What are some ways we can tell the difference between our flesh-self and our spirit-self?
Flesh is as flesh does. Those who live according to the flesh have their minds, hearts set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds, hearts set on what is pleasing to God. The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is eternal life and peace.
Romans 8:5-6