In speaking of the believers’ influence upon the world, the Lord Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (vv. 13-14). There is a difference between the earth and the world. What was created by God is the earth, and what came in through the corruption of Satan is the world. To the God-created earth we are salt, but to the Satan-corrupted world we are light.
Matthew 5:13a says, “You are the salt of the earth.” Salt by nature is an element that kills and eliminates the germs of corruption. To the corrupted earth the believers living in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens are such an element, keeping the earth from being fully corrupted. This means that we exercise our influence over the earth created by God. Through its killing and preserving function, salt brings the earth back to its original condition or keeps it in its original condition. Hence, the function of salt is to preserve what God has created. As the salt of the earth, the believers have the salting function of killing germs, eliminating corruption, and keeping things in their original condition or bringing them back to their God-created condition. Eventually, when the millennial kingdom comes, all the germs on earth will be killed, and the whole earth will be not only regained by Christ but also brought back to its God-created condition. In the present age, wherever the believers are, they should exercise a salting influence over those around them.
For the earth there is the need of salt, but for the world there is the need of light. The darkness is not upon the earth; rather, it is in the world, which denotes human society, a system of Satan. The world, Satan’s system, the dark human society, needs light. Hence, the Lord Jesus says, “You are the light of the world” (v. 14a). To the darkened world the believers are a light effacing its darkness.
In verses 14b and 15 the Lord goes on to say, “A city situated upon a mountain cannot be hidden; neither do men light a lamp and place it under the bushel, but on the lampstand, and it shines to all who are in the house.” Here the Lord refers to both the outward and inward shining of the believers. The light as a city on a mountain shines over the outsiders, whereas the lighted lamp on the lampstand shines over those who are in the house. As the city, the light shines upon people, but as the lamp in the house, the light shines into people. This indicates that our influence over others should be both outward and inward. The outward shining is general, but the inward shining is particular. With the city situated upon a mountain there is a general shining from outside, but with the lamp on the lampstand there is a particular shining from within. This inward shining penetrates the inward being of others and convinces them.
Eventually, both aspects of our shining will give glory to the Father. “Thus let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in the heavens” (v. 16). The good works here are the behavior of the believers living in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens through which others may see God and be brought to Him. Our shining will glorify the Father because it expresses what God is. Glory is God expressed. When we express God in our behavior and good works, others will see God and give glory to Him. If we have such a shining, God will be expressed in it, and those around us will see the glory, God expressed. When others see God in our shining, that is the glory of God. Outwardly as a city and inwardly as a lamp we shine to express God, to let God have glory in the eyes of others.
Those believers who live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens practice the higher law of the heavenly kingdom to have the surpassing righteousness. In 5:17-48 the Lord Jesus decrees the law of the kingdom people. Now as children of the Father, we need to fulfill this new law, the higher law, by the resurrection life, which is the eternal life of the Father.
In verse 20 the Lord says, “Unless your righteousness surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” Here “righteousness” does not refer to the objective righteousness, which is the Christ we received when we believed in Him that we may be justified before God (1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 3:26). Instead, it refers to the subjective righteousness, which is the indwelling Christ lived out of us as our righteousness that we may live in the reality of the kingdom today and enter into its manifestation in the future. This subjective righteousness, according to the new law of the kingdom, surpasses the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. It is impossible for our natural life to gain this surpassing righteousness; it can be produced only by a higher life, the resurrection life of Christ.
In 5:48 the Lord says, “You, therefore, shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” For us to be perfect as our Father is perfect is to be perfect in His love. We are the Father’s children, having His life and nature. Hence, we can be perfect like the Father. The demands of the new law of the kingdom can be met only by the divine life, not by the natural life. The kingdom of the heavens is the highest demand, and the divine life, the life of the Father, is the highest supply to meet this demand.
Home | First | Prev | Next