Before the Lord comes back to enlighten the whole world, He is now walking among the local churches shining over us. The church life is not only full of life, but also full of light. If you still can tell a lie, I doubt if you are in the real church life. In the genuine church life, we cannot lie to the brothers and sisters. Before a lie can come out of our lips, the shining of Christ causes it to vanish. Then we turn to the Lord and thank Him for His shining. “O Lord Jesus, forgive me. I was going to lie to the brothers, but your shining saved me.” This is the church life. With our roommates, our husbands and our wives, there is the shining light of Christ. Christ is the real light in the church life. His face is like the shining of the sun, and He has seven eyes like flaming fire. When He looks at us, we are under his shining and exposing. Even His walk among the churches is shining. He has shining feet. This exposes how dirty, sinful, and dark our walk is. Praise the Lord that He is shining today in the churches!
In the book of Revelation, not only is Christ shining, but all the messengers, His servants in the churches, and even the churches themselves are shining. The churches are the lampstands, and the messengers of the churches are shining stars. “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches: and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven churches” (Rev. 1:20, Gk.). Both the stars and the lampstands are for the night. In the day we do not need the stars or the lampstands. But it is still night-time during the church age. The day is not here until the Lord comes back.
As shining stars in the church, we do not have any light of ourselves. We are only good for reflecting the sun’s light. Hence, we must look unto Him with unveiled face that we might reflect His glory (2 Cor. 3:18). This causes us to become the shining stars.
In the Lord’s recovery today in the churches, position means nothing. What we can do and how much we can accomplish also mean nothing. It all depends upon how much we are shining and how bright we are. This is what it means to be a messenger of the Lord in the churches today. The night is so evil and dark. There is absolutely no light. But here are some shining stars in the churches. Hallelujah! Their presence in the church means very much. When they are here, everything is in light. When they are gone, the whole situation is full of darkness. This should be the real elders in the churches. Christianity has spoiled the term “elder.” Therefore, the Spirit in the book of Revelation does not use this word. There is only the mention of the messengers as the shining stars. If any elder in the Lord’s recovery holds the position without shining, that is a shame. It is not a matter of position, it is a matter of shining. It does not depend upon how much we can do, but upon how much we shine. And we can only shine by reflecting the sun. We do not have any light in ourselves.
In the same principle, lampstands do not have any light of themselves. They are simply the stands to support the light. Most Christian teachers talk about the lampstands, but little about the lamps. Yet if we have the lampstands without the lamps, we are still in darkness. It is clear that the churches are the lampstands, but what are the lamps? In chapter one, we see the seven lampstands, and in chapter four we see the seven lamps. “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God” (Rev. 4:5). The seven lampstands are the seven churches, and the seven lamps are the seven Spirits. This means that the lamp is the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Some so-called churches may claim that they are the lampstand, but do they have the Spirit? If we do not have the Spirit, we are just a stand without a lamp. By itself, the lampstand cannot shine. It needs the lamp, the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Now we know how the church can shine. It is by and with the Spirit. This is why we all must turn from knowledge, doctrine, regulations, and ordinances to the Spirit. When the church turns to the Spirit, the Spirit becomes the lamp which the church holds to shine over others.