Lesson 3. You Are the Light of the World. The “Foundations of Christ’s Teachings” School. A series on the fundamental teachings that Jesus Christ taught His disciples on the mountain.
Matthew 5:14–16 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. Let your light so shine before people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Heavenly Father.
Who is God?
1 John 1:5 And this is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
Who are we?
1 Thessalonians 5:5 For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness.
We do not merely call ourselves light; we are light. That is why the enemy tries to drive Christians underground and keep them away from people, so that the world may remain in darkness. But Jesus said:
Matthew 5:15 A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
You have been lit to shine for everyone. Christianity should not be hidden; Christianity should be visible. If the light disappeared, everything would die. God the Father left Christians on earth to shine, so that darkness would not engulf the whole earth. Sinners hate us because our light exposes the darkness within them.
John 3:20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his deeds may not be exposed, because they are evil.
Jesus said that we do not need to hide or conceal our deeds, but rather the opposite.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.
- Let your light shine [lampsato] – the word is written in the imperative mood. Jesus does not ask us to shine, but commands us to do so. So let your light shine!
- see [idosin] – in most places in the New Testament, it is translated as “to see.” So that they may see your good works.
The point is not for them to see our good works and praise us. Light opens people’s eyes. Through the light, people begin to see what they did not see before. Jesus wants sinners to see your good works and give glory to God the Father. This is precisely a case when our deeds speak louder than our words.
End of lesson.
Source: Father’s Blessing Church
Teacher: Dmitriy Leo
