The Wise and Foolish Virgins

(Mat 25:1)  "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who having taken their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3. Those who were foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them, Mat. 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels along with their lamps. 5.  But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6. And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7. "Then all those virgins arose, and they trimmed their lamps. 8. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9. "But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for you and us; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10. "But as they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11. Afterward the remaining virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12. "But he answered and said, 'Assuredly I say to you, I do not know you.'

Let me answer a few questions concerning the above passage:

Are all the virgins born again or are only the wise ones those who are saved?

 In the New Testament only those who have the life of God, those who are regenerated are considered to be virgins. No unbeliever is ever described as virgin. All have lamps and all the lamps are burning. Only believers have a lamp. All took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Only those who love the Lord Jesus are going forth to  meet the bridegroom. Even every day we who are the seekers of the Lord are going forth to meet the bridegroom.

What is the difference between the lamp and the vessel?

According to Pro 20:27, "The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts." So the lamp is our human spirit which according to Rom. 12:11 should always be burning. The vessel represents our soul, which includes the emotion, mind and will. God's intention is that day by day we will be seeking the our dear bridegroom, the Lord Jesus,  to be filled with Him and allow Him to saturate not only our spirit which is burning but to flow out to our soul to eventually transform us into His likeness. 

Who are the prudent and who are the foolish?

Both are believers. Some are wise, some are foolish. The wise are those who daily are filled with the Spirit and live by the Spirit. The foolish are those who have the same opportunity yet do not take the word to be filled but live by their own resources, their self-effort and self-righteousness. 

The last question is, Am I a prudent virgin or a foolish one? That one is for each of us to answer for ourselves.

To Find Jesus I Must Know His Address

If I want go to the home of a friend, I need to know his address. Otherwise I will wander around in frustration never getting to be with my friend. But when I find his address I can quickly go there and meet with him.

It is the same with the Lord Jesus. He is located in a certain place and unless I know what that address is and the way to get there, I will wander around in my Christian life and spend a lot of time miss aiming and being frustrated.

(John 3:6)  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. When we were born again the Spirit gave birth to our human spirit and took up His residence there. According to 1 Thes. 5:23 we are created with three parts, spirit and soul and body. The regenerated spirit is the home of the divine Spirit. We may always find Him there.

When we wake up in the morning the first thing is to begin turning to the deepest part of our being and begin to call on the name of Jesus. The Spirit of the glorified Jesus now lives in our spirit. 2 Cor. 6:17 says that he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.

The address of the Lord Jesus is located in our spirit. Yes He is also seated in the heavens on the throne next to the majesty on high, but He is also in our spirit. Seek to find Him within your spirit. Paul says in Eph. 6:17-18, to take the Spirit which is the Word of God by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in our human spirit. Pray with the Word, about the Word even sing the Word focusing on your spirit and you will find Him.

The Spirit of the Glorified Jesus

John 7:37  Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. 7:39  But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified.

You'll note that the word "given" is in italics. This indicates that it is not in the original Greek. This is because John is stressing a very important point. That is that the Spirit that we enjoy today is quite different from the Spirit that was before the cross.

The Spirit of God or the Spirit of the Lord mentioned before the cross did not include the humanity of Jesus, His death, His resurrection, ascension and enthronement. That Spirit of God was altogether divine. So this verse says that those who believed on him would receive the Spirit of the glorified Jesus. After His death and resurrection it is not the pre-cross Spirit of God who comes to indwell us but the Spirit of Jesus.

Christ came not only to deliver us from sin but to live an uplifted human life with all its qualities and to bring that life with its nature into us. Now when we receive the Spirit, we receive not only His divine life but also His human life. When we live with the Spirit as our source we live an altogether different life, one that is not only divine but one that includes the uplifted humanity of Jesus.

Andrew Murray says in his book, "The Spirit of Christ," "in virtue of His having perfected in Himself a new holy human nature on our behalf, He could now communicate what previously had no existence--at once human and Divine." (Pg.39)

Many Christians despair of living the life pictured in the Word of God. After much trying and failing to perform and live a righteous life full of peace and joy, many lose hope. But not only is there hope there is the actual entering into a life that is on the highest level, the level of the glorified Jesus. For it is by His life that we live. And this life is in our human spirit.

More in the nest post

That I May Know Him

Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the out-resurrection of the dead.

Paul's aim was to be a participant in the out-resurrection of the dead. This is the extra special resurrection that the winners of the Christian race will enjoy. He implies at the beginning of this chapter that at one time he thought that keeping the law and being the best at it would give him the credit with God. But now he knows that the only way is to experience what Christ had done for him through death and resurrection. 

But how to enter into this experience so the he would arrive at his goal. He says that the only way is to know by experience the power of his resurrection, the fellowship (common-being) of his sufferings, being conformed to His death.

The essence of everything that Jesus went through in his human life on earth is now incorporated in the Spirit. All His experiences as a man on the earth are now in the Spirit as are those of His death and resurrection. His suffering of rejection, mocking and threatening, His bearing our sins, our self and our sicknesses and pain on the cross plus His resurrection and ascension and His being enthroned next to the majesty on high. Now this reality is included in the Spirit so that the Spirit not only includes the divine but also the high humanity of Jesus.

When we are regenerated our spirit is infused with the diving Spirit and we now possess in seed form all the Jesus accomplished on the cross and in His resurrection. Therefore the answer to experience Phil 3:10-11 in in our human spirit.

More in the next post.