Sight

Neil Girrard

Scriptures Referenced in This Article:
          (Follow the Scripture links if you want to study the Scriptures for yourself.)
Mt. 6:22; 2nd; 3rd π Mt. 6:23; 2nd π Mt. 6:24; 2nd π Mt. 7:23 π Mt. 13:41-42 π Mt. 22:12-13 π Mt. 25:8-9 π Lk. 11:34 π Jn. 5:19 π Jn. 8:38 π Jn. 20:28 π Rom. 3:10 π 1 Cor. 2:11 π 1 Cor. 2:14 π 2 Cor. 6:14 π Eph. 4:11-13 π Heb. 8:10 π Heb. 10:16 π Heb. 12:25-28 π 1 Jn. 2:27 π Rev. 19:7
Greek Words Mentioned in This Article
Singlehaplous – [573] π Twine, Braidpleko – [4120]

Jesus said, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good [single – KJV], your whole body will be full of light.” ( Mt. 6:22 , Lk. 11:34; top )

The word the KJV uses (single – Greek haplous [ 573 ]) is a very difficult word to render. A.T. Robertson, perhaps the most respectable Greek scholar to date, says, “The word means ‘without folds’ like a piece of cloth unfolded…” and that it is also “…used of a marriage contract when the husband is to repay the dowry ‘pure and simple,’ [i.e., without interest when paid promptly] if she is to be set free…” (Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 56 on Mt. 6:22; top )

Strongs says of this word, “probably from a (as a particle of union) and the base of [ 4120 ] (pleko - to twine or braid – plait) properly folded together, i.e., single or, figuratively, clear.” Robertson concludes his comments on this passage by saying, “If our eyes are healthy we see clearly and with a single focus (without astigmatism). If the eyes are diseased (bad, evil), they may even be cross-eyed or cock-eyed. We see double and confuse our vision. We keep one eye on the hoarded treasures of earth and roll the other proudly up to heaven. Seeing double is double-mindedness as is shown in [ Mt. 6:24 …where] the slave of mammon will obey mammon (the devil) while pretending to obey God.” (ibid, p. 57on Mt. 6:22 , 24; top )

To gain a deeper sense of what Jesus is saying, let us consider what Jesus said of Himself, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do…” ( Jn. 5:19 ) And, “I speak what I have seen with My Father [God], and you do what you have seen with your father [the devil].” ( Jn. 8:38; top )

Let us also consider one statement from Paul: “For what fellowship [or unity] has righteousness with lawlessness?” ( 2 Cor. 6:14 ) Righteousness can be summed up as doing what is right in God’s eyes whereas lawlessness is summed up as doing what is right in one’s own eyes. It is precisely here – the source of one’s perceptions – God or man or devil – that determines whether it is good or evil, life or death, light or darkness. It is not so much a question of ability, as no man is righteous before God apart from Christ ( Rom. 3:10 ) and the natural man is completely incapable of attaining to the spiritual things of God. ( 1 Cor. 2:11 , 14; top )

When our sight is properly folded together with God, the substance of our existence will be truth and righteousness, peace and joy – the characteristics of God. “But if your eye is bad,” Jesus continued, “your whole body will be full of darkness.” ( Mt. 6:23 ) The Pharisees saw Jesus and saw threat to their traditional institutions from which they presumed themselves secure in all of life and godliness. Jesus concludes this verse by saying, “If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?” ( Mt. 6:23; top )

Religious leaders of today pride themselves on their “superior” intellectual knowledge of the Bible but they fail to see their own arrogance and blindness as they lead their blind followers into ditches of self-righteousness, religiosity, self-centeredness and bondage to demonic deceptions and spirits. Anyone who challenges the traditional institutions these men have established, bought into or inherited is derisively condemned and dismissed as some kind of anti-establishment beatnik rebel bent on being only “a law unto himself” – even if that “rebel” is sincerely seeking – and speaking! – God’s truth. These leaders and their followers are deceived into believing they are defending God and His way when, in truth, they are held captive in a web of deception that has taken centuries, even millennia, for the demonic enemies of Christ to build.

Thomas believed and saw his Lord and his God. ( Jn. 20:28; top ) Two words that have largely fallen from our vocabulary are holiness and consecration. Thomas was already set apart and dedicated to following Christ. Upon seeing the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection, his faith brought forth the spiritual revelation of Christ and God. Until our lives are set apart to do only God’s will, we will continue to use religion to bolster our self-life and our “Christianity” will be a mere supplement to our already too-busy lives.

God writes His laws on our hearts. ( Heb. 8:10 , 10:16; top ) He first moves in the hearts of His people, setting them apart for His purposes. Our response must be total surrender and willful consecration to that purpose. This is true repentance – genuine change toward Godliness and obedience to the purposes of God in one’s life.

Since God writes His laws in our hearts and minds, anyone who clings to a teacher (human) beyond the time when that one should have reached spiritual maturity has failed to stay within the will of God. (see Eph. 4:11-13 , 1 Jn. 2:27 ) Anyone who goes to men for spiritual counsel or instruction but does not seek the heart of God for himself has no chance of being in the will of God. When the Bridegroom comes for the wedding maids, only the wise ones who knew how to refill their lamps for themselves will be ready – the foolish ones will be off in search of their favored teachers who sells them the oil (the Holy Spirit) they need for life and godliness. ( Mt. 25:8-9; top )

Those who will not totally surrender to God’s interior working in the heart will always be threatened by God’s ways. He has promised to shake everything that can be shaken, warning us not to refuse Him who speaks to our hearts, so that only His unshakeable kingdom will remain. ( Heb. 12:25-28 ) As Christ works in the hearts of His people to prepare themselves as His bride (see Rev. 19:7 ), none of the “church” counterfeits and frauds will be a true part of God’s next move. The harlot has no place in the wedding or marriage of Christ and His people and apostasy has no place in the true faith. No tare will be mistaken for wheat when the angels remove them from Christ’s kingdom. ( Mt. 13:41-42 ) The ones who are not wearing proper wedding attire will be removed from the wedding party. ( Mt. 22:12-13; top )

Until our eyes are truly united with God by our total surrender to His will, we will continue to receive teachings that actually come from men and demons and believe them to be truth coming from God. We will continue to defend our human traditions practiced in His name. Whatever light we have received from God that He intended to light our path toward Him will only be great darkness for us. Bible verses will be tools of control and selfishness in our mouths – not sources of life, sustenance and equipping for God’s service. And on the last day, He will say to us, “Depart from Me – you practiced only what was right in your own eyes, not Mine! I never knew you.” ( Mt. 7:23; top )

Let he who has ears hear.


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