LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Wise Virgins
"They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps" (Matthew 25:3-4).
How does Christ want to find the church? Like a virgin. This indicates that this bride has not been contaminated by the world, by idols, or sin. All of her attention is on her Beloved, and she prepares herself for him like the wise virgins. The wise virgins not only had their lamps, but the flasks of oil for their lamps.
What do the lamps in the hands of the wise virgins signify? The Lamp signifies salvation, and we have salvation. We have been rescued from the power of darkness to the kingdom of the Beloved Son. We have been born of God. Therefore, one can say that we are the virgins that have the lamps in our hands.
How terrible it would be to only have salvation, be content with it, and not have the oil for the lamp, since this lamp has to be ablaze. The wise virgins are represented in the lamp and the oil. We need the oil of the anointing. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit every day, and we need to renew our consecration every day by the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
We cannot live by past experiences. If you were filled by the Holy Spirit in the beginning, and time and time again you remember that experience, you might be living in what's left of that experience. It might be possible that the lamp is running out of oil or that it is completely empty. Maybe you have spoken so much of that experience that it's like a small light that is ready to die. Where can we find the oil? The oil is only found in God himself, in his Spirit. We need to be like the wise virgins that had the lamps and the flasks of oil.
Are we in a genuine, constant fellowship with the Lord or are we living carelessly? If we are living carelessly, brethren, it means that the oil is running out. When the lamp is full of oil, the only thing we talk about is of the Lord Jesus Christ. The only thing that fills our hearts is the blessed person of the Lord Jesus. There are no others, just like with Israel in Hosea 2:7. The heart does not go after idols, or the things the world has to offer. The heart is firmly set on the Beloved and is waiting for Him.
The virgins that go with the Lord are the ones that have their lamps full of oil. Let us not be foolish. The other virgins did not act with wisdom; therefore, when the virgins heard that the husbands was near, the five wise virgins took their lamps with oil and went to receive the husband. The others, after having lived a precarious life, began to worry about that wonderful moment when the husband would arrive, yet they were not able to be with him.