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Scripture Reading: Matt. 5:13-16
In the previous chapter we saw that the first section of the Lord’s word that relates to the reality of the kingdom of the heavens concerns the nature of the kingdom people (Matt. 5:1-12). In this chapter we will consider the second section of the Lord’s word in verses 13 through 16. This section concerns the influence of the kingdom people on the world.
Matthew 5:13-16 says, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything except to be cast out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. It is impossible for a city situated upon a mountain to be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and place it under the bushel, but on the lampstand; and it shines to all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.” This portion reveals that a person who lives in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens will surely have influence on the world. Today many Christians lack influence on the world because they are not living in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. However, the more we have the condition of the kingdom people, the more influence we will have on the world.
Those who live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens will have a certain influence on the people around them. This influence is not the result of human effort; rather, it is spontaneous. Verses 3 through 12 reveal that the kingdom people live out God because they allow the heavens to rule over them. Hence, their influence causes people to touch the authority of the heavens and to know God.
In verses 13 through 16 the Lord Jesus described the influence of the kingdom people and referred to them as the salt of the earth and the light of the world. This means that the condition of the world is the target of the influence of the kingdom people. Although the world is complicated, it has only two main elements: corruption, or rottenness, and darkness.
Christians acknowledge that the world is corrupt and dark, and even people in the world acknowledge that this world is corrupt and dark. The world is being corrupted and degraded daily. An organization may have a grand and noble appearance, but under the surface it may be rotten and corrupt. Just like the age before the flood, the present age is completely corrupt in the eyes of God. Furthermore, the world is dark and without light. The world is evil, and its future is perilous, but people in the world continue in their sins as if they do not see anything. They are completely ignorant regarding divine and spiritual matters. They do not know what they should escape from, nor do they know what they should gain. This proves that this world is in darkness.
When the Lord Jesus spoke concerning the influence of the kingdom people on the world, He specifically targeted the conditions of corruption and darkness. Only those who live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens can influence this corrupted world and give light to this world.
In verse 13 the Lord said that the kingdom people are the salt of the earth. If fish or meat is marinated in salt, it will not easily rot, because salt has the function of killing germs and preventing corruption. If the kingdom people have the nature spoken of in verses 3 through 12, they will be the salt of the earth. Wherever they are, they will manifest the functions of killing germs and preventing corruption. As a result, it is possible to deal with the corruption in the earth.
The other function of salt is seasoning. In the spiritual sense, to season is to blend together different elements that cannot otherwise be blended. In other words, to season is to make peace. Suppose the saints in a local church are full of the flesh and spiritual germs. These saints will always be in conflict and discord. When people visit this locality, they will smell a bad odor. However, if some saints in this locality live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens, that is, allow the heavens to rule and allow God to live out from them, the flesh and the spiritual germs will eventually be killed. As a result, there will no longer be conflict, opinions, contentions, or discord, and the saints will be blended together. Then the people who come into their midst will smell a good fragrance. This is the function of seasoning.
The kingdom people can manifest the function of seasoning because they kill spiritual germs and because they blend different flavors together to produce a pleasant taste. This function comes out of their nature. As the salt of the earth, the kingdom people spontaneously have the function of killing germs and seasoning.
It is significant that the Lord called the kingdom people the salt of the earth. There are two types of physical salt. There is rock salt, which is dug out from the ground, and there is sea salt, which is extracted from seawater. Hence, the earth and the sea are the two sources of salt. These two sources signify the two conditions of the believers before they were saved. In the Bible the earth refers to the world that God created and desires to gain, and the sea refers to the world that Satan corrupts and occupies. The earth is composed of dust, and the sea is composed of water. Hence, dust and water both signify our condition before being saved.
In the Bible dust often signifies the man whom God created, and water signifies the fallen man corrupted by Satan. Genesis 2:7 says, “Jehovah God formed man from the dust of the ground.” First Corinthians 15:47 says, “The first man is out of the earth, earthy.” This means that he was a man of dust (cf. Gen. 3:19). Therefore, dust signifies the sinless and uncorrupted man created by God. In Revelation 17 the apostle John saw the harlot, Babylon the Great, sitting on the waters. Verse 15 says, “The waters...where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” Here waters signifies fallen men corrupted by Satan. With regard to creation, man is of dust from the earth that God created and desires to gain. However, with regard to the fall, man is corrupted in the world occupied by Satan.
That salt is produced out of the earth and from seawater signifies that the kingdom people were once like people in the world, because they were created and were natural and because they were fallen and corrupted. However, the Lord’s salvation delivered the kingdom people out of the earth and the sea. Just as salt is different in nature from dust and water, so the kingdom people are neither earthy and natural nor fallen and corrupted. They are a different kind of people; they are people of the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
In the Gospel of Matthew the Lord said that we are the salt of the earth, in order to show that we must be freed from the elements of dust and water so that we may manifest the function of salt. Of course, evil and sin should not be found in us, but even the goodness that is out of our natural being, which people praise, should not be preserved. Such goodness replaces the spiritual reality and prevents us from living in the reality of the kingdom.
Regrettably, many Christians still live in their natural goodness. Some even live in sins. It is difficult to distinguish salt when it is mixed with dust, and salt that is added to water will dissolve and disappear. Some saints are good Christians, but they are not spiritual Christians, for although they may have goodness, meekness, and humility, they do not have God. Because they remain in their natural goodness, they are still dust. Some saints are still mixed with worldly people and have a corrupt and evil element in their living. This indicates that they are still in the sea; hence, they are unable to manifest the function of salt. The kingdom people are the most unique people in the universe. They do not merely have the nature of the God-created man, nor do they have the nature of the Satan-corrupted man. Just as salt does not have the elements of dust and water, we should not possess the elements of natural goodness or corruption.
Salt that does not possess dust or water is not merely clean; it is also pure. Purity is different from cleanness. Something that is clean may still have mixture, but something that is pure has no mixture. Every grain of salt is transparent and clear, and it tastes pure. These characteristics indicate that salt is pure.
As the kingdom people, we should manifest the killing and seasoning functions of salt. On the one hand, we should eliminate corruption and blend flavors; on the other hand, we should deal with the elements of natural goodness and corruption. If we are under the authority of the heavens and allow God to live out of us, we will be delivered from the elements of dust and water to become pure, having no mixture. Then we will spontaneously have a germ-killing and corruption-preventing influence on the world. Both the church and the present corrupted world need such people. Wherever the kingdom people go, they make peace, eliminate discord, and remove factors of conflict. This is the function of the salt of the earth.
In order for salt to manifest its function, it must be lost in the substance in which it is being blended. Likewise, for the kingdom people to manifest the function of salt, they also must be lost among the people with whom they are blending. This requires a great price. This price is perhaps greater than the price of dealing with the elements of natural goodness and corruption.
Some believers have a normal spiritual condition; that is, they seek the Lord and are under His dealings. They have attained the status of being salt. However, they are not able to manifest the function of salt in the church. If we carefully study this situation, we will realize that these believers try to remain whole and are unwilling to be lost among the believers whom they contact. For example, a brother may desperately ask such a believer for help, but the believer replies, “I do not have time to talk, because it is my prayer time.” This believer cares only for his spirituality and living before the Lord while neglecting the needs of others. As a result, he cannot manifest his function in the church.
The function of salt depends on its being dissolved and lost. If we are willing to lose ourselves, we will become a supply to others. Some believers are excessive in pursuing the Lord. It is right to pursue the Lord, but the purpose of our pursuit is the manifestation of our function. Someone who is unwilling to lose his self will not have any function. The Lord often requires us to lose our spiritual strength in order to help others. If we preserve our spiritual “wholeness” and our self, we will not be able to manifest our usefulness before the Lord.
In Matthew 5:13 the Lord spoke of salt becoming tasteless. When salt becomes tasteless, it loses its function. Some believers do not manifest their function as salt, because they preserve the self. Other believers do not manifest their function as salt, because they have lost their taste. The function of salt comes from its salty taste. When salt loses its taste, it loses its function.
Salt becomes tasteless when it returns to dust or to water, that is, when it is mixed with dust or water. To be mixed with water means to be defiled by sin and to fall into sin. To be mixed with dust means to return to the world and to be occupied by the world. In Luke 17 the Lord said, “Remember Lot’s wife” (v. 32). This is a warning. Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt because she took a lingering look at Sodom, which indicates that she loved and treasured the evil world that God was about to judge and utterly destroy (Gen. 19:24-26). A pillar of salt is a huge rock of salt. Salt is useful when it is ground into fine grains. A pillar of salt is useless.
Both dust, which signifies our natural goodness, and water, which signifies corruption, will cause us to lose our salty taste. If the kingdom people become tasteless, they are “no longer good for anything except to be cast out and trampled underfoot by men” (Matt. 5:13). May we all become useful salt before God. Many Christians are prosperous in the world, but they may not be useful in the eyes of God. Whether our life is useful depends upon whether we manifest the function of salt. On the one hand, we need to be rid of the elements of natural goodness and corruption; on the other hand, we must not preserve the wholeness of our self, and we must be willing to be lost among the saints.
Matthew 5:14 says, “You are the light of the world.” Salt and light both speak of the influence of the kingdom people upon the world, but there is a distinction between salt and light. With regard to salt, the emphasis is on the nature of the kingdom people, but with regard to light, the emphasis is on the conduct of the kingdom people. As far as nature is concerned, salt is salty both inwardly and outwardly. Light, however, is only seen when it is shining and manifested. If light is hidden or is not shining out, it cannot be called light. The light in verse 14 refers to the light of an oil lamp. When a lamp is lit, there is light, but when the light is put out, there is only oil. This shows that light is not a matter of nature; light is a matter of expression and manifestation. Therefore, light here does not refer to the inward nature of the kingdom people; rather, it refers to their outward conduct. Hence, in verse 16 the Lord said, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works.”
Salt eliminates corruption, but light eliminates darkness. What is darkness? Darkness is the absence of light. When light comes, darkness vanishes. If the kingdom people obey the authority of the heavens and allow God to live out of them, they become germ-killing and corruption-preventing salt in their nature as well as darkness-eliminating light in their living and conduct. Wherever the kingdom people are, there is brightness. Some people live in darkness and are confused inwardly; they have no understanding of spiritual things. However, when they enter into the church, they become bright inwardly and begin to see clearly. They are able to see what they were unable to see previously, they are able to solve what they were unable to solve previously, they are clear about things that confused them previously, and they are able to discern what they were unable to discern previously, because they have touched light, and light eliminates darkness.
How do the kingdom people shine? In these verses light is generated by burning oil. Oil signifies the indwelling Spirit (Isa. 61:1; Heb. 1:9). In Matthew 25 the Lord spoke the parable of ten virgins going out to meet their bridegroom with their lamps (vv. 1-13). This parable shows that it is not enough to have oil in our lamp; we must have oil in our vessel as well. Although the light of a lamp depends on the oil in the lamp, we must have oil in our vessel in order to shine until the Lord comes. Man was created as a vessel for God (Rom. 9:21, 23-24), and man’s person is in his soul. Hence, vessels in Matthew 25:4 signifies the souls of the believers.
To have oil in our lamp is to have the Spirit of God dwelling in our spirit (Rom. 8:9, 16). To have oil in our vessel is to have the Spirit of God filling and saturating our soul. In order to shine in the world, we need the Spirit of God not only to dwell in our spirit but also to spread into, fill, and saturate our soul. If the Spirit of God does not spread into our soul, we will not shine brightly. In order for us to shine, we must let the Spirit of God fill our soul. The Spirit of God is God Himself. Hence, to be filled with oil is to be filled with God. On the one hand, we are the salt of the earth; hence, we are being delivered from the elements of the natural man and of corruption. On the other hand, we are the light of the world; hence, we are being filled with the element of God. With regard to salt, the emphasis is on deliverance; with regard to light, the emphasis is on filling.
The kingdom people must first be delivered from negative things in order for their light to be manifested. Matthew 5:14 says, “It is impossible for a city situated upon a mountain to be hidden.” This indicates that the kingdom people are a city situated upon a mountain; they are manifested before the world. This also shows that the kingdom people have a high and transcendent position. After the flood receded, the ark rested upon the mountains (Gen. 8:3-4). There is not much dust or water on a high mountain. Therefore, a city situated on a mountain is delivered from the elements of dust and water. If the kingdom people are delivered from the elements of the natural man and corruption and are filled with the element of God, they are like a city situated upon a mountain.
In the Bible a mountain also implies authority and ruling. According to Daniel 2, the Lord is the stone cut out without hands that struck the great human image and then became a great mountain that filled the whole earth (vv. 34-35). In the millennial kingdom the Lord will rule and reign over the whole earth. He will become a great mountain. Therefore, a mountain implies authority and ruling.
The city in Matthew 5:14 signifies our human living, because a city is the center of human living. The city situated upon a mountain signifies that the living of the kingdom people is situated and upheld on a mountain. Their living is their conduct and is based on the authority of the kingdom of the heavens and governed by the authority of the kingdom of the heavens. Thus, this living is a light that shines before men.
This light is the living of the kingdom people who are under the authority of heaven, and it is the conduct of the kingdom people who allow the heavens to rule. Such a living and conduct are delivered from the elements of the natural man and of corruption; such a living and conduct are also completely subject to God’s heavenly rule. Therefore, the Lord said that the kingdom people are a city situated upon a mountain.
As salt, we need to be dissolved, to lose the self, but as light, we need to be manifested. The function of salt depends on its being lost, that is, dissolved, but the function of light depends on its being manifested. As long as salt is lost, its function is fulfilled, and as long as light is manifested, its function is fulfilled.
In our spiritual experience what does it mean to be lost? To be lost requires us to lose the self. What does it mean to be manifested? To be manifested requires us to be filled with God and to allow the heavens to rule. When we are completely filled with God and allow the heavens to rule, we will be completely manifested. However, our person will not be manifested. Rather, our living and conduct will be manifested. On the one hand, our person is lost, and we do not assume a position, but on the other hand, our living and conduct are like a city situated upon a mountain, which is bright and manifested.
An example in the nineteenth century is the living of George Müller. His living is still like a city situated upon a mountain and manifested on the earth. Although we never contacted him, his living is manifested as light. He did not manifest the natural element, nor did he manifest the fallen, corrupted element. Everything related to George Müller was transcendent and heavenly and shined brightly before the world.
The Lord was on a mountain when He spoke concerning the reality of the kingdom of the heavens and concerning the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. This means that we must be delivered from dust, which signifies the natural element, and from water, which signifies corruption. A mountain has a high, fresh, and heavenly condition and atmosphere. Only when we live in such a condition are we able to understand the things of the kingdom of the heavens.
In Matthew 5:15 the Lord said, “Nor do men light a lamp and place it under the bushel, but on the lampstand; and it shines to all who are in the house.” A bushel is an instrument for measuring grain for the purpose of buying and selling. Spiritually speaking, a bushel signifies people earning money in order to make a living and have food to eat. This indicates that making a living can cover our light. On the one hand, while we live in the world, we should work with our own hands (1 Thes. 4:11), and we should not be lazy. On the other hand, we must realize that Satan often utilizes the matter of making a living to occupy God’s people. If we carefully observe the situation among Christians, we will admit that the kingdom people often cannot shine for the Lord because they are too busy making a living. Those who are occupied with their eating, which is necessary for their living, do not care about shining for God.
If a lamp is placed under a bushel, its light will not be able to shine forth, and the lamp will eventually go out. We need to ask ourselves, “Is my lamp under a bushel?” If we cannot forget about making a living and about eating and are always afraid of going hungry, we are placing our lamp under a bushel. In order to shine for the Lord, we must first overcome the matters related to our living and our eating. Hence, in Matthew 6:25 the Lord said, “Do not be anxious for your life, what you should eat or what you should drink; nor for your body, what you should put on,” and in verse 32 He said, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” Let us give all these things to God. He is responsible for us and will take care of us. If many of us can break our bushels, our light will shine brighter.
Our lamp should not be covered or bound by a bushel; rather, it should be placed on a lampstand. A lamp placed on a lampstand is the same as a city being situated on a mountain. If we read 5:14 and 15 carefully, we will realize that the city in verse 14 is the lamp in verse 15, and the mountain in verse 14 is the lampstand in verse 15. Both the city on a mountain and the lamp on a lampstand indicate that the position of the kingdom people should be transcendent and heavenly. Such believers are transcendent and free. Everything related to their living, such as their reputation, position, education, and material riches, are not able to affect them; rather, everything is under their feet. However, if their lamp is under their bushel, the bushel will control them. The kingdom people are on the lampstand and above everything. Hence, their light is not covered but shines brightly.
We should not receive this word as mere doctrine. If our light is not shining brightly, it must be because we are still covered. We must ask the Lord to enlighten us so that we may see what is covering us. Any person, matter, or thing that controls us is a bushel that covers us. If we are befuddled by a romantic love, that love is a bushel. If our business occupies us such that we have no desire to draw near to the Lord, that business is a bushel. If our children occupy all our attention and time, our children are a bushel. When such persons, matters, and things touch us, we will be ruled by them and unable to transcend.
There is a common Chinese saying: “A lamp set on a high place shines over a lower place.” In Genesis 1 God set the sun, the moon, and the stars in the expanse of heaven, and they gave light on the earth (vv. 16-17). This shows that the position of the kingdom people has much to do with their light. When they leave the heavenly and transcendent position, they lose their ability to shine.
When a lamp is placed on a lampstand, it shines to all who are in the house. The house in Matthew 5:15 points to a realm. Our environment, such as a school, a store, an institution, or a home, is the realm where we shine. If our light is shining brightly, everyone in our realm will be enlightened.
Psalm 121:1-2 says, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills. / From where will my help come? / My help comes from Jehovah, / Who made heaven and earth.” These verses imply that God is in the hills. Isaiah 14:13 also indicates that God is on the mountain, in the highest place. First Timothy 6:16 says that God dwells in unapproachable light. Many verses in the Bible, such as 1 Kings 22:19 Psalm 29:10; 55:19; and Revelation 7:10, say that God is sitting on the throne. According to these verses, God is on the mountains, in unapproachable light, and on the throne. Therefore, when we touch God, we are on the mountain and in the light; that is, we touch the throne of God.
Instead of desiring dust and water, we should desire the mountains. If we are willing to pay the price to be filled with the indwelling Spirit, we will touch the high mountains. Whenever we are filled with the Spirit, we are on the high mountains. Revelation 21:10 says that John was carried away in spirit by an angel onto a great and high mountain and was shown the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. The throne of God and the light of God are in the holy city (22:3; 21:23).
The Lord’s word in Matthew 5 is simple, but the significance of His word is rich and profound. If we carefully consider verses 13 through 15, we will realize that this word is meaningful. The Lord first said that we are the salt of the earth and then that we are the light of the world. If He had first said that we are the light of the world and then that we are the salt of the earth, the order would have been incorrect, because our inward nature is the basis, and our outward conduct is the expression. There must be first the inward nature and then the outward conduct. We must first be delivered from dust and water to be salt before we can shine as light.
The Lord spoke of our being the light of the world, using the picture of a city situated upon a mountain to indicate the position of our shining. He also used the picture of a lamp shining to all who are in the house to indicate the realm of our shining. When the kingdom people are shining, they have the position of a city situated on a mountain. As a result, they shine to all who are in the house. This implies that when the kingdom people are shining in the world, their position is high and great, because a city is great and a mountain is high. However, when the kingdom people function, they do not expect to be high or great; rather, they function in a smaller realm.
The basis for the kingdom people to shine on the earth is high and transcendent, because the God of glory is their life and power for them to live on the earth. However, the living of the kingdom people is humble and lowly; they are willing to be lowly people. They are not puffed up, nor are they haughty. They simply shine forth light upon those who come into contact with them. What a beautiful scene.
In verse 16 the Lord said, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.” The light of the kingdom people should shine before men like a city situated on a mountain and like a lamp placed on a lampstand. On the one hand, they are delivered from the natural element and from corruption. On the other hand, they are filled with oil, submit to the authority of the heavens, and are preserved from the covering of making a living and doing business. As a result, when their light shines, men see their good works and glorify the Father who is in the heavens.
In Mark 14:6 the Lord praised Mary by saying, “She has done a noble deed on Me.” Titus 2:14 says that the Lord has redeemed us from all lawlessness and purified to Himself a particular people as His unique possession, zealous of good works. The Greek words translated as “good works” in Matthew 5:16 are the same Greek words that are translated as “noble deed” in Mark 14:6 and as “good works” in Titus 2:14. Hence, the good works in Matthew 5:16 refer to a good, proper, and righteous conduct. Such good works are the conduct that is under the ruling of the heavens. They are the conduct of created men who are delivered from natural goodness and corruption to live out God. When people see this conduct, they will glorify the Father who is in the heavens.
The people who see such conduct glorify the Father who is in the heavens because such good, proper, and righteous conduct expresses and lives out God. If the disciples of Confucius could reach their ultimate goal, they would live out only human goodness. As a result, others would feel only that they are good, but God’s glory would not be seen. The kingdom people, however, are different. The kingdom people live out God under the ruling of the heavens. They express God. Therefore, other people see the glory of God, which is God expressed. When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He was the expression of God. Hence, the Bible says that He is “the effulgence of His glory and the impress of His substance” (Heb. 1:3). The kingdom people live out God in the same way that the Lord Jesus lived out God. As a result, people do not only see their good conduct; people also see the expressed God and thus glorify the Father who is in the heavens. It is crucial for us to realize that the kind of good works that glorify God are the works that live out God and express God. I hope that we will be deeply impressed with this point.
According to Matthew 5:16, glory is given not to the God who is in the heavens but to the Father who is in the heavens. When the Bible speaks of God, the emphasis is on His being the Creator. When it speaks of the Father, the emphasis is on His being our begetting Father. If God were only God, He could not be expressed through us. In order to be expressed through us, He must also be the Father to beget us by putting life into us (1 Pet. 1:3).
In Matthew 5 through 7 the Lord rarely spoke of God, but He constantly spoke of the Father. This is a matter of life. The kingdom people are born of God to have God as their Father. Hence, when they live by trusting in God, they have the Father’s glory in them and are able to glorify the Father who is in the heavens.
In the phrase Father who is in the heavens the word Father is related to life, but the word heavens is related to authority. Daniel 4:26 says, “The heavens do rule.” This indicates that the heavens imply authority. The conduct of the kingdom people is the living out of the Father’s life and is also produced out of the ruling of the heavens.
When the kingdom people are delivered from natural goodness and corruption, are filled with oil, and are subject to the ruling of the heavens, they will have a certain living and conduct. The people who see this living will sense the expression of God and the flavor of the ruling of the heavens. Such a living and conduct are not of men but of God. Such a living is not earthly but heavenly. Such a living is the issue of the ruling and the controlling of the heavens and results in people glorifying the Father who is in the heavens.
