We Shine with God’s Shining

In Revelation 1:20 the Lord Jesus tells us “the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” Lampstands uphold shining lamps, which are the Spirit.

The church is a light-bearing, light-diffusing lampstand as a precursor of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 1:20). In order to keep ourselves in the light of the Lord’s countenance (Psa. 90:8), His presence, we have to abide in His word and keep ourselves in fellowship with the members of His Body. Also, we need to keep our heart pure and single for God so that our whole inner being will be illuminated, full of light, without any dark part (Matt.5:8; 6:22-23).¹

Philippians 2:13-15 encourages us “it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and reasonings that you may be blameless and guileless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine as luminaries in the world.”

God operates in us. God is light and we must be open to His shining both to expose the negatives in us (including the sources of our murmurings and reasonings) and to infuse His positives into us. Then we will be the “blameless and guileless children of God” and will shine as His “luminaries² in the world.”

This is our function today and this is our preparation for New Jerusalem.
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¹ From pages 36-37 of Ed Marks, The New Jerusalem—A Corporate Person, Affirmation & Critique Monograph, A&C Press, © Living Stream Ministry (2025).

² The Greek word refers to luminaries that reflect the light of the sun. As such luminaries, the believers shine in the world. They do not possess any light in themselves but have a heavenly ability to reflect the light of Christ. (part of footnote 5 on Philippians 2:15 in The Holy Bible, Recovery Version, published and © by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA, 2003)

Posted by Don on July 15, 2026

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2026/07/15/we-shine-with-gods-shining/