During the times of Jesus ministry, Jesus was mainly teaching through parables:
“And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Matthew 13:10-11
He used those parables as a code that could only be unlocked with the understanding from the Holy Spirit. It was a way to separate those of God from those that are not of God. People often look for logical and obvious instructions, however the word of God is not obvious and logical and coded for a reason. It can only be understood with the help of the Holy Spirit. It can’t be red as a history book of events, but has a much deeper meaning because “the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double – edged sword.”
This is also why there is so much confusion around the Bible. I remember trying to read the Bible before receiving the Holy Spirit and it was a confusing book for me and very quickly I got discouraged from reading it. Jesus highlights that “it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” – meaning those that are children of God will be able to unlock the messages. “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” – those that have no understanding will hear it and try to understand it with logic and therefore will not understand.
“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
After being saved and receiving the Holy Spirit, I could read the Bible with much better understanding. Suddenly the scripture that previously cased me problems, started to be clear and I started to see the meaning of it thinking: how did I not see that before? It is this supernatural mystery that is unlocked only after the true repentance and coming back to God. That is why we see so much criticism from people that do not believe, that have not repented and only look for evidence why the Bible is false and confusing. However if you are a child of God, you really see so much value, wisdom and instruction in the Bible.
The parable of the wise and foolish virgins
One of the interesting parables we see in the Bible, is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. I have seen many interpretations of this parable and I felt like I needed to give my own understanding, as some according to me were not right. It’s important to break it down for better understanding.
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.”
Ten virgins: five wise and five foolish is a metaphor to the believers in Christ. We see the kingdom of heaven being divided into two groups : wise and foolish. Notice it does not talk about the unbelievers, only those that are in Christ. Both groups of virgins took their lamps but only wise ones took the oil.
What is the lamp and what is the oil?
The lamp is the word of God: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105. We can interpret this as all believers in Chris have a Bible, the word of God, that directs them on their path.
What about the oil? What oil is needed or used for in the Bible? The oil was used to anoint the people of God as a way to separate them from others. They would receive God’s favor over their lives and understanding of God’s word. It was used to anoint Priests that would serve God at the tabernacle, Kings and also Jesus received the anointing:
“You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.” Exodus 40:15
“Also Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.” Leviticus 8:10
“Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: “Is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance?” 1 Samuel 10:1
“Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” 1 Kings 1:39
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Acts 10:38
The anointing Jesus received was through the Holy Spirit rather than physical oil and that anointing was then passed on to all who were in Christ:
“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” 2 Corinthians 1:20-22
Therefore we can say that the anointing oil is the Holy Spirit who gives us understanding of the word of God. So looking at the parable again, we have two groups of believers in Christ: wise and foolish. Wise have the lamp (the Bible) and oil (the understanding through the Holy Spirit) and foolish have the lamp (Bible) but no oil, which is no understanding, therefore no Holy Spirit. Anyone can have the Bible, however only those with the right understanding can use it as a lamp to their feet.
Further, what we see in the parable of the virgins in Matthew 25:
“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.” Matthew 25:6-10
To analyze this passage, we need to look at who the Bridegroom is. From John 3 we see that John the Baptist introduces Jesus as the bridegroom, therefore we know it’s Jesus Christ:
“He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice.” John 3:29
Therefore the virgins hear that Jesus is coming and they take their lamps (Bible) but the foolish ones ask the wise ones for the oil, which they refuse to give. The foolish virgins don’t have the right understanding of the word of God due to the lack of the Holy Spirit. So the foolish ones go to “buy” the oil – which can be interpreted as looking how to receive this understanding and the Holy Spirit. However as they went, Jesus came and those who were ready went with him and door was shut, which means those who were prepared for Jesus, fully repented, received the Holy Spirit and were not surprised when Jesus came as they were studying the word of God as the lamp on their pathway.
So how come some virgins, which we established are believers who have the Bible and believe in Jesus Christ, have no oil, which is the Holy Spirit? This is where truly being saved comes from. There is this big misconception in the church that if you declare with your lips that Jesus is the son of God, you receive the Holy Spirit. Another misconception is the fact that infant baptism also gives you the gift of the Holy Spirit. Both of those aspects I have explained in my post “Repent & be Baptized”. Yes, faith in Jesus is the first step, however it’s not enough. Repentance is.
Repentance brings you back to God
What God really wants from us is to come back to him, acknowledge our wrongdoings, repent and this is where He will bless us with the gift of the Holy Spirit and other spiritual gifts that come with the Holy Spirit. God does not require anything physical from us, only honesty and integrity:
“For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51 :16-17
“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So tear your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.” Joel 2: 12-13
God asks us to tear our hearts and not our garments, leave anything physical and return to him with your hearts while there is still time. This is this time the foolish virgins went to buy the oil but it was too late. There will be a time where it will be too late to come back to God and too late to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is the time to fully repent, give your heart to God and then receive the Holy Spirit.
“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Matthew 25: 11-12
Why Jesus said He did not know them? Because He could only recognize those with the Spirit of God. Anyone who has a different spirit will not enter the Kingdom of God. It’s the invisible to the eye sealing of God, it’s how God recognizes His children.
So how do you receive the spirit of God?
Again, please have a look at my post on “Repent & be Baptized”. The focus on baptism is more baptism of the Holy Spirit, but the most important and first step is: Repentance! Without tearing of your heart, which is also described as circumcision of the heart, the Holy Spirit cannot enter. Through Holy Spirit we can then receive other gifts, which are:
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” 1 Corinthians 12: 7 – 12
This is a supernatural mystery, the beauty of the Bible which is coded to unrepented and carnal eyes and understanding of the word only goes to those, who have the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is our anointing oil.
By Dagmara Z.