Meditation On Oil Of The Holy Spirit

Scriptures: Matthew 25:1-13

“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. “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. “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.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour  in which the Son of Man is coming.

The parable of the five foolish virgins and the five wise virgins describes how God will make separation among His people, His church, in these last days. A virgin is a picture of a believer and five is a picture of a group. We are approaching the most important day for the church when she will be the bride of Christ and be united forever with the Lord Jesus as her bridegroom.

The parable of the five foolish virgins and the five wise virgins describes who, among His people, will go with the Lord Jesus to His wedding. Not every believer will take part in the wedding between the Lord Jesus and the church. Only the believers who are counted as the wise virgins will be there.

Both the foolish and the wise virgins in the parable take their lamps. However, the foolish virgins do not take oil in their vessels, whereas the wise virgins take oil in their vessels. There will be no difference nor separation between the foolish virgins and the wise virgins if the bridegroom is not delayed in his coming. Both the foolish and wise virgins will be able to find the way to meet the bridegroom because all their lamps will still be burning. But, the bridegroom is delayed. When the bridegroom finally comes, the lamps of the foolish virgins are going out because there is no more oil in their vessels, but the lamps of the wise virgins are still burning because they still have oil in their vessels.

The lamp represents the light of God’s word. King David wrote, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

(Psa 119:105) The oil represents the Holy Spirit as the fuel that keeps the lamp burning. The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 The 5:19) The foolish virgins are the believers who have the word of God in their lives, but the word of God that they have no longer gives light to their feet and path because they lack the fuel of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The wise virgins are the believers who have the word of God in their lives and the word of God that they have continues to give light to their feet and path because they are full of the fuel of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

To be counted as the wise virgins we must not only have the word of God in our lives, but we must always be full of the Holy Spirit as well. When we are full of the Holy Spirit, we shall not sit still but shall go as witnesses to the Lord Jesus (Act 1:8). Like a car, when there is fuel in its tank, its engine can be turned on. In the same manner, when the Holy Spirit is in our lives, our spirit can be turned on by prayer and worship because our spirit is like the car’s engine. After the engine is heated, then the car is ready to move and go. After our spirit is burning, then we are ready to move and go as the Lord’s witnesses.

What is a witness? A witness is someone who tells what he has seen and heard. He must have a first-hand experience. He cannot speak something he has heard from someone else. A witness of the Lord Jesus Christ is a believer who declares what he has seen and heard in his spirit, not what he has heard from someone else. We are supernaturally transformed into the witnesses of the Lord Jesus when we are filled with the Holy Spirit because as we are being filled, we shall see or hear in our spirit. Then, we speak what we have seen and heard with our spirit.

The last days are like the night. We will easily fall asleep. It is the time of darkness. We will not be able to see. To be spiritually awake and watchful in the last days we need the lamps of the word of God in our lives. To find the path to the wedding place of the Lord Jesus we also need the lamps of the word of God. Our lamps must not go out. Therefore, we must always be full of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is the fuel that will keep the lamps of the word of God burning in our lives. The Lord Jesus warned us, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” (Mat 25:13)