A pressing need of our generation is to reclaim a right understanding of the church. We are susceptible to making the church far more complicated than necessary. What we desperately need is to strip away the impedimenta and get back to the simplicity and clarity of what the Bible teaches.
That is, at least in part, the message of God’s final word to His people. The grand subject of the book of Revelation is Jesus Christ and His visible church. The value of this should not be overlooked. We are not left to wonder about the nature, purpose, and activity of the church. As the apostolic ministry was coming to an end and God’s special revelation was to cease, through the heavenly vision of the inspired apostle, the Son of Man commanded John to write about the mystery of the seven golden lampstands which “are the seven churches” (Rev. 1:20).
The Symbol
It is not without precedent or purpose that the church is compared to a lampstand. In the Old Testament, the golden lampstand was one of the pieces of furniture used in the tabernacle and temple to give light in the holy place. “No one,” Jesus said, “after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light” (Luke 11:33).
This symbol conveys a very simple truth. Enlightened by the effulgence of the glory of Jesus Christ, who walks among the lampstands (Rev. 1:13) and is the “light of men” (John 1:4), the church is to shine, radiate, and brighten the darkness. By Him we expose the darkness of sin and misery in every corner of the world and diffuse it under the brilliant rays of the gospel of God. Simply put, the symbol of the lampstand tells us of the inevitable character of the visible church—that of witness bearing. Jesus taught: “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14).
The Scope
When we think of witness bearing, we often associate it with our outreach and evangelistic efforts. But the witness of the church is not confined to any one particular activity or event. Rather, witness bearing permeates all we do. In every sphere of operation, every endeavor, and every task we are to hold forth the light of the truth.
For instance, witness bearing is inseparable from our worship. In all the divine ordinances—the reading and preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, the singing of the psalms, and prayer—we are to be brought under and bring others under the powerful influence of the truth.
Witness bearing also infuses our church government. Jesus Christ has established His visible church with a particular outward structure and has intended that, through it, we preserve, promote, and protect the light of the truth (see 1 Tim. 3:15). This is accomplished through membership, ordination, discipleship, and discipline.
Witness bearing also extends to our life together. The Apostle Paul wrote, “At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light” (Eph. 5:8). The way we are commanded to live our daily lives is consistent with who we are in Jesus, which is conjoined with witness bearing.
The scope of the church’s witness is so ubiquitous that James Ramsey rightly concluded, “And just in proportion as her ministers, office bearers and people keep constantly in view this work of witness-bearing for God as the very design of the church’s existence does she answer to this symbol of the golden candlestick, and is truly God’s light-bearer in a dark world.”
The Significance
It is beyond dispute that the church, in all we are and do, is to produce a witness to the truth of Jesus. We must remember that it is never a question of whether or not we will be a witness, but rather what kind of witness we will be—bright and shining or dim and hidden. There is no other organism or organization that bears the sacred name of the golden lampstand. It belongs to the church alone to preserve, hold forth, and disseminate the light of Jesus to dispel the darkness by the radiance of the gospel.