7. The Oil

They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

Matthew 25:3-4

One of the great joys in studying the Scripture is to find an element of a particular text that seems initially obscure and mysterious but when the balance of the Scripture is searched the mysterious  becomes known all for the glory of God and increase of our faith. One such example is the oil of this parable. The foolish virgins had lamps but no oil while the wise took oil in their lamps. What should we make of this oil?

When we have a question about a portion of Scripture, we should always ask ourselves: where else does God speak of these things in His Word? Does God speak about lamps and oil anywhere else in Scripture? We find He makes explicit reference to a lamp and oil in His instructions to Moses concerning the tabernacle. And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always (Exodus 27:20). The tabernacle in the Old Testament had a lamp that was never allowed go out. It demonstrated God’s presence, the Light of the world, was always with them. Keeping the lamp filled with oil was an essential job in the tabernacle. A young man named Samuel was given the task in service to the Lord – to keep the lamp filled with oil that it might not go out (I Samuel 3:3).

A lamp without oil is like a car without gasoline. It may look nice on the outside but it cannot do what it is made for. All the virgins had lamps but not all the virgins had oil for their lamps. The oil reminds us of the lamps. The lamps remind us that they need oil in order to shine. Last time we considered the meaning of the lamps and said they represented the confession of Christ by our mouths. Those in the Kingdom of Heaven all confess with their mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord. One cannot be in the Kingdom of Heaven without such a confession. Confession is essential to entrance into the Kingdom. But we see in this parable what is true throughout Scripture – confession with the mouth alone does not mean a person is a Christian. Christianity goes beyond this – A Christian is one who confesses with their mouth that which they believe in their heart.

Remember that tremendous text from Romans we considered last time when we saw the requirement for the Christian to do two things: 1) confess with the mouth and 2) believe in the heart.  If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:9.

There is nothing new in this requirement, it is just like that requirement of Deuteronomy 30:6 and Jeremiah 4:4. One was not a Christian or a child of Abraham if they were merely circumcised in the flesh (an outward symbol of entrance into the Kingdom in the Old Testament). He is a Christian, a child of Abraham, a child of God, that is one inwardly and circumcised in the heart. A person could be outwardly circumcised, have a lamp, but never have his heart circumcised and therefore far off from God without any oil. Esau was circumcised in the flesh but never in the heart. Jacob was circumcised in the flesh and in the heart.

The oil which the wise virgins had was the inward work of the Spirit in them that shined brightly through their lives. We can think of this oil signifying the new birth, Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God. The oil signifies the regenerative work of the Spirit that makes the dead sinner to live, that saves this poor man and brings him to embrace Jesus Christ through faith, as He is freely offered to us in the gospel. We can go as far as to say this oil is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that always abides with His people. Some may prefer to limit the oil to representing the saving faith in the wise virgin and I don’t see the two views as significantly different. The oil is a comparison, a picture, of all these great spiritual truths. Those with saving faith are also born again. The oil is that which only the Christian has – saving faith in Jesus Christ who rescued us when we were dead in our trespasses to sin by dying on the cross for us.

With these things in mind, we must then say that those supposed translations of the Scripture suggesting the foolish virgins had “too little” oil or “not enough” oil are misunderstanding the meaning of the oil in the text. There is no such thing as “too little regeneration,” or “too little saving faith.” Lord willing, we will see in the future, the problem with the foolish virgins was not too little oil or too little faith, the problem was they took no oil with them. Many in Heaven today had “little faith” on Earth. The question is not one of quantity it is a question of existence. The foolish virgins did not have a little faith or a little regeneration, they had no faith and no regeneration. Their lamps were empty for they had no oil.

All those in the Kingdom of Heaven who confess with their mouth and believe with their hearts have this oil in their lamps. They are not hiding the truth of Christ or making a false profession but are receiving, resting, and trusting in Christ alone for salvation. All who have this new birth, this oil of gladness and rejoicing (Psalm 45:7) have been given it by God and have thereby received His unmerited favor and righteousness as their own.  In that great day of the Lord when all shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds, those with the oil in the lamps will be counted with the sheep, the wheat, the wise virgins, the children of God.

Have you confessed the Lord Jesus Christ with your mouth? Do you believe with your heart that God has raised Christ from the dead? Do you have the lamp and the oil? The wise virgins took oil in their lamps and were prepared to meet the bridegroom. Take hold of Christ by faith today and let your light so shine before men that they might see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven!

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