The Single Eye

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matt 6:22-23)

This is a very intriguing passage, and its implications are indeed fascinating. To be single eyed is to have an understanding that Christ fills all in all with His fullness (Ef 1:23). It is to have an awareness that nothing exists outside God, and that He is upholding everything with His word.

According to God evil is thus defined as having a double vision, which is a belief system that erroneously states that the creation can operate independent of its Creator. This plainly implies that everything man does with a mindset that believes it can work outside God is evil in God’s eyes, notwithstanding it is good or bad in our eyes.

It is then quite clear that everything that springs forth from faith is light. In this context these verses become full of meaning: For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. (John 3:20-22)

To do the truth is to lead a life in the light. To be in the light implies that we through faith, the single eye, believe we are perfect in Him, and that Christ lives as us. By this, for many difficult, leap of faith we are no longer in fear of judgment or an easy prey for condemnation, because we are completely safe in Him when we understand that He lives His life through us.

Those who live outside this truth will have this overwhelming desire to hide from God, because outside Him they can never achieve perfection. Since God demands perfection they are found wanting in all areas of life, and they know it. On this ground they do not come to the light, because they are afraid that their works should be exposed as void.

It is in this light that we come to understand what the flesh is. The flesh denotes man’s efforts to make himself presentable to God. Everyone who attempts to live by the law is hence in the flesh.

The most edifying aspect with having a single eye is that it constitutes a way of life which is more about right being than right doing. Surprisingly to man, right being facilitates right doing in God’s eyes. Right being facilitates works which are carried out in God. We have entered God’s rest.