How’s the Oil in Your Lamp? (July 20, 2025)

Oil in the Bible has a lot of different uses. I did a basic Google search for OIL IN BIBLE and lots of items appear. Throughout the Bible, the one constant is that oil represents the Holy Spirit, God’s favor and consecration for holy purposes. Oil played a significant role in religious rituals and daily life (cooking, lamps, etc.). Oil is always around.

This morning, I would like to look at the Parable of the Ten Virgins or the Ten Believers. Yes, the Bible calls them virgins, but as you breakdown the story and look at the deeper meaning, you find that it is referring to you and I as believers today.

Matthew 25:1–13 ~ “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose 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, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

The word then refers to the Lord’s return discussed in Chapter 24. He was saying, “Then [when the Lord returns] the kingdom of heaven shall be like ten virgins [believers].” Five are foolish and five are wise, and there is going to be a separation of the wise from the foolish. Note the kingdom of heaven does not refer only to the perfect state of being in the future; it also refers to the present imperfect state of religion in the church.

When Christ returns, something will be clearly seen – the foolish within the kingdom, those who have a false profession within the church and religion, shall be separated from the wise, “Watch therefore”.

So, let’s take a deeper look at this Parable.

There are wise and foolish virgins or believers who attend a wedding. Christ says three things about them.

• The ten virgins (all professing believers) take their lamps (lives or testimonies) and go forth to meet the bridegroom. All believers take their lives and go forth, professing a testimony that they live for Christ and look to Christ. All professing believers (whether genuine or just religionists and church people) go forth to meet the Lord. However, as they go forth some (five) are wise, and some (five) are foolish.
• The foolish virgins (believers) take no oil except what they already have in their lamps (lives). They have no provision of righteousness beyond themselves, beyond their own righteousness. They have no supply of the Holy Spirit.

Mark 7:6 ~ “And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;”

• The wise virgins (believers) take oil; they do not depend upon what they have in their lamps (lives). As they go forth through life to meet the bridegroom (Christ), they lay hold of additional oil, the provision of righteousness, the supply of God’s Spirit.

• The main duty of the virgins (believers) is to meet and light the path for the bridegroom.
• There was no visible difference between the virgins (believers). They all had lamps, and they were all called to participate in the marriage feast. The lack of provision by the foolish could not be seen until the Bridegroom came.
• How foolish! To depend only on the oil in one’s lamp or life. No one has enough oil, enough righteousness, to make himself perfect, that is, to make himself acceptable to God.
• When Christ comes, He must find righteousness in a person if that person is to be allowed in God’s presence. A man must be a “partaker of the Divine nature” by faith.

2 Peter 1:4 ~ “by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

Christ said an interesting thing. There was a long delay before the bridegroom came and all the virgins (believers) slumbered and slept – not just the foolish virgins (believers), but all the virgins (believers) slumbered and slept.

• The idea is that this bridegroom waited much longer than was expected. The virgins (believers) had lit their lamps expecting him any moment, but he never came. As they waited and waited, the night wore on and on.
• In the eyes of many, the Lord’s return has lingered and lingered, well beyond what many have thought and taught.
• All the virgins (believers) slumbered and slept. Not just the foolish slept, but the wise slept as well. This is true throughout life. Even the wise grow weary and find it difficult to stay awake and alert, to stay at peak performance all the time. No believer, whoever he is, walks anywhere as close as he should. The world is too dark and the darkness too heavy for the believer to see enough light so that he can always be victorious over the pull of heavy eyelids.
  • His body is too weak to be always laboring.
  • His mind is too undeveloped to be always concentrating.
  • His energy is too limited to be always driving.
  • His spirit is too young to be always sacrificing.
  • His motives are too self-centered to be always walking unselfishly.

Mark 13:35–37 ~ “Therefore stay awake — for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning — lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”