The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body will be light
Matthew 6:22 sits between the call to store up treasure in heaven and the warning that no one can serve two masters. Jesus makes the matter personal: everything turns on the state of one eye. So what kind of eye does He mean, and why does it decide whether a whole life is bright or dark?
Lamp, Not Light
Jesus begins with a picture from the body. One writer draws out what a lamp does and does not do.
The eye is the lamp of the body; not the light, but what holds and fixes the light. The light comes from elsewhere: the organ of perception does not create the light, but receives it. For us the light is in the Word alone. It is the Word that judges and makes things plain. But there must be spiritual reception, and for that, a capacity to receive. With the heart set on things above, the eye is single and clear: God is before it, and in His light we see light. Then the whole body becomes full of light: the hands and feet have plenty of it for work and walk.
So the fault never lies with the light.
The question is not about the light, which is perfect, but about "the eye." A person's spiritual condition has a great deal to do with whether the disciples see rightly. How much we take in, how well we discern, our judgment and our practice all depend on the state of our affections.
What "Single" Means
The ESV calls the eye "healthy." Older translations read "single," and the writers here work from that older wording. One writer starts with what the word means literally.
It means literally "one-foldedness" or "simplex structure." ... So the Scriptural meaning of the word is that there should be no hidden motive and no double-dealing in a Christian's actions. He should be what people call "transparently honest." The Lord Jesus Christ gave the perfect example of this, as He did of everything else. What was true in Him while He was here should now be true in the Christian.
One Object Before the Soul
So how does an eye become single? One writer names the one object that does it.
Christ truly the object before one gives singleness of eye; and where He is simply and exclusively the "one thing" before the soul, the whole body is light. Difficulties vanish. The will of God becomes quite clear. I am surprised and ashamed to have had doubts here and uncertainty there.
Tied to Treasure and to Mammon
One writer ties the single eye to both the treasure and the masters.
If we really know the Father in heaven, we shall find our treasure in heaven, and there our heart will be; and we have only to have the single eye to see this, and to see all else clearly. Then too our bodies become full of light: that is, we become luminous ourselves. We shall either be dominated by God or by mammon, for we cannot serve two masters.
A Verse That Tests You
The promise can also be read in reverse, as a test.
The great point in verse 22 is to have the single eye. It is a testing verse. Suppose I am distracted and in uncertainty about anything. Does not this tell me my eye is not single? If I want partly to please myself, and partly to please the Lord, I have not a single eye. But if I have a single eye for a single object, it will make my path easier as I go along.
Another writer meets the case where God's will stays unclear.
In a long and active life, God in His love does not always show us His will at once. He does this so that we learn our dependence when we are inclined to do our own will. Still, "if your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light." So it is certain that when the whole body is not full of light, the eye is not single. You will say, "A poor consolation that." I reply, "A rich one to those whose only desire is to have the eye single, and to walk with God."
Down to Daily Business
One writer applied the verse to a woman unsure whether taking a discount from a supplier was honest.
We should not put our hand to a single thing which would not bear the strictest scrutiny... Can she with a good conscience take the discount from the person who supplies her with the things? Should it be called "discount" or "bribe"? "If your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light."
Summary
- Lamp, not light — the eye holds and fixes light it never produced; the light comes from the Word.
- Single eye — the ESV's "healthy" eye is a single one: no hidden motive, no double-dealing, as in Christ.
- One object — when Christ alone fills the view, difficulties vanish. God's will becomes clear.
- Two masters — treasure in heaven keeps the eye single. The other master is mammon.
- Reverse the test — when the body is not full of light, the eye is not single. Start looking there.