Verses 8-10. " Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle [lamp], and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
“And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.' Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”
THIS parable illustrates the operation of the SPIRIT of God in and through the CHURCH. The application of the parable may be threefold.
First, the lost piece of silver may represent one who, though belonging to the Church in the sovereign counsels of God, may as yet be UNCONVERTED.
The LIGHTING OF THE LAMP represents the use of those means whereby the testimony of the Gospel by the EVANGELIST is caused to be proclaimed openly, in order to the salvation of sinners; and the Church is responsible for this.
THE SWEEPING OF THE HOUSE signifies the removal, putting away, and purging out all those inconsistencies and scandals of profession in the Church which are obstacles to the conversion of souls.
And the DILIGENT SEEKING, that patient, persevering, and personal effort which ceases not till the object is accomplished.
An unconverted soul is in darkness, but when the light of the glorious Gospel shines upon it, that light is the light of life, and that soul is turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God (2 Cor. 4:3, 43But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:3‑4)). The preaching of the Gospel of Christ in the power of the Holy Ghost is the means by which the counsels of God in eternity are accomplished in time, and those chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world are in due time made manifest and become the children of God.
Secondly, the lost piece of silver may be regarded as representing one who, though belonging to the Church, and having once been received into its fellowship, has GONE ASTRAY, and practically is lost to it. The recovery of such is especially the work of the PASTOR who through the manifestation of the gift of the Spirit, and by the presentation of the truth, and the removal of difficulties and obstacles, by diligent perseverance brings back the wanderer from the error of his ways, to become a treasure and a joy to the Church of God.
Thirdly, the operation of the Spirit of God, by the instrumentality of the TEACHER, may accomplish another and higher result, whereby the value and efficiency of the individual believer to the Church may be greatly enhanced; namely, by such a presentation of the truth of God as may enable the believer, divested of all hindrances, fully to apprehend his standing in Christ, security, and future prospects. So that walking in the sunshine of the Divine favor, abiding in Christ, and living and walking in the Spirit, he may bring forth fruit to God, and glorify Him in his spirit, soul, and body, which are God's.
When these results are accomplished, either in the salvation of the sinner, the restoration of the backslider, or in the fullness of blessing as realized by the believer, provision is made for the purest, richest, and deepest joy in the assemblies of God's saints on earth; and in the heaven above there is not only joy to the eternal Three, and to the angels which surround His throne, but also joy in their "presence" to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to those loved ones who have gone before, to whom by angelic ministry the glad tidings may be communicated.