“The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly” (Proverbs 20: 27 KJV).
God doesn’t need to search in order to discover the knowledge of something. God is all-knowing; He is omniscient. He knows everything that is in our hearts. To search for something gives the idea of looking for something that is covered or hidden, and there is nothing covered or hidden from God.
We must ask then for who is the “candle?” The candle is for man that he may use it for self-examination. The candle is man’s spirit. And in man’s spirit, there is a conscience that as a searchlight shines on every thought, motive, affection, plan, and action. With our conscience, we search for the right thought, motive, affection, plan, and action.
Any violation of our conscience, any conviction we did not keep, any standard we did not meet, the conscience is injured and keeps record of all our wrongs. Upon self-examination, the conscience searches all the deep cavers of our inner man and brings everything to the light that we might be thorough with ourselves and, upon repentance, come clean before God.
With this “candle” we can know ourselves. If the conscience is educated by the Word of God, our moral standard is continually being raised, and our candle burns that much brighter.
If the conscience is violated until it is ignored completely, we then have a “seared conscience” (1 Tim. 4: 2) and our candle has been put out, and we soon thereafter have a reprobate mind (2 Tim. 3: 8) and sit in total darkness.
The Psalmist said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139: 23, 24). Again, God doesn’t have to search to find out about us because He already knows us. But this is a search in which the Psalmist lets God oversee his self-examination and allows Him to probe deeper and be more thorough than he would be himself.
Is your “candle” still burning? How bright is it burning?
