TO THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS – REVELATION 2:1-7 Our Heavenly Father, Creator of all things and Master Teacher, we humbly come into Your presence to seek Your Holy Spirit to open our eyes to these Holy Scriptures. We earnestly pray for enlightenment as we study together, and we ask You, Father, to open our eyes to see the truths contained in these words. Open our minds to comprehend that which we are reading, and open our hearts to receive the message that You have for us. Finally, dear Father, we ask for the strength and courage to live our lives in a manner of the called, constantly giving You the glory, honor, and praise that You deserve. We claim these things in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. We come now to the second section of the Book of Revelation, which deals with “the things which are” (Revelation 1:19). As he addresses the seven churches of which he was an overseer, John paints a portrait of church history in its entirety. The seven messages that follow have a four-fold application.… First, they are to be applied locally. The cities of the seven churches are given in the order of an ancient Roman postal circuit. Thus, they could be easily circulated among the churches addressed. Second, they apply ecclesiastically. Anyone who cares about the church or is involved with the church needs to study these letters because every problem, difficulty, and challenge facing the church is addressed in these seven letters. Third, they apply personally. These letters apply to us individually. How do I know? Because each letter ends with “Let he that hath an ear, hear what the Spirit saith.” Thus, this applies to anyone who has an ear. If you have two ears, it’s a double directive! Fourth, the letters apply prophetically. For us today, most of the events are history because we’re approaching the end of the church age. But for John, at the beginning of the church age, the events of which he wrote had not yet transpired. In addition to a four-fold application, there is also a four-element pattern seen in each letter.… First, there is positive affirmation, where Jesus finds something to affirm in the churches. Second, there is corrective exhortation. Third, there is an eternal motivation. And finally, there is partial revelation—as each of the churches reveals something of the nature of Christ. You see, the only way we’re going to see the complete picture is to embrace the church in totality. That’s what is so important about the body of Christ. As I look at the body, each person exhibits a unique aspect of Jesus Christ. It takes the whole body to truly magnify the Lord. That’s why the psalmist said, “O magnify the Lord with me” (see Psalm 34:3). May we be those who embrace other believers and other churches because they each reveal something of Him. Revelation 2:1 (a) Unto the angel… Meaning “messenger,” it is most likely that the word angelous used here speaks of a pastor, or leader. Revelation 2:1 (b) …of the church of Ephesus… The church of Ephesus speaks of the period of church history from A.D. 33 to A.D. 100. By A.D. 97—the year John recorded this book—the church was already a mess. The Book of Acts presents the model of the way the church was supposed to function. But Acts only covers a span of thirty years. By the time John penned Revelation a mere sixty years later, the purity of the church had been compromised to such a degree that they were in a position to hear the Lord say, “Unless you repent, I’ll not stay in your midst” (see verse 5). Those caught up in some of the so-called revivals of today say, “We can’t explain from the Bible what is happening in our church, but in earlier days, we read of people barking or shaking…” as they turn not to the Scriptures but to church history for justification of aberrant behavior. Let it be noted, precious people, that we can’t appeal to church history for practices of doctrine because the church has had problems from the very outset. I don’t ever defend church history. But I do defend the church as seen in the Book of Acts. Appeal only to the Bible, beloved, because that’s where you find safety and sanity. You’re always on solid ground if you stick with Scripture. Revelation 2:1 (c) …write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand… Who are the seven stars? The leaders of the seven churches. Revelation 2:1 (d) …who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. Where is Jesus walking? In the midst of the church. You will meet Christians who say, “Well, I’m not into church.” That’s too bad, because Jesus is. “Yeah, but the churches around here are really hurting,” they’ll say. So were these. And yet Jesus was in their midst. Revelation 2:2, 3 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Here, Jesus gives His affirmation. He says, “First of all, I affirm you for staying with the task. That is, you’ve worked hard. You haven’t fainted. Secondly, you’ve stood with the truth. You’ve rooted out the deceivers who have come into your midst.” On occasion, people will say to us as Christians, “Don’t judge me. Didn’t Jesus say to judge not lest ye be judged?” And I tell them He did. But I also remind them that fifteen verses later, He said, “Beware of false prophets who will come into your midst as wolves in sheep’s clothing. By their fruit you shall know them” (see Matthew 7:15, 16). So what is Jesus saying? In Matthew 7:1, He says we’re not to judge for condemnation. In verse 15, however, we are instructed to judge for identification. If we only teach the Word, but don’t warn the flock about liars and deceivers, then we simply fatten people up for the kill. Part of the job of parenting and pastoring, part of the responsibility of any believer is to warn of false doctrine and false teachers. Revelation 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. The corrective exhortation concerns the fact that, although they labored faithfully and showed discernment theologically, they had left their first love. Notice He doesn’t say they lost their first love. He says they left it.… While chopping trees for the expansion of their facility, the axe head of one of Elisha’s students flew into the Jordan River. Ever feel like the cutting edge is gone from your ministry, like the power is absent from your life? Since wood is biblically symbolic of the flesh, this guy with the wooden handle still in his grasp could have said, I can still make noise banging trees with the handle. Maybe no one will notice that nothing’s happening in the way of effective ministry.” But he didn’t. Instead, he did what Jesus tells you and me and those at Ephesus to do: he cried, “Master, it’s not there anymore. The cutting edge is gone.” “Take me to the place you had it last,” said Elisha. And the young man took Elisha to the edge of the river where he had last seen the axe head. Elisha ripped off a limb from a nearby tree, put it in the river, and miraculously, the axe head floated to the top. “There it is, son,” said Elisha. “Now reach in and grab it” (see 2 Kings 6:1–7). It’s a perfect picture of what Jesus is about to say to those at Ephesus and to those of us who have left our first love.… Revelation 2:5 (a) Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen… Remember how it felt to have the cutting edge, when you were passionate, when your walk was vibrant. Remember how it used to be when you had it last. Revelation 2:5 (b) …and repent… “Repent” simply means “change direction.” Revelation 2:5 (c) …and do the first works.… What were you doing when you were on fire for the Lord? “I was going to church.” Go again! “I was getting up early for morning devotions.” Do it again! “I sang praise to the Lord as I drove down the street.” Sing again! Remember how it used to be when you were amazed by the Lord’s goodness—do again what you were doing then, and you will see the cutting edge return. The injunction of Jesus is simple: Remember, repent, and return. Revelation 2:5 (d) …or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. You may have lots of programs and lots of activities. You may even have doctrinal purity. But Jesus will not stay in a church where there is not true love because without love, nothing else matters (1 Corinthians 13:2). Revelation 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. “Nicos” meaning “conquest” and “laity” meaning “people of the church,” the Nicolaitans were evidently those who came on the scene, saying, “I will tell you who to marry, where to live, and what to do because I am your spiritual leader.” But what did Paul say? He said, “We do not seek to have dominion over you, but we are helpers of your joy” (see 2 Corinthians 1:24). Sometimes people say, “Pastor, I want you to know I’m submitted to you.” While I hear their heart, I say, “Don’t submit to me. I’ve got a tough enough time trying to figure out what I should do! I’d love to share with you from the Word and pray for you each day. But it’s Jesus alone to whom you must submit.” Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. What did the Ephesians lack? Love. What would they get if they changed their ways? The fruit of the tree of life, the fruit of the Spirit: love. Thus, the eternal motivation for the Ephesian church perfectly answered their greatest need. Tomorrow, we will study the letter to the church at Smyrna. Have a blessed day!
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 13:00:00 +0000
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