A Church Marked By Love

According to research done by sociologist W.F. Nimkoff and Arthur Wood, the intensity of romance in a marriage diminishes by 80% during the first two years.

Two friends who lived in the West Virginia mountains were talking one day. “Horace,” the first one said, “why didn’t you ever get married?”

“I thought about it several times,” Horace said, “but things just didn’t work out. The first girl I wanted to marry was a pretty little thing with red hair, but my mother didn’t like the way she talked. My second girlfriend was a cute little blonde who sang in a hillybilly band, but when I brought her home my mother didn’t like her looks. Then I tried to find a girl that would please my mother. I finally found a young lady down in Charleston who looked exactly like my mother. She talked like my mother and even walked like her. I was sure she’d be able to please my mother. But things went wrong again. So, I gave up the idea.”

“What went wrong with the last time?” his friend asked. “Didn’t your mother like her?”

“Oh, yes, Mother thought she was perfect,” said Horace, “but my Dad couldn’t stand the sight of her.”

I suppose it is true that romance diminishes in those first years of marriage. But the truth is romance diminishes unless it is renewed and revised under a deeper kind of love. Love must be cultivated and deliberately given attention, or it will cool. What’s true for marriages is true for churches too. The first mark of a true and living church is its love for Jesus and the brethren.

The letter of Revelation was originally written to seven churches that existed in Asia Minor or what is today the nation of Turkey. Against a backdrop of persecution, infiltration by false teachers, and sinful lifestyles, John reveals seven characteristics that make up the true church of God. The first church addressed is the Christian church at Ephesus.

Ephesus was an impressive church. It was founded by Paul. The church could list Timothy and the apostle John as pastors. But the highest compliment that could be paid to any church is that it is a loving church. The first mark of a true and living church is its love for Jesus and the brethren.

As John records Jesus’ message to the church at Ephesus, notice Jesus’ commendation, complaint, and correction. John writes:

Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus:

Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands:

(2) I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. (3) I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and you have not grown weary. (4) But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. (5) Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. (6) Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

(7) “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

First, Jesus commends the church.

I. JESUS COMMENDS THE CHURCH (REVELATION 2:1-3, 6)

The letter to Ephesus begins with a description of the person of Jesus Christ (v. 1) and then praise of the church in v. 2-3, 6.

A. The Person of Jesus (v. 1).

Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands:

It is none other than the Lord of the church who speaks to the church at Ephesus. Every letter addressed to these seven churches begins with a description of Jesus. Each description is found in chapter one of Revelation.

The seven stars most likely represent the seven pastors of the churches and the seven golden lampstands represent the churches. Churches are to be bearers of the light of the gospel to those who are still in the darkness of their sin. The light of the lampstand is not its own. It is a borrowed light like that of the moon from the sun. We must always remember we are not the attraction; Jesus is. We are a collection of people who are called together to show this community what Jesus can do through people who love and serve Him. We are just a lampstand. He is the light. He is the attraction.