I.PROLOGUE 1:1-20
II.Messages to the Seven churches 2-3 (Things with are)
I want to clarify two issues related to all seven churches before we focus in on each individual message. The first issue has to do with the interpretive approach. How you interpret these messages will depend on which method of interpretation you have decided to take on the book as a whole. A symbolic approach will not view these as literal churches but focus on the universal principles to be gleaned from the messages. A historical approach will divide into one of three approaches.
One – these were seven literal churches in John’s day to whom Jesus sent specific messages related to them with no necessary application to the church to day other than learning from their example.
Two – the seven churches addressed represent the state of the church from the apostolic period to the time just prior to the return of Jesus. This is a very popular approach. Dates for these ages vary greatly.
Three – the seven churches were literal churches with issues representative of the church through church history. The strongest reason I chose this approach is that there are absolutely no indicators that we should interpret the messages to the church in any other way but literal churches struggling at the time of the writing. Most commentators who take the church age approach end sup drawing most of their insight from historical data related to the literal church at the time of writing anyway. Trying force each message into a particular church age is arbitrary and unnecessary as interesting as it might be that the church in certain ages bear similar characteristics. The fact is, as we shall see, the messages have personal application to any church in any given age. Why limit it to a particular church age?
The second issue has to do with common pattern or form in all the messages.
I have identified seven common elements in most every message with a couple exceptions.
1 – Jesus began each message with a particular personal characteristic.
Most of them come from things heard and seen in the first chapter.
2 – Jesus started each church with a commendation of something they were doing well. Every church except Laodocia
3 – Jesus addressed an area that needed correction
Every church except Smyrna and Philadelphia
4 – Jesus the called for some kind of action on the part of each church whether corrective action or enduring action.
5 – Jesus declared a consequence for failure or reward for faithfulness.
6 – Jesus calls all those in every church with an open heart to listen.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
7 – A promise for overcomes appears in every message to every church.
John saw Jesus walking among the churches. Why? The next two chapters are what Jesus was doing walking among the churches. It was inspection time. There were things that pleased Him. There were things that displease Him. There were things He commended. There were some things He corrected. He walks among us today. What will He see? What will He say?
What will we do?
A. Message to the church in Ephesus 2:1-7
Background to the church at Ephesus
I would rather spend the bulk of our time on the things Jesus had to say rather than background information concerning Ephesus, but here are a few important details to mention.
Ephesus was a high profile church located in a major seaport with lots of international traffic.
The city was a major tourist destination for those coming to visit the temple of the Greek fertility goddess Artemis or Diana considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
It was a city of maybe 300,000 people with a large 24,000 seat amphitheater.
The level of morality among the city’s population was notoriously low. The people were licentious, superstitious, vile, and violent. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus, a resident of Ephesus, purportedly commented that “the morals of the temple were worse than the morals of beasts, for even promiscuous dogs do not mutilate each other.”
Such was the climate in which the church grew and impacted not only their city but many other cities in Asia. You can read about Paul’s time there in Acts 18 and 19. He spent one prolonged three year stint there teaching the word day and night. His later letter to the Ephesians indicates a strong church doing battle in a pagan city. Paul’s powerful daily teaching of the truth resulted in significant cuts into the local idol trade. The teachings of Christianity was unmistakably counter to the current culture. Timothy pastored the church and church tradition indicates that John pastored there before his Patmos imprisonment and returned after to spend his remaining years there. The church at Ephesus enjoyed a great foundation and had remained faithful to the Word for at least 40 years to the writing of this letters.
1. Characteristic
1 "To the angel(messenger) of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
This most likely addressed to the pastor or head elder of the Church. Nearly every description that heads each letter, flows from John’s description of Jesus in chapter one. They all represent His appearance, character, power and authority. Jesus held every pastor of every church in His protective hand. His presence never leaves His church. He intercedes, encourages and inspects gathered believers in every place.
2. Commendation
Jesus began His letter by pointing out those things that were commendable about the church.
It is interesting to note that all through these letters, Jesus uses the second person singular rather than the plural. Perhaps it indicates that He has the church as a whole in mind rather than individuals in the church “ya all”. Or maybe it emphasizes every individual member’s responsibility for the condition of the church.
2 ’I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.
Even though there are a number of statements in this long sentence, the commendation could be summed up as a commendation for their untiring stand against doctrinal error. Jesus let them know He had an intimate and complete knowledge of their activities.
The Greek word oida, translated “know” (v. 2), reflects full and exact knowledge from absolute clearness of vision and is always the word used to describe Christ’s knowledge in Revelation.
The word “deeds” is a reference to activities, works, labors. It refers to ones actions either good or evil. Jesus knows everything about what goes on in His church; including the individual members. He was aware of how hard they were working (exhausting labor) to protect the flock from false teaching. This was something Paul had warned them about.
28 "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Acts 20:28-30
Paul left an example of working hard for the sake of Christ. (See Acts 20:17-38) He warned the Corinthians to be on the look out for false teachers as well.
12 But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. 2 Corinthians 11:12-15
Jesus is aware and will not forget our hard work and perseverance on His behalf.
10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. Hebrews 6:10
He was aware of their perseverance. The word indicates hopeful endurance; to remain under the strain with hope and purpose as opposed to begrudging tenacity. They refused to put up with evil men; namely those who would pervert the Gospel and teach propagate false teaching. They tested those who claimed some sort of apostolic authority. There are many today who claim to speak for God who need to be tested. These failed the test. The church demonstrated them to be false and they refused to allow them to teach. In spite of it all the tiring work and stress the church did not become weary. Perfect tense verb indicates they had not become weary and still did not give up. Jesus was happy about their stand against false doctrine; something he would chastise the church at Thyatira and Pergamum for failing to do.
3. Correction
4 ’But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Jesus indicated that there was something that was a continual point of friction with them.
They left their first love. It was not that they didn’t love Him at all. They had abandoned, laid aside, purposely walked away from the passionate devotion to Christ that characterized the church at the beginning. It is not something that happened to them. They lost their passion for Christ because they quit focusing on serving Him. It seems that forty years after their founding, we now have a church made up of second and even third generation Christians who did not demonstrate the fervor that had marked the early church. Acts 19:20 indicated that the Word of God spread widely and grew in power at the beginning.
Paul praised them in his letter for their faith in the Lord and their love for each other.
Jesus appreciates doctrinal purity but also want devotional passion.
Doctrine and devotion
Perseverance and passion
Faith and fervor
Creed and commitment
Orthodoxy and adoration
So what is a first love? It is the kind of passion that characterizes the early stages of a relationship. As I thought about what characterized the early stages of my relationship with Geniene who was my first and only love, I narrowed it down to five things.
A first love is the inner passion that motivates me to be with, do for, give to, sacrifice for and talk about the one I love.
I think these things characterize the early stages of many relationships. No one has to urge you to do these things. They are not something you dread or are distasteful. Because of the intensity of your love, you want to do them and find great delight in doing them. So what does Jesus require?
4. Action
There are three steps to restoring your first love for Christ.
REMEMBER FROM WHERE YOU HAVE FALLEN
Think back about when you first committed your life to Christ. Some need to think back if they ever had a “first love”
Many of you can remember when these characteristics were true of your relationship with Christ.
Send time with Him. Do what pleases Him. Give to Him. Sacrifice for Him. Talk about Him.
Some of you remember when you love for God and His kingdom were prominent.
Gladly gathered to worship and learn about Him
Dedicated to service and ministry for Him
Faithfully gave of your tithe and beyond
Sacrifice time and energy for His purposes
Enthusiastically talked about Him to everyone you could
Failure to demonstrate a first love is like falling. Jesus calls us to continually keep in our mind from where we have fallen. Fallen is a perfect tense verb indicating a time when we dropped to the ground and we are still there. The word was used of those who intentionally dropped to the ground.
It took a trip to the pig pen for the prodigal son to realize from where he had fallen. Up to that point, he had been “out of his senses.” He had stopped thinking properly. His perception had become twisted. When he came to his senses, he remembered how much better off he had been under his father’s care and he made a decision to return.
Second
REPENT
“repent” think (noieo) differently (meta), reconsider, change your thinking
Repentance has more to do with thinking than feeling. It is a change of mind; a change of thinking. Our thinking has become messed up about what it means to love Jesus. We need think differently. We need to acknowledge our pathetic commitment and decide to live differently.
RETURN -- DO THE FIRST DEEDS
A first love was characterized by first deeds. In order to return to a “first love” we must go back to doing “first deeds.”
•Be with
How much of your day has been set aside to spend talking with Christ?
He loves to manifest when His people gather. Is gathering with others to worship a priority?
•Do for
What kind of service and ministry are you involved in?
What do you do for Him?
How much of your day is devoted to doing the things that please Him?
God works in every believer so that we will both want to and do HIS good pleasure.
•Give to
Have you committed to regular giving of your money?
There is a very close relationship to devotion to God and giving in the Bible.
You can’t serve God and money.
If you aren’t faithful in managing worldly riches God says He will not trust with spiritual riches.
Earthy riches are a training ground for spiritual riches.
•Sacrifice for
What personal pleasures and ambitions have you given up in order to further the kingdom?
Where have you sacrificed your own comfort and pleasure in order to please God?
Fasting is a good training ground for spiritual sacrifice.
•Talk about
How much time do we spend talking about God?
How often do we tell others about what He is doing and has done and how great He is?
These are things for individuals as well as for us as a church body.
What if we don’t do what Jesus instructs us to do? Jesus was very clear.
5. Consequence
or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.
This is definitive. There is no maybe. This is what would happen if things didn’t turn around.
They would no longer have the privilege of bearing Christ light in a dark place for they had become dark themselves. The church that loses its passion for Christ will soon lose its light, no matter how doctrinally sound it may be. Jesus indicated that this action would be taken soon.
It was not necessarily a reference to the final days but soon if they failed to repent.
Historically, it seems that the church took His admonition to heart. There was a strong church in the area up through the fifth century. At some time they most likely once again lost their devotion and subsequently their light leavening darkness and a vacuum for Islam to fill. There is no trace of the Ephesian church in Turkey today.
Jesus followed his correction with another commendation.
6 ’Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
The hatred was not for the Nicolaitans but for their deeds. In contrast to deeds of devotion, the Nicolaitans practices deeds of depravity. No one really knows who these people were.
Their influence was felt all through Asia as they are mentioned again in connection with two of the other churches. It is common held that they taught and practiced some sort of moral compromise with the pagan practices of the day in order to fit in.
6. Call to hear
Jesus called the one having an ear continually tuned to hear from God, to stop and listen or take to heart what the Spirit continually communicates to the churches (plural). It is obvious that these issues were representative of all churches in every age and that these words were intended to be distributed to all the churches. This invitation is found in the gospels and in the letter to each of the seven churches. It always occurs where Jesus appealed to His hearers to make a significant change.
7. Promise to overcomers
To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’
“To the one overcoming” Jesus will grant at a future time to eat of the tree of life.
This tree continually exists in God’s garden (Paradise). Look to the finish line.
As John indicated in His precious letter, all born-again believer are overcomers.
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4-5
No matter what may assail us in this world…
No matter how many times we may trip and fall in this life…
…we are overcomers by faith in Christ and He promises us a grand future.
In this case, Jesus reminds them of the promise to eat of the tree of life in His garden.
The tree of life disappeared from Genesis and shows up three more times here in Revelation. (22:2,14,19)
May everyone who has an ear to hear, take to heart what the Spirit has to say to us today.
He walks among us and calls us to Remember, Repent and Return.
Take steps to return to the “first deeds”
•Schedule time to be with Him.
•Focus on doing what pleases Him. Get involved in ministry and service.
•Decide to faithfully and generously give to Him as an expression of your love.
•Look for opportunities to sacrifice for Him over your own desires.
•Include Him in more of your conversation and talk about Him with others.
