As I believe the Lord is leading, it is imperative for us to consider exactly what type of church Jesus desires to have. While opinions and ideas could, and probably would run rampant concerning that topic, there is one place the answer may be clearly found. That is in God’s Word.
While many pastors often avoid this particular subject, I cannot avoid it. Along with the divine calling of God to the ministry comes a heavy responsibility to both God and to the people of God. As I stand in the gap, my calling has but one way to be truly fulfilled. As Paul gave the charge to Timothy, “Preach the Word,” that very same charge is given to me. I am not responsible for part of it. I am responsible for all of it. So, this is one subject I cannot shy away from.
About two weeks ago the Lord impressed the letters to the seven churches, found in Revelation, upon my heart. It is amazing how that as I began to study these letters, it became ever so clear that these letters are very relevant to our churches today. As we look at these letters, I challenge you to seriously consider the question, “Do I want this church to be the type of church our Lord Jesus would desire for it to be?”
As we consider the first church, lets read Revelation 2: 1-7.
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 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. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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.
Why is it important, preacher, for us to consider the type of church that Jesus would desire? Scripture tells us that the church is to be the salt of the earth and a light to the world, Matthew 5: 13-14. Paul said it was the pillar and ground of truth in 1 Timothy 3:15. When these elements are brought together, it forms for us the mission statement of the church.
Before we consider this church in full detail, there are a couple of preliminary things that we must look at first. Were you to notice in verse 1, Jesus mentioned the holding of seven stars, and walking around seven candlesticks. If you were to look in chapter one at verse 20, you would notice that the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.
There are three possible interpretations for what the angels represent. The first one is that they are the pastors of the churches; one for each church. There are two reasons that this interpretation is probably not the right one. First, there are 67 references to angels in the book of Revelation, outside of the letters to the churches. At no time in those 67 references did the word angel ever refer to a man or human being. To say that it means pastors is stretching any solid principle of interpretation. Secondly, the churches in this particular day did not have a pastor. They had multiple pastors, bishops, or elders. No one pastor out-ranked the others, but they all stood on equal ground as ministers of the Word of God.
The second possible interpretation is that the angels are the guardian angels of the church. There are two reasons that this interpretation is incorrect. There is no scripture that would indicate that guardian angels were assigned to the churches. And, secondly, the letters were addressed to the purpose of correcting church conduct. You wouldn’t address an actual angel with a letter to correct church conduct.
The third, and what I believe to be the correct interpretation, is that the angel represents the “essential spirit”, or the “projected message” of the church by its conduct. It is the prevailing spirit that is sensed in the church. Some churches have the spirit of love that one can just sense when they enter into it. Others have a strong spirit of being missions minded. Others would project a spirit of division. The possibilities are limitless at to the essential message that the church may project.
There are many reasons I believe this to be the correct interpretation. Time will not allow us to examine them in full, but if you desire to know more about this interpretation, you can see me after the service, and I would gladly share with you more concerning it.
What is important is that it is Christ that holds these prevailing spirits of the churches. He walks among the candlesticks. All a candlestick does is hold a candle. It speaks of the churches ability to shine a light and have a testimony. Notice what Jesus says at the end of verse 5. “I will come to thee quickly and remove thy candlestick out of its place, except ye repent.” Here is a church that is close to loosing its ability to be a testimony, to shine its light into a dark world.
The Lord commends this church at Ephesus for three things. In the same letter, He rebukes them for one thing.
Notice what He said in verse 2, “I know thy works.” To know in this verse is speaking of those things in the past, and by the very nature of the word in the original language it actually means having a perfect knowledge of the facts, missing nothing. Works does not mean the simple or occasional deed. It is used in a much larger sense, and refers to a whole-life conduct, by which the person is judged. Jesus knows perfectly, forgetting nothing, the complete conduct of His church.
That very fact should cause us to stop and ask, “Is the Lord seeing in this church, what would be pleasing to Him?” What kind of conduct do we have as a church before the mind of the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords? Is this a church, governed by principles, and involved in actions that are pleasing to the Savior? Were Jesus to say, “I know your deeds church,” just what would they be?
What did the Lord see at Ephesus? The first commendation was that He saw their labor and patience. The word labor here literally means to cut, to reduce, to suffer and endure pain. He commended them for being a church that labored and toiled to the point of hurting. They cared for others, served others, helped others, gave, prayed, preached, ministered. You name it, this church did it, and did it with such intensity that it hurt. Their work had brought them to the point of weariness. Christ commended them for that.
What would the Lord say about this church? How would He view our efforts and ministry labors? What will the verdict be, when He views our labor?
Notice that this labor was coupled with patience. The word translated as patience has the same meaning as our English word of perseverance. Not only did they labor to the point of pain and weariness, but they coupled that labor with a resolve to keep on going. They refused to quit working. There was nothing about this church that opened the way for an accusation of complacency.
Too often in churches today, people will start out to serve, and when they experience a few difficulties, and go through a few hardships, they are just ready to quit. That very same response is seen even in this very church. Commitment is a very difficult thing to muster up in the church. The principle of unity would be that we pull together with perseverance, and do things God’s way. Unity takes work and commitment.
Secondly, notice that they were commended for putting people to the test. Notice what verse 2 says, “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.” By apostles, he is not referring to the Twelve chosen by the Lord, but is using the word in a much broader sense, as could be seen in 2 Corinthians 11:13. The word apostle means called, sent, commissioned, or ordained. The reference means everyone who makes a claim that they are working for the Lord. By its nature, it encompasses every office, position, task, or duty within the confines of church ministry.
By trying them, it means you have put them to the test, to scrutinize, examine closely, and discipline. Literally it means to weigh the evidence closely, discern the motive and standing, then take action to correct the wrong. The scales to use must be the Scriptures. In God’s word, every qualification, guideline, and requirement for every office or functional ministry personnel is clearly given to us. We are told everything a person needs to be in order to fill an office within the church.
Notice that it says, “and found them liars.” The word found is a judicial term. It carries the meaning of a judge pronouncing sentence and slapping down the gavel.
The fullness of the phrasing means to examine the evidence, weigh the person in the balance of scripture, and pronounce your findings, taking the proper actions to correct the wrong. Evidence examined, verdict passed, sentence enacted. The purpose is to eradicate wrongful actions, and to keep those who do not qualify from abusing certain offices. Scripture is the basis for measuring, not personal bias.
These actions are not to be approached in fear, but are commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? It is because He desires a clean bride. He does not wish for His bride to be filled with blemishes and have a bad name. It is a biblical principle commanded by our Lord and Savior.
So we have the first two commendations. These are the first two of three things in Ephesus that pleased the Lord. But then He gives a stern rebuke in the middle of the commendations. Notice verse 4, “Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”
The implication is that love they initially had for the Savior. It is that amazing sense of gratitude that you felt when you realized your guilt, but you also realized His forgiveness. It was how you felt when the very sentence of death was hanging above your head, and the savior said, “I’ll take that.”
By first love, it is similar to the way it is when two people initially fall in love. They think about each other all the time. They talk to each other constantly. They tell their friends about each other and how wonderful the other is. Nothing can distract their attention from each other.
That is the relationship Christ desires to have with you. He desires to have that kind of closeness; that kind of fondness; that kind of desire coming from you toward Him. As a Christian, do you speak often about your Savior? Do you have that same love you initially had? Is He the most important thing in your life? Do you read His word earnestly so that you may know Him in a special way? If you are answering yes, then put yourself in the balances, and see how your answer weighs out. Does your answer come up wanting? How badly does it come up short?
Jesus gave the instruction on how to regain that first love. Notice quickly, three things you must do.
First, remember. In verse 5 He said, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen.” Literally, remember the height from which you fell. Take a look at where you started, and where you are now. Look at the distance you have moved away.
Secondly, repent. Biblical repentance is simply a change of mind about something. It means to think differently about something. He says to rethink your motive, and then change your mind. Change your mind about your prayer life. Change your mind about your devotional life. Change your mind about your ministry. Change your mind about your attitude toward the Savior and His church.
Thirdly, He says to return. Notice in verse 5 He said, “and do the first works.” When you see where you started out, and how far you have fallen from that, change your mind about your love for Him, and return to the point where you started.
Why is this important? It is because if you don’t, notice verse 5, “Or else, I will come unto thee quickly, and remove thy candlestick out of his place.” He has this churches projected message in His hand, “I know your works.” If the essential message projected by our conduct and love for Christ does not equate to what He would have it be, then He will remove our ability to shine our light, and have a testimony to a lost world. This church will loose its effect. That’s not my word, its God’s word.
The Lord gives the third commendation. Notice in verse 6, “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” The reason this comes after the rebuke is because first, it is the strongest commendation, and secondly, they didn’t replace the love they lost for Him with the love for the works of this group of people.
This particular group of people is identified by name in the Scripture. The word Nicolaitans is a compound word. The first word used in its construction is the Greek word nike, which means to conquer or have victory over. The second word is laos. It simply means laity or the people. The nave Nicolaitans literally means to conquer or have victory over the people. The Lord says He hates that.
This was a group, which misused the offices to which they were appointed. They were not in line with the Scriptures concerning the qualifications (either morally, and or spiritually). They promoted a spirit of self-preservation. They carried the attitude, “It is going to be my way.”
When you look at God’s model for church government, it becomes clear that He established the church to be a theocracy, which means God ruled. God never intended it to be ruled or ran by man. Matthew 23: 8-12, “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”
The model for the New Testament Church was given in scripture. Christ chose the Apostles. Christ commanded servitude from the offices of the church. Galatians 5:13 tells us to serve one another. ! Peter 5:2-3 was given to the Pastors, the under-shepherd of Christ, the overseer of the church. “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.”
How does that relate to us today? Pastors are under-shepherds. They are to lead the flock, and feed the flock as an overseer. They do have pastoral authority to be used in accordance with the Scriptures. That means if something does not line up with God’s word, they are responsible to get it back in line according to Scripture. All decisions they make are to be based from the Word of God.
The Pastor is not to bark out orders. He is not to command people with what to do without teaching them the why and how to do it. He is not to grab the reigns and do everything while suppressing others in their ministry. These all lead to frustrations, and result in the battering of the people from the pulpit while disguising it as the Word of God.
The deacon is to serve the physical need of the church. They were set aside to wait tables, not to make spiritual decisions, and take the role of spiritual leadership.
The deacon is not to usurp authority over the people. They are to serve the people’s physical interests, not their own interests.
Both pastors and deacons share the same scriptural requirements, with the exception of two things. The pastor is to be apt to teach and preach. Both are to be spiritually minded. Both are to be full of wisdom. Both are to be servants of the church. Both are to rule their household well. Why is that important?
God gave the command in Genesis 1:28 for man to subdue, which means to conquer, the earth, and have dominion, which means authority, over it. Man then by nature has a desire to rule. He wants to be in charge over something. So God commands that the officers of the church rule their households well so that they will not bring their desires to exercise authority into the church. By bringing desires for authority into the church, you have replaced the authority of Christ with your own. That was one of the marks of the Nicolaitans.
They also had the mark of self-preservation. That means that they promoted themselves, and those of this particular mindset. Promoting others who do not qualify is the same mindset that this group had. What did the Lord say? “I hate their deeds.”
The Nicolaitans were mentioned again in Revelation. Notice in verses 15 and 16, “So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” Having them, and doing nothing about them results in one thing. The Lord said He will speak judgment against that church. Your candlestick will be removed. You will no longer have a testimony.
Failure to repent of certain things brings judgment upon the church. Will it be this one?
Notice what He said in verse 7, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the seven churches.” Simply, listen, pay close attention to what the Holy Spirit is saying. Then repent. Make it right. Instead of fearing what man would think, wouldn’t it make more sense to fear what God says?
