The Church Of Philadelphia (A Loving Church)

Does this mean they were perfect? Absolutely not!

For example, the Bible tells us that Job was perfect and upright man.

Does that mean Job was perfect and sinless?

No, the only perfect sinless man to walk on this earth was the Lord Jesus.

Let me explain how the word PERFECT IS USED IN THE SCRIPTURES.

Illus: When a baby is born in this life they selfishly cry for attention. That is alright, in that stage in their life they are supposed to do things like this. THEY ARE PERFECT IN THIS STAGE IN LIFE. But that same baby when it grows up should not be acting like a baby

There can be no such thing as a "perfect" church as long as the membership is made up of mortals.

Job was PERFECT in that stage of his spiritual life.

The church of Philadelphia was not perfect in one sense of the word, but in another sense, spiritually, the church was perfect for the spiritual level it was on, and God did not find anything to condemn them for. They were exactly where they were supposed to be spiritually.

There are FOUR interesting facts that need to be considered before we can appreciate some of the things in this letter to the church of Philadelphia.

Such as...

(1)WE NEED TO CONSIDER THE NAME OF THIS CHURCH.

The word "Philadelphia" means: "Brotherly love, or one who loves his brother."

The name is a constant reminder that they were to love each other.

(2) WE NEED TO CONSIDER THE LOCATION OF THIS CHURCH.

It was located over a large "fault."

Illus: In 17 A.D. a large earthquake hit this area, and it was so devastating that it completely destroyed the city of Sardis, and ten other cities.

The church of Sardis nearby was destroyed.

Philadelphia was not totally destroyed, but for years the city had constant tremors, which caused walls to continue to tumble in on people.

The citizens had to live in terror of having to run out of their houses throughout the days and nights.

In fact, the majority of the population left the city because of the unending tremors.

Because of the earthquakes and tremors, the people were able to relate to two things the Lord spoke of in verse 12.

A. He spoke of those who were OVERCOMERS SPIRITUALLY as becoming PILLARS "...in the temple of my God..."

Illus: Because of the constant threat of buildings falling in, the people would build pillars in their homes to help support the structure of their homes.

Generally, the people with large pillars in their homes were safe in their homes during the tremors.

God was saying that overcomers were strong and could stand the spiritual "tremors" Satan would send, and because of that, one day they would be safe as a "...pillar in the temple of my God..."

The Christians could relate to the term "pillar" that God used.

B.Those who would be OVERCOMERS, He said in verse 12, “...he shall go no more out..."

They could certainly relate to this as they had to run in and out of their houses, as the unending tremors terrorized their lives.

But, one day they will not have to live under such conditions.

Sometimes, the best way for Christians to fight discouragement, is to recognize that one day we are NOT going to have to face the battles we now face.

Illus: As the song writer said it years ago, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus."

We have looked at:

• Their Name

• Their Location

But we need to consider…

(3) THE NEW NAME GIVEN TO THIS TOWN.

After one large earthquake, Philadelphia was totally destroyed. The emperor, Tiberius gave aid for the rebuilding of Philadelphia.

Out of gratitude, the name of the city was changed to Neocaesarea, the new city of Caesar.

In verse 12, we see they could relate to these words, "...I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name."

After seeing Philadelphia rebuilt and given a new name, they could relate to the new name "...of the city of my God..." that they (and all who have accepted Christ) would inherit through Christ, Who has made it possible.

(4) WE NEED TO CONSIDER THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF PHILADELPHIA.

The Jews claimed to be the true followers of God, and they claimed they had the keys of David which were given to them, and they had the right to open and shut the door to God and His kingdom.

God certainly must have had this in mind in verse 7 where we find that we, the people of God, are to look to Christ, Who has the "keys" and who opens and shuts the doors.