"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." Rev 2:1-7 (KJV)
Christians are aware (if they have been properly taught) that they will have to give a reckoning of every word and deed that they have done in their earthly life, before the judgement seat of Christ. While we may be saved from the second death, we are certainly not exempt from having to give an account of how we have handled, and been faithful to the truth that has been revealed to us individually. What is in view in chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation is Christ's evaluation of seven types of church bodies as a whole in very much a similar fashion. This evaluation is addressed to the human pastor of each church as the person RESPONSIBLE for the corporate body - but as we have said earlier, is designed to be HEARD by the whole congregation. If we interpret the angel of the church to be some heavenly or spiritual guardian of it (and not human - as some commentators have done ) what then, would be the need for Christ to instruct John to WRITE to him?
The report card itself, follows a very structured format - and we will use this format to break down each evaluation, but before we get into one church in detail, it will be useful for us to consider something as pertaining to the whole of chapters 2 and 3.We will see three kinds of churches. The first, a church which is doing well but needs to address a few issues. The second, a church which is struggling to do well, and needs encouragement. The third, a church which is doing badly, but still may have some good in it.Do you see the differences? This is extremely valuable insight, as the church has never been the subject of direct prophecy by name in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, we are given its history, and letters from the apostles that provide guidance, but we did not have a direct Word from God on how this whole church thing is viewed in His eyes, except right here!! There is great insight communicated here that we can immediately apply to our own church experiences!
THE REPORT CARD OF EPHESUS
A. Issuing Authority : From the One who superintends ALL churches!
Christ identifies Himself as the ultimate authority over all the churches by beginning with the words "these things saith he that". We will see that the church in Ephesus was very careful to inspect the credentials of persons coming to them and this would identify this letter as coming from our Head Office! Notice also, that each letter to the church begins with Christ identifying himself with - a part/aspect- of the vision that John Saw in Chapter 1. Everything in scripture has a reason - that vision was not just a pretty picture, it had a lot more meaning than we were able to describe last week!
B. Whats going well : A lot actually !
Ephesus was the city where Paul ministered for three years (Acts 19:1, Acts 10, Acts 20:31). It was the city where Aquilla and Priscilla, with Apollos ministered (Acts 18:24-28). It was the city where Paul's close associate Timothy (1Ti 1:3) ministered. And according to strong and consistent church historical traditions, the Apostle John himself ministered there till his death. We owe them a debt of gratitude for - Paul wrote to them in Ephesians 2:8,9 - "by grace are ye saved through faith - it is the gift of God not of works..." - the entire doctrine of justification by faith!! They had excellent pastors! It was also the seat of paganism - the temple of Diana (a fertility goddess) and many pagan cults was there, and Paul caused quite an uproar by threatening to take away the livelihood of the silversmiths there that made images of her. (Acts 19:24...)
Christ says _He knows_ their works - This is acknowledgement indeed. He does not say "I never knew you" as He promises to say to hypocrites elswhere in the Gospels, and their works make up an impressive list. This is a very good church! They work hard, they are patient, they do not tolerate bad behaviour in the congregation, they check the credentials of all those who want to take the pulpit, they have endured pain and not given up, and this is repeated by Him saying they have labored and not fainted (given up).
They also hate Nicolaitans whom Christ dislikes as well - what is this? The doctrine of the Nicolaitans, and that of Balaam (Rev_2:14), and that of the woman Jezebel (Rev_2:20), seem to have this much in common—a contention that the freedom of the Christian placed him above the moral Law. Neither idolatry nor sensuality could harm those who had been made free by Christ. The moral enactments of the Law had been abrogated by the gospel, no less than the ceremonial. The special mention of "the pollutions of idols" and "fornication," in the decrees of the Council of Jerusalem (Act_15:20, Act_15:29), seems to show that this pernicious doctrine was already in existence in A.D. 50. In 2Pe_2:1-22 and Jud_1:7-13 a similar evil is denounced - "the grace of God turned into lasciviousness"! Oh how He must weep over the people sitting in our pews today who condemn those with alternate lifestyles but are themselves serial adulterers or given over to loose living with a clear conscience.
C. Whats not going well : A serious problem
They have left their first love - this could be the love of God, Christ or their fellow man. It could be all three - we do not know. The Pharisees were commended by Christ on their strict adherence to the tithing requirements of the Law by their offerings of herbs from their vegetable gardens even, but caught up in minutiae, they had neglected the WEIGHTIER things of the Law - mercy, and justice - which they should have observed. If we forget that God is Love, and the prime commandments are to Love Him, and His image - we are being distracted from what should be our prime focus. All the ministry in the world will not replace a kind word, a loving touch, an act of compassion! The Ephesian church, in its focus on the spread of the Gospel, doctrinal and congregational purity, may have lost sight of the primary commandment - "By this shall all men know you are my disciples if you have love one to another".
D: Recommendations and next steps/consequences
Remember what the prime directive is and CHANGE! If not, even though you are a good church, He WILL remove your candlestick from its place of prominence - promising to do this quickly - which in turn means - repent ASAP!
E: The benefits of following the recommendations
This is addressed to a broader audience. Who has ears? We all do! - lets hear what the Spirit says - to the churches - plural! - this is for everybody. The Christian victor shall eat of fruit that grows in the paradise of God; the overcomer shall enjoy a Divinely sustained and everlasting life. While the life eternal in its beginnings is a present possession of the believer in Jesus, yet in its glorious fulness, or what Jesus calls its abundance, it shall be also the future reward of him that overcometh. What we are sure of is that body, soul, and spirit shall all share in the perfectness of the redemption; and that the perfected and triumphant life of love shall have suitable nourishment, Divinely provided and supplied, in the fruit of the tree of life.
How does the church you go to, and your individual spiritual life compare to the report card handed down to Ephesus?