Recovering Our First Love (Rev. 2:1-7)

Introduction

Rev. 2:1 ““To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.”

Interpreted in the chapter before

Rev. 1:20 “As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

Seven Stars and Seven Lampstands

stars are angels or agents of God

Jesus holds the cosmos in his hand

Jesus is sovereign over all the supernatural help the Churches would need

Seven Stars and Seven Lampstands cont.

Lampstands are the churches

Jesus walk among the churches

The lampstands hold the lamp (Holy Spirit)

Jesus holds the Church’s help and is present amongst them

“The words of Him...” Old Testament prophetic introduction

used multiple times by the prophets to express God’s message

Jesus is identifying Himself as YHWH

He is the voice to the Church as YHWH was to Israel

This sets the tone of the letter. God Himself is speaking

Jesus commends the Ephesians Rev.2:2-3 ““ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.”

The Ephesians are strong in faith

they endure faithfully

they work faithfully

they toil faithfully

They do simply for the sake of Jesus’ name

The Ephesians are strong in doctrine

remember Paul’s constant warning and encouragement to Timothy to avoid false teachings and hold tight to the original Gospel

The Ephesians have become experts in identifying false teachers

This is a strong church that has remained faithful and become steadfast adherents to the word

But Jesus has one point of rebuke Rev.2:4-5 “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

The Ephesians have abandoned the Gospel

They do a great job of protecting themselves, but do not concern themselves with the unsaved

That first love, the message of salvation, has become neglected

Though they have fortitude and doctrine, they have still fallen from their earlier state

Notice their commendation has no emotional words

Notice the rebuke is centered on love

Matthew 24:12-14 “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Jesus’ followers will endure in love, not just endure

The answer to this problem is repentance and start again

repentance is the mark of true revival and starts with the leaders

If not, Jesus will remove their lampstand

Jesus reminds them that their faithfulness and doctrine are still good Rev.2:6 “Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

The Nicolaitans represent the false teachers mentioned earlier

The Ephesians were not wrong to be strict, just wrong for neglecting the Gospel

Jesus ends with encouragement Rev.2:7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”

The Ephesians were to conquer the world with the Gospel, not segregate themselves

The Ephesians were striving for the same hope that they were supposed to share - Eternal life

Conclusion

Doctrine and faithfulness are vital, but only if used to show the love of Jesus

We can strategize and scheme to create revival, but our first love is the only thing we truly need for revival

If we discover we have neglected our first love, than repentance is the only path toward recovering it