‌‌Past & Present

The Defining Word of the Church Should Be Love. Revelation 2:1-7

Introduction Today, we kick off our new series, "7 Words to The Church." It's based on the book of Revelation. Now, when you mention the book of Revelation, people seem to sort of go off the rails. That's because we have bought into some wrong ideas about the book of Revelation.

The first wrong idea is that there is only one way to look at Revelation. Popularized by the Left Behind series of books and movies, many people believe that Revelation is about one thing, and there's only one way to look at that one thing. In fact, there are four accepted views of Revelation by Christian scholars and historians. What's so ironic is that today's popular view is also the youngest view of Revelation. It was not the view held by the early church. I will teach a Bible study on the four views of Revelation at some point, but rest assured that neither Kurt Cameron nor Nicholas Cage will make special guest appearances during those studies to promote Left Behind.

The second wrong view of Revelation is that it only covers one subject, the end of times. To believe that is to rob Revelation of its true and deeper meaning.  To believe that misses the true point of Revelation. Like every book in the Bible, Revelation's grand subject is Jesus. That's the topic of every book and the entire Bible. Jesus is the main character, theme, and meaning of all 66 books, including Revelation. Over the next seven weeks, we are going to look at the message of Jesus has for our church today in the book of Revelation.

Many commentators and prognosticators are predicting the imminent death of the organized church in America. And sadly, according to the numbers, they could be right. It is clear to almost anyone who hears and studies the church that the church is facing some monumental problems. We have faced some monumental problems. We have faced extinction. But thankfully, Jesus has already spoken to every problem the church has or will face. Revelation 2:1-7

Revelation 2:1–7 ESV

“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. “ ‘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. 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. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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.’

Scriptural Analysis I want you to look at Revelation 1 very briefly with me. I’m not gonna read it. I’m just gonna pinpoint a couple of points. Revelation 1 points to us the person of Jesus Christ. John describes his vision when he was on the Isle of Patmos. He sees and describes the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The seven golden lampstands represent seven churches, the church being the light of God’s truth in the world. Each one of these seven golden lampstands is a church, and the churches he has in mind are the churches in Asia Minor. These seven churches are not just seven historic churches, but they serve as seven types of other churches or seven different pictures of the problems of all churches through all times. They help us see that the problems of churches will be the same right down ‘til today.

We see in Revelation 1 Christ moving among the churches. So the symbolism of Christ moving around the lampstands is moving among His church, revealing conclusions about each one and writing a letter to confront those conclusions. Over the next seven weeks, we want to look at what we can learn today from these seven churches. Verse 1 Based upon what we read in Revelation 1, the “stars” were the angels or messengers of the churches, and the “lampstands” were the seven churches addressed in Revelation. Christ repeats images envisioned earlier by John in recognition of Christ’s lordship over the church.

Appropriately, Christ first addresses Asia’s most important congregation in one of the world’s great cities, Ephesus. Along with Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch in Syria, Ephesus was one of the three most influential cities in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. This busy seaport with a population of about 250,000 was the most important city in Asia Minor when Revelation was written. This port city was also the center of significant cultic activity.

These were some of the reasons the apostle Paul invested nearly three years in establishing the church in Ephesus and the cities of the surrounding province. Paul had visited Ephesus about a.d. 52. Paul eventually left Timothy in charge of the Ephesian church. Ephesus was an outstanding church in the apostolic age as Paul, Timothy, & John all severed this church during the first century. Aquila & Priscilla were also actively involved in this church, as was Apollos. This was a strong church in an important city. Verses 2-3 If you stop at verses 2 and 3, no matter how you examine this congregation, you conclude that this church is just about perfect. The Ephesian Christians were historically admired for their doctrinal purity. Years after Revelation was written, Ignatius, leader of the church in Antioch, wrote them: “You all live according to truth, and no heresy has a home among you; indeed, you do not so much as listen to anyone if they speak of anything except Jesus Christ in truth.” This church was outstanding for its plentiful works, arduous labor, and patient endurance. It did not tolerate evil men in its midst. They did not tolerate wicked men or false teachings. In the past, the church had discerned doctrinal inconsistency in a group associated with the church. They could quickly and on the spot discern and correct errant doctrine. Do you know how rare that is?

In verse 3, Jesus explains the perseverance of the Ephesians: they have endured hardships for my name and have not grown weary. From their earliest days as a church, these Christians had put up with hostility from those who worshiped other gods. The believers at Ephesus were a suffering people who bore the hardships of being persecuted patiently. Patient church folk? That's sort of like a unicorn. And they did all of this for Jesus’ name’s sake! If it stopped in verse 3, I’m joining this church! Verse 4 The tragedy of Ephesus was that it had left its first love. This astounding church had abandoned their first love! The order of words in Greek is emphatic; the clause could be translated as “Your first love you have left.” Christ used a form of the word agapē, speaking of the deep kind of love that God has for all people. They displayed “works, deeds, and patience,” but love was absent. Sound doctrine and perseverance are inadequate without love. What we do for the Lord is important, but so is why we do it!

So what is “first love”? This “first love” refers to the command we see echoed from the Old Testament to the New Testament:  “Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself.” Both Jesus and John stressed love for God and one another. Jesus had warned in Matthew 24 that the pressures of the evil age would cause the love of many to grow cold. John wrote in his first letter, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” Abandoning one’s first love means that one has strayed from both the love of God and the love of others. The two are inseparable. The church at Ephesus was persistent and orthodox, but a hardness, a callousness, had arisen in its ranks. Love is the foundation of everything for the believer. Verse 5 Jesus then explains how the church might change its course. Their passion for their first love can be restored if they follow Christ's three instructions. First, they must remember what they have lost and cultivate that passion for God and love for their fellow man. Then, they must repent and confess their sins to the Lord. Third, they must repeat what they did at first, which means restoring the original desire, passion, and love for God and others broken by their sin and neglect.

In spite of the privileges it had enjoyed, the church of Ephesus was in danger of losing its light! The warning that Christ will come quickly and remove the lampstand from its place doesn't refer to His Second Coming but certainly speaks of the total extinction of the church in that location. Indeed, today, there is no city or church in the Turkish location that was once Ephesus. Islam has been preeminently established in this region, which Paul had once thoroughly evangelized with the Gospel. How different would the history of that region and the entire Middle East have been had the church repented and returned to her first love? Verses 6-7 These Nicolaitans were a mix of some Greek, some Christian, and some Jews who were practicing a form of civil religion. It was a part of the imperial cult, which was worshiping the emperor/ Caesar. The Ephesian church had taken a strong stand against these heretics.

The world needs Christians who stand for God’s truth and point people toward the right way of living. For the church in Ephesus, “overcoming” or “conquering” requires more than the vigilance of theological watchmen; it requires the foundational motivation of love. TODAY'S  KEY  TRUTH The Defining Word of the Church Should Be Love. Application A key statement in verse 5 can lead us to the background of our scripture. Remember the height from which you have fallen. What is the height from which they have fallen?

The church in Ephesus actually begins in Acts 18-20. Paul arrives in Ephesus and finds a small group of undisciplined Christians surrounded by numerous cults and false religions, such as the Nicolatians. The church blows up through Paul's love for God and his fellow man. The Gospel radically collides with Ephesus, and the socio-economic climate shifts violently. Those merchants who had made a good living off the cultic activity in Ephesus actually began a riot in the city because so many people were now followers of Christ, and they couldn’t sell their cultic merchandise anymore. The class system, the economic structure, and the entire way of life are radically changing in Ephesus. The Gospel is so radically transforming the people’s lives in Ephesus. People who were once deeply involved in cultic activity are now praising Jesus’ name in public. The idols that have dominated Ephesus for so long are being publicly destroyed. The Gospel is transforming not only individual lives but also the entire city. The Gospel literally blows up Ephesus.

So think about the heights from which they have fallen: The Church is planted in Ephesus, it grows slowly for 3 years, and then it blows up the entire city, penetrating every aspect of life in Ephesus. Miraculous events are occurring, fear of the Lord is there, and people publicly praise the name of Christ, confess their sins, destroy their idols, and willingly become obedient. Studying through the New Testament, we see this church becomes diligent in its work, persevering in hardship, wise in doctrine, and pure in its morality. Their passion for the Gospel and seeing lost men and women come to know Christ is literally changing every aspect of their world. Being such an important city, this radical transformation has global effects. Love was radically changing Ephesus, the world's most important city. When Jesus was gonna reconfirm Peter in the ministry, he didn’t ask him, “Are you willing to serve me, Peter? Have you got your every doctrine straightened out, Peter? Do you know how to recognize a false prophet, Peter? Are you gonna persevere through difficulties, Peter, through all the hardships? Are you dealing with your sin, Peter? Do you hate sin?” He said, “Peter, do you … what?… do you love me?”

Ephesus had grown cold. One of history's most important and influential churches grew cold. They lost their love. They lost their passion. It turned into a cold orthodoxy. It turned into the cold service of performance. It turned into routine. The spark of love was gone.

Like us, the church at Ephesus faced a culture characterized by immorality. Christ compliments the Ephesian Christians for their many good deeds but criticizes them because they no longer loved God and loved one another as they did previously. Why? Because that's what the church should always do: love God and love others.

No matter how powerless in a given society, the church is a guardian of its culture. Just as the presence of the righteous in Sodom was the only factor that could have restrained judgment, the fate of a culture may depend ultimately on the behavior of the Christians in that culture. A church where love ceases can no longer function properly as a local expression of Jesus in the culture. When the church loses its love and then its influence on the culture, you end up where we are today in the world. No doubt if John, Paul, or Peter were alive today, the church in America would be getting a letter.

This is one of the offenses for which a lampstand can be moved from its place, through which a church can ultimately cease to exist. Some people believe churches die from lack of outreach, lack of planning for the rising generation, or lack of courtesy to visitors. While all that is important, that's not what kills churches. A lack of love of God and toward others is what kills churches.

The Defining Word of the Church Should Be Love. Conclusion Notice one more thing from verse 5. People often say, “Oh, the devil destroyed that church.” But look at who is removing the church from its lampstand. Jesus. Do you want to know something? There are churches that the Lord Himself has closed. In fact, I believe that Jesus is the one who closes churches. Why? Because they lose their first love. Jesus will not allow a true church in his name to be defined by anything but love. Stand for what is right but always in love.

Any time a church comes close to death, there are many speculations as to why. They had conflict, or they wouldn't change, or they had poor leaders, or they were stuck in the past, or the community changed. On and on, the reasons can go to why churches die. But the root of all church death is a lack of love. Love toward God, love toward each other, love toward the community.

Jesus knows what is happening in churches. He penetrates our hearts and knows if we have lost our first love for him and our fellow man. Faithful Christians must be orthodox in their theology and not tolerate evil. Theological discernment is imperative for the health and growth of the church. We are called to endure and labor hard as believers. Still, we can lose the love that first animated us as believers. We can lose the fire and passion that enlivened us at the outset. As churches and individuals, we must keep our lamps, our lives, burning with love from God.

The Defining Word of the Church Should Be Love.

As a church, we know what it is like almost to have our light extinguished. We've teetered on the brink of extinction here. Is it because we have had conflict? Is it because we wouldn't change because of our personal preferences? Is it because we have had poor leadership? Those are all just symptoms of the disease. The disease that leads to death is a loss of our first love for God and our fellow man.

We must return to that intense, passionate, enthusiastic, and public love of God and our fellow man. We must decide to free the captives and see the Gospel radically transform people’s lives.  Jesus must once again become THE love of our lives and THE love of our churches. We must recenter our thoughts, methods, programs, and traditions on seeing, knowing, loving, living, and sharing Jesus Christ because we love Him and because we love others.

The Defining Word of the Church Should Be Love.

Jesus tells the church in Ephesus your past is great. Your past is commendable. But it means nothing if love doesn't define you today in the present. They must change. When churches talk about change, they often talk about music, leadership structure, styles, furniture, or ministries. These are what I would call "content change." It's the content of the church being changed. That change is superficial. It's quick but often ineffective, and it can be short-lived. What Jesus is calling for here is what I would call "Culture Change." "Culture change" is where the mentality, focus, and purpose are changed. That is lasting change. That change can change the individuals, the church, and ultimately the community. That's real change. Jesus says that culture should be defined by love for God and others. That is what matters.

Our past conflicts, our past methods, our past preferences, and our past issues need to stay there in the past. Our present must be defined by our love. We must be driven by that purpose more than our personal preferences or our past. Jesus looked at Ephesus, and I believe recently He looked at MGBC and asked, "You going to be defined by your past or your present?"

The Defining Word of the Church Should Be Love.

The church is the body called into being to join him on His divine mission. The church is the highest organization with the most important assignment. We are the church, the called-out people. The church is where people find restoration, where the hopeless becomes hope-filled. The church still has the keys to set the prisoner free. The church is still charged with sharing the Gospel and the love of God. We are called to love God and to love others.

The Defining Word of the Church Should Be Love.