The Ephesian Church

Sharp-Minded Yet Dull-Hearted

Revelation 2:1–7 ESV

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. 2 “ ‘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. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 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. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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.’

I. INTRODUCTION

- Revelation is about Jesus

The book of Revelation is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is revelation from Him and it is revelation about Him; about His Kingdom, His Church and His final victory.

We are promised that those who read and those who hear and those who keep the words of this book shall be blessed.

- Revelation is about His relationship with the Church

John sees in his vision the magnificent, glorified Christ walking in the midst of 7 lampstands, holding 7 stars in His right hand. These lampstands and stars represent the Christian Church.

Christ is present with His Church

He is holding His Church

He is judging His Church

John is asked by Christ to transcribe letters to seven churches in Asia. These were real churches at the time, they were not merely symbolic. That being said these 7 churches are symbolic of the entire Christian Church throughout the ages. They speak to the condition of the church here in England 2000 years later.

- Revelation deals with the past, the present and the future

The 7 letters all follow after the same form: 1 To… 2. From… (reference back to Chapter 1) 3. I know… 4. Praise or Rebuke 5. I will… 6. Promise for obedience… 7. Exhortation to listen.

The Ephesian Church was one of the first and the greatest churches in the early church. Founded by Aquila and Priscilla, established by the Apostle Paul who taught there for 2 full years, then led by Timothy and then later the Apostle John was based there too. This was a truly Apostolic church. Based in one of the morally bankrupt cities of the ancient world.

II. A HARD WORKING CHURCH (v2a)

- Jesus loves ‘doers’

- Labourers not spectators

- Too much grit to quit

III. A DISCERNING CHURCH (v2b & v6)

Acts 20:28–31 ESV

28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

- Do not ‘put up with’ false teachers.

None of this ‘touch not the Lord’s anointed’ mindset, or ‘who are you to judge?’ The Ephesian’s could not and would not tolerate any aberation of truth.

Those who brazenly teach errant doctrine are called ‘evil’.

- False teachers claim exalted titles for themselves.

These visiting preachers didn’t claim to be evangelists or mere teachers, but Apostles. False teachers expose themselves by the titles they claim for themselves.

- All teaching is to be tested and evaluated.

The Ephesians didn’t just test the teaching and then leave it there. They reached a decision and that individual was marked and avoided. This didn’t make them unloving, this wasn’t unchristian behaviour, it was praised by Jesus.

- Jesus loves those who hate false teaching because He hates it too.

IV. AN ENDURING CHURCH (v3)

- The Duracell church - enduring despite resistance.

For some believers all it takes is a bit of rain to keep them away from church, never mind the threat of persecution.

- Motivated believers generate momentum.

Growing weary can mean a few things, it can mean loss of energy but it can also mean a chronic lack of interest, or being bore with something. Many churches falter because the congregation simply loses interest, they become bored with it all. We must be self-motivated.

V. A COLD HEARTED CHURCH (v4)

Notwithstanding all these positives, Jesus had to bring a rebuke the Ephesian church. They had abandoned the love they had at first.

- They hadn’t lost their love, they had left it behind.

This wasn’t an accident, this was a course that they had plotted away from love and towards hard-heartedness.

They had maintained their doctrinal purity but had lost that vital passion and fire

Gareth Jackson’s Dad’s house - the lounge. Spotless and perfect but completely devoid of life and joy.

- Passion had morphed into performance.

Their love for God and for one another which had once been passionate had just become another job to do.

Jesus wants our obedience to be coming from a place of passion not a place of performance, obeying Him because we want to not just because we have to.

VI. REMEMBER/REPENT/RETURN (v5)

- Remember how things used to be.

The first step to pulling ourselves out of the rut is to remember. Call to remembrance those early days when you couldn’t wait to get to church and worship God, when you’d wake up early to pray and read your Bible last thing at night. There’s something powerful in calling these things to rememberance.

- Repent of how things are, determine to make a change.

- Return and do the things you did at first.

Jesus doesn’t just ask them to feel bad about how things are, nor does he just tell them to determine to make a change, he says they must ‘do’. They must return to doing those things that they did at first, whether they feel like doing them or not.

- The future of the church is at stake

Jesus threatens the church that if they will not do this, He will come and remove their lampstand. The lampstand doesn’t represent the church building, or even the institution, it represents the presence of Christ and His gospel. Once the lampstand is removed that church becomes an Ichabod church. The institution may remain, they building may still stand, the people may still come but the glory has departed.

VII. THE REWARD (v7)

- The tree of life in the paradise of God

In the Kingdom of God obedience is always rewarded. For those in Ephesus who took seriously Christ’s warnings he promised them eternal life in paradise.

Your obedience to Christ will not go unrewarded.