Jesus’ Letter To The Church In Ephesus: Remember And Return!

Jesus’ Letter To The Church In Ephesus: Remember And Return!

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.’

Pray..

Introduction:

Let me give a little background from last week

The Roman government exiled the apostle John to the aisle of Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ

Remember John was not there alone

On the Lord’s Day, John was filled with the Holy Spirit

The glorified Christ revealed himself to John

The Lord come to Him in the midst of his and the churches present suffering

and In Revelation 1:19, Jesus commands, “Write therefore the things you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this

John wrote what we call Revelation in his 90’s

we must remember the book of Revelation is about Jesus Christ, for in it he is revealed.

The revelation both is given by Jesus Christ and centers on Jesus

The revelation was sent to show God’s “servants,” i.e. , believers, what will take place “soon.”What was Ephesus like?

Without breaking stride, Christ continues speaking to John by commanding him to write to the angel of the church in Ephesus

Chapters 2 and 3 record a series of letters Jesus sent to seven congregations in the Roman province of Asia Minor

What we know as western Turkey today

The seven churches were Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea

The first church addressed was in Ephesus

This was most likely due to Ephesus location. It’s located on the west coast of Asia Minor, so a messenger traveling from Patmos would arrive at Ephesus first

What was Ephesus like?

Ephesus was the de facto capital of the province

because of its economic strength, diverse population, cultural wealth, and religious activities.

It was the “Vanity Fair of Asia.”

To visit Ephesus in the first century would be to visit New York City

Paul started a church in Ephesus, later led by Timothy

Apollos taught at the church and Aquila and Priscilla served

many commentators said John ministered in Ephesus before and after his exile

Ephesus has an excellent tradition

however, it didn’t rest on its acclaim

At the time of this letter Ephesus continued to have dynamic ministries

Yet, it was on the verge of swift and severe judgment

Revelation 2:4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first

I read this quote this week. “Love is the first essential in Christian character, and when it commences to decline, the soul begins to drift.”

It seems the church of Ephesus had good programs in place, hard work ethics, strong doctrine, possibly upright hearts

But the church os Ephesus was adrift

It was on a path of spiritual disaster

And Jesus reached out to pull it back to safety, before it was too late.

V.7 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

This letter was written to the church of Ephesus

But each member was responsible for his response.

So was every member of the seven churches.

This letter was not written to us, but it was written for us

In reading this letter you have to ask the question:

Have I abandoned my first love?

maybe I can ask it this way: When is the last time you have experience the Lord?

Do you have everything but the main thing?

Just like last week I want to walk us through three principles to help us understand and apply the letter to Ephesus

Three principles to understanding and applying the letter to Ephesus

The Church is the bride that belongs to Christ - v.1

Revelation 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

Revelation is written in signs and symbols.

So “angel” may refer to the pastor-teacher of the church.

But we should not call the pastor “the angel of the house.”

Pastors are not angels. Ask my wife and children they will tell you

Pastor’s are messengers on assignment

Angles are ministering spirits to us

look at Hebrew 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

The Lord introduces himself to the seven church differently

In v. 1, Christ identifies himself to this church as the one “who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the golden lamp stands.”

He Holds = control & protection

The two participles are instructive:

Christ holds the angels (they are in his control)

and walks among the lampstands (he is present in their midst and aware of their activities).

“I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people” Lev 26:12

He walks among us. Why?

In Revelation 1:13, John saw the glorified Christ “in the midst of the lampstands.”

The picture is intensified in Revelation 2:1 where Christ “walks among the seven lampstands.”

According to Revelation 1:20, the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Jesus is walking in the midst of the churches.

Jesus walks among the golden lampstands to examine the purity of the church.

Church growth experts teach the key to growth is to ask what guests see when they visit your church.

But the real question is to ask what the Lord sees as he walks through the church

What does Christ see in our worship services, Bible studies, prayer meetings, praise team practice?

What does Jesus see you treating your wife/kids?

In v.2, the Lord declares, “I know.”

Jesus makes this statement to each of the seven churches

And He’s saying the same thing to us today

You can fool some people for a while

but You can never fool Jesus!

He knows us fully, perfectly, and completely

we are Christ’s (provides us comfort & humility)

Look at 2 Corinthians 10:7 Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we

Turn to Ephesians 5:22-27 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband

Right beliefs and hard work are insufficient for a healthy relationship (with God or others)

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 ESV

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Brothers, we might know the Bible, we may have all the theological knowledge, and work 60 hours a week and blow it with our families

You may work hard and have all the right answer and still end up devoiced

Love takes time

The one who created the universe takes the time to walk among His people

Falling in love is more than an emotion; it is a posture of one’s heart that leads to godly actions toward another person. (That include our emotions and affections)

Agape love at the foundational level is a sovereign choice to set one’s sacrificial affections on the undeserving.

This love we are called to reflect in our everyday lives; this is pure and undefiled Religion

Turn to James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world

Main Idea: The Lord attends His church in Ephesus and commends their diligence while calling them to return to the way they once loved Him and each other

The letter begins with compliments, not correction

Christ tells the church what’s right before he tells them what’s wrong

The Lord Commends His Church

The Lord commends their hard work v.2

Revelation 2:2 (ESV)

Revelation 2:2 ESV

“ ‘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.

The church is commended for Her perseverance and discernment (vv. 2–3).

The Ephesian church stands out for its hard work

These Ephesian Christians did not only agree verbally with the Christian faith; they applied it practically to their everyday lives

Their hard works are further described in the strong statement that they cannot bear evil men

“Toil” means to work to the point of exhaustion

Even thought the church of Ephesus was spiritually active, which is commendable

we must be careful not to wore ourselves out for the mission and message of Christ

The Lord commends their perseverance v.3

Revelation 2:3

Revelation 2:3 ESV

I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.

“Patient endurance” means to endure under a heavy load (triumphant fortitude)

you would have to say there were times when it was difficult for the members of this church to follow Christ

But they did not forsake the Lord. They carried heavy burdens for Christ without giving up

They were endurance persecution while protecting the church from heresy and false doctrine

The Lord commends their sound doctrine

Revelation 2:2

Revelation 2:2b (ESV)

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.

Church discipline is a missing mark of the church today

We do not seem to care how professing Christians live, as long as they attend, serve, and give

we take Matthew 7:1 as the golden verse of American Christianity: “Judge not, that you be not judged.”

We twist this verse to mean no one has the right to question our testimony, even though our lifestyle contradicts our profession.

That was not the church at Ephesus.

They had high moral stands. They called sin by its name. They could not tolerate counterfeit Christians.

V. 6 says, “Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

The Nicolaitans are only mentioned twice in scripture.

Their deeds are mentioned in v.6

Their doctrine is mentioned in Revelation 2:16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth

Jesus stated their deeds and commended the Ephesians for hating them

They did not hate the Nicolaitans. They hated their deeds

They hated the evil ways of those who claimed to be Christians but lived sinfully

This is the mark of a healthy church

Ephesus didn’t tolerate false teaching

Paul instructed the Ephesian elders in

Acts 20:28-30 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

Paul’s prediction cam true, but false teachers were unable to harm the Church of Ephesus

Revelation 2:2 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

When a teacher showed up, they tested him

if their doctrine didn’t line up, they rejected him

we should test what’s being taught

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world

The church had Great qualities

It had Christian energy in plenty; it preserved Christian Orthodoxy with care

But it lacked one thing; this lack undid all the good the other virtues might have done

The church at Ephesus lacked Christian love

Strict Orthodoxy can cost too much, if it has to be bought at the price of love

This may mean the honeymoon period was over

Jeremiah 2:2 was only a memory

look at Jeremiah 2:2 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,“I remember the devotion of your youth your love as a bride how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown

Question: how can we keep the enthusiasm we once had from fading away?

The Lord Corrects His Church v.4-5

Revelation 2:4-5

Revelation 2:4–5 ESV

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.

Their endurance is truly remarkable

they had every reason to grow tired and weary

On the contrary, they have endured for the sake of Jesus’ name.

v.4 however, in the Ephesian church. Jesus presents a complaint and reproves the church for a significant failing

They are persevering and discerning, but they have forsaken their first love

Abandon = to willfully and actively give up on something

Love = agape = Agape love at the foundational level is a sovereign choice to set one’s sacrificial affections on the undeserving.

At first - There was a time where love and hospitality flowed like a river from His church but the river had been replaced by a road of busyness where no one had time to love people

They were Gods bride Ezekiel 16:8 When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine

in the New Testament God's New Israel the church is Similarly represented as married to Christ, just as the old Israel was married to Jehovah. (2 Cor. 11:2-3 may not have time to read)

No one had time for lunch or coffee or prayer or discipleship

They were busy but in their busyness, their love for God and His people had been dropped

Their early Devotion to Christ has cooled

they had been in love with him, but now they had fallen out of love

We think of Matthew 24:12, where Jesus warns that the pressures of the evil age will cause the love of many to grow cold

Look at Matthew 24:12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold

John says in 1 John 4:20 , “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. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother

Abandoning one’s first love means, then, that one has strayed from both love of God and love of fellow believers

The two are inseparable!

Without this love the church's work is lifeless

They endured with fortitude but without love

They tested the message of their teachers, but they had no love in their hearts

The greatest thing in the world!

The first two Commandments are to love God and our neighbors

So, to love is to fulfill the law

Love is greater than knowledge 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God

True doctrine is always warm, loving, and generous in spirit

The Lord Calls His Church

Three steps and a promise toward a healthier relationship with our Lord and each other:

Remember v.5

Revelation 2:5

Revelation 2:5 (ESV)

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.

Memory can be a powerful force in effecting a return to a more satisfying relationship

(when the prodigal son in Luke 15:17–18 “came to his senses” he remembered that his father’s hired men had more than enough to eat while he was starving)

First love is pictured as a height from which the church had fallen.

The present imperative, “remember,” stands in contrast to the aorist imperative, “repent,” and suggests a continuing attitude over against a decisive break

Remember what our sin cost us

The church must, then, remember where they were previously.

The earlier days of love and devotion to Christ need to be reclaimed

we must never lose the memory of what we have done to God, and what God has done for us

True remembrance will lead to repentance

Repent v.5

Revelation 2:5 (ESV)

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.

Repentance is an active step

It is a radical redirection of one’s entire life

If the church does not repent, Christ will come and remove their lampstand from its place

Some interpreters see here a reference to the judgment to be inflicted by Christ at his second coming

but it is more likely that these words refer to some kind of visitation which will bring a historical judgment upon the church so that destruction will befall it and it will cease to exist as a church

The failure to repent and do will lead 2 the rejection of the church

The duty of the church is to be the light of the world, to shine like a light in a dark place

When an electric light bulb loses its power to shine, we throw it away because it has a lost the power of doing what it was created to do

WG if we don’t remember and repent ,we(the church), will ceased to shine for Christ, which means we have lost the reason for our existence

Revive v.5

Revelation 2:5

Revelation 2:5 ESV

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.

Revive = to make (someone or something) strong, healthy, or active again

To revive there must be something to bring back

It assumes there was life and love to start with

Some today may need to “Vived” not “Revived”

v.5 b What works?

I’m already working -do the best work

The work you did when you first fell in love with me.

This is not a what question or a what action

this is to recover why and who?

Why did you once gathered for worship?

who was your service and labor focused on?

The call is to stop

To repent that we’ve lost the who in our Life

and to recover the experience of enjoying and knowing our God, his people, and the thrill of helping others follow Jesus!

We see a warning v.5-6

Revelation 2:5-6

Revelation 2:5–6 (ESV)

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.

Jesus threatens to come and remove their “lampstand” if they don’t repent

Is this a coming in history, or his final coming? It is difficult to be sure.

Removing the lampstand means the church will lose its status as a Christian church

the light of Christ will no longer shine

and the message of the gospel will no longer resound from a church that has lost its first love

v. 6 the call to love must not be misconstrued

There are some things that true love hates, for evil must not be tolerated or excused

They are commended for hating the works of the Nicolaitans

We are not told here what the works of the Nicolaitans are,

Nicolaitans probably tolerated such things as sexual immorality and eating food offered to idols

They perverted the teachings of Paul, and turn Christian Liberty into Christian license

Christian Liberty is not freedom to please ourselves; it is freedom from self and sin and Satan in order that we may please God.

the promise:

Reward v.7

revelation 2:7

Revelation 2:7 ESV

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 words to these churches are the words of Jesus, but Jesus speaks to them by the “Spirit,” i.e. , the Holy Spirit

And the message isn’t limited to the Ephesian church; it is “to the churches,” plural

There is a universality to the words here, applying to all the churches John addressed and indeed to all churches of all time

The Spirit calls upon every church to conquer and overcome

Those who overcome will eat of the tree of life in “paradise.”

The tree of life, of course, was in the garden where God placed Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:9;3:22,24)

and paradise literally means “garden”

The tree of life and paradise signify eternal life and the joys granted to those who belong to God

so the reward of Love is more love in the perfect communion of heaven

So What?

Do I love God?

1 John 4:7-12

1 John 4:7–12 ESV

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

Do I love what God loves, How God loves, Who God loves? Who does the Father love? His children!

Let’s think about our needs and others need for love

We’ve heard it said that marriage or any healthy relationship is 50/50 or 100/100

That is both the man and the woman should give and receive equally in order to have a healthy balanced relationship

But here’s the reality

Does a Dad give equally to an infant as much as the mother gives?

Does the infant give back equally to the mother what the mother gives?

Does an elderly, bedridden spouse give to the healthy spouse that which the healthy spouse needs? No.

The reality of real life is that relationships are seldom balanced and one is often giving or receiving more than the other

This is true in marriage, friendships, ministry, and even your job

So How can we love like God?

How can we love whom God loves?

How can we revive a love that has grown cold?

Remember - Remember that you have never loved God equally to how much He loves you.

Our lives are one of radical imbalance.

While we hated God he pursued you and loved you with a love that redeems, restores, and adopts.

Repent - That despite this imbalance we have grown cold to others, cold towards our spouse, cold toward our children, cold toward Jesus’ church and in doing so cold toward the God who loves the unloveable.

Then we make a choice to set our attitude toward that person or people and love them as Christ has loves you

Phil. 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves

Brothers sisters Jesus was rejected, scorned and murdered yet his love for his own never wavered.

Standing over the people who would kill Him Jesus cried oh would how I have gathered you under my wings like a mother gathers her chicks but you would not

1 john 3:16-18

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

1 Cor 13:13

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love