“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write…” (Rev. 2:1a)
Ephesus was considered to be the capital of the region referred to in the Bible as “Asia”. It was also the centre of Paul’s missionary work.* Thus it would be critical that the church of Ephesus truly shine as an example to all churches, and the message to the church of Ephesus is for anyone in the position of being an example for others.
Now before you write this off as “it’s not for me, I’m not a pastor or a leader”, consider that we are all called to shine forth as examples: In our homes, our work places, our pastimes and in our churches! This message speaks to each of us!
The attributes of Himself that Jesus wanted emphasised to this church are interesting: “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands…'” (Rev. 2:1)
In this letter, Jesus identifies Himself as the One who “holds the seven stars”. We know that the seven stars represent the angels to the seven churches (See Rev. 1:20), therefore Jesus is telling us that the message isn’t from the messenger, the angels, but rather, from the One who controls the angels. The message comes right from the top!
Jesus also identifies Himself as the one who “walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands”. The seven golden lampstands represent the seven churches, the seven beacons for Jesus (See Rev. 1:20). Jesus is reminding us that He walks among us! He knows. He is eye-witness to everything that happens, and therefore, He has the authority to administer the correction in the letter!
Jesus starts out with the positives, and the list of things Jesus is proud of in the Ephesian church is extensive. Let’s take a look:
1. “I know your works, your labor…” (Rev. 2:2)
This is a church who works hard for the Lord!
2. “…your patience…” (Rev 2:2); “…and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.” (Rev 2:3)
They are also a patient church, working through adversity, ever steadily working towards the ultimate goal!
3. “…that you cannot bear those who are evil.” (Rev. 2:2)
The church of Ephesus did not tolerate evil, but worked hard to keep itself pure!
4. “And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars…” (Rev. 2:2,3)
They took no one at face value, testing everyone who claimed to come in Jesus name.
5. “…you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” (Rev. 2:6)
The Nicolaitan sect taught that it was okay to offer sacrifices to idols and live in immorality like their pagan neighbors, in other words, to compromise, because they were forgiven.* The church of Ephesus recognized the dangers in this teaching and fought against it.
And for all of these things, they were commended.
There is only one little negative thing mentioned about the church of Ephesus, but it is important enough that if not addressed, it will cause Jesus to remove this church:
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love…” (Rev. 2:4)
Hum. And just what is this “first love”?
It’s what brought us to Jesus in the first place! It is heartfelt, deepening, broadening love for our Lord and Saviour! It is the personal relationship that the Jesus longs to have with each of us!
Despite the fact that the Ephesian church sounded like it had it together, it had lost track of its ultimate purpose: To fellowship with Jesus Christ!
Does it mean that labouring and doing away with evil are not important? Not at all. The church of Ephesus was commended for these things. But they don’t mean anything without that relationship with Jesus! Everything we do in life must stem from that relationship!
Take for example, our patience. It must be drawn from our relationship with God. We want to be patient because He is so patient with us!
And what about our labour for the Lord? It must come from our love for Him! We should want to labour for Him because it pleases Him and He has done so much for us!
And doing away with evil? This should be rooted in the motivation to please our best friend, our Lord and our Saviour, because we have fallen head-over-heels in Love with Him!
It’s like a marriage. All the beautiful things we do for our spouses mean nothing to them unless we are first and foremost head-over-heels in love with them!
The church of Ephesus lost track of the importance of relationship, and for this, they were corrected. What about us? Have we also lost our first love? Are we so busy “doing church” that we lose track of our relationship with Jesus? If we have, then we do well to heed this warning:
“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place — unless you repent.” (Rev. 2:5)!
But then comes the promise: “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Rev. 2:7) If we heed this message, we will be part of the group of believers restored to the perfect fellowship that existed before sin entered the world! We will eat of the Tree of Life!*
Join us next week for Studies on the Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 3: To the Church in Smyrna…
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two teens, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries.
(To access the entire “Studies on the Seven Churches of Revelation” mini-series, please click here.)