By Bro. Allan O. Wong
First Plenary Session - October 30, 2010
Young Adults Retreat October 30-31, 2010
I. Passage: Rev. 2:1-7To 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. 3I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5Remember 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. 6Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7He 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.’”
II. Introduction:
In the book of Malachi, the people were complaining of God’s treatment upon them. In effect, they were saying to the Lord, “You said you love us but look at the way you are treating us?” Listen to how the Lord argued His case against these Israelites in Malachi’s time.
2“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” [The Lord answers] “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob 3but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” [And then the Lord continues]:
6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ [You see they were blinded to their own sins. And so the Lord tells them, “Here’s how you despise my name]: 7By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’… 8When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts.’”
The main fault of these Israelites was their failure to examine themselves. They have been questioning God’s love for them but they never dared asked themselves, “How’s my love for God?”
Like the Israelites then, we focus so much on God’s love for us and forget our love for Him. When we are being disciplined or when things are not going our way, or when things aren’t simply the way they should be, we sometimes question God’s love toward us. But the truth is, He has always been passionately in love with us. He has loved us and will continue to love us with the same intensity that He has loved us even before the creation of the world.
Are we the same to Him? You see, it is very biblical to meditate on God’s unfailing love. We see that all over the book of Psalms. But it is equally biblical to ponder on our love for Him. And that’s what our passage from Rev. 2 is all about. Jesus is turning the table to us and with an all-knowing eyes He exposes a fatal fault that even we probably do not know at this point because we think we are doing the right things. He is telling us compassionately but firmly, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”
III. Message:
A. Background:
The Ephesian church was founded by Paul during his third missionary journey (cf. Acts 19). The importance of this city is underscored by the fact that Paul stayed there longer than anywhere else, 3 years. According to Acts 19:10, because of Paul’s longer stay in Ephesus, “all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.” And the reason for this is because Ephesus was strategically located that many other cities and places in Asia can be accessed through it. In fact, the six other churches in Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea were most probably daughter churches of the church in Ephesus.
B. Some observations:
Before we look at our passage let me begin with a few observations surrounding Christ’s letters to these seven churches:
1. First and foremost we must emphasize that these were letters from Christ Himself. Look at how He is described in v. 1: “The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.” This is Jesus whom John saw in his vision in 1:12-13 (“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.”) There are several things that we can learn from the fact that Christ is walking in the midst of the churches:
· The first thing the Lord wished to impress upon this church at Ephesus was that he was the Lord of all the churches. He was in their midst, observing among the lampstands. He was also in direct control of the angels of the churches and therefore had full access to the leadership of each church.
· Secondly, Christ is the Authority for our lives: we are all answerable to Him. You see, He is the One who tells these churches their strengths and weaknesses.
· Thirdly, Christ is not only the Lord and authority for our lives, He is also the Answer for our every problem: He is our need and solution. In other words, He is sufficient for us. (cf. the author’s solution the problems in Hebrews)
· Fourthly, I think Christ would like us to realize that He is concern with the condition of all His churches whether big or small. In fact, among these seven churches, only the Ephesian church is known to us.
2. The second observation is with regards to the number of churches addressed here. There were seven churches and we also wonder why Christ chose these seven and not the better known churches like in Rome, Corinth or even Jerusalem. The reason is because in the Bible, seven is a number of completion, which means that these churches were chosen by Christ as representative of all churches from the first century and throughout all the history of the church until Christ returns. If you read carefully the condition of every church, you will realize that they describe in one way or the other the conditions of all churches today. As one commentary says, “these seven perfectly represent conditions that would be characteristic of various churches throughout history.” That is why even though written to specific churches, Jesus would end each letter with these words: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The beauty therefore of these letters is that application wise, they are relevant to every church not only in John’s day but even in our time as well.
3. The third observation is that the recipients of this letter were most probably the second generation of Christians in the Ephesian church. It has been thirty to forty years since Paul wrote to the Ephesians. In other words, most of them were not able to sit personally under the apostolic teachings of Paul as we can glimpse in his letter to the Ephesians. And so it is possible that these Christians were not going deeper in the knowledge of Christ (cf. Paul’s letter to Ephesians).
4. The fourth observation is that the places where we live can have tremendous influence upon us. Ephesus is a leading city in Asia. Very progressive at that time and we can be sure that such affluence has contributed to the coldness of the hearts of these believers. In fact, when Paul wrote to Timothy in Ephesus, he specifically warns them in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 11But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
Christian life is a constant battle against the worldly passions and desires. It is a constant battle to suppress and kill our sinful nature.
C. Commendations
We will be looking at mainly vv. 4-5, but before that, let us have a brief survey of the commendations the Ephesian believers receive from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. They were hard working and committed Christians (v. 2 – “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance”)
· “work” – “works” is the noun, erga, the plural of ergon, and refers to “a deed or action or task (this was an active church), to occupational or official activity or service (shows Christ was aware of their official ministries and service, i.e., elder, deacon, teacher, helps, etc.), and of achievements, accomplishments (Christ knew what they had done on His behalf).
· “toil” – kopos, which means labor to the point of sweat and exhaustion
· “patient endurance” – The Strong’s dictionary defines this as “cheerful or hopeful endurance.” They were cheerfully enduring despite the persecution and trials that plagued the first century believers. You read the sufferings of Paul in the book of Acts and you will realize that it was not an easy period for Christians. And yet they were patiently, cheerfully enduring. So Jesus is saying, “I know your patience. I know you are persevering.” What a great honor to be commended like that by the Lord Jesus Christ.
So they were hardworking and committed Christians.
2. They were intolerant of sin (v. 2 – “and how you cannot bear with those who are evil”)
In other words, they were not blinking their eyes on sin. They weren’t even associating with those who are clearly evil and opposed to the faith. They were pursuing holiness.
3. They had spiritual discernment (v. 2 – “but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.”)
In Acts 20, when Paul called on the Ephesian elders to come to him at Miletus, here’s what he told them in vv. 29-31:
I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.
And they heeded Paul’s warning. They were alert. They did not tolerate any false teaching and drove away false teachers from their midst.
4. They were faithful and had the right motive (v. 3 – “I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.”)
You see, they were not only persevering and faithful, they had the right motive in the things that they do. Jesus told them , “You are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake.” For my name’s sake. Soli Deo gloria. You have persevered for my name’s sake. That is why, “you have not grown weary.” They are faithful to the work, faithful to the word, faithful to the Lord.
5. They hated the Nicolaitans (v. 6 – “Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”)
Who are the Nicolaitans? We cannot be sure but I think we have a glimpse of who they are and what they do if we move forward to vv. 14-15. In 2:15, writing to the church in Pergamum, Jesus says, “So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” The NASB says, “'So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” The Nicolaitans are in the same way with whom? Look at v. 14:
But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
You can read about Balaam in Numbers 22-25, but the point is, he caused Israel to worship the gods of Moab and to commit sexual immorality with them. Verse 15 tells us that it is what the Nicolaitans do. As Clement of Alexandria says, “They abandoned themselves to pleasure like goats, leading a life of self- indulgence.”[1] MacArthur adds, “They were involved in immorality, and loose living. Liberty was replaced with license.”[2]
The Ephesian believers hated them as Jesus did. And for that they received commendation.
Judging from all these commendations you will realize this is such an exemplary church. Few churches today are still holding on to these things that the Ephesian church was commended of. So what could be wrong in a church like this?
D. Condemnation:
Let’s now look at the condemnation they received from the Lord. Verse 4 says, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”
Let’s scrutinize what Jesus is saying here. He says, “You have abandoned the love you had at first.” The word “abandoned” means “to leave,” “to forsake” or “to depart.” This is such a very strong word that Jesus uses here. Look at how Paul uses this very same word in 1 Cor. 7:11. Paul says, “and the husband should not divorce his wife.” The word divorce is the same word used by Jesus when He said to the Ephesian church, “You have abandoned the love you had at first.” You have divorced the love you had at first.” When a husband divorces his wife, it is most probably because he has found another else. I don’t think it is totally lost love but something else has replaced Christ in your heart. In fact what Jesus says is, “You have abandoned the love you had at first.” You have not abandoned Christ Himself, but you have forsaken the love that you have for Him. What is that love? It is the love you “had at first” according to v. 4. In other words, it is the love you felt for Jesus when you first came to know him.
This has happened before in the life of Israel. Listen to what the Lord says to the Prophet Jeremiah in Jer. 2:1-3:
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. 3Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest.’” [and then in v. 5 He says,] 5Thus says the LORD: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?”
What about you? What wrong did you find in the Lord Jesus that you went far from Him in your heart?
Wasn’t He the One who left His glory in heaven to become man? Wasn’t He the One who offered His life at Calvary for the forgiveness of your sins? Wasn’t He the One who rose from the dead so that you, too, will have the same incorruptible body forever? Isn’t He the One who is right now is at the right hand of God interceding and pleading so that you will finish the race? Isn’t He the One who will come again for you? Look at how John introduced the Lord Jesus Christ in Rev. 1:4-8:
John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Remember God’s words to Jeremiah, “Thus says the LORD: ‘What wrong did [you] find in me that [you] went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?’”
This has been the fault of Israel and this is the besetting sin of the churches today: “You have abandoned the love you had at first.” You see, this love is what every believer experiences in the early stage of his relationship with Christ. This is the honeymoon stage of our relationship with Christ. And Christ remembers that love that we had for Him during that time. Do you remember that time? (Recall…)
If I tell my wife Gemma: I will continue to provide for you, I will continue to do my obligations and duties as your husband, I’ll be there for the kids. But there’s one thing I want to tell you, I don’t love you anymore. I’m not separating from you, but I don’t love you. Would that be commendable?
I’ll gonna be faithful to you Lord, I’ll gonna work hard in service of you, I will promote your fame and honor, I will continue to evangelize, but I don’t love you anymore with that same love that I had when I got saved.
When the Ephesian church read this portion of Christ’s letter, they were probably surprised and shocked. We don’t love the Lord? If it was just a mere person who told them that, they would probably have been angry. But it was the indictment of no less than Jesus Himself. And so, bear in mind at this point, that mere activity and visibility in the church do not necessarily constitute love for the Lord Jesus Christ. As one preacher says, “To the public, the Ephesian church was successful; to Christ, it had fallen.”[3]
You can be persevering, you can be hating evil, you may be pursuing holiness, you can be the most discerning, you may be intolerant of false teachings, you can be so active in the church, faithfully attending cell meetings, present on Friday prayer meetings, a ministry core member, or a ministry head or a Sunday school teacher. The point is, you can have all these commendations and still not be pleasing in the sight of Jesus because you have abandoned your first love. This is the point of Paul in 1 Cor. 13:1-3:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing… [And so he concludes in v. 13] 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
The NIV renders Revelations 2:4 this way: “You have forsaken your first love.” You have not yet abandoned Christ, but He is no longer the apple of your eyes. And friends, you know this when talking to Him ceases to be a vital part of your life. You may still be praying but it has become mechanical. It’s just an obligation rather than a joy. You know you have forsaken your first love when becoming like Jesus no longer dominates your thinking. You may still be pursuing holiness, you are quick to hate evil, but your goal is not Christlikeness. You attend worship gatherings, you sing to the Lord, you read His word, but worshiping Him is no longer a delight. You attend cell meetings but you are more excited with seeing your friends and hearing news from them. When acquiring material possessions becomes the driving force in your life; when the pursuit of recreation and leisure becomes predominant and you find yourself enjoying these things more than dwelling with Christ. When serving Him becomes dragging and tiresome. You are still very visible, but God knows you are dragging yourself to the church.
“You have abandoned the love you had at first.”
E. Counsel:
Is this incurable? No. Our Lord Jesus leaves us with a counsel in v. 5: “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” How do you make yourself love Jesus the very same way you first love Him? Three Rs:
1. Remember
Jesus says, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen.” The NIV says, “Remember the height from which you have fallen!” What does it mean to remember?
The verb “remember” means “to exercise memory,” to recollect.”[4] It means “to call to mind.” Yeah, exactly what it means in English. It is a present imperative which means we need to “keep on remembering.”
What are we to remember? “Remember… from where you have fallen.” Recall the love you had at first. Remember that time when Jesus was everything for you. Remember how precious Jesus was during that time. One purpose of this is to awaken that love we once had for Christ. But there’s another purpose which I think is very relevant here. You need to recall the passionate love you had at first so that you can compare the love you have now with the love you have once had. That’s why Jesus says, “Remember. Remember the love you had at first.” This begs us to compare our current state of love for Him so that you will realize the height from which you had fallen. So that you will realize how great is the sin you have done. The purpose here is to bring forth conviction among us so that we can truly repent.
But do not only remember your first experiences of love for Christ, you also need to remember Christ Himself. (cf. Hebrews: fix your eyes on Jesus; consider Jesus; remember Jesus). These Ephesian believers should have gone back to Paul’s letter to their predecessors 40 years ago.
2. Repent
Our love for God increases in the context of true repentance. That’s why after commanding us to remember, Christ now commands us to repent. To repent means to change our mind and attitude. It is to change our ways. But we won’t repent unless we begin to realize the height from which we have fallen. Conviction of sin is a precursor to true repentance. The decreasing intensity of your love for Christ is sin.
3. Repeat
“Do the works you did at first.” Repeat doing the things you did at first. Yes, continue doing what I commended you for, but do these things that you did at first as well.
When you first came to Christ, you fall in love with Him and all you wanted then was to serve Him and tell your friends about Him. You want to sing. You want to pray. You want to read the Bible for endless hours. Those are the first things. Go back. “Do the works you did at first.” If you were passionately evangelizing then but don’t do it anymore, go back to that. If you once prayed with a group or on Fridays don’t do it anymore, do it again. If you always used to come on weekday church gatherings and now you come very rarely, if you always went to Bible study or cell meetings and were a part of a fellowship group, when you went to every opportunity to be trained, but you don’t do that anymore... that’s an evidence of the loss of first love, that’s a sin. Remember how it was, repent before God and repeat the things you used to do.
The first converts of Paul were probably more immerse on the deep things of God but these new Christians were not. They needed to follow their predecessors. Go back to Christ. Learn more about Christ (share my journey with Hebrews).
How serious are these words of Christ? What if you don’t change your ways? What if we don’t repent?
F. Warning:
The warning: v. 5b – “If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” Jesus says that If you do not correct it, I will remove your lampstand. This indicates this is a very serious matter. The removal of the lampstand does not mean that the individual members of the church would be lost or condemned to hell. What it means is the church would lose its ability to grow to its potential. They would become a church with no influence or impact spiritually upon the community around. They would be busy doing religious, but entirely irrelevant, things. They would still be working, still orthodox , but inconsequential, with no light, no impact. There are churches where congregations are still meeting year after year, Sunday after Sunday, doing religious things—singing worship songs and hymns, perhaps doing some good works in the neighborhood—but having no spiritual impact, seeing no change in people’s lives, no releasing from bondage of sin, no positive changes in the morals or outlooks of a whole community. Their light has failed.
And ultimately, the Lord’s judgment must include the demise of the church as what happened to Ephesus (now the modern Turkey).
G. Assurance:
The Assurance: v. 7b – “To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”
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