Christ is the Lord of the church – Eph 5:23 – For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
He purchased it with His own blood to be His priced possession – Eph 5:25-27 – Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
The church is His responsibility. We are accountable to Him. We have been baptized by one Spirit into His body. Therefore, He nourishes and prunes it. He holds us in high esteem even as His very own body. We have been incorporated into every one of His plans. He has vested His love on us beyond measure.
This love is the purest form of love – a love that drives away fear in relationship (1 John 4:18); a love that doesn’t find fault (Rom 4:7-8, Eph 1:4, 1Cor 13:5, 1Pet 4:8).
He left the church on the earth as His representatives and gave it specific mandates. The church is meant to be the glorious display of God’s power and might – Eph 3:10 – To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. However, Jesus is always present by His Spirit to ensure that the church does more and more greater works. Every good deed done in line with His mandate is commended. But every wrong done in violation of His plan for the church on earth is immediately reprimanded.
In the book of Revelations Chapters 2-3, Jesus speaks to His church; commending them for their good works and reprimanding them for the bad works. The church as at then (AD 95 – about 2000 years ago) was going through a lot of experiences that were particular to those days.
There is nothing we are facing today which the Christians that lived then did not face. The system of government was based on the Roman Empire, civilization was fast spreading, the Greek exported forms of education like philosophy, medicine, mathematics etc., and ultramodern cities like Athens, Philadelphia, and Ephesus etc were evolving. Another major norm in the society then was idol worship. In most cases, the worship of idols like Diana permitted sexual immorality like sex orgies, adultery and homosexuality.
Therefore, the church had to fulfill its role as a shining light in a crooked and perverse generation (Philippians 2:15). Unfortunately, some of the ills in the society began to influence the Christians of those days and the church became a harbour for immorality, covetousness, heresy and various forms of deceit.
We shall begin a series in which we shall study the messages of Christ to the 7 churches in Revelations in retrospect. We should note the following:
- I strongly believe that every challenge that any church in this present time can face must have been mentioned in these passages of scripture between Revelations 2 and 3.
- In some cases, based on the passage we can classify behavioural patterns of churches into the 7 types mentioned.
- The Spirit of God, knowing all the possible challenges churches of the future could face inspired this prophecy and it echoes in the Body of Christ even until this present day.
We must also understand from scripture to whom this prophecy is meant for. In Revelations 1:20 – Rev 1:20 – The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Jesus says that firstly, the seven stars are the “angels” of the churches. The word “angels” here means “messengers”. Most likely this was not referring to spiritual being called angels but “pastors” or “overseers” of the churches. Church pastors are accountable to one master – the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, the message is meant for the rest of the church. In order words, no one is exempt from this great message sent by the Lord. We shall begin with the church located in Ephesus.
Ephesus was the capital of Asia Minor; a centre of land and sea trade. Ephesus was one of the most influential cities in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. The temple to the goddess Diana called “Artemis” was also located there and the production of the metal images of this goddess was prevalent in this great city.
Rev 2:1 – Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks…
Note that He says the 7 stars are in His hands. The 7 stars as we explained earlier refer to the overseers of churches. What does this mean? All church pastors and overseers belong to Him and are answerable to Him. He can do with their lives as He pleases. We may criticize them but their Master has the final verdict. We may commend them but God sees their hearts and knows their utmost secrets. Everything shall be brought to the open on the Day when we shall all render an account of the thing that has been committed to our trust. “He who walks in the midst of the 7 golden candlesticks” means that God is alive and at work in the midst of His people.
Rev 2:2-3 – I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted…The Lord commended this Church for the work they had done so far. He appreciates every single bit of labour we do for the ministry as believers (1Cor 15:58, Heb 6:10). At times the question may arise, “Does God actually recognize the little things I do for His sake?” The answer is yes. You shall be rewarded a great deal. Another point to note is that God is more interested in commending you than He is in correcting you. He sees His nature in you before any other thing. When God looks at you, what He sees is a new creation created in His image and nature. It is on that premise that He can either commend you or correct you. What a great Master we have – He is always quick to admire the new creature before He addresses other things that are seemingly negative in his life.
This church also took responsibility for the people they listened to. They had “tried” the false apostles and found them liars. 1John 4:1 – Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. God does not expect us to be spiritually naïve as a church but has given us the prerogative to weigh all preachers & teachers of the gospel that come our way. Many local assemblies have been led astray nowadays because Satan appears as an angel of light. A lie may not necessarily be the exact opposite of the truth but a slight deviation from the truth. I am sorry to say today that so many preachers are messengers of darkness but disguised as those of light. The dividing line is so thin that it is only by the spirit we can detect. Therefore churches have been carried away by the pomp, pageantry, eloquence and splendor of these false messengers. If the Christians in your local assembly does not have the habit of testing all spirits, I am afraid they most likely would have been led astray by false doctrine by now; 2 Thessalonians 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and LYING WONDERS.
Rev 2:4-5 – Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent…
The bible does not contradict itself. We have been told that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 5:1), and that we stand before Him without blame (Eph 1:4). However Christ having “something against” this church is not in the sense of condemnation but more of correction in love (Hebrews 12:5-11).
“Thou hast left thy first love…” – what did the Lord mean by the first love? Other portions of scripture reveal to us what God sees as this first love: 1 Thessalonians 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; also other places confirm this (Colossians 1:3-8, 2 Thessalonians 1:3).
There is a fervency that originates from our love and passion for the Lord Jesus Christ. The seed was planted right from the day that we received new life from Him in being born again. Oh what joy, what peace, what love that filled our souls. We were so enthusiastic to please Him. We wanted to spend every moment in communion with Him. We were so graceful in our attitude to the brethren. It was in this plethora of passion for Jesus that our commitment to His work was embedded. This is what can be described as the fist love. This church had departed from this state and the Lord took note of it. The Lord takes note of your zeal for Him. A zeal that is pure – from your heart and also based on a knowledge of His saving grace. This church had lost the fervor with which it first started. Why? Matthew 24:12 “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold”. It was no longer enthusiastic about the basic tenets of the Christian faith due to the tribulations which it faced. The civilization and the secular trends of the world prevalent in Ephesus at that time had already crept in. Their Christian walk had become mechanical – routines and activities. There was no longer anything spectacular about meeting regularly, edification in fellowship, prayers, bible study etc. Although all these things were done regularly, they were done as just mere activities.
Another factor is love for the brethren – the love of many shall wax cold. The cares of this world (the craving for riches, lust of the flesh, pride of life etc.) had hardened the hearts of brethren towards one another such that their bowels of mercy and compassion were absent. We see the same things happening in the church today; brethren backbiting against each other, forming cliques and factions, divisions and the like. Unforgiveness, offences, competition and boastings are the order of the day. There is also an uneven distribution of wealth and resources in our midst – 2 Corinthians 8:15 As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack. This is the model that God has designed for material prosperity in the church but people will rather give towards projects than individuals. They are more enthusiastic about giving towards church building funds, new church equipment, television ministry etc than towards helping a brother or sister that cannot pay school fees, house rent or even feed. This is because of the selfish motive of “seed faith” they have. Inasmuch as these things are good to give towards, we must get our priorities right – God’s work is all about people’s lives. Some Christians occupy influential positions in organizations but will rather help non-church members than their brethren. I can remember a proposal which was presented to an organization and the CEO was a brother in Christ I had known some years ago. He admitted that the services were needed by his company and they would get in touch with me immediately. However, after that day, he never picked my phone calls, never replied my emails, never replied my text messages and refused to see me though I knew someone who had been exchanging emails with him regularly with the same email address. Why couldn’t he just say that they were not interested? This is just one in thousands of experiences that believers have with each other. We ought to honour one another as much as we honour the Lord Jesus Himself – Matthew 25:38-40: When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Oh if only we could realize that when we despise that brother and sister of low estate we despise the Lord himself! We ought to bear each other’s burdens. We ought to be there for each other. We ought to watch each other’s backs. There are so many needy in our midst; so many weak; so many that need support. But how often do we neglect them? How often do we ignore the cry of the brethren that need our attention and support? James 2:15,16 – If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
Let your Christianity be more praiseworthy. Let thanksgiving abound in the mouths of many because of your life – 2 Corinthians 9:12-14 – For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
The love expressed through giving by the Christians in the Corinthian church caused people to give thanks to God for their lives. Is this your testimony as a Christian? Can people remember you and say “God, I thank you for making me know this person. I thank you for using this person to be a blessing to me”. When God makes prosperity come your way, His intention is to make you a channel of blessing to others.
Let us proceed with the rest of our text …Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen. As Christians and as a church, God has given us an ability to detect wherever we have missed the mark. We can always walk down memory lane to trace the point at which we deviated from God’s will for our lives. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our consciences about how and when exactly we fell.
…and repent, and do the first works; we can rebound, we can bounce back, we can be restored back to our first love and fervency we initially had. Jesus will have us repent from our state of reversion. Repentance refers to a total change of attitude, perspective, mindset, and paradigm towards life. It is a state in which the standards of the world are refrained from and God’s standards are embraced. The Lord is saying that once again, we can experience the peace, joy and fervency we first had when we got saved. This is because we are new creatures and we have the seed of God within us – we have the nature of God our father (1 John 3:9, 2 Peter 1:3-4).
or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent…we can see here that based on the principle of Divine chastening, God is saying that if we refuse to hearken to instruction as His children, we will be disciplined. We have read a passage in Hebrews earlier on about how God treats us as legitimate children by ensuring that we are disciplined. Hebrews 5:8 – Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; Jesus was perfect in all His ways but was disciplined as a son. How much more shall we who have at one time or the other veered from God’s will be chastened by the Father?
The “candlestick” here refers to the church itself – Rev 1:20 – The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. What does this mean? Some say that God allowed a great persecution to befall that church such that a lot of people died, were imprisoned or were executed. Therefore, the church was disbanded. The best possible explanation that we can give is that there is a consequence of not taking heed to the voice of the Holy Spirit as a church in this present day. I may not be a prophet of doom but I sure do know that God has His way of chastening His church. “He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches…” When the Lord has been warning us of something and we refuse to take heed, He chastens us so that we may listen and not be destroyed. 1 Corinthians 11:30 – For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. The Corinthian church was actually chastened by God and the reasons were obvious. Your salvation will remain intact and that is why He says “that we should not be condemned with the world”. However, you will be disciplined so that you will learn. In what form does this discipline come? I do not know specifically, but it is possible that God “allows” some things to happen to us that may not be comfortable. There are many instances in my life when I was so comfortable that I handled my Christianity with foxgloves. Eventually, some challenges came my way and I was on my toes – I became more prayerful, more thankful, more fervent, more loving etc. We are kept by His power in this world – nothing happens to the child of God which God is not aware of or does not allow.
Rev 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. The Nicolaitans were priests and priestesses of the goddess Diana. Sexual vice was a part of idol worship in those days. Therefore they were public prostitutes – those that went for worship in the temple could be indulged with them. The Nicolaitans were false teachers with Diana worship as their origin that crept into the church and taught the wrong doctrines encouraging people to engage in sexual immorality. The church was alert enough to repeal these teachings and The Lord commended them for it. Is the world system creeping into the way things are done in your local assembly? As a Christian, is the world’s system affecting your standards?
Finally – (Revelation 2:7) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Notice that He says “an ear” and not “ears”. The word of the Lord is for those that have a spiritual ear. So many times the Lord has spoken to our hearts concerning the things He wants us to put right but we have ignored Him. In most cases we know what the master will have us do but we want to go astray. When we ignore God’s voice, we are heading towards frustration, sorrow, failure, lack of fulfillment, misery, etc. No amount of silver or gold, or riches, or career can be compared to a life totally compliant to God’s will.
The end of our faith is eternal life (the tree of life). That is what we look forward to – a manifestation of that eternal life which we have already received on the day we shall see Him as He is.