The Seven Churches in Asia..Ephesus

In Revelation 2:1-7, we find Jesus' remarks to the church in Ephesus. The Lord had many positive things to say about this church, but in the end, this was a church that needed to repent. There are many valuable lessons for us in this passage.

First of all, it is important to note that, in Revelation 2-3, each time that Christ introduces Himself to the respective churches, He describes Himself in a different way. Here in His address to the Ephesian church, He says, "These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands." The He here is Christ. The seven stars and the seven lampstands were defined in Revelation 1:20. The seven stars are the "angels of the seven churches" and the seven lampstands are the "seven churches."

Who are the angels of the churches? Some contend that each church had its own angel, while others contend that the word angel in the Greek simply means messenger and that Christ is actually writing these things to the pastors of the churches. I emphatically deny this second theory, for there is no biblical evidence that one man ever governed any church. The belief that each church had its own angel seems to be the most likely, even though it is hard for us to imagine. Or it could be that Christ was sending these letters to individuals in each of these seven churches that perhaps didn't possess any governing authority. Timothy wasn't a pastor in Ephesus, but he would have been a prominent individual in the Ephesian church that worked with that particular church (not that Timothy was in Ephesus when this letter was written; this is just to illustrate the point).

I don't exactly know, but what I do know is this...according to verse one, Christ is not only familiar with what is going on within each congregation, but He is intimate with and has fellowship with those churches that are faithful. He walks among the churches, so to speak.

In verse two, Jesus says, "I know your works." Again, this is something that is specifically written to all seven congregations, and again, this point only highlights the reality that Christ knows what is happening. He is not oblivious. He pays close attention to what is going on, and He cares about what is going on.

Beginning in verse two, He begins to emphasize the positive characteristics of the Ephesian church. They...

1. Didn't bear with those who were evil (vv. 2). In other words, they didn't put up with any nonsense. If someone was committing evil within the congregation, that evil was swiftly dealt with. Sin was not tolerated in any way! Back in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul rebuked the church in Corinth because it did tolerate evil. So we see here the importance of drawing the distinction, within the church, between evil and good.
2. They also "tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars" (vv. 2). This lines up with what John wrote back in 1 John 4:1: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world." In other words, the brethren in Ephesus did not blindly follow those who claimed to have authority from God. They put all teachers and preachers to the test. They compared and contrasted what they said and what they did with the revealed will of God. If it didn't line up, these so-called apostles were utterly rejected. This needs to be our mindset as well.
3. In the third verse, Jesus says of the Ephesians that they had persevered and had patience and had labored for Christ. This is a wonderful compliment! To endure trials with patience and to NOT be weary reveals a level of determination for which we should all strive.
4. Later, in verse six, Jesus again commends the Ephesian church for having hated "the deeds of the Nicolaitans." Once again, the Ephesians' staunch opposition to error is praised by the Lord. It is clear that they worshipped in truth, according to God's word (Jn. 4:24). They did not have this ecumenical mindset; they didn't tolerate error at all! Sadly, most churches today in the 21st century are completely negligent in this area. They have this "unity in diversity" approach to all differences and disagreement.

As you can see, the brethren in Ephesus were doing a lot of things right! But as we see in verses 4-5 they were far from perfect. In fact, Christ told them that if they didn't repent, they would no longer belong to Him!

The Lord says in verses 4-5, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 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."

What was their one problem? They had left their first love! Despite their opposition to error, their bold stand for the truth, and their patience endurance of tribulation, their love for God had waned. Outside, they were doing great, but inside...not so great.

And here's the lesson for us: it is commendable when we oppose doctrinal error and demand truth, but let's not get so caught up in our refutation of error that we forget to strengthen the inner man and reaffirm our love for God. On a daily basis, we need to study God's word...not only for the purpose of developing deeper and stronger understandings of all the big issues, but to learn about God, His love, His mercy, and His plan of redemption. We need to focus not only on the different angles of the current hot topics, but on the different angles of Christian character: love, gentleness, self-control, etc.

Please understand this point because your soul is at stake. Christ told the Ephesians that they had to repent. Was it that they had done something wrong? No. It's what they failed to do that hurt their standing with Christ. And if they didn't straighten up and rediscover their love for God, their "churchhood" would be removed. The text says that Christ would remove their lampstand if they didn't repent. If a lamptand represents the church, then we MUST conclude that Christ was threatening to remove their churchhood. They would cease being a church OF Christ. No longer would they be Christ's. And that's not good, is it?

Yes, it is possible for a church to be rejected by God.

If the Ephesians overcame, they would "eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." In other words, they would experience the bliss of heaven! But they HAD to repent and remain faithful to obtain this eternal reward!

Let us learn from Christ's letter to the church in Ephesus.