The Church that Lost Its First Love | Revelation 2:1-7
The Church That Lost It's First Love • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 59:37
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Context
Context
Ephesus
Ephesus
· An important port city in Asia Minor
o Population: 200,000 (large for the time)
o Known for wealth, power, superstition, and idolatry.
Famous for the Great Temple of Artemis
· A center for the imperial cult that worshiped the Roman emperor as a god.
o Temple of Julius Caesar
o Temple of Domitian
· The church at Ephesus is a blessed church. They have had some of the greatest teachers ever.
o Apollos, Priscilla and Aquila, Paul, Timothy, and John to name a few.
1. Commendation Yet Correction
1. Commendation Yet Correction
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.
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.
3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.
“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and 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. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” (Revelation 1:12–16, ESV)
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,
13 and 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.
14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,
15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
· Jesus is not as he was in his earthly ministry.
o He is the Victorious King, ruling and reigning in glory over the world and His church.
o He holds the churches in His hands—this means he holds them in place.
· Jesus walks—He is not far off from us, he is in the midst of His church.
o He continues to care for us and what happens to us.
o This is a comfort to beleaguered churches; Jesus is always with us.
· Lampstand is an allusion to the Sermon on the Mount.
o It represents our Christian witness to the world around us:
“Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:15–16, ESV)
15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
o Christ’s churches are to shine the light of the gospel before the world.
“As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” (Revelation 1:20, ESV)
20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
I know your works—
· King Jesus knows everything about His church.
o There is much to celebrate about the Ephesian church.
· What are the Ephesians doing right? Perseverance and discernment.
(Perseverance) Your toil and your patient endurance—
· The Ephesians are all in for following Jesus.
o They work hard for Jesus.
o They keep working hard for Jesus and don’t give up.
§ Patience indicates that it is not something that they give a second thought to.
· Ephesus is a church that confesses the Christian faith and applies it practically to their everyday life.
o Even when its hard.
(Discernment) You cannot bear with those who are evil—
· Christians are supposed to bear with one another when we are weak and in need.
o But we are not supposed to bear with evil, or those who are unrepentant of it.
§ False Christians must never be given the license to call themselves Christians.
o Christians have a love for what is good and a godly hatred for what is evil.
You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not—
· The Ephesians think things through biblically.
o They don’t take anyone’s word for it…they verify it.
o And so, in the case of those who give themselves titles and build thriving ministries upon a message other than the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Ephesians reject both the teaching and the teachers outright.
§ They did so by observing the works of the false teachers.
This is an important message for us; doctrine and practice cannot be separated.
“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.” (1 John 4:1, ESV)
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.
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” (2 Corinthians 11:13–15, ESV)
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
· So, the Ephesians are positively devoted to doctrinal and practical purity. And their reasons for doing so are commendable as well.
Christ says, “I know you are bearing up—”
o This church is standing firm in a world full of evil and falsehood and they are doing for Christ.
o Because, the Ephesians have been given much reason to grow weary of doing good.
§ They have endured the persecutions of Nero and of Domitian.
For my name’s sake—
· Everything they do is for the glory of God and to make his name known.
“But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.” (John 15:21, ESV)
21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
You have not grown weary—
· They have fulfilled Paul’s words in Galatians:
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9, ESV)
9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
· They recognize that whether they experience good or evil, their lives have meaning when lived for Christ.
“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. — have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.” (Hebrews 12:3-5, ESV)
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.
· So, Ephesus is an admirable church, and remained so for many, many years:
· Another early church father, Irenaeus, gave a great example of the purity of the church at Ephesus regarding a heretic called Cerinthus:
o Cerinthus was a mystic who taught that Jesus was a mere human who was given a divine mind at his baptism.
o The Apostle John was a well-known opponent of Cerinthus’ heretical teachings.
§ His gospel and epistles demonstrate his commitment to opposing this view, teaching that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
§ One memorable story shows how committed John was to having nothing to do with him:
There are also those who heard from him that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, “Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within.”
· Such was their reputation that Ignatius of Antioch wrote to them, saying:
Indeed, Onesimus himself gives great praise to your good order in God, for you all liveaccording to truth, and no heresy dwellsamong you; nay, you do not even listento any unless he speak concerning Jesus Christ in truth.[1]
· There is a wonderful lesson for us in these encouraging verses.
· Jesus rejoices in the church that flourishes.
o He isn’t an inspector, always looking for something wrong.
· He loves the church—He died for her.
o He delights in appreciating the fruits of his works (His life, death, and resurrection)
o He deeply cares about the health and wellness of the church.
The Lord Jesus’s approach to the church at Ephesus sets the example for the way we should approach others.
Before pointing out faults, we should make sure to assess what is commendable in a person.
We must always encourage and build up our brothers. (Phil 4:8)
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Perhaps you have heard the statement, if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.
I would say, if you can’t say anything nice, try harder.
We are recipients of God’s grace and Christ commends us when we do well in spite of our ongoing struggles with sin…we must follow in his footsteps.
· However, while Jesus is free with His words of commendation, He will not overlook areas of trouble.
o So, He moves to offer a critique.
[1]Ignatius of Antioch, The Apostolic Fathers, ed. Kirsopp Lake, vol. 1, The Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge MA; London: Harvard University Press, 1912–1913), 181.
2. Conviction of Lost Love
2. Conviction of Lost Love
4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
· The hard work and endurance of the Ephesian church has been accompanied by a cooling of their passion.
· They had once been noted for their passionate love.
“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,” (Ephesians 1:15, ESV)
15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,
· But years of endurance had worn down their love. Persecutions, heresies, etc.
· Jesus warned the apostles that this would happen in response to something particular.
“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:12, ESV)
12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.
· A sense of resignation in the face of growing wickedness.
o Accepting that evil is just a fact of life.
o Thinking that the gospel doesn’t really have power.
· What they have done is lose sight of their love for God and for one another.
“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.” (1 John 2:9–10, ESV)
9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.
10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.
“If anyone says, ‘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. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:20–21, ESV)
20 If anyone says, “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.
· As doctrine and practice are inseparable, so is love for God and love for others.
· The Ephesians were persistent and orthodox, but they’re hearts had become calloused from long years of enduring trial.
· What is needed is a renewed fervency for God and a tenderness towards others.
· We all need to be reminded of our first love.
· God calls his people to do so in Jeremiah:
“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.’” (Jeremiah 2:2, ESV)
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.
· Can you remember when your heart was captivated by Christ, the beauty, fullness, and loveliness? When you trusted in Him for salvation? The joy you felt?
o The freedom from the burden of sin.
o The feeling of knowing that Jesus Christ and receiving His righteousness.
· How it makes us long for Him to know how much we love Him in return.
o Like when Peter cried to Jesus, “Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you.”
· How could we then come to a place where we followed after Jesus out of a sense of cold duty, or righteous superiority?
· This is what happens when we make the Christian life the goal and not fellowship with Jesus.
· We can easily find ourselves going through the motions and missing out on the best part of Christian life, the joy of loving God and others.
Jesus will not leave the Ephesian church without hope.
He makes a—
3. Call to Repentance and Renewal
3. Call to Repentance and Renewal
5 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.
6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 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 way back three steps:
o These steps are urgent.
o These steps are ongoing.
Remember, therefore from where you have fallen—
· We have to remember our first love to find our way back to it.
o Remembering what the Lord has done in our lives and the life of this church.
· This way, we can see how far we have fallen from it.
Repent—
· This is an urgent call to turn back. Not to take even one step further in cold-hearted orthodoxy.
o Repentance is a gift of grace the Lord has given to us, so that we recognize our sin and failure.
o In repentance, we grieve our sin and confess it to God.
o Repentance leads us to forsake our sin, hating what has separated us from God.
o Finally, repentance leads us to throw ourselves upon the mercy of God.
Do the works you did at first (rekindle)—
· Remembrance and repentance are to be accompanied by renewal.
o If the fire has dimmed, it’s time to remember the love of Christ and recommit ourselves to the loving Him and loving others.
“But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings,” (Hebrews 10:32, ESV)
32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings,
I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place—
· There is a sanction promised if the Ephesians do not reclaim their love for Christ and others again…the removal of their lampstand.
· The removal of a lampstand has to do with the removal of a church’s Christian witness.
o Jesus closes the doors of churches that do not bear witness to Him.
· This is a sobering thought.
o The church is supposed to be mighty.
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18, ESV)
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
o So, no church closes its doors because the enemy has conquered them.
o Rather, a church fades and dies because they have grown cold toward God and others.
§ They stop witnessing for Christ and simply go about the motions of Christian life.
Yet this you have, you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate—
· As a consolation to His critique, Jesus commends them for a different work, their opposition to a group called the Nicolaitans.
o There is some debate about who this group could be, but there is little doubt about what made them so detestable to Jesus.
o The name is a reference to an ancient prophet named Balaam, who tried to serve God and man at the same time.
o The teaching of Balaam is identified with a several of the churches in Revelation, as well as being warned about by Peter and Jude. (2 Peter 2:12-22; Jude 4, 11)
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.
4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
· They claim fellowship with Christ by professing agreement with the faith, but live lifeves of unrestrained indulgence.
“They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.” (2 Peter 2:19, ESV)
19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.
· The warning here is against licentiousness, taking salvation for granted.
“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” (Romans 6:13, ESV)
13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
· So, while Jesus calls the church not to succumb to cold, legalistic practice, that is not to say that we should do the opposite.
Failure to love God and others well will hinder our witness, but failure to stand against sinful practices, or tolerating them in our midst, will put us on the road to death.
We practice the Christian witness best and show Christ’s love for others when we proclaim the gospel to them.
Hear what the Spirit says to the churches—
To the one who conquers—
“The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Revelation 21:7, ESV)
7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
I will grant to eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God
· This brings us all the way back to Genesis.
“And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:9, ESV)
9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
· The tree of life, which represents eternal life.
o We lost it when we were sent out of the garden:
“Then the LordGod said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the LordGod sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:22–24, ESV)
22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”
23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.
24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
· We lost Eden, the paradise of God and all its many splendors, sent out into a cursed world.
o But Scripture points us to a time where we will recover that place and have rest in Christ again.
o Ezekiel gives us a picture of Eden, and its beauty.
“You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.” (Ezekiel 28:13, ESV)
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.
· And of the tree of life as a tree of unrivalled flourished.
“The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it, nor the fir trees equal its boughs; neither were the plane trees like its branches; no tree in the garden of God was its equal in beauty.” (Ezekiel 31:8, ESV)
· This is is what is promised to us by our Lord to encourage us.
What Christ holds before us to encourage us in our Christian lives is the hope of once more walking with God in the garden in the cool of the day. Everything that we have forfeited by sin has been recovered by the blood of Christ and will be restored to us in the end. With such promises of great reward, nothing should keep us from using all possible means to recover our first love, that we may overcome by faith and obtain the promised blessing.[1]
· We are meant to have this vision before us to help us endure.
o A desire worthy enough and beautiful enough to sustain us to finish the race.
o That is why the proverb says:
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12, ESV)
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Conclusion
Conclusion
· Jesus is still with us; He still walks with this church, as He has for 160 years.
o And He desires for us to be here until He returns.
o Further, we won’t be able to hide if our love for him begins to cool.
· We should take care to learn from Ephesus, both good and bad.
o Christ’s church must be faithful to the faith delivered once for all.
§ We must hold fast to the truth.
§ We must stand firm against evil.
§ We must exercise discernment in keeping the gospel at the center.
o We must be ready and willing to stay the course.
§ To run this race with endurance.
§ The call to follow Jesus is the call to pick up our cross daily and follow Him.
· When it’s easy, yes, but all the more when it’s hard.
o There is a temptation to become discouraged in our work as we witness those whom we consider brothers and sisters fall away, walk away, betray the faith.
§ But we must resist the urge to grow cold and cynical about it.
§ Jesus is still raising dead sinners to spiritual life, and we get to be a part of it.
o Let’s put our trust in Jesus and rest in the sure knowledge that those who are in Christ will never truly fall away because our Savior is a victorious King
“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4–5, ESV)
4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
· Let us pray.
Pray
Pray
· Jesus invites us to have fellowship with Him through this precious practice of the Lord’s Supper.
· It’s a perfect opportunity for us to remember the love he demonstrated towards us in His sacrifice for our sin and the gracious covenant that He established with us by His blood.
[1]Joel R. Beeke, Revelation, ed. Joel R. Beeke and Jon D. Payne, The Lectio Continua Expository Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2016), 73.
