1 □ The Church at Ephesus... we have the Apostolic church... the "loveless" Church.
◇ Brief historical background...
▪︎ Ephesus means... "permitted."
▪︎ Ephesus was a chief and beautiful city in the province of Asia Minor.
▪︎ It was both a religious and commercial centre.
▪︎ Ephesus had numerous temples dedicated to heathen gods.
▪︎ It had a great amphitheatre that could seat over 50 000 people.
▪︎ The Apostle Paul had his greatest ministry there. He came to Ephesus on his third missionary journey.
▪︎ And... the Apostle John was the pastor in Ephesus.
▪︎ Two rivers flow through this city. The rivers carried so much soil deposit, the silt filled the harbour.
The people had to be shifted to a higher location.
▪︎ The temple Diana became one of the wonders of the ancient world. It was the largest Greek temple ever built. The temple served as the bank of Asia in its day.
▪︎ Diana was the most sacred idol of heathenism. Around the temple of Diana were performed the grossest forms of immorality.
▪︎ The period of this church history lies between Pentecost and about A.D. 100.
■ Christ's letter to the Church...
☆ Revelation 2:1-7...
"Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things says He that holds the seven stars in His right hand, Who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
I know your works, and your labour, and your patience, and how you cannot bear them which are evil: and you have tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and have found them liars:
And have borne, and have patience, and for My name's sake have laboured, and have not fainted.
Nevertheless I have somewhat against you, because you have left your first love.
Remember therefore from where you are fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto you quickly, and will remove your candlestick out of his place, except you repent.
But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches;
To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
• Jesus speaks to this church which existed in the midst of "crass materialism, degraded animalism, base paganism, and dark heathenism." (Mc Gee).
• Jesus holds in His hand the overseeing angel of the church. It is under His control. He walks up and down in the midst of His churches. He cares for the Church because He Has given His life for it. Remember the Church is His beloved Bride... and He is coming back for her someday and take her to Heaven... to His Father's House. ☆ John 14:1-3.
• Jesus commends this Church on 7 things...
1. He knows their works... their good works... the works He has "ordained that they should walk in them."
2. He knows their labour... implying He understood their hard work and their weariness.
3. He knows their patience... which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
4. He knows that they don't put up with evil men.
5. He knows that they try those who say they are apostles. They were put to the test.
6. He knows that for His name’s sake they were bearing the Cross. They preached Christ. They paid the price for their belief.
7. He knows they had not become weary of their work for Jesus. They may have been weary in the work but not of the work for the Lord. (Note the difference?)
• The Lord had one major condemnatory word... they had lost their intense and enthusiastic devotion to the person of Christ. They had left their "best love." The world and its ways had intruded in the Church. They went off the track not in their doctrine, not in their teaching but in their personal (intimate) relationship with Jesus.
Christ reminds them from where they had fallen... and tells them to repent... to return to their "first love"...
Repent? Christians need to: "break the shell of self-sufficiency, the crust of conceit, the shield of sophistication, the veneer of vanity, get rid of the false face of [piety] and stop this business of everlastingly polishing our halo as if we were some great saint." (Mc Gee)
If there's no repentance... Jesus will remove their candlestick from its place... shut the Church down. Ouch!
• The Lord also commended this church for their anti stance of the deeds of the Nicolaitans. It was believed to be a cult which taught (among other doctrines) that one must indulge in sin in order to understand it. They gave themselves over to sensuality... with the explanation that such sins did not touch the spirit. Yeah right!
• Jesus now tells His church to open their ears to what the Spirit of God is saying. The Holy Spirit is the teacher and He guides the Church into all truth. The Holy Spirit is the motivator, director, the ultimate power that is equipping, enabling and empowering the Church.
• Lastly Jesus says... that the overcomers will be allowed to eat of the tree of life which is in Heaven.
In ☆ Genesis 3:17 man was forbidden to access it.
In ☆ Revelation 22:14 he is allowed to eat freely of it.
So... how do you rate yourself in the area of your first love for Jesus?
Are you... Hot? Cold? Lukewarm? Wavering?