The Church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7)

Commentators speculate as to why these seven churches were selected. They were not the only churches in the area. One suggestion is that they appear along a postal route, which would make it easy for the letters to be delivered. Another is that each was a main church in its area and its letter would also deal with churches that came under its influence. Some might wonder if they were a kind of presbytery or group of churches. Personally, I would say that they are pictures of the kind of churches we will find at any time. In other words, there are churches like these near us. Or maybe our church is like one of them. Probably, the letters were a surprise to those who received them, but none of the letters should be a surprise to us because we have read them many times.

Ephesus

What was it like to live as a Christian in Ephesus in the AD90s? The population was probably about 100,000, which was a very large city at that time. It is said that Ephesus was the third city of the Roman Empire. While we do not know how many Christians there were in the city, the church would have been small in comparison. In effect, the church was a small community in a city of strangers. 

 

The city possessed one of the seven wonders of the ancient world – the temple to Artemis. But it was not the only temple in the city. Pagan religions were everywhere. From one point of view, the presence of several religions might have made it easier for adherents of a new religion; it could, but not if you happened to be a Christian. The Roman authorities had begun to persecute them and indeed John had been exiled from Ephesus to Patmos because of his faith. Not only was the church a small community surrounded by strangers, it was also regarded with suspicion by the authorities.

 

The church had been in existence for over forty years. Paul had called there briefly around AD 52 and had left Priscilla and Aquila there when he left for Jerusalem. Apollos came to the city next and helped them get the church going. Then Paul came back to the city and this time he remained there for three years while the church grew. During that time, there was a riot in the city against the presence of the church because its message was affecting the income of the silversmiths who made little images of Artemis (an indirect testimony to the success of the gospel). Later on, while on a journey to Jerusalem, Paul summoned the elders of the church to Miletus and warned them that there were troubles ahead for the church. Indeed, he was so concerned that he also sent Timothy there to sort things out. Paul also wrote a letter to the church when he was imprisoned in Rome. Later on, the apostle John came and lived there, and tradition says that he took the mother of Jesus there as well. Now he had been exiled to Patmos. 

 

What would a church with such a history and living in such a location expect to read in a letter sent to them by Jesus? They probably would not be surprised to be addressed first. Their city was the biggest in the area and it is likely that they were the biggest church as well. How did they respond to this letter? The church remained there for several centuries, so they did not lose their lampstand immediately. Eventually, the city was destroyed and today all that is left is ruins.

 

The role of Jesus

Jesus introduces himself as doing three things. First, he holds the seven stars in his right hand; second, he walks among the golden lampstands; and third, he has something to say. What do they mean?

 

The seven stars are the seven angels of the churches, with each church having one angel. Presumably, this is a reference to the pastors of the church, although some commentators disagree with that interpretation. Jesus says that he holds them, which could be an indication of protection from opponents, or a bestowment of power in their work, or a statement that reveals his personal interest in them. The letter of Jesus to each church is sent to its angel, and presumably he would pass on the contents to the congregation. In a sense, the angel was a spokesman for Jesus, passing on his assessment. It was never to be, ‘This is what I think.’ Instead, it is always to be, ‘Thus says the Lord.’

 

The seven golden lampstands are the seven churches. A lampstand gives light, and here is a reminder that the church is to shine brightly for the Lord. Literally, a lampstand needed oil, and each church needs the Holy Spirit. Jesus is described as walking among the churches, observing what was going on, and assessing what was taking place. Obviously, this is solemn, but it is also a reminder of where the heart of Jesus is – he delights to be with his people. He knows how bright each church could be and should be.

 

As we noticed, this description of Jesus highlights that he has a message for his people. We know that his message will be accurate, will be affirming when suitable, will be admonishing when necessary. It will never be irrelevant, it never will be unsuitable, it will never be wrong. Here is the Wonderful Counsellor giving his verdict on those churches. Of course, we are to remind ourselves that he walks among us, and it is the case that he will find means of conveying his message to us.

 

The recognition (vv. 2-3, 6)

Jesus knew all about the activities of the church in Ephesus. They had much to be commended for. They were an active church, the members were prepared to work hard, and they were willing to keep at it. They loved pure doctrine and would not tolerate any kind of false teaching, such as the views advanced by the Nicolaitans, whatever they were. They tested everyone they heard and identified those whose message was not true. They were enduring opposition and determined to be loyal to the name of Jesus. Indeed, they showed no signs of faintheartedness.

 

If we saw this church, we would probably have been very impressed by it. It seemed to have it all. It ticked all the boxes as far as being the church to be in was concerned. Yet we know that things were not well with this church. Indeed, things were so bad that Jesus was prepared to bring its existence to an end.

 

This church is quite a warning. After all, it was not merely going through the motions. It was focussed on doing things right. Yet all its activities were like plasters over a gaping wound. Jesus as he walked around the church noticed that nothing was done out of love. Instead, all was being done for some other reason. This means that they were living according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit. They had forgotten why they should be doing what they were doing. Outwardly, all was fine; inwardly, they were decaying rapidly. What was wrong?

 

The rebuke (v. 4)

What does Jesus have against them? They had abandoned the love they once had. The word ‘abandon’ is a strong word. An example of it is when James and John left their father in the boat when Jesus called them to follow him. Or when the woman of Sychar left her jar and went back to the village. Jesus used it when he described the hirelings who abandon the sheep when a wolf comes. It basically means that there is no trace of their first love remaining.

 

What was the kind of love that they had at first? Here are some suggestions. It was a personal love for the One who had loved them enough to go to the cross for them; it was a pursuing love after Jesus in the various means of grace that he has provided; it was a passionate love, full of desire to know Jesus better; it was a purifying love, causing them to avoid all that would hinder love for Jesus. We could describe it as Jesus-centred love, a love that was strong as well as sincere. This message from Jesus reveals what he wants from us. He wants love. That is what he asked Peter when he restored that wayward disciple to his role in the church. As we know, he asked him three times how his love was.

 

Love is not a difficult thing to discover. Peter, despite the mess that he had made, had not lost his first love. The church in Ephesus, despite its commitment to many things, had lost their first love. It is striking that they had all lost it, which means that it was like a contagious disease that had spread throughout the church. And none of them had noticed it. But Jesus had.

 

The obvious application here is the danger of focussing on external things as the evidence of real commitment to Jesus. We can see that the commitment of the Ephesians to outward behaviour and practice was flawless. They had maintained a pure church in one sense, but only in the sense of outward conformity. Jesus tells them that it is not enough to be accurate in doctrine, it is not enough to be active in doing things, it is not enough to get rid of false teachers. A group of people can do all that and still not please Jesus because it was all being done from a loveless heart. Spurgeon speaks about the danger of the ‘temptation to do a great deal for Christ, but not to live a great deal with Christ.’

 

I suppose a question arises: when did they abandon their first love? Obviously, no exact answer can be given. But somehow in their actions for the church and as a church they moved away from Jesus. This is a reminder of the subtlety of sin. Maybe they forgot that the church was not their church and that they were not free to do with it what they wished, even when what they wished seemed to be good. At some stage, they had stopped loving Jesus even although they kept up the outward forms.  I wonder if the real cause of all backsliding is that we forget that we owe everything to Jesus. Little things can do that. A little more knowledge of the Bible, a few things done for the church, a few books that we have mastered, and we begin to think in different ways about ourselves and our own importance and our plans. Before we know it, we have toned down our commitment to the Saviour.

 

Think of the effects of losing one’s first love for Jesus. One’s enthusiam decreases. Spiritual assurance becomes unimportant. The world notices we have different priorities. And if we have gone down a bit in our devotion, how much further down may we go?

 

James Durham, in his commentary on these verses, says that ‘there may be many things commendable in a church or in a person, and yet there may be a secret quarrel between Christ and them.’ That describes a serious situation, if ever there was one. As has often been said, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.

 

The requirement (v. 5)

Jesus knows what the remedy is. It contains three features, which can be summarised as remember, repent and repeat. I suppose we could describe them in another way: use your mind, use your heart, use your will, but use them correctly. Use your mind to recall what used to be; use your heart to repent of what has happened; and use your will to resume the right way of doing things.

 

The author of Hebrews wrote his letter to encourage his readers as they were in difficulty. Since they were thinking of giving up on Jesus, they had obviously lost their first love. The author, in advising them what to do, urges them to recall what they used to be like: ‘But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one’ (Heb. 10:32-34).

 

When we find ourselves in a situation in which love has grown cold, we are not to let the present circumstances rule over us. But neither are we to jump immediately into the future and avoid dealing with ourselves. Instead, we are to recall what life used to be like when Jesus was first in our hearts. I suppose one way to deal with this is to ask ourselves questions. How often did I read the Bible back then when my heart was full of love? How often did I go to church at that time? How many believers did I dislike back then? How difficult was it for me to forgive other Christians when they did something wrong to me? What did I feel like when I discovered something new about Jesus in his Word or in a sermon or in a time of fellowship? There are many questions that we can ask ourselves in order to recall the time of first love.

 

People talk about selective memories, which is not a good way to use them. Yet there are what we can call select memories, special memories. All Christians have them of times when things were better with their souls. 

 

Where is the blessedness I knew

     when first I saw the Lord? 

Where is the soul-refreshing view

     of Jesus and his word?

 

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!

     How sweet their memory still! 

But they have left an aching void,

     The world can never fill.

 

The question is, what do we do about the memories of such good times? Because Jesus says to us that we have fallen from a higher, better level. Fallen indicates a sharp decline. But he also indicates that we can return.

 

The second feature of the response is repentance. Repentance by definition is a heart response. Obviously, it must be informed. But it is more than a clinical response. Repentance involves how we feel about our wrong actions and attitudes. Jesus looks for sorrow and grief in us at our personal sins, especially for those sins that have replaced devotion to him, even if they are good things in themselves. Repentance for the Ephesians was the painful recognition that they preferred the secondary to the primary, that they put duties before heart devotion, that they had busy activities but lazy hearts as far as spending time with Jesus was concerned.

 

The third response was to repeat their first works. How could they do that? By the same power that enabled them to do them previously – the power of the Holy Spirit whom they had grieved by their wrong priorities. It is as if the Spirit whispers in our ears, ‘I can restore your affections, I can refire your cold hearts, I can heal your backslidings.’ Jesus does not command us to do what he is unwilling to enable us to do. His command here is actually a promise of spiritual recovery. Of course, the order must be followed – recall, repent and repeat. No restoration without repentance is the divine reality.

A penitent person receives grace from Jesus to do the first works. Repentance is an unburdening of the soul in the presence of God. This is when Jesus removes the loads that have hindered our spiritual progress. We will never get rid of the oppression caused by specific sins or by sins in general until we confess them with sorrow and shame in the presence of God. This is not a belittling exercise; rather it is the ropes by which we can climb out of the dungeon.

Jesus gives another warning to the church in Ephesus about what will happen if they fail to take to heart his invitation to return to him. He says that they will cease to be a church. There is no guarantee that any church on earth will survive if it loses its devotion to Jesus. Did the church repent? Hopefully. It certainly existed for several centuries after this letter reached them.

 

The reward

Jesus is speaking by his Spirit. His message about a reward is not only for the people in Ephesus, but to all the churches. He speaks to them about heaven and what will be experienced there. It is important to think ahead and meditate on what will happen then.

 

In heaven, Jesus will have full authority and he will have the power to grant special privileges to his people. The special privilege that he has in mind is for those who serve him well in this life. In order to explain what the privilege will be, Jesus refers to what used to take place in the Garden of Eden. There, when Adam and Eve ate of the tree of life, they experienced life. As long as they ate of it, they would live. Jesus graciously will give eternal life to those who served him well, not because they merited it, but because he is kind and keeps his promises.

 

The tree of life in heaven is a picture that heaven is full of life. Eternal life is to know the Father and Jesus (John 17:3). Maybe we can think of those in Ephesus who overcame for Jesus and what they are experiencing now in heaven. They have been there for almost two thousand years, enjoying the wonders of such life. And they will never again lose their first love. It is notable that the tree of life is in the middle of Paradise. Since it is in the middle, it means that all the residents have access to it, from all directions.

 

Application 

The obvious application is not whether our theology is correct or how many activities we do or don’t do. Both are very important, indeed essential. But in light of this brief letter from Jesus, the main question is, how hot is our heart for Jesus? As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, without love we are nothing. A connected application is to be careful about right things. It is easier to identify the danger of wrong things. There is a saying that we should beware the barrenness of a busy life. The overcomers from the church in Ephesus would say that to us, would they not?