"But this I have against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 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." (Rev 2:4-5) On Sunday, we turned in Revelation 2 to Jesus words to the church in Ephesus- the first church (the "lampstands" that surrounded Jesus in chapter 1). The Ephesians were an important church in an important region. They had an amazing church history: After three years of hearing Paul preach, watching him perform miracles, many of the people in the church had been so amazed by the gospel that they gave up everything to follow Jesus. Their love for Jesus was so compelling that the entire region around them was radically affected by the good news... the word of God was spreading!
But over the next thirty years, that young church had to fight some real battles over what could be taught in the church. Paul had warned them that after he left, men from their church would teach "twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them." As the church fought those battles, two things happened: 1) the church was well cared for and grew into a safe haven for helpful doctrine, and 2) the church drifted towards knowing about God more than really knowing Him. So as Jesus addressed this church in Revelation 2:1-7, God addressed us this Sunday as we saw ourselves in this church. We saw three things together:
1. We are commended for guarding the Truth. Jesus turns His attention to the Ephesians in v 2-3 and said, "I know your works..." The One who sees clearly with eyes of fire saw this church and was pleased with their "toil and endurance." He knew about the growing list of men with untested ideas who cared more about getting a following than serving the church. And Jesus knew that the Ephesian leaders had guarded the church well from teachers whose ideas looked helpful but were ultimately poisonous to the flock. And Jesus said, "Well done."
In a similar way, it's helpful to look back on our history and remember that God is pleased with our church as we have grown in a fuller understanding of who God is and what He values. God has seen the hard work of all those over this past decade how have served well: our Sunday School teachers (who've raised a decade of kids on the truth), our youth-parent leaders (who have sought to help our teens think biblically that they could have faith for an uncertain future), our community group leaders and worship leaders (who have found creative ways of helping us to celebrate and apply the gospel)... Jesus has seen our desire to grow in the Truth and we are commended for guarding the Truth.
2. But we are critiqued for failing to love. The danger Ephesus faced was that they'd become more excited about studying God and what He values than loving God and what He values. Their early years were marked by a passion to know God... and doctrinal precision was the overflow of that love. Sadly, they'd fallen from those heights- warm towards truth and cold towards God. Pursuing truth is supposed to be the means to knowing God... knowing the One who created, loved, redeemed, and saved us. When we study what God values without loving those He values, we're in danger of losing our mission as a church. This danger was expressed by Jesus with the words, "Repent and do the works (the expressions of real love) you did at first. If not, I will come to you and will remove your lampstand from its place."
What a threat! If we guard the truth and have a carefully worded missions statement but fail to love God and others, our church might not last the next decade. If we can speak like angels, prophecy with power, explain the toughest riddles, believe the hardest promises, give til it hurts, and endure til the end... but we forget to love- our church is nothing (see 1 Cor 13). And Jesus won't allow a group like that to represent Him in this region. Because the light of Christ is reflected in the love of the Church. So the question we have to ask ourselves is, "Are we still marked by love?" Do we love God or love knowing about Him? Do we love people or just tolerate them? If we're like Ephesus in this, we might want to keep reading because...
3. We're called to remember and repent. Jesus prescribes two cures for the Ephesian church. In light of His victory over sin (to the extent that He will even allow us back in the "garden" again at the Tree of Life... Rev 22), Jesus enables us to do two things: remember what it was like in the early days of knowing God and repent. We need to be reminded of our early life with Christ... to remember both through our memory and our shared memories with those who remember better than we do. We need to be reminded by sharing the gospel and seeing the blessing of new believers in the church whose passion for God is shining brightly. And when we remember, we need to dream up both old ways and new ways to show God and others our love.
And when we do- God (whom nobody can see) will become visible in the church. (1 John 4:12). What a joy and privilege both to stand up for God and to showcase His love in our midst!
Looking forwards to decades together,
Darren
