The mention of a church or group of churches in Ephesus makes me think of a spiritual giant, a place every church should aim to be. All true, from what I can tell, and yet we get to see that they too could be subject to struggles like anyone else. Ephesus was a major trade city, and a prominent center of business. Several different walks of people lived there, including many Jews, and the church there would have been seen to be a very important one in the cause for Christ. Paul wrote to them and sent Timothy to them, Paul wrote to the Corinthians from there and spent the longest period of time (three years) of his missions ministry there.
The church there was commended for their hard work, their perseverance, and the manner in which they tested impostors. They were not easily fooled. Beyond that, they simply did not put up with bad people. Most of all, their perseverance was for the sake of purity of the message they had to share.
Yet for some reason, they are condemned for having last their first love. What was this first love? If we look back to the epistle written to them, it is clear they had a sharp focus on Christ and the outpouring of selfless giving that was the result. They were still superficially busy and resisting false teaching, yet they had since forgotten the full impact of what Christ had done for them, and how they were to live as a result. Some 40 years had passed by now, and the testimony that had characterized this church was gone, or at least almost gone. It is even possible that many of the members were not actually true believers.
How one remedies this, in the words of Christ, is to remember, and then repent. “Keep remembering” is more accurate, as it was time for them to regain their bearings; they had begun to lose their way. And the remembering should be followed by repentance, a change of attitude and action. The alternative is judgment: eternal judgment for the non-believer for sure, and other long term, even end times effects on the church. We can certainly envision non-believers entering the tribulation, with no believers to guide them; a bad time indeed to be unrepentant (like there is ever a “good” time).
The impostors, or false teachers, from verse 2 are exposed to be the Nicolaitans. And Ephesus is commended for hating their works, because God also hates those works. Some believe that these Nicolaitans were followers of one of the first deacons, who had apostatized, given into and followed heresy. While this is not a certainty, enough early church writers claimed it to be so; regardless, this group of people had taken to lives of impurity and abomination. That the Ephesians hated the works of such a group showed that they held their ground from the corruption the world around them had to offer.
This letter was certainly written in such a way as to give each individual the opportunity to hear and follow the recommendations. “He who has ears to hear…” can be summed up for us today as “Are you listening? Then pay attention!” Seven times in these two chapters the churches will hear what is said to each of them.
“One who overcomes” (or “the one who conquers”), can be applicable to all believers. The hope of eternity with Christ is the promise to the faithful believer. The tree of life awaits.
SO WHAT…?
So, it’s easy to say I love Christ when I am saved and realize what He did for me. It’s not so easy to show that to everyone around me. That is the challenge to me, to not forget, to keep remembering Christ, and what I owe Him and others because of Him. That should bring continued Joy.
So, I need to recognize what around me in the world is not good for me. There will be those, even nice people, who hate God and want nothing to do with Him. If I cannot reach them, I need to keep my walk from being affected by them in a negative, anti-Christian way.
So, am I listening? Do I get it? Am I willing to change what needs to be changed? I am afraid this question might keep coming up.
No comments:
Post a Comment