The church at Ephesus
1. In Rev. 2-3 John wrote to “seven churches.”
2. God essentially pulls back the curtain on what His people were doing more than 2,000 years ago.
3. These 7 churches seem to offer a summation of what Christians will find in congregations throughout time.
THE FIRST CONGREGATION JOHN WROTE TO IN REV. 2 WAS EPHESUS.
a) Every saved person takes sin pretty literally.
b) The E in every stands for Ephesus. The S in saved stands for Smyrna.
c) P represents Pergamos. T is for Thyatira. S symbolizes Sardis. Then we have Philadelphia & Laodicea.
2) Ephesus is the first congregation mentioned by John and this church is discussed in Rev. 2:1-7.
3) John said God knew the works of this congregation.
4) Second, the church at Ephesus had some good things going for it.
5) John also said this congregation had some serious problems.
6) We associate the book of Ephesians with the same group of people described in Rev. 2.
7) These Christians in Rev. 2 should have understood how Jesus was made the head of the church.
8) In addition to what they learned from the book of Ephesians, notice what John said in Rev. 2:1 – READ
9) John said the Lord “walks” among the candlesticks.
a) The book of Revelation is filled with figurative speech.
b) Rev. 1:20 offers an explanation for the “lampstands” in Rev. 2:1 – READ
10) Jesus’ walking “among the candlesticks” (2:1) simply means He is “walking among His churches.”
11) When it is time to add someone to His church (Acts 2:47), the Lord is there.
12) When it is time to remove someone from the church, the Lord is there.
13) When the church is doing what is right, Jesus is present.
14) If a local congregation decides to go off into apostasy, the Lord is also aware of every single event.
15) Verse 2 of Rev. 2 – READ 2a.
16) Heb. 6:10 says God does not forget about what His people do.
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1) The word translated “toil” in Rev. 2:2 describes not only work, it describes hard work.
2) This is type of work that can be associated with pain.
3) At Ephesus Christians were working.
4) God warns us that some might become “weary” in His service (Gal. 6:9), but we want to avoid this pitfall.
5) Part of doing what is right is avoiding false teachers; John said the Ephesians did not tolerate error.
DEFICIENCES IN THE EPHESIAN CHURCH.
1) Verse 4 – READ
2) Jesus had something “against” this local congregation.
a) Today this is still true for congregations.
3) At Ephesus John said there were Christians who had “left their first love.”
a) If John wrote the book of Revelation about 90 A.D., a new generation of people had arisen.
b) It took just 30 years for things in this congregation to really change.
4) John did not say something had been “lost.” He said “left.
5) We do know what “first love” suggests.
a) Initially people are very enthused about Jesus and fellow Christians who help make up the church.
b) As time passes – perhaps an entire generation, interest begins to wane.
6) The loss of this “first love” reminds us that our attitude is important.
7) Works are good, important, and necessary, but what about our attitude?
8) Do we try to have a good attitude when it comes to the church and our Christian life?
9) Do we seek to serve God out of love and joy or a sense of duty?
10) There are people who offer service to God because they fear hell.
11) Others serve God because they feel like someone (perhaps parents) are forcing them.
12) Jesus knows what our attitude is because He “walks” among His people.
13) As the Lord walks among this congregation, what does He see?
