If God were talking to you and your church family today, what would He have to say?
In the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation, we find seven brief letters to seven churches. The first of these seven letters is to the church in Ephesus.
Ephesus was a city of much importance. It was a trade hub for all of the cities in the area. It was home to the temple of Artemis (Diana), which is known to be one of the seven wonders of the world. From a spiritual sense, we see how important the early gospel preachers viewed Ephesus as Paul stayed there for 3 years (Acts 19 & 20), Timothy stayed there for a period of time (1 Tim. 1:3), and John is known to have lived there for 20-30 years of his life. So, it’s really no coincidence that this is the first of the seven letters, from Jesus, through John, to the seven churches in Asia.
In the address to the Ephesians, Jesus begins with praise for the church in Ephesus.
“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.” (Rev. 2:2-3)
The commendation can be broken down to these 3 things:
- They work hard, without growing weary
- The church in Ephesus toiled, or worked to the point of exhaustion, but they never grew tired of the work itself. (Gal. 6:9)
Once patients are found to be infected with uterine fibroid must not eat lots of spicy foods. mouthsofthesouth.com buy levitra online The mechanism of male reproductive system is guided by the 2 http://mouthsofthesouth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/MOTS-04.30.16.pdf sildenafil uk enzymes, cyclic guanoyl monophosphatase (cGMP) and phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE-5). As a result, glucose builds up in blood and the person is able to have a normal best cheap viagra erection. It levitra prices discover over here now is also a surgery that cannot be performed on everyone.
- They endure trials and endure the name of Christ patiently, without growing weary.
- They were steadfast, regardless of the tremendous amount of trials they were no doubt facing in a city of cultural significance such as Ephesus, living out the teachings of James 1:2-4.
- They did not tolerate evil.
- They responded to Paul and Timothy’s command/warning about false teachers (Acts 20:29-30; 1 Tim. 1:3).
However, the Ephesian people, as strong as they seemed to be, were weak because they lacked one very important thing: Love.
“But I have this 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 lamp stand from its place, unless you repent.” (Rev. 2:4-5)
They lacked love, Agape love (love that is unselfish and committed). They lacked the love that, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians, is the greatest of all spiritual gifts, one that lasts and is needed for all things to work properly. Not only do the Ephesians not seem to have love, Jesus says they have “abandoned” it, leaving it out in the cold, with the intentions of never having it again.
The Ephesians looked healthy on the outside, but internally their heart was sick (Matt. 23:25-28). Jesus calls them, no, commands them to return to the love that they first have. This love can be seen in how they first responded to the gospel in Acts 19:18-20.
What does this letter mean for us? Reflect on yourself and on your church family. Ask this: “Am I working for Christ? Am I patiently enduring trials?” Those are important on their own. But then, ask yourself, “Do I love with the love that I once had? Do I truly acknowledge the love of Christ and serve him out of love? Enduring trials out of love?” And going a step forward, “Is our work and our love sincere? Do we serve out of love for God or only out of obligation and routine? Do we truly love or are we going through the motions, like the Ephesian church?”
We must be sincere, loving workers. This was Christ’s call to the church in Ephesus in the 1st century, and it’s His call to us today. Hate evil. Work diligently. Love sincerely.
~ Jared McLeod
