The Loveless Church
Revelation 2:1-7
The Loveless Church
1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,
‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right
hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that
you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who
say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have
labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left
your first love.
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the
first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your
lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the
Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of
life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’
A series of seven letters was written to the seven churches in
Asia Minor, which is Turkey today. As our Lord Jesus Christ
revealed, the apostle John wrote under the inspiration and guidance
of the Holy Spirit.
Each letter contained some vital and important information about
each individual church. The failures, victories, weaknesses and
strengths of each church were written and explained, with some exhortations
or
admonitions included.
The messages came from the Lord. They were proclaimed by Jesus, but
recorded by John. The Lord was holding the seven stars in His right
hand, and was walking among the seven golden lampstands. And He was
declaring and proclaiming each message to each church!
The first letter was addressed to the church in Ephesus. Ephesus was
a city in ancient Greece. It was situated on the coast of Ionia.
Ephesus was famous for the Temple of Diana or
Artemis, which was completely built around 550 BC. This temple was one
of the Seven Wonders in the Ancient World.
Acts 19:27-28
27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into
disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana
may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all
Asia and the world worship.”
28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out,
saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
As such, pilgrims from all the surrounding cities and nations came to
Ephesus to worship the goddess. Besides being a major tourist
attraction, the city was also a busy hub for trade, commerce and economic
activities. Ephesus was one of the largest and most influential
cities in the Roman Empire.
Surrounded by pagan people and practices, the church of Ephesus was
started by the apostle Paul (Acts 19 to 20). The believers began
very well in the Christian faith. Besides Paul, they were also taught and discipled by
Aquila and Priscilla, and then later by Timothy. The apostle John also
pastored the church for a while. John brought Mary, the mother of
Jesus along with him. And Mary spent her final years in this church.
The church had a rich legacy and heritage. The apostle Paul
ministered there for more than 2 years. His ministry was so
effective that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord
Jesus.
Acts 19:6-12
6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon
them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
7 Now the men were about twelve in all.
8 And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three
months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the
kingdom of God.
9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of
the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the
disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.
10 And this continued for two years,
so that all who dwelt
in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body
to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went
out of them.
The believers in Ephesus faced many pressures and temptations
daily. How to be holy in an unholy city, how to get along with other
people, how to keep and do their jobs without compromising their
beliefs, and how to survive when they were persecuted for their
faith in Christ. The life of a Christian was very different from the
unbelievers, who had many pagan, social and religious activities
throughout each day!
Therefore our Lord Jesus affirmed the believers in Ephesus for their
good deeds and perseverance. He knew what they had done, and were
doing! They had labored well for their faith, and they had never
given up! They also did not condone and accept evil people. They had
tested those who said that they were apostles but really were not.
They knew who were lying and not speaking the truth! They had
continued to serve the Lord in the midst of many hardships and
pains. They had suffered for the name of the Lord, and yet they had
not become weary in well-doing. They did not give up.
There was also something else the believers in Ephesus did that was
right and pleasing in the sight of the Lord. Like the Lord, they
also hated what the Nicolaitans did. The doctrines of the
Nicolaitans promoted fornication, self-indulgence, and also eating
food offered to idols. When those teachings were permitted and practiced, true
holiness was compromised, leading many people to live very carnal and uncontrolled lifestyles.
However, the Lord had something very serious against the church of Ephesus! They
had left the love they had in the beginning. The Lord told them to
remember where they were before they fell. They needed to change
their hearts, and do what they did when they first believed in the
Lord. If they did not change, the Lord would come to them, and would
take away their lampstand from its place. Yes, their light would be
extinguished, and there would be no
more light in their life!
How did the Ephesians lose their first love? They had labored very
faithfully in the Lord! They had guarded the truth! They
did not compromise with evildoers. They had persevered and endured
hardships! But they no longer had the same passion for Christ that
they had when they first believed. Their works were no longer
motivated by love! Outwardly they seemed to be doing okay, but
inwardly, something was missing!
The apostle Paul addressed the importance of love over and over
again in his epistle to the Ephesians! Each chapter had some traces of
the issue of love in this church.
Ephesians 1:4
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love,
Ephesians 1:15
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and
your love for all the saints,
Ephesians 2:4
But God, who is rich in mercy, because
of His great love with which He loved us,
Ephesians 3:17
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you,
being rooted and grounded in love,
Ephesians 3:19
to know the love of Christ
which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness
of God.
Ephesians 4:2
with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering,
bearing with one another in love,
Ephesians 4:15
but, speaking the truth in love,
may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
Ephesians 4:16
from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every
joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every
part does its share, causes growth
of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 5:2
And walk in love,
as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering
and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives,
just as Christ also loved the
church and gave Himself for her,
Ephesians 5:28
So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies;
he who loves his wife loves
himself.
Ephesians 5:33
Nevertheless let each one of you in particular
so love his own wife as himself,
and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ephesians 6:23
Peace to the brethren, and love
with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Ephesians 6:24
Grace be with all those who love
our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
Thus, if they did not have agape love, they would becoming loud
bells and tinkling cymbals! All the good and praiseworthy
works that they had done would amount to nothing if they continued
to do them without love!
It was very easy to serve the Lord, doing things for God but
forgetting completely about the Lord! Unknowingly, they had placed
the works of the Lord to be more important than the Lord Himself!
Remembering Simon Peter, after denying the Lord thrice, the Lord asked Peter, “Simon, son of
Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” (John 21:15)
Do you love Me more than these? The Lord was not saying that His
works were not important. It was not about no works but love only!
It was love first, and then followed by the works! Yes, love and
works together! Only then, the
works would be done sweeter and better!
As Christians, we love to go to church, and do all the religious
activities and programs. We love to talk about God, and the things
concerning our churches. We love to hang around with one another,
and have fellowships, times of praise and worship, prayer and
lifegroup meetings! Day and night, we may be going through all the
motions, but deep in our hearts, we may be running empty without
love.
Mouthing and saying words that sound so good, but in true reality,
our hearts don't seem to synchronize with our lips!
Isaiah 29:13-14
13 Therefore the Lord said:
“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
14 Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
Among this people,
A marvelous work and a wonder;
For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”
We say that we love the Lord. We shower Him with beautiful and
marvellous words, but our hearts are in fact very far away from Him. What we do
daily is
nothing but human ways and rules that we have formulated and developed
over the years.
All the working, ministering, praying, worshipping, serving and laboring in His name
cannot make up for the lack of loving the Lord Himself. Today, the
motivations to do things for the Lord are becoming more
sophisticated and more refined. But if not rooted and grounded in
love, we too can become a loveless people like the believers in
Ephesus!
Without love, we can easily become a mechanism or machine,
mechanically working and producing new believers who too will become
cold and loveless! But with love, new believers will be birthed with
the desire and passion to love God and others!
Without love as our motivation, whatever we do for the Lord, no matter how noble
and great,
will amount to nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
The Greatest Gift
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,
but
have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I
could remove mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I
give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me
nothing.
Interestingly, the apostle Paul taught the Ephesians how to do
spiritual warfare as they were surrounded by pagan religions and
rituals (Ephesians 6:10-18). Even if they were strong in the Lord,
wearing the full armor of God, and fighting a good fight against the
devil’s evil schemes, against the rulers and authorities, against the
dark powers of this world, and against the spiritual powers of evil
in the heavenly realms, if they did not have love, they would
gain nothing! Even if they could pray and speak in different
languages of men or even angels, if they did not have love, they were
only noisy bells or clanging cymbals.
Even if they had the gift of prophecy or understood all the secret
things of God, and had all knowledge about God, or had faith so
great that they could move mountains, but without love, they were
nothing! Even if they gave everything they had to feed the poor or
sacrificed their lives for their faith, they would gain nothing by
doing these things if they did not have love. But with love, they
could do the same, accomplish much more for the Lord, and be
pleasing and acceptable in the sight of God!
For those who have ears, they should listen to what the Spirit is
saying to the churches. To those who overcome and win the victory, the Lord will
give the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life. And this tree
is in the garden of God. And love never fails!
Without love, we will become loveless, but with love, we will be loving God
and others!
Written on 30 November 2021