Revelation Exegesis: Ephesus

This is the second installment in our Revelation Exegesis series.

Due to the nature of preaching two whole chapters in Revelation in one sermon, some goodies were inevitably left out. So, the next few posts will examine 5 of the Asian churches a little more closely. Please feel free to catch up with sermon audio or video by clicking HERE.

Ephesus

Thanks to Pastor John MacArthur's New Testament Commentary on Revelation for the following section headings.

Commendation

2:2 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. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.

• The Church at Ephesus was bearing up under false teaching.
• George Ladd writes, "The church in Ephesus was outstanding because of its ability to distinguish between true and false apostles. This was a church that knew it's doctrine.
• The Western Church may not deal with superstition, temple prostitutes and Roman gods, but we still fight false gospels. Do you know God's Word enough to sniff out prosperity "gospel," "word of faith" teachings, and modern day gnosticism - to name a few? Consider Paul's words in the first chapter of Galatians, "8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed."
• We must be like the Church at Ephesus in our preaching and living a gospel of absolute reliance on the sin forgiving, soul saving, mind transforming atonement of Jesus on the Cross.

Concern

4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

• Good doctrine isn't enough, however. As Robert Mounce writes, "Every virtue carries within itself the seeds of its own destruction."
• The truth must be spoken in love (Ephesians 4:15). Jesus himself taught that love was the hallmark of Christian life (John 13:35).
• G.K. Beale sees not only the idea that the Ephesians had lost a love for Jesus and one another amidst a zeal for knowledge, but that "they no longer expressed their former zealous love for Jesus by witnessing to him in the world."
• A zealous love, combined with a passion for doctrinal purity, is the heart of Christian witness. How is your love - for Jesus, for the Body, for the lost?

Command

5 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.

• Remembering seems like the most obvious and simple, yet often the best, advice. David invoked remembrance heavily in Psalm 42. It requires times of stillness and silence (more good advice! - Psalm 46:10). Remembering involves looking back to the gospel of God's love for you, in your sin. It is also a remembering of his provision. When is the last time you were quiet before the LORD, listing out his great love, protection, grace and provision in your life?
• Repentance is what Mounce calls "an active step, a radical redirection of one's entire life." We must repent of our lack of love, both for God and God's people.
• If we don't repent, we should not be surprised at some act of preliminary judgment by God on us. After all, God "disciplines those he loves," (Hebrews 12:6)

Counsel

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

• A familiar refrain is used upon the conclusion of each message to the church. It evokes a more universal appeal, not just to the church in John's time but also in our own.
• We must be spiritual listeners. We must obey the words of this Son of Man.
• And there is, after all, great incentive. Our fortunes are restored, particularly concerning eternal life. A new heaven and earth is coming. Eden's tree will be replanted. God again will be the source of never-ending life.
• Christian - never downplay the stakes when it comes to obedience. Obedience leads to life, no matter how difficult the immediate costs are to bear. In contrast, disobedience leads to death, no matter how sweet the temporal "rewards."

The Church at Ephesus is a reminder that doctrine is paramount, but love is doctrine too. Believe it. Live it.