By Stan Cox, on September 28th, 2011
This letter the Lord wrote to the church at Ephesus was the first of seven written to churches in Asia. At the time of this writing, Ephesus was a large city — the most important seaport in Asia Minor.
Each of these letters follow the same pattern, and are found in chapters 2 and 3.
The Lord first commended the church at Ephesus for its work. The church was apparently diligent, steadfast, fruitful, and contended earnestly for the faith (Jude 3). They “hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans” as did the Lord.
However, something was missing. He admonished them for having “left your first love.” Though there was still the form of faithfulness in Ephesus, some zeal or vigor was missing. That lack of passion for Jesus was the reason for this censure.
The Lord called them to repentance, and here as elsewhere indicated that their salvation hung in the balance. This clearly indicates the fallacy of those who hold the doctrine of “once saved always saved.”
Here, those who “overcome” and receive the tree of life are the faithful and zealous. This is a wonderful lesson for us today!
By Stan Cox, on March 15th, 2010
Revelation 3:14-22
Our Lord’s final letter to the seven churches in Asia was addressed to the Laodiceans. Laodicea was about 100 miles inland of Ephesus, just northwest of Colosse.
The city was a wealthy one, and apparently the church was as well. This letter is unique among the twelve, in that there is nothing positive said about the congregation.
Though rich materially, Jesus said that the church was, “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.”
The sin of the Laodiceans was apathy, colorfully described as being “lukewarm.” Equally colorful is the response of the Lord, “because you are lukewarm … I will vomit you out of my mouth” (vs. 16).
The Lord rebuked the Laodiceans because He loved them. He loves us as well. Remember, apathy is unpalatable to Him. If we are going to stand acceptable in His sight, we must give ourselves wholly to His service. Nothing less will suffice.
By Stan Cox, on March 11th, 2008
Revelation 3:1-6
The Lord’s fifth letter to the seven churches, written to the church in Sardis, identifies a local congregation that was “dead.”
Sardis was the capital city of ancient Lydia, a province of Asia Minor. The Lord noted that the congregation there had “a name that you are alive.”
It must be noted that God does not see things the way man does (cf. Isaiah 55:8). That the church in Sardis was seen to be alive (perhaps by others, perhaps by themselves), held no sway with the Lord. He reserved his strongest condemnation for this congregation, and called them to repentance.
Note that their “works” were not “perfect before God.” God judges us by the things we do, whether good or bad (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10). He demands righteous and steadfast obedience to His will. This is a serious consideration as any congregation examines her standing before God.
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