Toil in Truth and Love: A Lesson from Ephesus
GIST: We must toil in both truth and love.
SCRIPTURE: Revelation 2:1-7
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
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. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 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. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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 Little Contextual Reminder
Just because it's been a few weeks, I want to hit this really quickly. The next few chapters in Revelation, and probably our next seven lessons, are letters to seven actual churches from Asia Minor at the time (modern day Turkey). However, the significance of the "seven" was that these letters represent the Church as a whole, at all times. Therefore, where we see encouragements, we should follow suit. Where we see warnings and rebukes, we should examine ourselves.
Background on the Church of EphesusI think it is important to have a little historical context for each of these churches. However, I do not want to, nor am I truly able to, spend too much time here (If you want more of that, check out the undisputed master of historical, Biblical context--John MacArthur. In fact, here's a link to him teaching on this church).
The city itself was an important port city that never really realized its potential despite the Roman empire pouring substantial financings toward its development. Eventually, the port was abandoned. Nonetheless, due to its centrality, it became an, if not "the", cultural center for Asia Minor--it was the place to be. At the core of this fame was the Temple of Artemis/Diana which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World*. In classical mythology, Artemis/Diana (Greek/Roman) was the virgin goddess of the hunt or "wild things". However, she was also the goddess of the moon. Since the moon was, and is still, said to have two sides--the light side and dark side--Artemis also represented two separate and opposite goddesses: Selene, the "good" goddess who was also known for her infidelity; and Hecate, the "dark" goddess over witchcraft and evil. The Ephesian then, took worship of her to a whole new level.
" [The] temple was a sanctuary for criminals... It also was the bank of the Mediterranean. The wealthy kept their treasures in the inner shrine of the temple because it was sacred. Kind of a strange thing to have the same temple a sanctuary for criminals and a bank....[The] big business was selling idols...Historians say there were scores of eunuchs; thousands of priestesses, prostitutes; unnumbered herald singers, flutists, dancers. The worship was a kind of hysteria: a debauchery, drunkenness, sexual deviation, frenzies of shameless mutilation... Heraclitus wrote that the morals of the temple were worse than the morals of animals."--John MacArthurInterestingly, we see the result of this deep set pagan worship in Acts 19-20 when those profiting from the debauchery got upset at Paul because the Gospel was hurting their bottom line. (Check it out!) Fun fact, the amphitheater where they rushed with Paul's companions was huge! It held about 25,000 people (which is less than half of Busch Stadium!)
SO, that's a little history lesson on the city itself. But this letter is to the church that sprung up in the midst of the pagan city. It had a strong foundation; it was probably started by Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18), then influenced by Apollos, then taught by Paul for several years, then pastored by Timothy, probably also by Tychicus, and lastly lead by the apostle John himself. However, as we'll see, having a firm foundation is vital, but will not sustain you forever.
Message to the Church of Ephesus: The Good, The Bad, and the Consequences
Message to the Church of Ephesus: The Good, The Bad, and the Consequences
Now, let's look at what Jesus says to this church, and through it to us.
The Good
(Side Note: It's not insignificant that this letter, like this others, starts by Jesus reminding the Church that He knows what we do (inside and out). Nothing is hidden here.)
The Good
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. ...6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
There are two major commendations here:
1. Tireless Toil and Patient Endurance The church works. They are an active body of believers in the face of persecution. The word translated "toil" here really implies more than just work. It is often used to mean sorrow or trouble. I think we need to get that. The context of their toil was hard. This makes sense when you remember our little history lesson. They were Christians in the midst of strong paganism. AND, as we'll see in a second, they were faithful to the Truth. They were in an uphill battle every day, but did not give in. They worked, and they endured patiently for His "name's sake" without complaining or slacking off.
This is very good. We need to be more like this as a Church. I need to be more like this as a person. I know my tendencies, and I've witness this in others, so maybe some one out there will be convicted by this, as well. Serving God is easy... when it's fresh. When you know what God wants you to do and start to do it, there's a thrill. There's an excitement that surrounds going out and sharing the gospel for the first time, or starting up a children's ministry, or taking a new direction with (fill in the blank). But... and sadly there seems always to be a but... when the new wears off and the excitement turns to toil, I wan.
What causes this? Opposition. This can be both direct and indirect. Maybe someone or something actually opposes our ministry--trying to stop what God is doing. Maybe it's more intrinsic. We get tired. We get busy. We have other things we'd rather do. So... we give up. The church in Ephesus didn't.
Growing up, my dad's go to movie was Tim Allen's Galaxy Quest. The catch line from that movie was "Never give up! Never Surrender!" This should be our attitude. One of the first verses I memorized with my kiddos was Galatians 6:9 "9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Never get tired of doing what is good.
This is very good. We need to be more like this as a Church. I need to be more like this as a person. I know my tendencies, and I've witness this in others, so maybe some one out there will be convicted by this, as well. Serving God is easy... when it's fresh. When you know what God wants you to do and start to do it, there's a thrill. There's an excitement that surrounds going out and sharing the gospel for the first time, or starting up a children's ministry, or taking a new direction with (fill in the blank). But... and sadly there seems always to be a but... when the new wears off and the excitement turns to toil, I wan.
What causes this? Opposition. This can be both direct and indirect. Maybe someone or something actually opposes our ministry--trying to stop what God is doing. Maybe it's more intrinsic. We get tired. We get busy. We have other things we'd rather do. So... we give up. The church in Ephesus didn't.
Growing up, my dad's go to movie was Tim Allen's Galaxy Quest. The catch line from that movie was "Never give up! Never Surrender!" This should be our attitude. One of the first verses I memorized with my kiddos was Galatians 6:9 "9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Never get tired of doing what is good.
2. Firmly Standing for the Truth In their faithful service, they stood firm for the Truth. Remember, this church was surrounded by false teaching. Not only was the outside world pagan, but from the beginning false teachers were sneaking into the Christian congregations, as well. We saw this in John's letters, and we see it here. Two specific examples are given. They tested people claiming to be apostles who were not, and hated the works of Nicolaitans (false teachers promoting lawlessness). They demonstrated theological discernment. How? Because they knew and held fast to the Truth (the Word of God).
Again, this is a positive example for us. We need to know and love the Word of God. Which means, we need to study the Bible. Read it; dig into it; struggle with the parts you don't understand; seek God's wisdom; talk with others who have spent time in the Word. This takes effort, but there is no other intellectual pursuit more vital. Don't misunderstand me; I am not saying studying the Bible is merely intellectual--not at all. However, there is an equally erroneous mindset permeating much of the Bible Belt which assumes deep study of the Bible is folly. I just finished reading John Steinbeck's East of Eden a few weeks back. It's a sad and very long story. Speckled throughout it is Steinbeck's biting commentary on Christianity. One such scene involves the most devout character, or at least nominally devout, in the book, Liza Hamilton, rebuking her husband for trying to understand the Bible instead of just reading it. We cannot be like this. We will be taken in by all manner of lies if we do not know the truth.
(Side Note: I know there will be some who have a question about the use of the word hate here, so I do not want to gloss over it. We live in a world that works from the framework that disapproving of a lifestyle equates to hating those who live it. There is a lot that has fed this assumption, and we won't go into it all here. Nonetheless, the bottom line is this: Hating sin is not unloving. I know how that sounds because I hear it through the same Western ears that you do. I've grown up on the same rhetoric. But, if God is real and sin separates us and the world from His love, preventing us, by choice, from living life now and forever as He intended--loved and loving in the full presence of His holiness--then hating sin is loving what is true, and desiring others to turn from sin to life is loving them.)
The Bad
Why? Let's make sure we get this. The love being referred to here is not the love of this world. It is not the mantra of the Beetles. It's not emotionalism, or connectedness, or equality, or belonging, or tolerance. These are fleeting. Let's put this in context. Another verse I memorized recently with my kiddos was 1 John 4:8, "8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." What had the Ephesian church lost? The love of God. This is deeper than mere caring. To love is to live like Jesus. Jesus stood on the truth, so that the world would know the truth, so the world would be saved by the truth. Jesus died for our sins, taking on Hell for us. That is love. That's what the Ephesians lost. They were only going through the motions.
Again, East of Eden has an example of this. In contrast with Liza Hamilton, there is a Chinese-American servant named Lee who spends years studying just one phrase in the Bible. He even gets the help of scholars. They look deeply into this phrase, even going to the extent of learning ancient Hebrew. Yet, after years of study they come to nothing but a cold appreciation of the wisdom of Scripture, and a rejection of God in favor of human choice. There are two sides to this coin. All the knowledge in the world, without love, amounts to nothing.
The Consequences
1. Remember-They started the right way, and are so called to remember that. They weren't always cold, but did once love God and the people around them. Maybe you did too.
2. Repent- This lack of love is sin, so they are called to repent of it--ask for forgiveness and turn away from the loveless lifestyle. The whole of the law is summarized by Jesus as Love God and Love people. If we are not, we need to repent and be saved.
3. Repeat- In most of the study I have done on this passage, people keep with the "r" theme and label this last admonition "repeat". I think it's a good call. Not only are they told to remember what they used to be, and repent of their current sin, but to repeat the actions they used to have. It is not enough to feel bad about not loving, we have to actually...start loving the world around us.
5. and you will Rest and Rejoice- If they do this, they are promised Heaven. They will "eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." These people who have endured patiently will rest in the reward of Heaven, but only if they are in Christ--which means they are loving and living in the truth.
4. or...be Removed- If they do not, the church will be removed from Ephesus. Now, this does not mean those who are saved will lose their salvation, but rather the unrepented church, which is no church at all, will cease to exist. Sadly, from everything I've read, currently there is no church in Ephesus (or even really a town).
What does this mean for us? We must toil in both truth and love, or we are not the Church.
Final thoughts
Again, this is a positive example for us. We need to know and love the Word of God. Which means, we need to study the Bible. Read it; dig into it; struggle with the parts you don't understand; seek God's wisdom; talk with others who have spent time in the Word. This takes effort, but there is no other intellectual pursuit more vital. Don't misunderstand me; I am not saying studying the Bible is merely intellectual--not at all. However, there is an equally erroneous mindset permeating much of the Bible Belt which assumes deep study of the Bible is folly. I just finished reading John Steinbeck's East of Eden a few weeks back. It's a sad and very long story. Speckled throughout it is Steinbeck's biting commentary on Christianity. One such scene involves the most devout character, or at least nominally devout, in the book, Liza Hamilton, rebuking her husband for trying to understand the Bible instead of just reading it. We cannot be like this. We will be taken in by all manner of lies if we do not know the truth.
Proverbs 23:23 "Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding."
The Bad
4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
Despite all of the good, they had this very serious mark against them: they did not love. Clearly they started off right, but they had since abandoned love. They were toiling. They were standing on the Truth. Yet, they were not doing it out of love, but rather a cold duty.
I could dwell on this, but I won't. Look at what Paul says in the most famous passage on love:
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing."
-1 Corinthians 13:1-3
All the good in the world, without love, is nothing. "5...Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment." Isaiah 64:5b-6 Why? Let's make sure we get this. The love being referred to here is not the love of this world. It is not the mantra of the Beetles. It's not emotionalism, or connectedness, or equality, or belonging, or tolerance. These are fleeting. Let's put this in context. Another verse I memorized recently with my kiddos was 1 John 4:8, "8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." What had the Ephesian church lost? The love of God. This is deeper than mere caring. To love is to live like Jesus. Jesus stood on the truth, so that the world would know the truth, so the world would be saved by the truth. Jesus died for our sins, taking on Hell for us. That is love. That's what the Ephesians lost. They were only going through the motions.
Again, East of Eden has an example of this. In contrast with Liza Hamilton, there is a Chinese-American servant named Lee who spends years studying just one phrase in the Bible. He even gets the help of scholars. They look deeply into this phrase, even going to the extent of learning ancient Hebrew. Yet, after years of study they come to nothing but a cold appreciation of the wisdom of Scripture, and a rejection of God in favor of human choice. There are two sides to this coin. All the knowledge in the world, without love, amounts to nothing.
The Consequences
“1 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands... 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... 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.’
Notice that the letter starts with Jesus reminding them of His power over and care for the churches. This is reinforced by His final admonition. 1. Remember-They started the right way, and are so called to remember that. They weren't always cold, but did once love God and the people around them. Maybe you did too.
2. Repent- This lack of love is sin, so they are called to repent of it--ask for forgiveness and turn away from the loveless lifestyle. The whole of the law is summarized by Jesus as Love God and Love people. If we are not, we need to repent and be saved.
3. Repeat- In most of the study I have done on this passage, people keep with the "r" theme and label this last admonition "repeat". I think it's a good call. Not only are they told to remember what they used to be, and repent of their current sin, but to repeat the actions they used to have. It is not enough to feel bad about not loving, we have to actually...start loving the world around us.
5. and you will Rest and Rejoice- If they do this, they are promised Heaven. They will "eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." These people who have endured patiently will rest in the reward of Heaven, but only if they are in Christ--which means they are loving and living in the truth.
4. or...be Removed- If they do not, the church will be removed from Ephesus. Now, this does not mean those who are saved will lose their salvation, but rather the unrepented church, which is no church at all, will cease to exist. Sadly, from everything I've read, currently there is no church in Ephesus (or even really a town).
What does this mean for us? We must toil in both truth and love, or we are not the Church.
Final thoughts
Let's wrap all this up. What is the lesson for us from Ephesus?
1. Toil Tirelessly
2. Stand Firm on the Truth
3. LOVE
-Amen
* Fun fact: Remember that massive temple of Artemis? The columns from that temple were later used to build the cross shaped the Basilica of St John. Both are in ruins today.
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