“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Rev. 2:2–6).
At this time of the year, the end of October, we are reminded of the great Reformation that formally began in western Europe some 470 years ago.
The Reformation did much for the church of Christ. Its greatest benefit, no doubt, was that it brought the Bible back to the people. In the Roman Catholic Church the Bible was hardly known by the laity. They, the common people, were not educated. Therefore the interpretation of the Word had to be left to the educated, the clergy in the church. With the Reformation, that all changed. Thank God for it. Since then, the true children of the Reformation have emphasized the paramount importance of the Word, and its inerrancy and infallibility.
The first few chapters of the book of Revelation address letters to seven churches in Asia Minor. There were more than seven churches there, we know. But the seven mentioned are a good representation of the church of Christ on earth, what she is and what she should and should not be.
The beginning of chapter one introduces Christ in His majesty, as the Living One, who keenly watches over His church, encourages her, but also rebukes her when necessary. The vision shows Christ walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, recalling the lampstand in the Old Testament temple. That symbolized the church in the world, possessing the Holy Spirit and therefore being a light bearer of Christ in the world. Christ is seen walking in the midst of the lampstands. Today’s churches are reminded that Christ is among them watching over each and taking careful notice of its condition and actions. If any church persists in disobeying the Word, Christ will remove the lampstand from it. This has happened to many churches since then. Formally, outwardly, they may still be called a church, but Christ is no longer present there. The lampstand has been removed from many liberal churches of our day.
Here the church of Ephesus is addressed. This congregation, perhaps fifty years old, was relatively young. Paul had been its missionary founder and had later worked in it for some three years. Also it is probable that the apostle John had been its “pastor,” as also the evangelist, Timothy. What great blessings were given to this church in having such leaders. Christ, walking among the lampstands, knows this church. He commends her, praises her, but also severely rebukes her.
She was pure in doctrine and exercised discipline. How fundamentally important this is in every church! There had been in the congregation of Ephesus impostors, men who claimed that they, too, were apostles, claiming special authority. But they were found to be frauds, liars, perhaps by the elders of the church. This may have been difficult for the elders. These impostors likely also had a following. But the church was faithful in exposing them as false teachers. Christ speaks of its hard work and perseverance. These men were expelled; the congregation could not tolerate them. Whatever the cost in time and effort, the church had disciplined these false teachers. There were also people called Nicolaitans. We’re not sure what they taught. Possibly, like later Libertines, they held that, being saved by grace alone, Christians still have liberty to sin (cf. rev. 14, 15). At any rate, these people also were disciplined and cast out.
What a solid church we would say! It is never easy to be faithful in keeping the truth and exercising discipline, but Ephesus persevered. They “stuck” with it. Would to God that there would be a lot of churches like that today.
Can there be anything wrong in a church like this?
Yes, there is. Jesus rebukes her because she has “lost her first love.” That love was waning. “Remember the height from which you have fallen,” He says, and, “Repent and do the things you did at first.”
The Lord speaks here of their first love. Likely this refers to the love they had in the beginning of their existence as a church, when they had recently been converted. What love they had at that time! We are not told whether they lost some love for God, or for their fellow man. Because this distinction is not made, the Lord perhaps has in mind both love for God and the neighbor. Both were waning.
And that is, in the eyes of the Lord, very serious! True love is the purpose of all true religion. God wants us to show love from the heart, a heart that is overflowing with gratitude because of Him loving us first, in Christ (John 4:10, 11). In many churches we are constantly reminded that the heart of the ten commandments is to love God above all and our neighbor as ourselves. In Galatians 5 where Paul speaks of the fruit of the Spirit, the first one mentioned is love. In the well-known I Cor. 13 Paul warns that even if people have the gift of prophecy and fathom all things, and do not have love, they still have nothing.
God wants that love as a fruit of our being saved. In Ephesus this was on the down-grade. There was less love than previously. And if this decline continues and the church of Ephesus does not repent, He will remove the lampstand from it. Then, although it continues to bear the name of church, it can really no longer be a church of Christ. The Word and the Spirit will no longer work there.
Where is the congregation of Ephesus today? Has it continued to exist from generation to generation? The truth is that the church of Ephesus is gone. That’s true of all the Christian churches mentioned here. How long they continued in history, we do not know. But we do know that Asia Minor (Turkey today) is practically solidly Muslim. This thought has always sobered me.
It is possible to be a good church, sound in doctrine, faithfully exercising discipline, conservative, and still have a serious lack. So serious that if it continues with the lack, it will someday no longer be a church of Christ at all.
We sometimes speak of a proper balance between doctrine and Christian living. The truth, of course, is that doctrine and good preaching of the Word must be a way of life. Good doctrine when preached and applied must have as its fruit genuine Christian living. And the heart of that is love.
But doesn’t there always seem to be an “imbalance” in the church? Churches known to be strong in doctrine and intellectual, often seem to have less “warmth” of religion and emphasis on Christian living. The opposite is also apparently often true. Where there is more talk of love there often is less emphasis of doctrine. And discipline, if exercised, is often done out of a sense of duty, with the person who is being disciplined feeling very little love in it.
We want to be children of the Reformation. We must love the Word and always maintain its infallibility and inerrancy. And never quit our battle for it. We must have good preaching of it “sound doctrine.” We must also keep that other earmark of the church, the faithful exercise of Christian discipline.
But God always wants us to have a living religion, with love in the center. May this principle of the Reformation be kept until Jesus returns. May we always be such a reforming church!
