The first of the seven churches addressed by the Lord in the book of Revelation was located in Ephesus. The New Testament tells us more about this church and the city in which it was located than any of the other churches of Revelation. This letter teaches us the importance of doing what is right for the right reason.
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God’” (Revelation 2:1-7).
About the City
Ephesus was the city where the temple of Artemis – Diana (KJV) – was located (Acts 19:35). This was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Ephesus was also a trade center in Asia, being well-connected to the surrounding cities. Paul’s preaching in Ephesus resulted in “all who lived in Asia” hearing the gospel (Acts 19:10). This was possible because people regularly traveled to, from, and through Ephesus.
Paul spent a lot of time preaching here. He began by spending three months in the synagogue before preaching for two years in the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19:8-10). In total, he taught “night and day for a period of three years” in this city (Acts 20:31). During this time, he warned of apostasy that would be coming, as the church would be attacked from without and corrupted from within (Acts 20:29-30). Timothy was left here in order to preach and combat the beginnings of this apostasy (1 Timothy 1:3-4).
Letter to the Church
Each of the letters to the seven churches follows the same basic pattern. There is a description of Jesus, a summary of their current circumstances, commendations for doing what was right, condemnations for doing what was wrong, a warning about the punishment for sin, and a reminder of the reward for faithfulness. Let us briefly notice how the Lord addressed the church in Ephesus.
- Description of Jesus – Jesus identified Himself as the one who “holds the seven stars” and “walks among the seven golden lampstands” (Revelation 2:1), which represented the seven churches (Revelation 1:20). This was a reminder of His power over them and His awareness of the state of these churches.
- Current circumstances – This church was threatened by evil men and false apostles (Revelation 2:2). This was the same danger that Paul warned the Ephesian elders about when he met them in Miletus (Acts 20:29-30).
- Commendations – The Lord listed several good qualities this church possessed, including their toil, perseverance, and endurance (Revelation 2:2-3). They were also intolerant toward evil men, tested false apostles, and hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans [we will discuss this group later in the series] (Revelation 2:2-3, 6). This intolerance and willingness to engage in religious controversy is not popular today, but the Lord commended them for this.
- Condemnations – Despite the good they had done, this church “left [their] first love” (Revelation 2:4). The Lord must come first in all that we do (cf. Matthew 22:36-38). They were called to repent and do what they did at the beginning (Revelation 2:5), following the standard revealed by the apostles (2 Timothy 1:13).
- Punishment for sin – If they did not repent, the Lord promised to “remove [their] lampstand out of its place” (Revelation 2:5), which meant He would no longer recognize them as one of His churches, despite all of the good things they were doing.
- Reward for faithfulness – If they would repent and faithfully serve the Lord, they would be granted the right to “eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). This is the reward foreshadowed at the end of the book (Revelation 22:1-5), and is for all those “whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).
Main Lesson: Remember Why
The church in Ephesus was commended for many things. They remembered what they were to do, yet they forgot why they were to do these things. Their motivation needed to be to please and honor Christ. Unfortunately, they lost sight of this. It is possible to do what is right because of tradition, pride, family history, peer pressure, etc. We do not know what motivated these brethren. Yet we know that if they did not correct their mindset, they would lose their designation as a church of Christ.
This is the lesson for us today. We need to know why we do what we do.
We remember what Paul told Timothy: “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13). We must “hold fast the pattern” (NKJV) and do all things by the authority of Christ (Colossians 3:17). Yet if our motivation is not right, our good deeds can be in vain. Notice what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth:
“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
Love needs to be the motivation for everything that we do. This is not just about love for others, though it would include that (cf. Romans 13:8-10). Our love for Christ will motivate us to obey Him. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). The apostle John wrote, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Doing what is right without love is pointless. And obedience without the right motivation – as with the church in Ephesus – will eventually wane.
Conclusion
We must continue to stand for the truth, oppose error, and endure hardships. However, we need to remember why we do these things. It must be because we love the Lord and want to please Him.
If we love the Lord, we will obey Him (John 14:15). That needs to be what continually motivates us.
