Title: Have the first works
Contents
Have the first deeds/Rev 2:1-7
We are God's exalted ones. When we worship before God and listen to His Word, we must know that we are God's exalted person. The church is an extension of the incarnation of Jesus. Jesus taught us, healed us, proclaimed the Word, and expanded the kingdom of God. Jesus, who was crucified and resurrected on the third day, is still alive and heals us, meets us, and enables us to live as people of God.
In this present age, God is doing this through the church. Therefore, the church is the body of Jesus and an extension of the incarnation. The resurrected Lord who is still alive is working through the church, and the church must be the mouth and hands of Jesus. We must continue the work of creating the Lord's people. That is why the church is Jesus' only hope. Of course, the church is sometimes pointed at for shameful things. However, Jesus keeps it as the original purpose of the church. When the church is wrong, Jesus uses the church anew. Our Jesus never abandoned the church. Therefore, the Church is honored. Also, everyone in the church is a precious child of God.
This text is the content of Jesus appearing in the early church in Ephesus. The seven stars and the seven candlesticks in the text represent the church. Jesus is holding onto the church and walking between the churches. In spite of our shortcomings and weaknesses, the Jesus of Emmanuel holds us and walks through them. How grateful are you? Jesus who wants to renew and use the church in Ephesus I believe that Jesus who came to the church in Ephesus also came to the church of glory today.
In the text, the church in Ephesus was not alone. They were a decisive church that daringly cuts off those who lead an immoral life, worship idols, criticize the church, and disrupt the church. But he says there is something to be reproached. They abandoned their first love. What is important here is not lost, but thrown away. That includes your own will.
It is really difficult to balance righteousness and love. If we focus too much on discernment, we lose love. Keeping the truth is an important mission. However, if you intentionally emphasize critical consciousness, the church becomes cold. The love of the Lord will grow cold. St. Augustine says, "When you stress the truth once, emphasize love twice." Truth can be rightly discerned only through love.
If Jesus only saw me as the truth, we would not be here. He looked at us with the eyes of love, and because of the eyes of love, we forsook the way of sin and went to the way of truth. Only the heat of love can change a person and remove false clothes. Any important words cannot be changed by the truth itself. Only when you are moved by the love of the Holy Spirit can change.
When we restore the faith of love, God blesses us to eat the fruit of the tree of life in paradise (verse 7). This means that we have eternal communion with God and the fellowship of saints is restored. I want the fruit of life to fill the home and the church. We must restore love.