Title: Revelation 3 (To the Church of Ephesus)
The Lord, who appeared in the shape of the Mount of Transfiguration, was a great comfort and encouragement to John who was exiled to Patmos, so it is the same for the church at that time. To those who are longing for Jesus to return in the midst of persecution and suffering, Jesus' appearing and preaching the word of His revelation will be of greater comfort and power than anything else.
This is because not only will you have a belief that clearly confirms it, but if anything is wrong (in your life of faith), it will be an opportunity to re-establish that belief.
Today is a message to the church in Ephesus, which is the first of the letters to each of the seven churches. Even though the names of each of the seven churches are specified, these churches represent the whole church at the same time. Therefore, I believe that each of the contents mentioned here should be accepted as the words given to our church even now.
What is the first message to be given by the church in Ephesus today? The first is to say words of praise. 2-3 verses?
“I know your deeds and your toil and your perseverance, and that you have not tolerated evildoers, and that you have revealed their lies by testing those who claim to be apostles, but are not, and that you have persevered and endured for the sake of my name, and have not been sluggish.”
The first compliment is, “I know your deeds, your toil, and your patience.” This can be said to be an essential condition of the Christian life of faith. It can be connected with the “work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope” in 1 Thessalonians 1:3. In other words, the Lord knows that they are living a life of “work, work, hard work, and perseverance” that is the result of faith, love and hope.
As I said above, it is an essential condition for the life of faith, and the Ephesians praised them for keeping the basics of faith well. When the problems of persecution and heresy are great, both internally and externally, this kind of behavior is worthy of imitation. This is what a healthy church looks like.
Last year, our church also set these three basic religious life goals as its practical goals, didn't it? We believe that if we follow these basic principles well, we will achieve our vision of a healthy church.
Today's Ephesus church is a model church like this, and because it is a church with such good basics, its ability to cope with heresy was also commendable. The second compliment is this part. It was a decisive demonstration of expelling heretics who entered the church from the church.
Earlier, Paul had prophesied that “abominable wolves” (Acts 20:29) would invade the church in Ephesus, but now, in the church in Ephesus, it can be said that these cultic forces (verse 6, ‘Nicoladians) have materialized and appeared. Did the church in Ephesus remember these words well? Because they were well equipped with such basic fundamentals of faith, they were able to discern them and control their power.
The third compliment that follows is ‘I know that you have persevered and endured for the sake of my name, and you are not sluggish’. This speaks of the persecution situation at that time. To say “I was not lazy” means that I worked hard. It speaks of the difficulties and hardships they go through because of the name of the Lord. They are enduring well in the face of this persecution and are overcoming hardship and persecution. That's something worthy of praise.
Is there any church that deserves more praise than this for having the basics of faith and overcoming difficult times both internally and externally? What's wrong with this church that has survived these difficult times well?
However, the Holy Spirit knew exactly. There is something to be reproached even in this Ephesus church, which seems to have no problem. It means that they have left their first love (verse 4).
Usually, this 'first love' is often compared to the initial passion when we first had faith. It could be that, however, it is believed that there was a problem of essential love rather than simply losing the passion of early faith with the times. I think the interpretation makes more sense.
They say that the more evil the times (the greater the lawlessness), the colder the love (Matthew 24:12)? The merciful love of the Lord is cooling off. It seems that there is action, patience, and hard work (service), but in reality, the essential love of the Lord disappears. In particular, it is easy to become self-reflecting after you overcome persecution situations with such a determination of faith. Just like our ancestors in the past (the position of Goshin of the Presbyterian Church), if we put our lofty faith in the forefront, the compassion we embrace with love will disappear. If you do it wrong, you are running like the Pharisees.
Did you know that without this love, all your hard work, deeds, and perseverance are nothing? Remember Paul's 1 Corinthians 13. Without love, you are nothing. Today the Lord is saying this. Perhaps the church in Ephesus thought there was no problem, but in fact, it was producing the biggest problem. So today the Lord is giving a very dreadful warning.
If you do not repent of this, and if you do not restore your first love, verse 5 says, “I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” To move means to remove. This is a warning that if the Ephesian church does not actually repent, it may destroy the church itself. That's a terrifying thing to say.
So, faith, hope, and love will always exist, and the greatest of these will be love. The first love, the love that I received, the love of the Lord's mercy that made me believe and grow my hope, I must never abandon or forget.
Finally, the text contains a powerful urging to hear those who have ears and promises to those who faithfully keep the faith.
Is it verse 7? “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” In the Gospels, this is the word used at the end of every important word Jesus said. This was the last verse I put at the end of my Sunday sermon this week. However, today's text is different from the Gospels. He said, “Listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches.” This is probably because it is not the words of the Lord directly, but prophecies of the Holy Spirit. It is also the word that testifies to the unity of Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Anyway, the important thing is, what does this mean? It contains such a nuance that not everyone who has ears will hear, but only those who can receive it. Dear saints, I hope that you can listen to the words of the Holy Spirit (Deacon Jeonggyu Seo).
What does the Holy Spirit (Lord) say? “To him who overcomes, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”
come into the kingdom of God. It is the promise of salvation that we will have eternal life. The Lord confirms it once again. It means that such possessions are granted to those who have complete victory through faith (through restored love). It means that the promise of hope will come true.
Dear saints, do you also believe? At this time today, I hope that you will be able to write more special words today, considering that these are the words of the Lord through the Holy Spirit in these last days. I bless you in the name of the Lord that you may have ears to hear.