THE LETTERS TO THE CHURCHES No 1--EPHESUS – “Thou hast left thy first love…”! (Rev 2:4) Churches change! We cannot find even one congregation today with a continuous history from the first century until now. I don’t have any concrete figures, but I seriously doubt that we can find one which is faithful today that has lasted even a hundred years. The evolution at Ephesus is better documented than others. Begun by Paul in the 50’s, in an atmosphere of tumult and “radical Christianity”, through dedication and selflessness, they survived and became strong. In a matter of 3 or 4 years, in Paul’s final meeting with its elders, and seeing the “big picture”, he warned of the certain doctrinal inroads to come – in part from them themselves as its leaders (elders) -- and reminded them he had been preparing them about such for all the time he had worked among them (Acts 20:28-32). These predictions were coming true within the next year or two, when he left Timothy there to charge some that ‘they teach no other doctrine’. (1 Tim 1:3) In the letter he wrote to them 8 or 10 years later, as a mature congregation, he stressed the importance of truth, and warned against shallow and unstable elements which presented grave danger (Eph 4:11-16). He also issued a call to war, and provided the “whole armor of God” (6:10-18). Less than 30 years later, while John commended their zeal for truth (“thou has tried them that say they are apostles and are not, and found them to be liars”) and many other good qualities, there had been a definite shift in emphasis, and they had “left their first love” – they had abandoned the “first works”. It was serious enough that John warned that there was a danger of having their candlestick removed.. One thing the letter tells us is that a church can be doctrinally sound (indeed, it MUST be) and fall short in other areas which pose a significant danger. The candlestick was not at risk because of WHAT they taught (their work in that area was commended), so much as how consistent they were in living up to the teaching. But, all is not lost! “he that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches”. (v. 7) Repentance is still possible, and the tree of life is the reward. Rev 2:5. (acb)
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 11:11:36 +0000
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