Revelation 2:1-7 – Getting Back to Basics

As we begin to study the letters which John wrote to each of the seven churches, we can notice that the letters follow a specific pattern. Each begins with “These are the words of him who…” and then picks up one of the descriptive phrases for Jesus which we found in Chapter 1. The particular descriptive is frequently something that relates to the particular issue that the church is dealing with. Next, the letter provides an affirmation for how the church has been faithful (except for the notable exception of the church to the Laodiceans). The next element for each letter is a call for reformation: the identification of something that the churches can do to be more faithful (except for the notable exception of the Philadelphians). The letters end with a promise of the reward which the faithful will receive, and the charge “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The regularity of this formula helps us understand the message for each church.

John begins with a letter the church in Ephesus. Ephesus was a major seaport and the most important city in the region. It was also the center of worship for the goddess Artemis (or Diana). Acts 19:23-41 describes a riot that the worshipers of Artemis incited in reaction to Paul’s preaching of the gospel there.

The affirmation for the Ephesian church was that they were hard-working and conscientious. They were discerning people and sought to avoid the influence of misleading or false leaders. That’s great: these are values which we’d all admire. There’s something almost instinctive, at least in the American “heartland,” about valuing hard work and quality work. And we respect people with sharp minds who don’t just accept every idea that comes down the pick, but probes and analyzes them to sift out what is valuable and get rid of the dangers and problems.

This is all quite commendable, but in the midst of their hard work and careful thought, the Ephesians had strayed from their “first love.” This can be understood two ways. First, they may have forgotten about the condition of love which is the starting point and grounding of everything we are and do as Christians. Church history is riddled with unfortunate examples of believers who became so caught up in doing the right thing and working hard to do it, that they no longer acted in love. The Spanish Inquisition and the Salem witch trials are two quick examples that come to mind. But they’re safe examples because they’re so removed from us. But it’s a danger we still face. It would be easy for the ongoing debate about the role of homosexuals in the church to dissolve into this, if and when those who hold up the Biblical standard against such conduct fail to do so out of love and respect and begin to demonize and break fellowship not only with homosexuals but with those who support them. Many congregations can find sad localized examples of their own: when a longtime member criticizes a new member because she violated a long-standing tradition about how “things are always done here,” or if a dispute about how to handle a situation in the church dissolves into factionalism and bitterness. In each of these cases, the love from which all discipleship begins has been violated.

But there’s a second way to understand Jesus’ criticism that the Ephesians have “forsaken their first love:” they lost sight of their primary call from God. They forgot how their relationship with God and their identity as God’s people started. In the process of developing and growing in faith, they abandoned their roots instead of building on them. This can happen to us, individually and as a church, when we forget why we are doing what we’re doing and obsess over how to do it. They need to heed the exhortation that Paul offered to the Philippians: “Let us live up to what we have already attained” (3:16).