The Loveless Church at Ephesus
Ancient Ephesus
Have you ever been surprised? Have you ever been rudely awakened or jolted out of sleep? Has anyone ever jumped out of a corner to scare you or has anything ever happened around you as you were driving a car that suddenly arrested your attention?
This happened to me when my wife and I were driving in the mountains on the Pennsylvania Turnpike early in our marriage. We were heading eastbound late at night and I was attempting to drive straight through to NYC. As you can imagine, I was getting tired and struggled to stay awake at the wheel. Suddenly, jolting me out of my grogginess, was a massive tractor tire (at least 10 ft. in diameter) bouncing off the tractor trailer bed in front of us. That tire could have demolished our car and taken our lives as it careened down the highway in our path. Thankfully, it missed our car, leaving us unharmed but jolting me out of my mindless driving (which was a good thing).
Some Background on the Church at Ephesus
Like me behind the wheel as a sleepy driver, the church at Ephesus needed something to jolt them out of their regular routine. This was a church with 30-50 yrs. of history under their belt. They had begun well, under the discipleship and teaching ministry of Aquila and Priscilla, then especially the apostle Paul (Acts 19-20). Through the years, other influential men like Timothy (Paul’s apprentice) and the Apostle John also served them as pastors, among others. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, spent her final years as an elderly widow in their congregation. During Paul’s ministry to this church, Luke tells us that they were so effective at what they were doing that “all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:10).
This church was situated in a pagan city called Ephesus. Next to Rome, this was one of the largest, most influential cities in the Roman Empire at that time. It was a hub for commerce and economic activity, was a major tourist attraction, featuring the Temple of Diana (Artemis), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. As such an influential, active city, this location was strategic, but it was also challenging. Believers faced constant pressure to let down their guard to get along with people, keep their jobs, prosper financially, and avoid persecution for their faith. In addition, they also faced constant temptations to tolerate or even practice immorality as a way of life and to participate in pagan social and religious functions just to get along.
A Personal Introduction from Christ
To open this letter, Christ introduced himself in a twofold way, as the one holding the seven stars in his right hand and walking among the seven golden lampstands (Rev 2:1). From Rev 1:20, we know that the lampstands represent the seven churches in Asia Minor who would receive personalized messages from John here in Revelation. The angels are the seven men who would deliver and read these messages to the churches. By this introduction, Christ confirmed the importance His message to them.
A Positive Assessment of the Church’s Spiritual Condition
Christ made some positive observations about this church which we may summarize as faithfulness or diligence. To emphasize this evaluation, Christ used repeated two key words, labor and patience (Rev 2:2-3). Labor refers to difficult, painful, uncomfortable work. Patience refers to endurance through hard things over a long period of time.
They endured harmful teachings and hurtful people.
Through what trials did they persevere? They apparently encountered a barrage of influential people who were either immoral and unethical in behavior (“evil”) or were dishonest and unbiblical in teaching (“liars”). By using plural references here, we get the impression that this church endured multiple (not isolated) encounters with such people, a challenge that Paul had warned them would happen (Acts 20:29-31).
To the credit of the believers at Ephesus, they pushed forward out of respect to Christ and refused to give up. When yet another person encouraged ungodly values among them, they refused to go along. When yet another person promoted unbiblical teaching, they tested and rejected their teaching.
They especially hated the influence of the Nicolaitans.
Though Christ spoke in general terms without calling out these bad influencers by name, he later mentioned one of them (a group of them) by name – the Nicolaitans (Rev 2:6). In doing so, he commended the church for hating the actions of these people. Little is known of these people, but their influence spread beyond Ephesus, since they also infiltrated the church at Pergamos (Rev 2:15). So, what do we know about them?
Some focus on the word, which may combine nikao (“to conquer”) and laos (“people”), giving a meaning of something like “conquering the people.” In this view, Nicolaitanism foreshadows when the Catholic hierarchical system, governed by the pope, cardinals, etc. would lord their political authority over churches.
This view is unlikely. Historical records show that Nicolaitans were an actual sect with first-century influence, so Christ is using their name for historical not subliminal reasons. He was describing something that the church at Ephesus faced firsthand, not some phenomenon that would occur two centuries later. Furthermore, to extract a meaning like “conquering the people” from this word is a speculative approach without strong evidence and does not follow a good Bible study method.
We learn more about what the teachings of this group from Christ’s message to the church at Pergamos. In that message, he equated the Old Testament (OT) teachings of Balaam to the first-century teachings of the Nicolaitans (Rev 2:14-15). Balaam had taught people to merge biblical Judaism with pagan practices such as idolatry and immorality. Nicolaitanism apparently was a first-century equivalent to this lax, sensual, and syncretistic approach to life as an opposite extreme to legalism.
We should detest syncretism (ecumenicalism) and sensuality.
Both in the OT and New Testament (NT), God consistently pairs idolatry and immorality as hallmarks of paganism, of life apart from faith in and loyalty to the one, true God.1 Paul, for instance, denounced these things strongly to the church at Corinth decades before John wrote Revelation (1 Cor 6:15-18; 10:19-28). Irenaeus said that the Nicolaitans “lived lives of unrestrained indulgence,” and Clement of Alexandria said that they “abandon themselves to pleasure like goats … leading a life of self-indulgence.”2
People who suggest that Christians should integrate with other religions and be open to all forms of sexual expression in the name of Christian liberty and love may seem thoughtful and progressive, but they undermine the Christian faith and message. Like the church at Ephesus, we should strongly oppose any such influences in our church.
A Negative Assessment of the Church’s Spiritual Condition
The church at Ephesus encourages us today to remain faithful in resisting the recurring pressures we face to accept false doctrines and relax our moral values. Even so, Christ also gave them a negative critique. “Nevertheless, I have this against you,” he said, “that you have left your first love” (Rev 2:4). The word left also translates as abandoned and portrays departing from a former position, so from what had they departed?
They had abandoned love as their underlying motive.
By the time John delivered this message to Ephesus, the church there had become a second-generation congregation. Thirty to forty years had passed since when Paul had originally served them (Acts 19-20). Since that time, other men had served as their pastors, including Paul’s apprentice Timothy, followed by John the Apostle himself. They had also received a letter to them from Paul during his imprisonment in Rome.
From what Christ said about them here in Revelation, they had remained true to their doctrine and morality from one generation of members to the next. Even so, Christ was still concerned about their spiritual health. How could a church so determined to maintain their godly morals and sound doctrine still fail to please Christ? By doing these things without love as their underlying motive.
Perhaps we should recall what Paul taught the church at Corinth about love, that without love as our underlying motive, whatever we do, no matter how noble, amounts to nothing (1 Cor 13:1-3). Better yet, however, perhaps we should recognize how strongly Paul emphasized love in his previous letter to the church at Ephesus, a letter that explained God’s purpose for the church in this present age, to reveal the glory of God to men and angels (Eph 3:21).
With this background in mind, we see the significance of Christ’s criticism given to this church through John some decades later. Though they had diligently pressed on from one generation to the next, resisting false teachings and temptations to immorality, they had done so with their hands and their head, but not with their heart.
Christ urged them to remember, repent, and repeat.
This failure was no minor problem, as evidenced by the urgent warning Christ gave to them (Rev 2:6). Since they had wandered away from love as their underlying motive for doctrine and morality, he urged them to remember, repent, and repeat.
- Remember their original motivations of love for God and for one another.
- Repent (reverse course and turn back) to this original motive.
- Repeat (or do) things the way they used to do them, out of love and true devotion rather than mere dogged determination.
If the believers in the church at Ephesus (or any other church for that matter) refused to return to love as their true motive for life and service, then Christ warned that he would act quickly to “remove your lampstand from its place” (Rev 2:6). As believers and as a church, God intends for us to shine the light of his glory into the spiritually darkened world around us. A loveless church, no matter how diligent, fails in this mission and risks complete removal from service.
A Promise of Personal Blessing
In conclusion, Christ urges every believer with working ears to pay attention to the message he gave to the church at Ephesus (Rev 2:7). This was a private message with all Christians and every church in mind.
Those who persevere in love are true believers.
Those who hear this message and respond with increased love will give evidence of their genuine faith in Christ. They will persevere to the end of this life and overcome the many spiritual challenges they have. These true followers of Christ may suffer much in this life, yet in the end, they will receive rich rewards, including free access “to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God” (Rev 2:7).
God gives true believers access his personal paradise.
Its location, in the “paradise of God,” borrows a word from the Persian language to describe the massive, large-scale pleasure gardens that ancient Persian kings built for themselves. True believers (“those who overcome”) however will enjoy everlasting pleasure in the presence of God, which will permeate the New Heaven and Earth that he will make and that will endure forever. John will say much more about this New Creation in Rev 21-22.
Key Takeaways
Recognize the authority of God’s Word.
If a pastor or teacher gives a biblical message, we should receive and respond to that message as being from Christ himself. What’s more, we should rely on Christ’s protection whenever we give a message from God’s Word, no matter how difficult or unpopular that message may be to receive, such as this message to the church at Ephesus.
Be aware of Christ’s personal presence.
It’s too easy to go through the motions and forget that Christ is always present with us. It’s easier to stand for truth and morality when we know that Christ is walking among us, providing us with constant accountability and observation and with his backing and protection.
Don’t let the challenges of sound doctrine and moral living wear you out.
We may hope for a year when everything goes well, when everyone is happy, when the church grows steadily and no one leaves, and when nothing bad or difficult happens, but there is no guarantee of this. That life we yearn for exists in eternity, in the paradise of God around the tree of life. Only there will our challenges cease, our tears dry up, and our temptations fade away forever.
Hate what God hates and love what God loves.
Notice that Christ and the church at Ephesus hated the actions, influence, and teachings of the Nicolaitans but not the Nicolaitans themselves. In our hatred of all that is wrong, let us not fail to love the people for whom Christ died. In maintaining this mature, Christlike balance, we may win people over from false doctrine and sensual living, not by accepting their teachings and lifestyles, but by representing the truth in a loving way.
Do all things with love for Christ as your underlying motive.
As a church and as individual believers, we should be active in worship and service and in resisting false teachings and immorality, yet in all that these things we should do them out of love for Christ and not mere duty. Believers who serve Christ out of duty alone offer no light to the world and deserve to be shut down.
A church cannot resolve this problem, when it develops, at the macro level, though a Bible study like this can help. A church can only resolve this problem at the micro level, one person and member at a time. If you find yourself doing what you do as a Christian without that love for Christ that once motivated your life, worship, and service before, then remember what that was like, acknowledge that you’ve strayed away from that motivation of love, and get back to doing what Christians do out of love for Christ once again.
Thomas Overmiller serves as pastor for Faith Baptist Church in Corona, NY and blogs at Shepherd Thoughts. This article first appeared at Shepherd Thoughts, the excerpt used here is by permission.