Letters to the Church-Part One.

The Church at Ephesus 2:1-7


The Lord Jesus expressed both His care and concern for the saints in this congregation. This is a reminder that Jesus always cares for His Church. He is aware of the struggles that His Church has to endure in this world. The fact that some churches struggle might convince some that the Lord does not care about His people. The truth is that Jesus does care about His saints. He has never promised that the Church would ever have it easy. He has promised that He will always abide with His Church.(Matthew 28:20) He holds the Church in the palm of His hand and has given His Holy to both guide and strengthen the Church. He holds the promise of salvation and has open the Kingdom of heaven to all believers. It is a comfort to know that Jesus holds in the palm of His hand. There is nothing that is able to pull
His people away from Him. (Romans 8:38-39)

Jesus saw the condition of the Church at Ephesus, and He was aware of the hard work of these saints. He knew of all of the hardships that they had endured. The work of the Church is never easy; it takes hard work and faithfulness. It means enduring the attacks that come from the devil, the world, and the flesh. But it also means standing firm upon Christ and His Gospel. It means being both guided and strengthen by the Holy Spirit. No matter how difficult it might become, the Church is to remain faithful and carry out it's ministry of Word and Sacrament.

Jesus commended this congregation because it did not tolerate false teachers. The congregation had remained faithful and had rejected error. The Church of today must not tolerate nor ignore false teaching. Sadly, there those within the Church that do teach false doctrines. There are some denominations that claim to be Christian, but their doctrines often depart from the truth of the Scriptures. Those who teach and preach doctrine insult the Gospel, and harm the faith of many.False doctrine is like a cancer; once it spreads, it can destroy the whole body. Those who teach and promote false doctrine should lovingly, but firmly confronted. They should be shown their error and called to repentance. Because there are many false teacher believers should be grounded in the Word. They will not only grow in grace and knowledge,(2 Peter 3:18)they will want to flee from those who do teach falsely.(Romans 16:17) There is something else; they are better able to hold pastors and teachers accountable as they teach the Word.

Jesus not had words of praise for this congregation, He also had words of stern
correction. Jesus speaks both the Law and the Gospel to His Church. He not
only praises His Church, but He also speaks words of correction when needed.
When Jesus speaks a word of rebuke, He does so out of love. He corrects
those whom He loves.(Hebrews 12:5-11)

This Church had lost it's first love. They had lost their zeal for the Lord's
house. They had also taken the Gospel for granted. Has this happened to the
Church of today? Where is the zeal for the Lord's house? Have some believers
taken the Gospel for granted and have become "too comfortable with themselves?"
Some of these people are lax in attendance and in service.

A Church can lose it's first love when it no longer has the Gospel as the center
of it's preaching and teaching. When other things overshadow it's main task,
then it has lost it's first love. When a Church becomes more like a "social
club," then a place where the saints are equipped for mission, then it has
lost it's first love. The Church love should always be the Lord Jesus, and
His Gospel.

The Church should never lose sight of it's love. It's love for Christ should
be demonstrated by both it's words and actions. Through it's proclamation
and it's ministries of Human care, the Church shares it's love for Christ
with the world.

The Savior's stern words were followed by a call for repentance. Even the
Church needs to be confronted when it strays from the Lord. The Church
also needs hear words of correction and the call to repentance. The
Church must always be reminded of it's first love and it's mission.

Jesus called upon this Church to change it's ways. It had become too
comfortable with itself, and it had grown cold. It needed to "put first
things, first." It needed to renew it's zeal for Christ, and not allow
itself to lose sight of it's mission. They needed to keep the message focused
on the Gospel. The Church of today needs to keep "first things, first."
It should never lose it's zeal for Christ, but always be zealous for Him,
and for His Gospel. It should not allow the world to direct it's doctrine,
but always be guided by the Holy Spirit. It should never grow "cold" in
it's love, nor be afraid to proclaim the truth of the Gospel. A Church
that has Christ as it's first love will be zealous to share His love with
others in all that it does.

Jesus says; "He who has ears, let him hear what the
Spirit is saying to the Churches!"Let the Church listen to the voice
of the Holy Spirit. There are some Churches that are more concerned with
what the world has to say. They don't intently listen to the voice of Christ.
When Christ speaks, the Church should always listen. It is He, and not the
world that guides the Church. Christ still has much to say. The task of the
Church is to faithfully proclaim His saving message to the world.

Next blog: The Church at Smyrna