Symptoms of a Problem - They Left Their First Love

Another outstanding building in this city was the temple to Hadrian, a caesar of the Roman Empire. The city offered its citizens the Celsus library for the purpose of education. Some people think of the cities of the past and their citizens as being backward and living in poor conditions but the photographs of the ruins reveal that this is not true of Ephesus. Remember that Ephesus had one of the Seven Wonders of the World for the family to see on the weekend!

I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. (NASB) Rev. 2:2-3

These believers worked hard for Christ and continued even when trouble came to them. They did not grow weary. The Greek word for “grown weary” is KOKOPIAKAS. It means “to be spent with labor” or “to be faint from weariness.” But they were not weary! It is easy for a Christian to become weary in the Lord’s work when their effort is for the wrong reason. When we serve for position, honor, or to earn the respect of a pastor, church leader, spouse, or some friend, our labor becomes discouraging and weary. Why were the Ephesians not weary? They were serving for “My name’s sake.” They did it for Jesus! They did not do it for anyone else. Does that sound as though they loved Jesus? The answer is “yes!”

The Ephesian Christians did something that is not very popular today in some churches. They did not endure evil men, and they questioned the claims of their church members. It appears that they practiced church discipline and removed from the church those who were evil and those who claimed to be apostles. This means that they evaluated the live and claims of men and women in the church. Christians often struggle with church discipline. Church discipline is the removal of someone from the church who continue in sin. Jesus told His disciples to do this in Matthew 18:15-20. This was His idea. It simply means that if we see another Christian sinning, it is our responsibility to help him or her stop. It is helping another Christian to be holy, even as Jesus is holy (1 Pet. 1:16). It is not for judgment or to punish someone. The Ephesians were faithful to do this. They did not tolerate evil men and liars. Sometimes church discipline is limited to adultery, but not here at this church.

Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. (NASB) Rev. 2:6

The Ephesians also hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans, a group of people who pursued pleasure. One of the early church fathers, Clement of Alexandria, said of the Nicolaitans “ . . . abandoning themselves to pleasure like goats . . . lead a life of self-indulgence; not knowing that the body is wasted . . . while their soul is buried in the mire of vice; following as they do the teaching of pleasure itself . . . “ (The Stromata, Or Miscellanies, Book 2, chap. 20). The Nicolaitans lived for pleasure. We see that in our world. The pursuit of pleasure is even common in the church, but it was not among the Ephesians.

But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent. (NASB) Rev. 2:4-5

They had left their first love. What does this mean? We already know that they had worked very hard for Jesus and had not grown weary. Did they disappoint the Lord by not working hard enough? The answer is found in Jesus’ warning to “repent and do the deeds you did at first.” Those words are easy to miss. It is easy to jump to the conclusion that Jesus was simply disappointed that they did not love Him enough. Their deeds were missing because their love was missing.

One evening, I climbed into my car and inserted the key to start my car. Nothing happened. So I tried again, and still nothing happened. I raised the hood of my car, and someone was kind enough to stop and help me start my car. Then I discovered the problem was my battery. The fact that my car would not start was the symptom and not the problem. The real problem was my battery. So it is with the Ephesians. The problem was their hearts' love for Jesus, and the symptom was the absence of some deeds they used to do!