The Letter to Ephesus

The last three lessons were based on God’s message of no compromise, found in the book of Revelation. I wrote about the corruption that is epitomized by the Mother of Prostitutes, and the purity that is found in the bride. Today we will look at the successes and failures of the first of the seven churches Jesus spoke to in the book of Revelation.


The first church is Ephesus (Rev 2:1-7). Jesus begins by asserting His authority and right to ministry, stating He “holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.” The stars are God’s messengers and the lampstands are churches (Rev 1:20). Jesus holds the churches and the messengers from God to the churches in His hands. He is the Apostle of our Faith, and our great high priest (Heb 3:1).

Those who minister to God’s people on His behalf are depicted as stars, each reflecting the light of the sun, or Son of God. Without this light their lampstands would remain dark. Many times Jesus said that He was the light of the world; He is the One who brings us truth.

The Ephesians tested ministers to see if they were true apostles, and found some to be false. This showed they held the truth, and authenticity, in high regard. Jesus knew their deeds, and their endurance in the face of hardship, and commended them. However, Jesus also knew that all these things can come from a spirit of religion. He was looking for the Ephesian’s love of Him.

Jesus points out to the Ephesians that they had left their first love. There is a discourse in Jesus parables called “treasures in heaven” wherein Jesus uses three illustrations to depict the state of the heart (Mt 6:19-24). The first admonishes us to store up treasures in heaven rather than on earth, for where your treasure is there also is your heart. Our outward affections can be manifested by what we have, and by what we do, and when tied to this life will pull our love away from the One who is the giver of Life.

The second illustration is about the eye of the body, which gives it light. Paul writes a prayer to the saints that the “eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know . . .“ (Ephes 1:18). Here we see that light is necessary in the heart to bring understanding of what we are to receive from God. Without God’s light, we have an “eye” that is “full of darkness” (Mt 6:23).

In the third illustration we read about serving two masters; God, and Mammon, or earthly goods. It will tear our heart apart to let them both be our masters, and in the end we will hate God. These three parables show us the conditions that can turn the heart away from her first love of God: affection of what we have and what we can do; not having a heart full of truth; and serving our possessions.

The Ephesians were delivered from all forms of worldliness when they were translated out of darkness and into the kingdom of light (Col 1:13). They even hated the practice of the Nicolaitans who compromised the truth to allow sin in the life of the believer. Their church had noteworthy deeds and their elders had great discernment. But all Jesus did for them did not keep love for Him burning in their hearts. They had forgotten Whom their ministry and church had come from, and what state He had redeemed them from. When we forget our love of Jesus and appreciation for the redemption of our lives, our works will come from a spirit of religion and we ourselves will become inwardly dark.

Jesus’ admonition to the Ephesians is to return to those things they did at first, which sprung from love. Interestingly, He states that eating from the tree of Life is a privilege, and only after returning to their love of Him will they have this privilege. We see, then, that love has the power to keep the heart pure and the works that proceed will be holy. Let us remember Who holds us in His hands, and where our ministries come from. If we return to God with all our hearts we will have the privilege to eat from the tree of Life in His paradise. Amen.