RESTORE YOUR FIRST LOVE
Revelation 2:1-11
Key Verses: 2:4-5a
“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”
In chapters 2 and 3, glorious Jesus sends out his special messages to seven churches in Asia Minor, which would be modern-day Turkey (Turkiye). Jesus speaks to each of these churches, confronting the danger that is creeping into the churches from the pagan culture by which they were surrounded. Throughout these letters from Jesus himself, we can hear his message for us.
The church is very special to Jesus as he is the head and we are the body of his church. These days, many church leaders in America are concerned about how the church should operate. Some try to apply business principles to the church, others try sociological and psychological approaches. Some try to make the church fun and attractive to the general public so that it can be a great place to hang out. These approaches may be helpful. But we should carefully consider what kind of church Jesus desires us to be. The church must listen to Jesus’ words more. The church must love Jesus more than anyone or anything else. As Jesus speaks to them, he first reveals who he is. He commends them and rebukes them according to the condition of their heart and love. Although these writings were specific messages to these seven churches, it is good for us to listen carefully as it is also Jesus’ message for us. Today we will study the messages to the churches at Ephesus and Smyrna.
The church at Ephesus was established by the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul’s ministry during his third missionary journey. As we can see through Acts 19, Paul taught the words of God daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus for two whole years. The whole city was stirred. All the Jews and Greeks who lived in the Asia Minor heard the word of God. New churches were established, including the six others addressed here. Tradition tells us that Paul’s successor in Ephesus was Timothy, who was followed by Onesimus. Later, Apostle John moved to Ephesus and led the church. The Ephesian church had such a strong and rich history and was very influential. Jesus commends this church greatly for their hard work and perseverance. Yet, one thing displeased Jesus: They had lost their first love. Have you ever had your first love with Jesus? If so, when was it? Have you kept your first love with him since? Or have you lost it? Today, we want to consider why keeping the first love matters. We want to ask Jesus to please help us to restore our first love for him. May the Holy Spirit help us to remember our first love, repent of the sins that caused us to fall, and decide to do what we did at first for Jesus. Amen
First, Ephesus, the mother church (1-7).
Verse 1 begins, “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write….” Here the word “angel” literally means “messenger.” At that time the New Testament had not been put together. The letters from multiple Apostles were circulated among the churches through these angels or messengers whose task was to deliver this message to the church. What we should point out here is that the glorified Jesus himself is speaking to the church. Jesus’ message to all seven churches begins, “These are the words of him…” (2:1b,8b,12b,18b; 3:1b,7b,14b). Jesus’ words are not merely human words, but the word of God. So we must listen carefully to these messages. Jesus begins his message to each church by revealing who he is to them. To the Ephesians, he is “him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands” (1c). What does that mean? This means that the glorious Jesus protects, provides for, and guides the church’s messengers and reigns over them. He walks among his churches, observing their deeds and heart conditions. Although he is sitting on his heavenly throne, he is present with his church to minister among them.
In verses 2-3, Jesus commends the good deeds of the Ephesian church. He begins by saying, “I know,” which is repeated ten times in chapters 2-3 (2:2[2],9[2],13,19; 3:1,8[2],15). Jesus knows the deeds and the heart of his church. When no one notices our good deeds and good intentions, we could feel sorry and weary, and question ourselves if we should keep on doing good deeds. Remember that Jesus knows!
Jesus’ evaluation of the Ephesian church was generally very good. First of all, he commended their deeds, which were hard work and perseverance (2a). “Hard work” means toil to the point of exhaustion. They were not spectators or pretenders, but active workers who gave their mind and strength to serving Christ. When they faced hardships, they did not give up but pressed on and overcame the situation. Although we do not know exactly, we can imagine them dedicating themselves to evangelize and discipleship in their city through Bible study and prayer. Ephesus was the center of worshiping the Greek goddess Artemis (also known as Diana to Romans). This idolatry was extremely immoral. Not only so, Ephesus was the center of emperor worship. In this kind of hostile environment, the church engaged in spiritual warfare. Moreover, as the mother church, they supported the other churches. Many people came to them, and they provided spiritual and practical help. They were like NJ UBF house churches who always welcomed guests with open arms, provided lodging and food, and shared the word of God and encouragement.
The Ephesian believers were also very discerning (2). They knew what was good and what was evil. They knew what was right and what wrong. They did not tolerate wicked people. They tested false apostles and found them to be liars. In this way, they protected the gospel and remained faithful to the truth. They had been working hard, struggling for the truth, and enduring hardships for Jesus for many decades and had not grown weary (3). What an exemplary church it must have been!
Then Jesus continues with the word “Yet”. The Ephesian church was commendable in many ways. But one thing displeased Jesus. Let’s read verse 4: “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” The word “forsaken” is a strong word. Another version says, “abandoned”. Jesus’ strong language here indicates that there was something seriously corrupt with them. We don’t know exactly why they had forsaken their first love. But we can try to understand. Perhaps, in their pursuit of sound doctrine, they had become legalistic, self-righteous, and judgmental. This could have caused grace and love in them to diminish. It is also possible that they gradually fell under the influence of Ephesian culture. Ephesus had a huge international marketplace full of all kinds of luxury items; even Cleopatra shopped there. They also had entertainment, including Greek dramas (like K-drama nowadays) and gladiator games (like UFC fights these days). There were numerous prostitutes in the city whom the devil used to make the believers fall. Living in that environment, Ephesian believers might have given in to the culture of idol worship. This could have made their love for Jesus grow cold.
In church, they were doing what they always did. They did the things that were expected of them according to their tradition and programs. They did that because it was the way others evaluated them, respected them, and honored them. Their theology and doctrine were sound. Faithfulness was there, duty was there, and responsibility was there, but the passion for Christ was gone. There was no great scandal or loss of financial or human resources, but their hearts grew cold. Their burning love, zeal, and passion for Christ were fading away. And Jesus said, “I hold this against you,” and, “You have forsaken the love you had at first”. He said this harshly to them because he wanted to restore them. Jesus had shown his love by giving his life as a ransom, dying on the cross for all of our sins. His love has no limit; it is unchanging. He wants us to love him as he loves us. As we love him more and more, we can live a happy and fruitful life.
How then can we restore our first love for Christ? Jesus gives us three practical steps to take:
1. Remember – He says, “Consider (Remember) how far you have fallen” (2:5a). What he is saying to them is, “Go back and remember the days that you lived without Jesus. Remember what it was like to worship idols, and pursue the desires of youth. Remember how desperate and helpless you were! Then also remember what happened when I came into your heart! Remember when the preaching of the gospel came to your heart, and you were given faith to believe, repent, and be transformed. Remember the love you had for me at the beginning of your journey of faith.” Do you remember the joy, the excitement, the satisfaction, and the overwhelming joy and peace when you first met Christ? Jesus commands us to remember and see where we are now, and how far we have fallen from our first love for Jesus.
2. Repent – He says, “Repent… If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (2:5b and 5d). Leaving our first love is a sin. And when we have fallen into sin, we need to repent, confessing our sins. Repentance is more than just feeling sorry for our sins; it is a turning away from sin and a turning back to God. It involves a change of heart and a change of direction. We must confess the sin of losing our first love, the sin of routine and habitual approach to worship and everything else in our Christian life. We must confess our sin of serving the Lord without excitement, passion, and joy. If you came to love something more than Jesus, whether it is money, lustful desires, self-righteousness, entertainment of the world, or even your studies or your family, let us repent! If we do not repent, we along with our church be removed by Jesus.
3. Repeat (Do) – He says, “Do the things you did at first.”(2:5c). In other words, Jesus commands, “Go back! And return to the practices that fueled your love for Christ at the beginning whether it was sincere prayer, reverent worship, unending praise, passionate witnessing to Jesus and studying His Word, and loving fellowship with our brothers and sisters, Jesus tells us to go back and do them! Jesus does not want us to make promises and do nothing about it. Jesus wants us to practically do the things that please him and make him happy. It was Jesus who said, “If you love me, keep My commandments.” It was Jesus who said, “If you love Me, feed My sheep.” Let us love Jesus by making the first actions of faith once again!
While preparing this message, I had an opportunity to think about this question. With what kind of love, am I loving Jesus? I love Jesus, don’t you? Yes, we all love Christ, but the level of that love can change. I remember how Jesus came into my heart. Towards the end of my high school years, I was captured by my sins of lust, greed, and bitter resentment towards God and others. I was full of rebellious spirit and sinful thoughts. Committing sins gave me an instant excitement and satisfaction but the sense of guilt and condemnation afterwards buried me more deeply. I felt like I was stuck in a deep and dark pit without a way out. I was desperate for a light. I was desperate for peace. Then I remember when I knelt down before Jesus out of my helplessness and desperation. I remember when Jesus came to me and met me. He helped me to confess all of my sins based on his words in John 4. He did not condemn me but comforted me with unspeakable joy and peace. I received his forgiveness and love. I experienced the presence and the goodness of God.
Since then, my life’s perspective changed. Everything I felt and saw changed. I was no longer focused on pleasing my flesh with my sinful desires. I sought to love Jesus and please him with my actions and thoughts. Everything I did, I concerned with Jesus. Jesus became my first priority. I wanted to make sure to love him back because his love for me was abundant and real. I also didn’t want to hold this great love only to myself, so I openly shared my life testimonies and witnessed them to Christ. The songs of praise and worship came out from my heart, not my mouth. Since then, about 2 decades have passed. And I hear Jesus’ words today, “You have forsaken the love you had at first. Remember, repent, and repeat to do the things that please me.” I repent that I have placed Jesus as my number 2, 3, and 4 as work, family, and self-satisfaction occupied my heart. I repent that my praise, worship, and Bible study came to be missing my heart, sincerity, and passion. Dear God, I confess that my heart for Jesus has grown cold and dry over the years. But I ask you to please restore my first love with Jesus. Please put the fresh breath of the Holy Spirit, and let me be reminded of your love for me, so that my love for you may fully restore. Amen!
After helping us to restore our first love, Jesus gives us some more words of encouragement. He commended the Ephesian church for hating the practices of the Nicolaitans, which he also hated. The Nicolaitans abused grace in the name of liberty. They promoted self-indulgence and hedonism. Their teaching was like a poison that contaminated the pure gospel. Such teaching and practice cannot be tolerated. Jesus hated it, the Ephesians hated it, and we must hate it. Jesus concluded this letter in verse 7. First, he said, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (7a), which is repeated to each of the seven churches. Then Jesus gave a promise: “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (7b). In this context, the victorious are those who restore their first love for Jesus through sincere repentance. They are promised to have eternal life in the kingdom of God.
Second, Smyrna, the suffering church (8-11).
Now Jesus speaks to the church at Smyrna through its messenger (8a). Surprisingly, there was no rebuke mentioned towards them. The city of Smyrna was a harbor city, located about 35 miles north of Ephesus. It was a beautiful city with paved streets, a library, and a gymnasium. It was a center of emperor worship, as well as the worship of Roman and Greek gods such as Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, and especially Cybele the mountain mother of the gods. During Emperor Domitian’s reign, everyone in the city was forced to worship the emperor. It was very difficult for this church to survive. But they stood for the truth and refused to compromise. They loved Jesus and remained faithful to him. As a result, they were hated and persecuted.
Jesus revealed himself to this church, saying, “These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again” (8b). This means he is the eternal, infinite God, who already existed before the beginning of creation and who will continue to exist after they face their end. Yet, amazingly, this eternal God became a human being, and died for our sins and came to life again, destroying the power of sin and death. Jesus is the Living One (1:18). Hearing this, Jesus must have been a great comfort to the suffering Christians in Smyrna. Jesus knew their afflictions and their poverty (9a). Sometimes when we experience hardships, we feel all alone and that nobody can understand us. But Jesus knows our sufferings and poverty very well. Though he knows everything, he does not comfort us with human sympathy. Rather, he turns our eyes to his spiritual blessings. He said, “…yet you are rich!” Though Smyrna was materially poor, they were spiritually rich.
Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days” (10a). Knowing they would be persecuted; Jesus did not take it away. Rather he gave them the strength to endure it. The devil would try to destroy the church. Yet Jesus would use it for good to test and purify his church. Though persecution may seem unending for those enduring it, Jesus limits it. After a short, intense ten days of suffering, Jesus would give them victory. In times of persecution, we should trust in Jesus, be patient, and endure until he gives us victory. Jesus encourages us, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” (10b). Can we be faithful to Jesus? Even to the point of death? If we do, we are promised life, the everlasting life! Jesus concluded by saying, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death” (11). They will not be judged but have eternal life. The city of Smyrna still exists and there are Christian churches there.
Thank God for giving us this passage, through which Jesus challenges us to restore our first love for him. Let us pray that we can take steps to restore our first love. Let us remember, repent, and repeat doing the things that draw us closer to Him. Please pray for me to restore my love for Jesus by faithfully gathering daily bread and weekly testimony. As we do so, may our love for Christ burn passionately once again. We are also challenged by the church of Smyrna that fought a good fight against the severe hardships and persecutions with their resurrection faith. Let us believe in Jesus who is the first and the last, and who defeated the power of sin and death. May God continue to bless you to meditate and practice his words. Let us pray.