The Message of the Teachings on the Mount (92)
By Abraham Eli
This study was first taught on October 18, 2011
Topic: Entering Into The Kingdom of Heaven (3.1.3)
No audio available for this study.Background
Last week, we concluded on our observations of the Lord’s message to the church in Ephesus. We made two additional observations after the five we had made two weeks ago, and these were, the Lord’s warning, and the reward promised.
We saw that the Lord’s warning was not directed at the church in Ephesus only, but to all the churches, including people in this present generation, and in generations to come. It was directed at people who are able to hear, and willing to heed (hearken to) the warning. We noted that to be able to hearken to the Lord’s warning, we must first get rid of the filth of sin and excesses of evil in our lives; we must have a meek/humble disposition to the word of God; and, we must gladly welcome God’s word into our hearts. We made a note of other obstacles to hearkening to Christ’s warning; and these are hardness of heart, unbelief, and refusal to incline one’s ears (rebellion). We noted also that when we act promptly on the word of God, and patiently endure the challenges we encounter in the course of acting on the word of God, we are indeed hearkening to Christ!
Next, we saw that the reward Christ promised is that He will grant those who overcome, that is, those who are victorious over life’s challenges and the devil’s temptation, to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God. This was the tree which God prevented Adam and Eve from eating lest they remain in an unrepentant state forever.
We thus paraphrased Revelation 2:7 to read, “If you are willing and able to receive, accept, and do what the Spirit is telling all of you (not just those of the church in Ephesus); and if you are able to endure and prevail over all that is thrown at you by the devil, the world, the religious hierarchy, and your flesh; then, I will give you access to eat of the fruit of the tree of life, which will enable you to live forever in your state of righteousness. This tree of life was denied to Adam and Eve, and all men who have followed in their disobedience; but to all who will walk in total obedience to God, not only in the beginning, but all through their Christian walk, even until the very end shall be granted access to freely partake of the tree of life, which brings healing and restoration to the nations.”
Scripture Text(s)
Matthew 7:21-22; Revelation 2:4
Tonight, we shall be looking at the sole complaint the Lord had against the church in Ephesus: “thou hast left thy first love”. We pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to apprehend and comprehend what He is saying to us in these few but profound words, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
There is a word (‘left’) and an expression (‘first love’) which, if adequately defined, will give us understanding of what the Lord’s complaint was, against the church in Ephesus, and possibly against the church in this present generation. Interestingly, on this one complaint, hung the eternal future of the church in Ephesus!
Job 23:12b; John 4:31-34; Luke 16:13; Romans 6:16; Matthew 6:21; Ephesians 1:15; 1 John 4:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Hebrews 6:10; Mark 3:14-15; John 21:15-19; 1 Peter 5:1-3; 2 Corinthians 5:13-14.
Conclusion
In studying the Lord’s complaint against the church in Ephesus, we noted that His comment, “thou hast left thy first love” is a statement in the past tense, implying that the act of abandonment or desertion had already taken place. We have also seen that the ‘first love’ is that object or subject of pre-eminent affection, attention, devotion, or treasure in the heart of any man. We have seen that Christ Himself is the ‘first love’ that the church has abandoned or deserted. Thus, the Lord’s complaint against the church in Ephesus, and possibly against us today, is that the church has abandoned or deserted Him for another object or subject of affection. He is no longer the centre of the affection, attention, and devotion of the church; hence, our service to Him is selective, and based on what, who, where, and when we want to serve.
Relating this to Christ’s comment in Matthew 7:22, we can see that the claim of many people to doing the work of God in His name (that is, by His authority), is a fallacy, and cannot grant them access into the kingdom of God, when He is not the basis of such work. Christ is looking for those people who will do the work of God based on faith in Him, love for Him, and hope in Him. Hence, when Christ calls people to Himself, the first thing He is concerned with, is that they know Him enough to put all their trust and hope in Him, and that they love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:29-31). Christ is to be pre-eminent and uppermost in our ministry to people and in our service before God, or else, we would be doing what we please; not what pleases Him; and we will not obey Him!
What Christ expects us to say to Him is not that we have prophesied or preached, cast out demons, and done wonderful works in His name; rather, that we have prophesied or preached, cast out demons, done wonderful works, and laboured in His vineyard, because of our pre-eminent affection and devotion to Him!
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