CAREFUL EPHESUS - Ephesus was a “good” church, but the risen Lord Jesus had “somewhat against” them. Amid all of their careful attention to doctrine and to purity of leadership lifestyle, they had “left [their] first love.” They had fallen from the deep bond of love they had demonstrated years earlier. The drift away from that “first love” was so serious that the Lord warned Ephesus to repent or He would take away their “candlestick”) — their authority to represent Christ as one of His churches. Cold, precise doctrine must never take away our love for people or for the truth. - “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write;. . . I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars.” - This church, founded by the apostle Paul, had grown in its doctrinal precision and careful attention to the words of Scripture. They were intensely focused on purity of leadership and were vigilant against any form of false teaching. Most of us would find that kind of church a refreshing example to follow in these days of indifferent (and often heretical) theology. They hated the “deeds of the Nicolaitanes,” which was a horrible practice that the Lord Himself hated. Peter had warned against this domineering attitude in his first general letter to the churches when he insisted that the elders of the churches should not be “lords over God’s heritage, but [be] ensamples to the flock.” Ephesus was a “good” church, but the risen Lord Jesus had “somewhat against” them.

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Careful Ephesus

Cold, precise doctrine must never take away our love for people or for the truth

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Ephesus was a “good” church, but the risen Lord Jesus had “somewhat against” them. Amid all of their careful attention to doctrine and to purity of leadership lifestyle, they had “left [their] first love.”

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They had fallen from the deep bond of love they had demonstrated years earlier. The drift away from that “first love” was so serious that the Lord warned Ephesus to repent or He would take away their “candlestick”  — their authority to represent Christ as one of His churches. 

BY HENRY M. MORRIS III, D. MIN.  

 

 “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write;. . . I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars.” - (Revelation 2:1-2)

 

This church, founded by the apostle Paul, had grown in its doctrinal precision and careful attention to the words of Scripture.

They were intensely focused on purity of leadership and were vigilant against any form of false teaching.

Most of us would find that kind of church a refreshing example to follow in these days of indifferent (and often heretical) theology.

They hated the “deeds of the Nicolaitanes,” which was a horrible practice that the Lord Himself hated (Revelation 2:6).

Peter had warned against this domineering attitude in his first general letter to the churches when he insisted that the elders of the churches should not be “lords over God’s heritage, but [be] ensamples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:3).

Ephesus was a “good” church, but the risen Lord Jesus had “somewhat against” them.

Apparently, amid all of their careful attention to doctrine and to purity of leadership lifestyle, they had “left [their] first love” (Revelation 2:4).

They had fallen from the deep bond of love they had demonstrated years earlier when Paul called the elders to Miletus to encourage and exhort them to remain faithful to “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

They were so much in tune with Paul’s heart for the gospel that they “all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him” (Acts 20:37).

The drift away from that “first love” was so serious that the Lord warned Ephesus to repent or He would take away their “candlestick” (Revelation 2:5) — their authority to represent Christ as one of His churches.

Cold, precise doctrine must never take away our love for people or for the truth.

The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) wants people to know that God’s Word can be trusted in everything it speaks about—from how and why we were made, to how the universe was formed, to how we can know God and receive all He has planned for us.

After 50 years of ministry, ICR remains a leader in scientific research within the context of biblical creation. Founded by Dr. Henry Morris in 1970, ICR exists to conduct scientific research within the realms of origins and Earth history, and then to educate the public both formally and informally through professional training programs, through conferences and seminars around the country, and through books, magazines, and media presentations.

http://www.icr.org/article/10038/