Recapture: Your First Love (Rev 2:1-5)
- Christians are supposed to be known for their love. Remember Jesus’ word’s in John 13:35
- Rev 2–5 We have to start with learning some things about the church in Ephesus and the city of Ephesus.
- We see the birth of the church in Ephesus in Acts 19:1-7
- But they were trying to do church and the Christian life without the Holy Spirit.
- Later Paul returns to Ephesus and stays there for two years teaching them they had good doctrine.
- Now about the city. We know that were still many Jews in the city Acts 18:19
- Both from scripture and from extra-biblical history we also know that this city was the home to some of the Greek gods. Acts 19:35
- The city was also prone to the false Apostles of the day. Rev 2:2 false prophets and Apostles were plenty.
- But all of that to say the he city of Ephesus was a city ripe with syncretism.
- Judaism, Greek gods and mythology, and Christianity in it’s earliest form, and probably Gnosticism were all present.
- It was into this milieu of syncretism that the Ephesians Christians were trying to do church.
- This made for a tough environment to do the Christian life. Acts 20:29-30
Verse 4 In this constant fight against syncretism., while they may not have grown weary, Jesus does say they have lost their love.
- What does Jesus mean by You have forsaken the love you had at first.
- In Greek it’s the word Agape, which means brotherly love.
- Remember when someone asked Jesu what is the Greatest Commandment? Matt 22:37-40
- So here in Rev 2 when Jesus says you have lost the love you had at first, He means both their love of god and their love of neighbor.
- In the constant battle to fight against syncretism they lost both their love for God and for people in general.
Verse 5-6 This loss of love is so serious that Jesus says it is sin, and they are in danger of Him taking away the church.
- I have to think, if we are going to recapture biblical church and Christianity, we have to ask ourselves where is our love level?
- There are two parts to this.
- First, where is my love level with God?
Second, where is my love level with other people, even people I disagree with.
- Matt 24:11-12 There is no doubt that there is an increase in wickedness, but as Christians is our love growing cold?
And remember this: 1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
- To recapture our love, we must remember that is starts with his love.
- So, we can pray and ask the Lord to restore our sense of His love, so that we can love others.