Strong
Church/Weak Church 10
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| The ruins of Ephesus |
Last time we saw the genesis of the Ephesian church. Today we are going to examine its strengths, primarily
from John’s message to their church in Revelation
2.
The first strength I see here is that
they were a church that was hard at work serving the Lord.
Revelation 2:1–2
1 Unto the angel
of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven
stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks;
2 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:
“Works” and “labour” here are not the
exact same thing. Works is the idea that God knows exactly what you are doing
and not doing. It is a statement of accountability, and is found in reference
to all seven of the churches discussed in Revelation.
God was paying attention and knew what they were doing and not doing. I know… thy labour, on the other hand,
means God viewed them as a church that was hard at work serving Him.
We neither obtain salvation nor keep
salvation by our good works, but we are repeatedly commanded in the New
Testament to do good works. A good church is a church that is zealous unto good
works. In the original language, labor here means working to the point of utter
weariness. In the following verse John commends them by saying they had not
fainted (Revelation 2.3). Falling over from exhaustion is not a temptation
that comes to the lazy man, ergo they were spending themselves in their service
for Him.
Additionally, they were not only hard
at work for the Master but they did that work with the right motivation. And
hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast
not fainted (Revelation 2.3). They did not pour themselves into this
labor out of a desire to please their pastor, or because they were afraid of
God, or because their pride spurred them on in an effort to build a reputation.
They did it solely for the Lord. And that is a beautiful, beautiful thing.
The second strength I see here is that
they were a patient church.
Revelation 2:2–3
2 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:
3 And hast
borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast
not fainted.
In the original language patience
implies a persevering endurance. Proper work, good work, high quality work
simply must include patience. It requires a careful, methodical craftsmanship.
This is true if you are building a dresser or if you are building a new convert
into a Sunday School teacher.
Take witnessing, for example. Jesus told
us, but that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart,
having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience (Luke
8.15). Soul-winning is not a church growth method. It’s obediently sowing
the seed of the Word of God in the hearts of receptive and unreceptive alike.
It takes the Holy Spirit to bring that seed to life, regenerating a lost man,
and I cannot rush the work of the Spirit. I can pray for it, plan for it, and
prepare for it, but I cannot rush it. Often, it just takes time to bear fruit.
Many a pastor and many a church has gotten discouraged because some activity
they are doing does not seem to be bearing fruit. But when you connect that work
with patience you get “labour”, working patiently to the point of utter
exhaustion without giving up.
I want to go to Heaven exhausted. I want
to be used up in my service for Him.
The third strength I see in the Ephesian
church is the fact that they were fiercely independent.
I am an independent Baptist not by birth
but by conviction. I pastor an independent Baptist church. In practical terms,
that means our church does not belong to any larger denomination or
organization. We do not have any external support, nor do we have any external
controls either.
The biblical support for this position is
two-fold. First, it is based on the fact the church is local, not universal.
Second, it is founded on the idea that the only head of the church, any church,
my church or your church, is just Jesus Christ. This theological truth is twice
found, not surprisingly, in the epistle addressed to the Ephesian church.
Ephesians 1:22 And
hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all
things to the church,
Ephesians 5:23 For
the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the
body.
Plainly, they took this admonition
seriously. But this thou hast, that thou
hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate (Revelation 2.6). Who
or what were the Nicolaitans? In answer, I would point to the definition of the
underlying words themselves. “Nico” means to conquer, to get victory. “Laos”
means the people i.e. the laity, the layman. From those two root words we get
the understanding that says Nicolaitanism was to rule or to conquer the people.
It involved ruling over or lording it over God’s church.
This is warned against elsewhere in
Scripture. Neither as being lords over
God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock (I Peter 5.3). The pastor
as bishop does have some genuine authority in the church but it does not rise
to the level of dictatorship. He must ever be primarily an influence via his
preaching and his example.
John, the writer of Revelation, had previous experience with
this type of thing.
3 John 9–11
9 I wrote unto the
church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them,
receiveth us not.
10 Wherefore, if I
come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with
malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the
brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.
11 Beloved, follow
not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God:
but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
In that case, Diotrephes inserted
himself into the chain of command between the church and Christ. He claimed the
preeminence and the power. But who is to have the preeminence in each church?
Who alone is to exercise the power of lordship? Jesus Christ. And he is the head of the body, the church: who
is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have
the preeminence (Colossians 1.18). No man or group of men is to lord it
over God’s church. No man is have the preeminent authority to determine,
individually by himself, what the church should and should not do. Rather,
these matters are led by the pastor and agreed to by the church corporately.
We see this latter example of ministry
leadership and congregational ratification in the choosing of the first
deacons. It was a joint decision. The leadership cast the vision, and the
people entered into it willingly and actively with real influence.
Acts 6:1–6 (KJV
1900)
1 And in those
days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring
of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the
daily ministration.
2 Then the twelve
called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason
that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
3 Wherefore,
brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy
Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4 But we will give
ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
5 And the saying
pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of
the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and
Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set
before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
With this as the stated instruction
and exemplified illustration in the church how then did the Nicolaitans justify
their power grab? Via the guise of apostleship. See, the Apostles were the
earthly foundation of the church. They guided its affairs, often directly,
until the canon of Scripture was finalized. Paul appointed Timothy as a pastor
in both Ephesus and Crete without any indication of congregational agreement.
When dealing with the severely disordered church at Corinth he threatened he
would show up and set things in order when he got there. Of course, this
apostolic authority, like the apostolic sign gifts, was a temporary scaffold
designed to enable the church to grow to maturity in safety. Later, when the
New Testament was completed, the authority would belong exclusively to the Word
of God. (Remember the first B in the Baptist acrostic? The Bible is our sole
authority.)
Thus it is that if you want to
exercise human authority over a local congregation of called out believers you
say that you are an apostle. Ergo, they must listen to your edicts.
The classic ancient/modern example of
this is still found in the Roman Catholic concept of church structure and
government. It is universal (catholic) vs local. It is top-down authoritarian
vs congregational. The popes specifically claim the mantle of Peter’s apostolic
authority. The system thus produced is a parish that cannot choose its own
priests, does not own its own property, never sees a financial report let alone
votes on financial matters. Indeed, they never corporately decide anything in
relation to the will of God for their church. The whole, from top to bottom, is
controlled by a hierarchy external to the local parish – bishops, cardinals,
and popes
…but there are no more apostles. In
order to qualify as an apostle a man must have walked with Jesus personally,
been personally called by Him to the apostolic office, and prove this by his
power to do miraculous works (Acts 1, I
Corinthians 9, Luke 6, Acts 2, II Corinthians 12). The Apostles had no
successors, Catholic or otherwise. For
such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the
apostles of Christ (II Corinthians 11.13).
The church at Ephesus grasped this
doctrinal truth tenaciously and applied it fearlessly. They dealt harshly with
Nicolaitanism, the false doctrine of an external hierarchy ruling over the
local church in the name of apostolic authority. How do I know this?
Revelation
2:6
6
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the
deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Revelation
2:2
2
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:
Let’s hear three cheers for a
hard-working, rightly-motivated, patient, fiercely independent church.
That’s exactly what I want to build,
God being mine helper.
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