Thinking in 3’s - Revelation 2:2-5 - Credits and Debits in Ephesus

Thinking in 3’s - Revelation 2:2-5 - Credits and Debits in Ephesus

In the very first letter to the churches in Revelation, to the church at Ephesus, Jesus commends, and condemns; He praises, and corrects; He credits, and debits. As He does this in our lives, we must be very careful to pay attention to both. We have a tendency to receive good news about ourselves, and ignore the words of correction.

Rev. 2:2  I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance,

The Ephesian believers had begun their walk by faith. You will remember Paul’s writings to these same people: 

Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Clearly we are not saved by our works, toil and patient endurance. But their faith shaped their conduct, and it expressed itself in good works. Again, we are not saved by our good works, but we are saved for good works.

Jesus expands His commendation of endurance in the second set of three:

Rev. 2:3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 

Sometimes when we are involved in good works, we can feel beaten down and tired out. The Ephesians believers had resisted this danger, and were continuing to labor, unlike some of the other descriptions that we find in these seven letters to the seven churches. They had not thrown in the towel. They had not become self-centered. They had not retired from ministry (as we age through this life, our ministries may change, but new ministry takes their place. I suspect that prayer becomes more and more the ministry of the elderly).

But, Jesus adds to these two 3’s of credits a third 3 that would be required to remedy a serious debit. That fault is described like this:

Rev. 2:4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

I mentioned that the Ephesian believers began with faith, and then proceeded to works. But now we see that their faith was now lacking the essential component of love.

Faith and love go together. Again, referring back to Paul’s words to these same believers:

Eph. 1:15   For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 

A faith without love becomes a calcified love, and the works that proceed from a calcified faith are works of dry duty rather than joyful service. Yes, people can gut it out, hating the work but feeling good about themselves because they did their duty and checked off the list. But this kind of work is not a fruit of the Spirit. It actually becomes religious activity that proceeds from the flesh rather than the Spirit. It falls into the category of “filthy rags (KJV):

Isaiah 64:6 and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

Further, these works are not only damaged on the front side, showing something serious about ourselves, but they also are damaged on the back side, in that they are not enabled by the Spirit to produce powerful results.

It is easy for us to fall into this condition, to do one’s duty, going through the motions, but without humility and prayer, without faith and love. We need to beware.

And thus the remedy, the 3rd 3:

Rev. 2:5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.

Remember, repent, and return to your former ways, when you served the Lord with willingness and joy.