Revelation Chapter Two, The Error Of Ephesus

Revelation 2:4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

The KJV translates the verse, “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” The ESV renders the verse, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”

The essential meaning of this verse is that the Ephesian church’s singular error is thus: either they have abandoned Christ, their first love, or the zeal that love compelled has been lost, and their works are becoming by rote. That is, they are mechanical due to service or obligation rather than inspired by a genuine love of God and for the brethren and the lost.

We are to view the bond we have with Christ Jesus as a marriage covenant, 2 Corinthians 11:2. What inspires the newlywed husband or wife to act on behalf of their spouse? Pure unadulterated love, of course. That heady, marvelous first flush of love when it becomes intense, consuming, filling our thoughts with what is good for our other half. This is the kind of elated, hopeful, anticipatory love Paul wanted the Corinthian church to have. The gospel betrothed us, following a Jewish tradition. When a husband was affianced to a woman, she would remain in her father’s home while the bride-groom prepared a house for them to share. When it was ready-typically within a year–he would come for her. Jesus caught the spirit of this eloquently when He said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also,” John 14:3.

Love is the golden thread that undergirds the Christian faith. All that we do is to be inspired by love. We are to love God, Mark 12:30. We are to love our fellow believers, 1 John 3:14. We are to love the lost, for whom Christ died, Mark 12:31. We are even commanded to love our enemy, Matthew 5:44. We are told to practice these things because God is love, 1 John 4:8. God demonstrated His love for us sacrificially, John 15:13, 1 John 3:16. Love is the principle that we are to act out in daily life toward everyone, enemies included. Jesus left the commandment to the church that Christians love one another, John 13:34. Peter expressed that Christian love would cover a multitude of sins, 1 Peter 4:8. This type of love is expressive in what it does or accomplishes, 1 John 3:18. It does so because it is the Spirit of Christ at work in us; we are the conduits through which the love of God manifests in this world for the benefit of our fellow man and the glorification of the God whom we serve.

Though the Ephesian church has but a single fault listed against its otherwise impressive showing as a spiritual entity, it is a dangerous fault. Paul cautions the Corinthian church that if they lost their love all of their works and words were rendered moot, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. Love is an eternal, abiding quality within the church, 1 Corinthians 13:13. Paul says that it is the greatest, and that makes sense. Faith and hope will end, because when we stand in Christ’s presence hope will be sated and faith satisfied, Romans 8:24, see also Hebrews 11:1. To drift from a spirit illuminated and inspired by love asserts the reality that an altogether different spirit now energizes us. 

I fully believe that this is where errors such as legalism and license really find their footing, or fertile ground to begin sowing their noxious gifts. When we gather to worship, when we sing our hymns, preach the word, share with the needy, or any other number of things we may do, let us consider why we are doing them. Is it performative? Is it obligatory? Is it in the hopes of gaining something? Are we on auto-pilot? Like a spouse who can grow tired of his partner and develop a wandering eye, so too can the Christian lose interest in the very Savior that plucked us from Hell and death and appointed us to salvation and glory. Such is the fickle heart of man. Why the saint does what he does is more important than what we accomplish. God sees the heart; the outward appearance may impress the flesh, but God created the flesh and knows all things. If we have wandered it is high time to reconcile and recall our first love. Christ waits patiently, ready to forgive, His boundless love still an ever present delight for those who will be satisfied to live in it. Hosea reconciled even with his estranged, adulterous wife Gomer, Hosea 3:1-3. So too will God forgive and cleanse us of our spiritual waywardness, if we are willing to admit our wrong and return to Him.