If we want to read about how the church is built up in love through the Holy Spirit, we probably turn to chapter 4 of the book of Ephesians. If we want to read Paul’s prayer for understanding the great width and depth of Christ’s love for us, we find it in Ephesians chapter 1. If we want to find the passage on how to be equipped for spiritual warfare, we find it in Ephesians chapter 6. If we are looking for wisdom on marriage and other relationships, we will probably look first in Ephesians chapter 5. The letter to the Ephesians is probably the number one go-to resource on how to live the Christian life: Paul spent about three years with them, teaching them the principles that we read about in the letter, and his farewell message to them in Acts 20 has been described as one of the most moving passages in the Bible. Ephesus is where the term “Christian“ was originally used to describe the followers of Jesus, and since the word means “little Christ” they must have been getting something right.  Ephesus was the prototype Christian Church. About 35 years after it was founded, Jesus writes another letter to the Ephesians:

“I know your works, your labour, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have had patience, and have laboured from my name’s sake and have not become weary.“ (Revelation 2: 2-3)

If Jesus visited our church, especially today at a time when many high profile ministries may be said to come into the category of “those who say they are apostles and are not,“ we would probably feel very pleased with ourselves and consider that heaven looks upon us as a model church. But as we know, this is not the case. In fact their very existence as a church at all is precarious. Jesus goes on to say:

“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lamp stand from its place – unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:45)

Sovereignty and Presence
The message to the Ephesians is the first of the seven that John transcribes in his book. Jesus reveals himself to them as “ He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands,” emphasising His sovereignity over the churches and His presence among them. Nothing is more important to the church of Jesus than that we love one another: if we fail in this, we deny His Lordship and spurn His presence. So what does the Lord mean by “you have left your first love?”

He is talking here about “agape“ love, the self sacrificing love which Jesus demonstrated at the cross and which He calls us to show to one another. He is not talking about passionate worship, extended prayer times, or time spent in ministry, all of which can, and often do, come at no personal cost to ourselves. When He calls the Ephesians to repentance, He commands that they should do the “first works“ the works of love, again.

We don’t know what these works were, but I think we can safely assume that the first Christians in Ephesus would have responded wholeheartedly to Paul’s teaching, and that the “little Christs” would genuinely have been, to a degree, recognisably Christlike people. If Paul’s letter encapsulates the main theme of his three years’ ministry among them, we see that they would have been a people who were “being built together as a dwelling place for God in the spirit” (Ephesians 2:22) that they were “rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:17)) and therefore “knew the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (3:19), that they “walked with all loneliness and gentleness, bearing with one another in love, endearing to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace,” (4:12) that they ministered to one another as a body, “building themselves up in love” by the “effective working by which every part does it share,” (4:16) that they were kind to one another, tender hearted, and forgiving (4:32), and that they lived out their marital, family and work relationships according to godly principles. And of course none of this would have been possible without putting Jesus first in their hearts, laying down their lives, and living for one another out of the agape love of God “which has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5) Their “first love” had to be for Jesus and for one another, “for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can  he love God whom he has not seen? (1 John 4:20)

As the Lord walked around this lamp stand, He would have been blessed by its light, but now that light was going out and He was threatening to remove it altogether. The Greek word aphiemi, translated as “left” in verse 4, suggests a conscious act, a decision made to leave it behind, a turning away, rather than just negligence and neglect. It seems that the Ephesians had decided over the years that their labour, patience, hatred of evil, “outing” of false apostles, and perseverance were more important than gentleness, unity, and building one another up in Love. They valued ministry above Love, their church above their Lord.

The Tree of Life
However, all the admonishments in the seven letters to the churches are encouragements to overcome in their areas of defeat, as opp0sed to just reprimands and warnings, and in each case the overcomers are promised the reward that Jesus deems to be the most appropriate to their victory. To the Ephesians He says: “To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.“ (Revelation 2:7). I pondered over this, because – unless we have got our theology terribly wrong – we are saved by grace and not by works, so surely everyone who has accepted the lordship of Christ gets to eat of the tree of life? And the thought that came to me was this: just as Jesus “has life in Himself“ (John 5:26) and is thus able to impart that life to others in healing and other creative miracles, not to mention resurrection, maybe for us to eat of the tree of life is in some way connected to our own ability to impart God‘s life to others? How many resurrections have we seen lately?  For that matter, how many miraculous healings? I recall one meeting in our church this year was there were definitely a couple of healings, but that’s all. Maybe we aren’t eating of the tree of life? Maybe we have some repenting to do?

That thought has to be seen as speculation and not revelation, of course. But what is certainly true from the letter that Jesus wrote to the Ephesians is that we need to prioritize how we love Him and love one another above every other aspect of Christian life. And maybe, just maybe, if we do this we will start to see the miraculous happening more frequently among us.