THE KING’ S BUSINESS
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have been looking upon a fair picture, won drous fair, and then comes the “but,” dreadful “but.” What was wrong? “Thou didst leave thy first love.” Outwardly everything was still right, but at the heart ■everything was all wrong. It is often so, that when a church or an individual believer has grown cold at heart, they still for awhile keep up the old activities. But it will not be for long. When the love o f Christ grows cold in the heart o f the indi vidual, or o f the church, even though there is still great activity outwardly, and great sacrifice, there must be immediate and thoroughgoing repentance, or the church or the individual will be set aside. The all important question is not how much is one doing, or even how much is one suffering, for Christ, but how much love is there for Christ in the heart (cf. 1 Cor. 16:22). vs. 6, 7. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds (works) o f the Nicolai- tanes, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto (to) the churches; (.) To him that overcometh (add , to him) will I give to eat of the tree of life, .which is in the midst o f the paradise (is in the Paradise) of~ God.” Here a- seventh good thing is stated concerning the Church, in Ephesus, they hated a form o f false teaching that was also hateful to the Lord Himself. It was not merely the doctrine that they hated, but the “works” o f those who held the doctrine. That is one o f the great evils about false doctrine, it leads inevi tably to wrong conduct. There is a good deal o f uncertainty as to just what the doc trine o f “the Nicotaitanes” was. The deri vation o f the word suggests, “those who conquer the people;” and therefore it has been urged with a good show o f reason that the Nicolaitanes were a party who were endeavoring to rob the laity o f their rights and bring them under the domina tion o f a priestly caste. In that case we have here the beginnings o f Popery, and Popery, not only as it exists in the Roman Catholic Church, but as it exists in prac tically all denominations; for the essence
not something that we can commend in it before we proceed to the rebuke and warn ing. The Lprd fully noted for commenda tion in the Church in Ephesus six things: (1) “Works,” it was a thoroughly live and active church. It came well up to the twentieth century standard o f church effi ciency. (2) “ Toil,” the church in Ephesus was not only ready to do easy work (such as the professing church is for the most part occupied with to-day), but hard, pain ful toil, such as the average church mem ber to-day shrinks from and absolutely refuses to do. (3) “ Patience,” i. e., stead fast endurance under temptation,, trial and discouragement. (4) Faithful dealing with evil men and impostors. Paul had warned the elders o f the church in Ephesus that such men would arise among them, and had told them what to do when they did atise (Acts 20:17, 29, 30), and this pre diction o f Paul had come true, and the Church in Ephesus had proven true Under this trial o f faith. (5) Suffering for Christ’s name’s sake. The Church in Ephesus had not even shrunk back when called upon to actually suffer for the name o f Him whom they professed to love. (6) They had “not grown weary.” They worked and toiled and suffered on, and did not grow weary in well-doing and in suffering. It surely looks as though the Church in Ephesus were a model church. It certainly was far beyond the average church o f the present day. But the closely watching Lord says, “ No, you are so far from being a model church, there is some thing so seriously wrong with you, that unless you repent, I will come, and take away your opportunity for testimony and service.” vs. 4, 5. “Nevertheless (But) 1 have somewhat ( this) against thee, because ( that) thou hast left thy first love. Remem ber therefore from (omit, from) whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will (omit, will) come unto (to) thee quickly (omit, quickly), and will remove (move) thy candlestick out of his (its) place, except thou repent.” We
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