Ephesians: Introduction (7)
Pray Psalm 78.1-4.
Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
Sing Psalm 78.1-4.
(Foundation: How Firm a Foundation)
Give ear, O my people, attend to my word,
dark sayings and parables sent from the LORD,
things we have before by our Fathers been told,
which we would not dare from our children withhold.
Read and meditate on Revelation 2.1-7.
Preparation
1. What did Jesus commend about this church?
2. What complaint did He have against them?
Meditation
The experience of the churches in Ephesus tells us this much: You can be a good church, have lots of good things going, keep the faith and keep at it, stand firm against false teaching, and boast a solid history of doing all the best things, you can be such a church, and still be in a state of drift and decline.
Four apostolic epistles landed in the inbox of these churches—many churches, one Church of Ephesus. One by Paul and three of nearly equal length by John. These epistles were undoubtedly read and cherished. Not everyone would have had a copy, of course, but the leaders would, and they would have arranged for copies to be made for all the house churches that made up this one church.
And these letters—what earnest and glorious pleas they make for seeing Jesus, nurturing true fellowship in Him, abiding in Him, loving Him, building His Church to His glory and honor, and for remembering the grace of His salvation and our exaltation with Him! How can we fail to seek and adore and love and serve this glorious King?
By not listening. Not paying daily attention to Him and investing our energy instead in church programs and intellectual exercises of better-than-thou, and failing to emphasize the need for Scripture reading, meditation, and prayer. Thus, the good replaces the best and the church and its members begin to drift away from their first—and what should be their perpetual—love.
As we begin to listen to Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, let’s ask the Lord to help us do just that.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
This passage of Scripture is the stuff of all human tragedy (Rev. 2.4).
“My spouse no longer loves me.”
“My children don’t listen to me or love me.”
“My best friend of many years has drifted away from me.”
“My boss no longer appreciates me.”
This could be a never-ending list, but suffice it to say, when we are no longer loved, we know it.
When we are no longer loved, the relationship we are saddened about, falters and fades.
But worst of all, what if Jesus said to us, “You no longer love Me as you once did”?
Jesus came to earth as a Man to save us; but also to show us that life can be lived, as a human being,
in a way that pleases God. He did it. We are to do it also.
“For we do not have a High Priest Who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,
but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4.15).
And most of all, we are to love Him. Serve Him. Obey Him. And follow Him to the end (Ps. 119.112).
So, to be justly accused of wavering in our love for Him—in the wake of doing good—would be tragic.
Love and faithfulness are at the heart of every relationship. And most especially our relationship with God.
It is the summation of the first four commandments:
“I AM the LORD your God,
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself a carved image…you shall not bow down to them or serve them.
You shall not take the Name of the LORD your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” (Ex. 20.1-11).
For all the wonderful personal relationships we have with other people; the love we share with Jesus supersedes all others; for truly, no one loves us like Jesus does. And we should love no one else as much as we love Him. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (Jn. 15.16).
“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him…And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him…
We love Him because He first loved us” (1 Jn. 4.9, 16, 19).
If we truly listen to His Word we will know, in the depths of our heart and soul, that we are loved—fully, completely, eternally, and perfectly—and we will never, ever, want to be unfaithful to His love. Ever.
No one ever cared for me like Jesus
There’s no other Friend so kind as He
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me
O how much He cared for me.
(Charles Frederick Weigle, 1932)
My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death;
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow:
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
(William R. Featherstone, 1864)
Reflection
1. How could you tell if someone’s love for Jesus was beginning to falter?
2. What can you do to make sure yours doesn’t?
3. Whom will you encourage today to stand fast in their love for Jesus?
The sin Christ charged this church with, is, not the having left and forsaken the object of love, but having lost the fervent degree of it that at first appeared. Christ is displeased with his people, when he sees them grow remiss and cold toward him. Surely this mention in Scripture, of Christians forsaking their first love, reproves those who speak of it with carelessness, and thus try to excuse indifference and sloth in themselves and others; our Savior considers this indifference as sinful. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Revelation 2.1-7
Pray Psalm 6-16, 70-72.
Pray for revival—in yourself, your church, your church leaders, churches and church leaders throughout your community and around the world. Pray that all God’s people will hear Him calling us to repentance and revival.
Sing Psalm 78.6-16; 70-72.
(Foundation: How Firm a Foundation)
LORD, let all our children arise and declare
the truth of the LORD every day, everywhere,
and set all their hopes in God’s wonderful Word,
and never forget all the works of the LORD.
Our fathers were stubborn; they would not obey;
when faced with their foes they in fear turned away.
God’s work of redemption they wholly despised,
forgetting the pow’r He had shown to their eyes.
Now Jesus, God’s servant, is King evermore,
and we are His people, and He is our Lord.
His heart is upright as He leads by His hand
and causes us ever before Him to stand.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” turns to consider the unique “currency” of the divine economy. In our Read Moore podcast this week, we begin a new series on our book, Such a Great Salvation. Our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert finds him heading back to Ireland, confused and disappointed—but faithful. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
