THE DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES

In this chapter, we are deliberating on the revelation of the seven churches, which was found in
revelation, and we are studying this because it will make us more aware of How God wants the
church to look like most especially in such a time as this when the church has lost her grips.

Why do we have only seven churches, and why these seven in particular?" The only plausible
explanation is that these are representative churches.

They are churches that have been carefully chosen. When John wrote this letter, the province of
Asia had many other churches.

Others could have been chosen, but only these seven were chosen. They were not even the most
well-known churches in Asia, but the Lord chose them to represent conditions that will exist
throughout the entire period of church history, from beginning to end.

So the church of God needs to take note of this vital thing that the spirit of God is rendering out.
In chapter one, certain principles were discussed, which, when considered, serve as the backbone
of our steadfast commitment.

The Epistle to the church of Ephesus

Love is the important word in the Lord's Epistle to the church in Ephesus. The church was
occupied with the works of God. Even heaven was aware of their toil and endurance and how
they could not bear with those who were evil, even bearing up for the sake of the name of the
Lord, but the Lord had something against them; they abandoned their first love.

One of the principles we shared in chapter one is the principle of our love life. Our love for the
Lord is one of the fundamental requirements for having a church life. Of course, there is no issue
with the Lord's Love for us.

He has always loved us and will continue to do so. The issue is with our love for Him. Where has
our love for God gone, despite the fact that we have loved Him in the past? There is a risk that
our love for the Lord Jesus will fade for those who still love him.

Scholars of Revelation disagree on what "love" the Ephesians had "abandoned. The answer is
partly determined by how one interprets and translates the word "first." Is it referring to "first" in
terms of time or chronology? That is the viewpoint the ESV holds, "you have abandoned the love
you had at first." The idea is that this is a "love" they felt right after their conversion and in the
early days of their Christian life. Although the ESV does not specify it, the implication is that the
"love" they had abandoned was brotherly Love, Love for other Christians in the church. Others
argue that this love was "first" because it is the most important love anyone can have; that is, that
primary love for the Lord Jesus Christ comes before or takes precedence over all other loves in
terms of value. The NAS suggests this viewpoint: "you have abandoned your first love." If the
emphasis is on that "love" that is most important, that "love" that must be pursued above all other
loves, it must surely be Love for Jesus himself. Two contextual clues suggest that the reference is
primarily (but not exclusively) to "brotherly" love.

First, how can they have abandoned their Love for Christ when, in the verse immediately
preceding it (v. 3), Christ himself commends them for patiently enduring for the sake of his
name?

The latter words imply, if not demand, the devotion, affection, and Love for Jesus that would
inspire them to suffer in order to promote and praise his name.

They would not have endured patiently for the sake of Jesus' name if they did not fervently love
him.

And if their endurance had not been motivated by this affection, Jesus would not have praised
them for it.

This is something that the Epistle to the Church in Ephesus warns us about. This Epistle also
reveals the source of the deterioration of church life, the fading of the first love.

Love provides us with the position, ground, right, and privilege to eat from the tree of life. Love
is a source of energy for us. If we love the Lord, we will have full right to enjoy Him as the tree
of life, our source of life. For proper church life and the restoration of church life.

We require not only mental apprehension of teachings but also the eating of the Lord as the
bread of life in our spirit. Even the author's words

The matter of having communion with life brings us back to the beginning because, in the
beginning, there was the tree of life. The tree of life always brings us back to the front, where
there is nothing but God Himself.

In church life, again and again, we need to be brought back to the beginning, forgetting all other
things and enjoying Christ Himself as the tree of life. If we spend time studying, In these cases,
we can see that the lack of growth is due to one factor: after being saved by the divine seed sown
into him, a person may not love the Lord. When we examine our history and compare it to the
New Testament, we will discover that the first step, an essential thing required for a believer to
grow, is to love the Lord. We are superficial if we do not love the Lord; our heart is either stony,
or things other than the Lord Himself choke the seed in it. We require devotion to God.

Faith must come first, followed by love. "The grace of our Lord walks together with faith and
love in Christ Jesus," Paul said. Faith by itself is ineffective. Faith without love is akin to
walking on one foot. We can walk for a short distance on one foot, but not all day; we need two
feet. Love must accompany faith. We should read through the entire Gospel of John. It teaches
us that the Lord Jesus only asks us to believe in Him and then love Him. The final story in this
Gospel is a love story. After twenty chapters of John, there is only one story in chapter twenty-
one. The Lord Jesus appeals to Peter, saying, Simon, son of John, do you love Me?

I say again; if we do not have a love for the Lord, our hearts will be either full of stones or
choked by many things. There is no other way besides love. If we want the Lord to grow within
us, our heart has to be dug. With what can our heart be searched? Do not think it is by something
that seems prevailing; instead, it is by one thing—Love. In my whole Christian life, I never saw
one person whose heart was dealt with by the Lord before he loved the Lord. No one and nothing
can take away the hidden stones in our hearts. This requires a love toward the Lord. If we do not
love the Lord, it is tough for us not to be choked. The enemy is subtle and skilful. He is waiting
to utilize everything to choke the seed in our hearts. Do not think only one or two items can
choke the seed; the enemy can use everything. There is only one-way choking of the enemy: to
love the Lord.