Ephesus enjoyed the secrets of God.A city that grasped the gospel from Paul, a Church which grew to high stature in spirituality.Paul wrote to them as"the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus."Ephesus needed no basic moral correctionlike Corinth.Ephesus called for no reproof like Galatia,no basic instruction as the Romans. Ephesus is the peak of New Testament revelation:the whole counsel, the eternal purpose of God.The revelation of the treasures in Christcould be trusted to Ephesus fortheir maturity and holiness.Yet when One like the Son of Manappeared to John in Patmos, He took Ephesus first, into His chilling caution.His eyes of flame blazed over Ephesus and the light of His seeing pierced into the very heart of this first century church."I know your deeds, your hard work,and your perseverance." The Son of God is ever aware of our labors,performed in His power.While He is keenly aware of our constancy,He is never satisfied with mere jobs . . . even the crucial work of serving His will. "I know that you cannot toleratewicked men, that you have testedthose who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false." The One with Eyes of Flame watches His Church with amazing involvement,holding His own median of trueness and realitybefore us as His test of all believers.This Ephesus Church held to the Mind of Christ:recognized falseness and routed it,as called for by the New Testament standardand did so by Holy Spirit discernment.Yet this high purity - noted by the King - a rare boldness for any Christian era,was not sufficient for His ultimate pleasure. "You have persevered and endured hardships for my name and have notgrown weary." Suffering is the tremendous trial of loyalty to the Son of God.Few of us today could have endured the severe trials of the first century.Few would tolerate the hardships in which they thrived.Ephesus had tasted the cost of following Christ,neither quitting nor fainting.Weariness so common to victims,did not set in with the Ephesians.Their endurance of affliction, remarkable as it was, commendable as it stands for all of us,still . . . was insufficient for the needs of this fearsome Risen Lord.Labors,endurance,energetic,discernment,confrontive,loyalty,separation,patience,longsuffering.Who could boast such a Church presence in this hour?Who would dare fault such a fellowship?But I have this against you, you have left your first love.Revelations 2:4 Jesus didn't say to the Ephesians church, you have left me for other gods. He didn't say you traded Me for someone else. He just said, "You have left" your first love, Me. It's not that you are loving anything else. It's not idolatry. You are not trading Jesus for another lover. You are just leaving Him. You are no longer focused on Him. He is not your consumption. You are consumed by something else. Your gaze isn't fixated on Him. It's a matter of the eye. The direction of your vision. The Ephesians had people who were trying to get them to follow another doctrine. They were not following another doctrine. They were simply focused on those who were following false doctrine instead of the Person of the True Doctrine. It wasn't a rival to Jesus. It was just a change of focus. The Ephesians became wayward with the doctrines. They didn't leave the true doctrine, they left Who the doctrine was about. It is so easy to do, so easy that it is frightening. They weren't even rebellious, they were just trying to keep the integrity of the faith. Their passion became a dogma rather than a love affair. It wasn't even a shameful focus. It just wasn't an eternal focus. They were not following the Nicolatins, or worshiping Baal. Christ didn't say any of that, just that you have left ME. Your fixation is no longer upon Me. Even in following Him you can leave Him because it's about a love affair. When you leave the love affair, you leave the Lover and when you leave the Lover you leave the Lord.If you are not involved with Love and the focus of Love, you have abandoned Love.(M.K. & J.E.)In His LOVE, Chanin
