TAKEN FROM DAVID GUZIK’S ENDURING WORD BIBLE COMMENTARY:
…………By all outward appearances, this was a solid church that worked hard, had great outreach, and protected the integrity of the gospel.
4. (4) What Jesus has against the church at Ephesus.
Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
a. Nevertheless I have this against you: Jesus used a sobering word ”“ nevertheless, which means "despite all that.” Jesus took into full account all the good in the Ephesian church, yet despite all that, He had something against them.
i. Nevertheless means that all the good in the Ephesian church did not cancel out the bad Jesus is about to describe.
b. You have left your first love: Despite all the good in the Ephesian church, there is something seriously wrong. They have left ”“ not lost ”“ their first love. They once had a love that they don’t have anymore. This can be described as "a definite and sad departure.” (Robertson)
i. The distinction between leaving and losing is important. Something can be lost quite by accident, but leaving is a deliberate act, though it may not happen suddenly. As well, when we lose something we don’t know where to find it; but when we leave something, we know where to find it
ii. Though they had left their first love, everything looked great on the outside. If you would have attended a service of the church at Ephesus, you might have thought, "This is a happening church. They are doing so much, and they really guard the truth.” At the same time, you might have had a vague, uneasy feeling ”“ yet it would probably be hard to pin down. It wasn’t hard for Jesus to see the problem, even though everything probably looked wonderful on the outside.
iii. The problem was serious. Without love, all is vain. No wonder Jesus said, "Nevertheless I have this against you.” "A church has no reason for being a church when she has no love within her heart, or when that love grows cold. Lose love, lose all.” (Spurgeon)
c. Left your first love: What love did they leave? As Christians, we are told to love God and to love one another. Did they leave their love for God? Did they leave their love for one another? Probably both are in mind, because the two loves go together. You can’t say you love God and not love His family, and you can’t really love His family without loving Him first.
i. The Ephesian church was a working church. Sometimes a focus on working for Jesus will eclipse a love relationship with Him. We can put what we do for Jesus before who we are in Him. We can leave Jesus in the temple, just as the parents of Jesus did (Luke 2:45-46).
ii. The Ephesian church was a doctrinally pure church. Sometimes a focus on doctrinal purity will make a congregation cold, suspicious, and intolerant of diversity. "When love dies orthodox doctrine becomes a corpse, a powerless formalism. Adhesion to the truth sours into bigotry when the sweetness and light of love to Jesus depart.” (Spurgeon)
---------- TAKEN FROM DAVID GUZIK’S ENDURING WORD BIBLE COMMENTARY
