True Identity Ministries Blog

Right now we are going through the book of Ephesians at my church...and it has been amazing to study Paul's letter to the Church in Ephesus. But as much as I am learning from his letter, I can't help but think about the church itself.

We see Ephesus come on the scene in Acts 18 as Apollos enters the city and begins preaching in the synagogue. Soon Paul enters the city and people start receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The city of Ephesus was known as a center for magic and as the Gospel began to spread, many magicians were converted and their books burned.

Eventually so many people were converting to Christianity that the silversmith's in the pagan temples began to take notice that their businesses were suffering because people were no longer coming into the pagan temples to worship.

We can see in Acts 19 the impact the Gospel is having on Ephesus. So much of an impact that the socioeconomic climate of the city is changing. Now that's the way to come on the scene!

In the book of Epehsians, Paul is encouraging the church there in doctrine and unity. He is laying a firm foundation in theology in order for spiritual stability. He is seeing the fledgling church and is calling them to the nature and truth of God in teaching.

The last we see of the Church in Ephesus is in Revelations 2.17. Beginning in v. 4,
"But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent."

Obviously we can see that in Ephesus, the church has fallen away from a intimate love with God. They have the practices down and they are doing the deeds, but they have abandoned their first love.

I look at the journey of the Church in Ephesus and I am challenged. Here was a city that was so impacted by the Gospel that the pagan businesses, which flourished because of the demand there, were seeing significant loss. Here was a city where the whole climate of the city was changing because of the Gospel. But the last time we see Ephesus, God is calling them to repentance. The church that started out with a boom is having it's lampstand removed. I am saddened by this picture of having the lampstand removed.

My prayer is that we would all keep our love for God first. Through the years if we are not careful, we can see a gradual progression away from a intimate relationship with Him. We must be careful not to do so. There are seasons that are more difficult than others and we may have to work a bit harder at the relationship; that's only natural. But let us not have our lampstand removed because we have abandoned a passionate love relationship with God.