My small group this semester is studying Ephesians, and I am going to attempt to track what I am learning from the study here. Why study Ephesians? Well, to be honest, I am studying Ephesians because I was intrigued by the book of Revelation. When reading Revelation, the letter to the church of Ephesus really struck me.

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 
      These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: ²I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.⁴Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. ⁵Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:1-7 details how the church is affirmed for their hard work and perseverance.  They hate those who falsely claim to know God and the Nicolaitans who were trying to control the laity. They have endured suffering for the faith and have not grown weary. Sounds like a solid church, right? They have great doctrine and are known for their deeds.  Sign me up to work with them.

But wait a moment, the church is reprimanded for forgetting their first love and not being as good as they once were. They have fallen greatly from their passion at the height of their devotion to God. Apparently the church had forgotten the Agape love of Christ and in turn forgot to love Him and His Church with the same passion that they once did. I don't know about you, but I can relate to their position.

Some times even in the midst of having sound doctrine and doing good deeds, I forget my first love. I forget who God is and in turn forget how I should be responding to Him.  The church is reminded of how far they have fallen and called to repent. This letter struck my curiosity. How far did they fall? What was the church like at the height of their faith and service? And, what can we learn from the church at Ephesus to prevent us from forgetting our first love?

The best answer to my questioning is the Bible. Paul wrote an circular epistle to the Ephesians that detailed both the doctrine and duty of the Christian community. Unlike other Pauline letters, the letter to the Ephesians does not offer any personal rebuke or correction which proves to be an interesting fact when you consider how harsh Paul was in his writings to other churches. Furthermore, this letter was entrusted to the Ephesians to be passed from church to church to instruct the faithful and encourage believers to serve God to the fullest.

I am so excited to learn more about the early Church through this letter to the Ephesians. My next post regarding this topic will detail some of the background information of the church in Ephesus. In the meanwhile and always, my prayer is that God will continue to remind me of how far I have personally fallen and restore to me my first love: Jesus.