Revelation 2:1-7

In this letter to the first of seven churches, Jesus Christ commends the church at Ephesus because they do not bear, or tolerate, those who are evil, including false apostles. Pastor Dave taught that the process of dealing with evil within a local church is what we call church discipline. Church discipline is not easy or fun. It’s so … confrontational! It can seem harsh and judgmental, especially to the offender. It can be divisive because people in the pews don’t know all the facts; church leadership doesn’t divulge complete information to protect the privacy and dignity of the people involved. It would be so much easier to overlook evil, to pretend it isn’t there, to hope the mess goes away on its own. And yet, church discipline is a biblical principle and is to be applied for the eternal good of the person disciplined from a motive of love and with the goal of restoration. Pray for our elders, who bear the responsibility of church discipline. Pray they will engage in church discipline for the good of the congregation and for the good of the offender. Pray they will not grow weary of this very difficult form of doing good.

The message to the church at Ephesus is not just a pat on the back. Jesus rebukes them because they have abandoned the love they had at first. They deal with evil in their midst, but not from a heart of love. Perhaps their motive was spite, Dave suggested, or a desire to be right. Perhaps it was arrogance or a “holier than thou” attitude. A loss of brotherly love within the church body negatively affects everything. Dave gave us homework – passages related to testing self-identified apostles.* May I add a passage related to love? You may be surprised to learn that 1 Corinthians 13 – the “love chapter” read at so many weddings – is really about agapé-love among believers in a local church. Take a few minutes to pray through it for yourself as a part of Calvary and for all of us.

Jesus’ “credentials” in verse 1 communicate that he is present and active in the church at Ephesus. Jesus sees and knows what’s going on; he has the authority and power to intervene. Do we believe that is also true for Calvary Community Church of Brea in 2023? Bow before Jesus and acknowledge that he is the Lord of Calvary Church today.

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert

* Jeremiah 44 (worshipping something other than God?); 1 Samuel 15 (worshipping God but in the wrong way?); Acts 2:36-41 (leading to repentance for sin?); Acts 11:19-26 (learning what it means to turn to the Lord?)

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