Can an entire congregation like Ephesus be removed by the Lord? Yes, and for this very reason Jesus writes through John to Ephesus:
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 (Revelation 2:4-5). M
Jesus also warns the church in Laodicea, “I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). They call themselves “rich,” when they are “poor, blind and naked.”46 What will happen if Jesus must eventually cut them off?47 They may further delude themselves. They may call themselves a ‘church’ when Christ no longer recognizes them as His church at all. If they fail to repent, they become just one more human group that cannot save itself.
Now look at the situation faced by early Christians. Different groups claim Christ. If Satan’s scheme works, there are unrepentant congregations. There are already false apostles, false brothers,48 followers of a Balaam49 and of a Jezebel.50 Already there are distinct groups: “Nicolaitans,” “the Circumcision Party,” and the roots of “Gnosticism” (“falsely called knowledge”). Where, in all this confusion, is the body of Christ? How can Christians recognize the true church? Whether in first century confusion, or in twenty-first century confusion, the true answer remains the same; and it is strikingly simple:
…Christ is the head of the church, his body…the church submits to Christ… (Ephesians 5:23-24).
Christ builds His own church with those who submit to Him. Those who stay connected to the Head form the true body.
48. 2 Corinthians 11:26; Galatians 2:4
49. Revelation 2:14; 2 Peter 2:15; Numbers 22:1-24:25; 31:16; Deuteronomy 23:4-5
50. Revelation 2:20; 1 Kings 16:31; 18:4; 21:1-26
Research Subjects
- Widespread idolatry
- Authority of Scripture
- The faith
- The hope
- Christ’s churches work together
- Christ’s churches greet each other
- Christ’s churches share the same teachings
- Obedience
- Truth revealed through apostles
- Christ as the Divider
- Tests in 1 John
Study Notes
- Gnosticism
- Abolishing the Law
Why is there so much conflict and division among people who call themselves Christians?
The answer has to do with the havoc wreaked by Satan, the enemy of God. His lies unite the world in belief that the church cannot be united.
But for believers who still trust God’s word, there remains “one body” with “one baptism” and “one faith.” The examples of the New Testament prove that this unity can be real and practical on earth.
The New Testament is honest about the church’s serious problems, and we will have problems too. Scriptures even predict that many will fall away from the faith.
But for true believers, God always provides the way forward. The New Testament defines Christ’s church, especially by her faithful obedience to Christ. This sets her apart from human groups that go their own way. “Christ is the Head of the church, His body… the church submits to Christ.”
Memory Verses
- Ephesians 6:11-12 – Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
- Ephesians 4:4-6 – There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
- Matthew 28:18-19 – And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”
- Colossians 2:8 – See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
- 2 Timothy 4:3-4 – For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
- Ephesians 5:22-24 – Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
- Matthew 12:49-50 – And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
- Colossians 2:6 – Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him…
- John 15:10 – If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love…
- Acts 3:22-23 – …You shall listen to him [Christ] in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.
- 1 John 4:6 – We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
- Revelation 2:4-5 – 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.
Lord, we are deeply saddened by the divisions within Christendom and even within local congregations. We confess to You our tendency toward sectarian attitudes and conflict. We ask You to defend us against Satan’s lies. Keep us true to You, the “one Lord,” and thus to the “one body… one hope… one faith… (and) one baptism”…
Picture: The ruins of ancient Laodicea resemble the fallen condition of that city’s congregation as addressed in Revelation 3:1-22. That church though highly of itself, but Christ was about to spit it out.