2:1, Ephesus was a big sea port, it was a business and religious center. Paul founded a church there. There was a pagan Goddess and her temple in Ephesus. Paul nearly being killed by these opponents.
2:2, To know, weather a truth we heard is true or false, weather a prophet is real or fake, or weather a teaching is correct or not, all these must take time and gone through many testings.
John wants us to test, test the spirit, weather the spirit is from God or not. (1 John 4:1) Paul even taught this in 1 Thess 5:21. This apply also to Verbal Plenary Preservation.
2:4, "The love at first." Where is your love at first, at the moment you came to believe the Lord. Where is it now? This is more important than tracking the first century MSS!
Now, we are self content, and self contend, we are proud about ourselves, we had lost the vitality, the depending, the pickup, the zeal.
That first love had been replaced by a routine, some dogmas, some creeds, like the humanists, we must repent from this coolness, we are suppose to say we had lost the love toward mankind and Christ.
2:5, we may say, we do not know what is that "the love at first."
LET US DO SOMETHING TODAY, IN CASE, TO SAY WE LOVE THE LORD CHRIST, LET US GO BACK TO THE BASIC, THE CROSS, SACRIFICING IN THE MINISTRY, AND CONTINUE TO WITNESS AND PREACHING IN ZEAL. If not the lamp stand may be removed from us. The church will becomes a skeleton.
2:6, there was a group of people called, the Nicolaitans, these are those called themselves Christian, they were compromisING with the world, they worship the idols and live in lusts. They were in the church in Ephesus, they had rejected the gospel truth, their characters and behaviours were clearly seen. And some of them were teaching in the church. (rf. Rev 2:15) How can this be?
2:7, Christ is speaking to the church, through the Holy Spirit. Even until today. He wanted us to overcome. How? DEPEND ON THE RESURRECTED CHRIST, TO OVERCOME OUR INNER WEAKNESSES. AND TO OVERCOME OUR OUTER TEMPTATIONS.
You are promised,
1. to eat the the fruit on the tree of life. (2:7)
2. no more second death. (2:11)
3. given the hidden manna and a new name on the white stone. (2:17)
4. given the authority and the morning star. (2:27-28)
5. to wear the white robes, and name written on the book of life. (3:5)
6. to be a pillar in the temple of God, God's Name written on him. (3:12)
7. All of those who overcome, they will sit together with the Christ Jesus, and they will enter the heaven to enjoy the eternity with Him.
The Christians who served the Christ with zeal, they are promised a perfect and complete salvation. At the end, he will not be separated from God, like in the garden of Aden, he will live with God, and live in freedom and peace. All these promises, are to be claimed by us, only through Christ, we can receive these promises. No other way!
Thoughts for today,
We must test the teaching of Verbal Plenary Preservation. Right or wrong?
What is the important of the first love, comparing with the perfect scripture text to Ephesians? Which is more important to them?
Why Paul mentioned the first love, why he did not mention they had lost the autographs, the first hand writing manuscripts?
Who are those called Nicolaitans? What they were teaching actually?
How Christ speak to us today?
What He commanded us today, did He command us to seek the first century, the perfect, the 100 %, the autographs, and print it out ? So that we can out print the NIV, ESV, CUV...? Think about this, seriously Today!
Christ commanded us to overcome, to conquer what?
Did Christ promised us a perfect KJV?
Did Christ promised us a perfect underlying text?
Did God promised us a perfect Bible version?
Did God promised us a perfect hand copied Bible? No.
Did God promised us a perfect machined printed Bible? NO!
So...
Where is our first love?
Where is our first Bible?
Answer is......
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