Dealing
with the 'Somewhat'
The church at Ephesus, according to
the Lord Jesus, was a pretty good church (Revelation 2:1-7). It had
many positive attributes that would attract any modern-day believer
toward membership. They were hard working in kingdom matters, patient
in their labors, disposed toward holiness of life, in possession of
spiritual discernment and a candlestick of influence. Yet Jesus, who told all his
churches “I know thy
works,” said the following to arguably one of the best
churches of the seven he personally addressed:
“Nevertheless I have somewhat against
thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from
whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I
will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his
place, except thou repent” (Revelation 2:4-5).
The Greek of our Lord's critique is: αλλ εχω κατα σου.
Expanded translation: “However [in spite of all you have going for you] I
have [as an ongoing concern] somewhat against you.” The reader will
notice there's no word in the Greek text corresponding to “somewhat” in the
KJV text. It is italicized for smoothness of translation. Contrast
this to the Greek in 2:14 and 2:20 to the churches of Pergamos and
Thyatira respectively: αλλ
εχω κατα σου ολιγα. You'll notice there is a Greek word (ολιγα) corresponding
to “a few things”
in the KJV text. The word oligos
refers to a “small quantity” of things. The fact Jesus uses this word
with Pergamos and Thyatira but omits it with Ephesus signifies there is
just ONE point of contention between him and the Ephesian church. But it's enough
to require repentance and jeopardize their candlestick of influence EXCEPT they get
right on this ONE thing.
So what exactly is this 'somewhat'
Jesus said was the single point of contention between him and the
Ephesian church? According to Jesus, it was a departure from their
first love. Jesus uses the word “first”
to describe both the LOVE they left and the WORKS to which they are to
return. It's no stretch then to understand their first love and the
first works to be one and the same. Some believe the first love to be
evangelism. But I believe the context has a deeper meaning that, if
rectified, would fix any shortcomings in evangelism.
My understanding of “first works” to
which Jesus urged them to return is the SAME works they were currently
doing, but done in a DIFFERENT manner. That manner would be works done
WITH Jesus rather than merely works done FOR him. We can illustrate the
difference by considering the biblical record of Jesus having dinner
with Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42). While Martha was “cumbered about much serving”
(10:40), preparing a feast FOR Jesus, her sister Mary had chosen to
spend time WITH Jesus, feasting on his words. She shared an intimacy
with the Lord, that “good
part” (10:42) Jesus said he would NOT take away from her. In
my mind, the church at Ephesus was busy doing good things FOR him,
but had lost the close intimacy they had once enjoyed doing things WITH
him in fulness of power! Ask any God-called preacher who's lost his
anointing what it means to preach WITH Jesus in power and preach FOR
Jesus as a matter of obligation. He will be quick to tell
you there's a BIG difference! Keep in mind Timothy had pastored this church for decades
and John, the apostle of love, was (per tradition) a member before
and after his banishment to Patmos. In other words, the church at
Ephesus had role models for the love they had left.
Jesus issues three imperatives to the
church: “Remember...repent...do.”
The phrase “from when
thou art fallen” is instructive. We'll make two points.
First, it's the same verb (ἐκπίπτω,
“to fall out”) Paul used when he told the Galatians they had “fallen from grace”
(5:4) if they equated true righteousness to compliance with Mosaic Law.
In such lives, grace ceases to operate effectively as God intended.
Both the Galatians and Ephesians had fallen from the same spiritual
footing—loss of intimacy with Christ. Secondly, the verb is perfect
tense, which conveys a past action with settled results. Jesus clearly
was NOT telling this church their condition was permanent and
irreversible. But he did tell them there was NO WAY AROUND repentance
to remedy their fallen condition and restore intimacy lost.
Much has been written and said about
repentance—the word Jesus inserted between remembering and doing the
will of God. The Greek μετανοέω
(metanoeō) means “to change the mind.” In terms a layman can
understand, it means to come around to God's way of thinking. Whether
or not it involves a degree of emotion, the bottom line is it changes
the conduct of one whose mind is changed. Remembering, calling to mind,
how things used to be at Ephesus, was meant to elicit this response:
“Brethren, Jesus is right about that first love thing. We used to enjoy
the presence of Christ in doing things WITH him. We still do plenty of things FOR
him, but it's not the same. We need to humble ourselves, seek his face and get back the
intimacy of our first love!”
Jesus concludes his admonition with
these words: “Except
thou repent.” It's the translation of the Greek εαν μη μετανοησης.
The conditional εαν
used with the subjunctive makes this a third class condition. In other
words, Jesus placed their repentance in doubt. The church at Ephesus
might choose to repent of the 'somewhat' and do the first works, or
they might choose to continue in the 'somewhat' of a first love left.
The same choice presents itself to every child of God when Jesus makes
them aware of a 'somewhat' that has come between him and them.
Repentance is not automatic. It is a
deliberate decision to come around to God's way of thinking and take
the action he recommends. That's how you deal with the 'somewhat.'
While it's good to do things FOR the Lord, as Martha did, it's far
better to walk in intimate fellowship and do things WITH him, as Mary
did! In my mind, the church at Ephesus was living with a Martha mindset.
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