Ephesus: Hot Doctrine, Cold Hearts (Rev. 2:1-7)

I. The Church (v. 1)
A. Pastor & Church at Ephesus
a. Paul established a church in Ephesus during His second missionary journey (A.D. 52) (Acts 18:19).
b. Paul spent 3 years in Ephesus teaching about Jesus and Christian doctrine (A.D. 53-56) (Acts 19:8-10).
c. Paul’s letter to the Ephesian (A.D. 60) church can be divided into two sections, doctrine and application.
1) the church had sound doctrine:
~ Knowing The Bible, Original Languages, History, Apologetics, Theology, Practical Ministry (Discipleship, Counseling), Spiritual Disciplines (Prayer, Bible Study)
2) the church had sound teachers:
~ Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos (18.18-Acts.18.19" class="scriptRef">Acts 18:18-19), Disciples of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7), Paul spent 3 years teaching (Acts 20:31), Timothy (1 Tim. 1:1-3), Onesiphorus of Ephesus (2 Tim. 1:16,18), Tychicus (2 Tim. 4:12) Faithful & loyal preacher, Apostle John (Wrote 1, 2, and 3rd John)

II. The Commendation (v. 2-3)
A. Jesus commends the church for applying:
a. Sanctified Deeds (v.2a)
~ Worthy means to bring the scales into balance.
~ The context of worthiness means that one’s behavior should be reflective of God’s call to their salvation and sanctification.
b. Sound Doctrine (v.2b)
1) They teach unbiblical doctrines. “False teachers are not committed to Scripture. They may speak of Jesus and the Father, but the heart of their ministry will not be the Word of God. They will either add to it, take away from it, interpret it in some heretical fashion, add other “revelations” to it, or deny it altogether.”
2) They teach people to violate God’s Law. “The ultimate test of any teaching is whether it produces godliness. Teaching not based on Scripture will result in an unholy life. Instead of godliness, the loves of false teachers will be characterized by sin.”
3) They are concerned with strife, self-promotion, and personal gain. “[False teachers] deny the truth, and their teaching does not produce godly living…And they serve money, not God. The church must take extreme care not to allow these men to spread their deadly disease. The resulting epidemic would be tragic.”
c. Strong Devotion (v.3)

III. The Correction (v. 4-6)
A. The Christians began to play Church. (v.4)
a. Their doctrine was sound but they had no practical application of it. (cf., Jn. 6:46, 14:21, 14:24; 1 Jn. 4:20)
B. The Christians needed a change. (v. 5)
a. Repentance- To change one’s thinking regarding sin with a view to changing one’s attitude and actions towards that sin. True repentance brings about a change of behavior. Failing to repent brings about God’s temporal discipline and judgment.
C. The Christians are left with a compliment (v.6)
a. They are commended for not turning away from the truth. “Whatever the precise nature of this sect, it is noteworthy that a true love for God involves a fervent hate of that which counterfeits and distorts the purity of biblical truth.”

IV. The Charge (v.7)
A. To hear and act renders benefits to the overcomers.
a. Three Views of the Overcomer:
1. The loss of salvation view: If one fails to overcome, he/she loses salvation.
2. The all believers view: All believers become overcomers the moment they believe in Jesus Christ. The very act of believing makes them an overcomer: “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:5). Faith, not faithfulness is the primary focus.
3. The Rewards view: the overcomer passages are promises of rewards given to believers to encourage them to be faithful by overcoming the trials and temptations of life through faith in their new life in Christ.
b. The benefit of eating from the Tree of Life (Rev. 22:1-2, 22:14, 22:19)

V. Point to Ponder - To live a loveless for the brethren is life is to strike out against Christ and his Church. Therefore, repent and come back to your first love.



John F. MacArthur Jr., Revelation 1–11, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 59.
John MacArthur, “The Pathology of False Teachers,” Online. Accessed Jan. 21, 2021. https://www.gty.org/library/blog/B140214/the-pathology-of-false-teachers
Ibid.
Ibid.
John F. MacArthur, Commentary, 63.
John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chicago: Moody Press, 1989), 58.
MacArthur, Commentary, 65.
Donald Grey Barnhouse, Revelation: An Expository Commentary, “God’s Last Word,” (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 1971), 43-44.
Zane C. Hodges, A Free Grace Primer: The Hungry Inherit, The Gospel Under Siege, Grace in Eclipse, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2011), 373.