Let The Bible Speak



Distresses and Successes at Ephesus

In his letter to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul summarizes well Ephesus’ response to the gospel, “But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16: 8-9). He writes in 2 Corinthians 1:8, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.” He says in 1 Corinthians 15:32,”I have fought with beasts at Ephesus…” He reports that Onesiphorus ministered to him in “many ways...at Ephesus” (2 Timothy 1:18). This overview provides a backdrop to the history of the Apostle Paul’s labors in this great city.

Today, I want to begin to explore the letter the Apostle Paul wrote the church at Ephesus. We will examine some of the key truths in this great epistle given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but we also want to step back a bit so we can see the big picture as the early Christians would have seen it in the first century. We want to do some micro examination but we also want to keep the smaller details in the greater context of the letter.

We know more of the history of the congregation at Ephesus over time perhaps than we do of any other first century congregation. Let’s consider briefly why of all of the places to evangelize and why of all the congregations for the Lord to address repeatedly, God highlights what happens in this city. First of all, see Ephesus as a prominent cultural center located on a very fertile valley. Ephesus was a seaport city considered to be one of the major trade centers of the day at the intersection of many different trade routes. One source reports that there were “over 250,000 inhabitants in Ephesus at the height of Roman influence. I understand that three major roads criss-crossed the Ephesus seaport; one road went to the Meander Valley, another east towards Babylon via Laodicea and a third to the north via Smyrna.”

While every soul in every little village held and still holds a place of significance to Jehovah God who loves the whole world and commanded His disciples to “Go into all the world,” by unleashing the gospel into open hearts and spreading it through a city like Ephesus, the good news about Jesus Christ had a much greater ability to expand in every possible direction. We begin a series where we examine the Successes and Distresses at Ephesus, after our song….

As much as any other Bible student, I enjoy digging into the meaning of a particular word, phrase, or paragraph. I get a charge out of focusing on a single Scripture or a single Bible topic. These studies always reward me personally, whether I’m in my own study or sitting at the feet of a trusted elder, evangelist, or teacher. At the same time, I realize that in such stimulating investigations, it is possible to zoom in to the specific words of Scripture so close, for so long, and so often, that we lose sight of the greater context in which God originally communicated these inspired words. We need to bear in mind that much of the New Testament presents to us epistles or letters inspired by the Holy Spirit and originally sent by an apostle to an individual, a congregation, or a group of congregations for our personal and congregational benefits.

When we receive a letter, we don’t read only a sentence or two a day. Depending on the nature of the document, we may just speedread through it and place it immediately in file 13 with little thought. This is how we would handle some kinds of advertisements. The more personal the relationship we have with the correspondent, the more slowly and carefully we will review the letter. Still, we don’t grab a dictionary so we can search out definitions of the key words in the first sentence  to be absolutely certain that we know what the correspondent is trying to tell us before we go to the next sentence. No! We read the entire letter through to get the gist of the entire message. Then, we go back and take a closer look. 

I remember when I was courting Louise, back in the day before we had cell phones or email, how eagerly I would wait to receive a letter from her in the mail. When I opened the letter, I read it quickly through but then I would read it through slowly again and again, to savor every word, every phrase, and every sentence that she had written. Then I would go back for a couple of days and read it over and over again to make sure I didn’t miss the meaning of any word that was written. Since we love God with an even deeper love than we have for our dearest loved ones and since God loves us far more than they do, we should be even more eager to read and reread all that God has communicated to us in the sixty-six books of the Bible to better understand His love for us and His will for us. This approach is particularly applicable to the epistles or letters written by the Apostle Paul, Peter, or John.

Consider the rich New Testament history associated with the city of Ephesus. Remember that it was of Ephesus that the Apostle Paul wrote, “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” Luke, the physician and evangelist, provides us with the Gospel of Luke and the history of the first thirty-five years or so of the church in the book of Acts. Together, these two writings account for over a fourth of the New Testament text. 

Luke tells us much about the apostle Paul’s activity in Ephesus from Acts 18-20. In Acts 18, we see the Apostle Paul travel to Ephesus for a brief stay where he reasoned with the Jews in the synagogue and left his traveling companions, Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:18-20). In Acts 18:24-28, we read of the eloquent, fervent, Alexandrian Jewish preacher, Apollos, mighty in the scriptures, preaching at Ephesus. At Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla “took [Apollos] aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately,” since “he knew only the baptism of John.”

In Acts 19:1-6, the Apostle Paul returns to Ephesus and finds disciples who had only been baptized “into John’s baptism.” After instructing them, twelve were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then, after the Apostle Paul laid hands on them, they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

We find one the Apostle Paul more famous declarations in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone that believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.” He practices in Ephesus what he preaches by going first (Acts 19:8) “into the synagogue…{speaking} boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.” Eventually, though, resentment grew among the hardened, unbelieving Jews, who then spoke derogatorily “of the Way before the multitude.” This spurred the Apostle Paul to pull the disciples out of the synagogue to then go and “reason daily in the school of Tyrannus.” Scholars differ on the identity of Tyrannus, but the bottom line is that the Apostle Paul would be able to speak without disruption to any who would come to hear him. Remarkably, we read in Acts 19:10, “And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.” The fact that so many heard the gospel made the Apostle’s work there a great success. After hearing the message, it was between the hearer and the Lord.

While in Ephesus, God also performed “unusual miracles” through Paul (Acts 19:11). Notice the response to the Apostle Paul’s preaching and miracles (Acts 19:17-20): “and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.”  Now THAT’S what true repentance looks like!

Remember the Apostle Paul’s expectation in Ephesus, “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” The broad positive response to the preaching of the gospel on one hand, generated meanwhile, an intensely negative Gentile response (Acts 19:24-40) that put the city of Ephesus in an uproar.

Demetrius the silversmith, “who made silver shrines of Diana,” first instigated the unrest insisting that Paul’s preaching threatened to put those of his ilk out of business while bringing disrepute to the goddess Diana. This complaint set the city aflame with reckless anger. Paul’s brethren restrained him from entering the fray as the mob cried out with one voice,  “for about two hours ‘Great is Diana of the Ephesians!’ ” (Acts 19:34).

Then, in Acts 20:17-38, we read about the Apostle Paul’s tear jerking farewell to the Ephesians elders at Miletus. He recounted how he had “serv{ed} the lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to {him} by the plotting of the Jews; how {he} kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to {them}, and taught {them} publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:19-21). He tells them further that he is not intimidated by the persecution the Holy Spirit says awaits him in every city.

Next, the Apostle Paul makes a statement to these elders that every preacher should be able to make. Unfortunately, so few can. “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” (Acts 20:26-27). You see, the Apostle Paul did not set about to tickle men’s ears nor did he merely preach to the choir; his message was not for sale. He sought only to please God by presenting the Divinely-appointed message knowing that by doing so, the most possible souls might have the opportunity to be saved. He did not present merely his favorite sermons on his top ten pet doctrines. No! He reminded the Ephesian elders that he covered the gamut--”the whole counsel of God.” This prompts me to review the content of 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness...” God’s word is not designed so we can take what we like and leave the rest behind. “All Scripture”--not some or most Scripture--”All Scripture...is profitable for doctrine…”

Let’s draw some conclusions from this message to the Ephesian elders and make application to our day. You can be certain that the Apostle Paul would not be of the number who say, “I love Jesus, but hate the church.” In fact, in this emotionally charged goodbye, he gives them only three specific directives: 1) Support the week (verse 35); and 2) from Acts 20:28, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and 3) [take heed] to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Incidentally, the member of the Godhead who purchased the church “with his own blood” is Jesus Christ. 

In addition to telling them, first, to monitor their own behavior and doctrinal integrity, he says, “Take care of the flock; watch over the sheep under your charge.” He adds, “shepherd the church of God…” What church? The church in Rome, Antioch, or Jerusalem? No! The flock among whom the Holy Spirit made THEM overseers--those sheep at their congregation in Ephesus! He follows that up with an impassioned plea, “Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears,” (Acts 20:31)

In our upcoming studies from the book of Ephesians, we will notice the heavy emphasis the Holy Spirit places on the roles, responsibilities, and privileges assigned to the church but this passage cannot be reviewed without a few words being said.

First, the revelation between the shepherds and their flock--the congregation--is critical. The Apostle Paul tearfully pleaded with these devoted Chritians not to let either of two tragedies take place: let not the church NOR the work of the shepherd IN the church be taken lightly. Those today who treat the church like a useless appendage than can be discarded like a banana peel or a worn out tire betray how woefully unacquainted they are with New Testament teaching. Take away the church and the assembly of the church and you eliminate the work of the shepherds who are also called pastors, elders, bishops, and overseers.

We find more about the history of the church at Ephesus outside of the book of Acts and Ephesians. The Apostle Paul leaves Timothy the evangelist at Ephesus. The Apostle Paul provides inspired instruction for the young evangelist while labors at Ephesus in his first epistle to Timothy or First Timothy.

Despite the Apostle Paul’s vigorous warning to the Ephesian elders, decades later we read of the crisis that had developed at the church at Ephesus. It wasn’t that nothing good could be said of the congregation. In fact, Jesus initially recognizes a number of positive qualities they possessed in Revelation 2:1-3, "To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary.”’”  He adds another positive at the end of verse 6, “you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 

When we see Jesus commend the church at Ephesus for their diligence, industry, and absolute intolerance of wickedness and false doctrine, we have to be impressed. That sounds like the kind of congregation that we want to be a member of and the type of contribution we want to make to the health of the church. Unfortunately, despite so many important positives, Jesus frowns on the Ephesus church. Jesus critique is so severe that it threatened His recognition of them as His church. Jesus delivers Ephesus’ stern warning in Revelation 2:4-6, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

A lampstand or candlestick, of course, is the symbol Jesus assigns to His church. Revelation 1:20b, “...The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.” How frustrating for the Lord, after we have seen today, so much energy had been invested in the church of Ephesus and so much progress made and maintained for so long, to see them at the verge of being rejected by the Lord. Obviously, if Jesus would reject an entire congregation, there is no question about the possibility of an individual Christian backsliding or falling away. 

What went wrong at Ephesus? They left their first love. While they maintained their doctrinal purity and moral integrity, they failed to preserve the ardor and devotion they previously demonstrated. The devil discovered a weakness and exploited it. The Christian’s first love is Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches in 2 Corinthians 5:14, “ For the love of Christ compels us…” We can get the “what” right--we can master the mechanics of New Testament--but lose sight of the “why”--the meaning behind what we do. Every act of obedience, every stand for the truth, must be based on our love and devotion for Jesus Christ. If replace that motive with a personal agenda then we may “have a form of godliness,” without having the love of Jesus at the root of all we do. 

I trust our study today increases your familiarity or at least reinforces what you know about the church of Ephesus. This foundational background should be helpful as we explore next week what the Apostle Paul has to say in his letter to the church at Ephesus.

 

We’ll be right back, after our song…

Please join us every Lord’s Day for Let the Bible Speak and then gather with us for worship at one of the congregations listed shortly. Contact us to receive a free transcript, CD, or DVD copy of #1212, “Paul’s Successes and Distresses at Ephesus.” We welcome your questions or comments on this or any other Bible question. In conjunction with today’s message, we are offering a copy of the booklet I wrote on the Lord’s Supper. We’ll mail this to you at no cost upon your request. Review video, audio, and transcripts of over 450 Bible messages at . Get the new Let the Bible Speak app on your I-phone or android for instant access to these media. We close with the words the apostle Paul issued in Romans 16:16, “the churches of Christ salute you.” Until next week, goodbye and God bless!

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