Shofar Day 4 Dear Believers In Ephesus: Digging Deeper
January 22, 2026
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Revelation 2:1-6
3 I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.
Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
The Original Intent
1) Why was the Ephesians’ perseverance for the sake of Jesus’ Name not enough to keep Jesus from having something against them? (verse 3)
By all outward accounts, the church at Ephesus was a model of Christian excellence, succeeding in the good work set out for them by their founders and leaders. (Acts 18:18-21, Acts 19) In Revelation 2:2-3, Jesus commends the Ephesians for their hard work, their endurance, their embrace of the truth, and their perseverance through hardship for the sake of His Name. Steffen Mueller notes, “At the time that the book of Revelation was written […] Christians were facing brutal and systemic persecution [and yet] were patiently enduring and continuing to confess the name of Jesus Christ”. The church at Ephesus fervently embraced the call of Christ and faithfully served Him.
David Guzik suggests, “By all outward appearances, this was a solid church that worked hard, had great outreach, and protected the integrity of the gospel.” Even though Jesus noticed and recognized the good works of the Ephesians, He plainly told them He held something against them.
Jesus was not measuring the good they did but rather the love they had for Him (Mark 12:30), which He found lacking. They were doing good things for God, but Jesus was concerned with the waning love in their hearts. (Proverbs 21:2) Jesus wanted them to know that their service to Him should be motivated by love for Him above all else. (1 John 4:7) It was their failing love, not their good deeds, that earned the church at Ephesus a letter from Jesus.
The Everyday Application
1) Why was the Ephesians’ perseverance for the sake of Jesus’ Name not enough to keep Jesus from having something against them? (verse 3)
When I took my comprehensive exam to complete my graduate degree in English Literature, I encountered two challenging essay questions. One asked a question I didn’t know the answer to, so I guided the essay in a direction where I did have some knowledge about the material. I didn’t answer the question, but I at least demonstrated that I had read the material and understood portions. I hoped that would be enough to impress the professor that would score my exam.
When my essay was returned, the reviewer made positive comments about my work and remarked that he “almost” didn’t notice that I hadn’t addressed the question. The work I had done was good, but it wasn’t what was asked of me.
The church at Ephesus found itself in a similar situation. The Ephesians had persevered for the sake of Jesus’ name and had done good work for Him, but they hadn’t maintained their love for Him. (Revelation 2:2-3) Even though Jesus had positive words for all the good the church had done, He still held them accountable for what they failed to do because that was His central concern.
The Ephesians believed the weight of their good deeds tipped the scales in their favor, but Adam Schoenmaker suggests, “For some, these deeds were deceptive. They masked a hollow, heartless faith. Their activity covered up a lack of reality. Ephesus were hardworking but loveless.” All of their work and endurance did not outweigh their neglect of relationship with Him, and here must our hearts also wrestle. (James 4:8) Have we made our love for Him central to all we do for Him?
The Original Intent
2) How had the Ephesians abandoned their first love? (verse 4)
Jesus tells the church in Ephesus that He holds it against them how they have abandoned their first love: Him! (Revelation 2:4) He didn’t say they lost their love or that they didn’t love Him. He accused them of not loving Him like they did when they first encountered Him. Joseph Stowell notes, “The word first in this text refers to priority. It is a love that motivates and drives all that we do.”
Jesus acknowledged in the previous verses how the Ephesian church was exceptional in doing good works and defending the faith, but these deeds didn’t make up for the fact that they had moved away from Love, which is God Himself. (1 John 4:8) The church was so busy doing things for God that they stopped communing with God. Andrew Murray observes, “We keep ourselves busy with the things of the Lord and not with the Lord of the things.” The church was so focused on doing and enduring that they lost sight of the One who is worthy of all their endeavors (Ephesians 6:7-8) and who could empower all their efforts. (Ephesians 2:10)
Steven Lawson asserts how the Ephesians’ were still “coming, serving, believing rightly, but their hearts were no longer an altar upon which the fire of Christ was burning brightly. Their activities FOR Christ had begun to suppress their intimacy WITH Christ. And rather than it being a relationship, their Christianity had become a performance.”
My prayer is that those of us who serve the Lord faithfully but dispassionately will draw near to Him in prayer and in meditation on His Word. May we rekindle the flame of our initial love for God by putting a relationship with Jesus first above all else. (Matthew 6:33)
The Everyday Application
2) How had the Ephesians abandoned their first love? (verse 4)
My former student married in her 30s, a little later than most of her classmates. She wasn’t interested in marriage when she met her husband, but they were immediately and completely smitten with each other. They’ve been married 15 years, but they are each still the apple of the other’s eye. They do everything together, from attending professional sports games to dog sitting in their home. When she experienced some health struggles, their love grew stronger as they navigated the challenges together.
Some couples joke or complain about the spark being gone from their marriage, but this couple still acts like newlyweds, laughing together with true affection shining in their eyes. They know the secret of nurturing their love, which is something Jesus says the church at Ephesus had neglected in their love for Him. (Revelation 2:4) Just like love can wane in a marriage due to inattentiveness and lack of communication, our relationship with the Lord can suffer from allowing our love to grow cold.
Joseph Stowell purports, “The central issue in a thriving relationship with Him is to love Him by choosing to make Him our absolute priority—the consuming center of all that we are and do.” The church at Ephesus became so wrapped up in doing good things for the Lord that they lost sight of the reason they were doing the good things in the first place.
To guard against moving away from our first love, we must purposefully spend time with the Lord, investing in being with Him. We must be attentive and mindful to fight against forgetfulness. When we make Jesus first by spending time with Him in prayer, meditation on the Word, memorizing His Word, and listening for His voice (John 10:27), we nurture the love we experienced when we initially realized His love for us. (1 John 4:19)
The Original Intent
3) What is the significance of God removing the lampstand from its place? (verse 5)
In Revelation 2:5, Jesus warns the church at Ephesus, “Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” Albert Barnes explains, “The meaning is, that the church gave light in Ephesus; and that what he would do in regard to that place would be like removing a lamp, and leaving a place in darkness.” If the Ephesians did not return to a fervent love of God as they had in the beginning, there was no point for them to continue as a church.
The focus of the church was to share the Good News of Jesus’ love and sacrifice with others. (Mark 16:15) If the church did not love Jesus well, they could not represent Him accurately. John Phillips suggests, “No love, no light is the rule. Love is to be paramount: nothing less will do. If there is no real love for the Lord Jesus, the reason for the assembly’s existence has vanished. A local church that is functioning without love for the Lord is worse than useless. It gives a wrong impression of what Christianity is all about, and it is best removed.”
The image of the lampstand being removed told the church that loving God was the most important thing they could do to fulfill their mission. (Luke 10:27) If they weren’t doing that, there was no reason to exist as a church.
The Everyday Application
3) What is the significance of God removing the lampstand from its place? (verse 5)
There are many funny memes floating around the internet with the theme, “You had one job.” They show simple tasks that ended as epic failures, like a worker who misspelled a street sign, a grocery clerk who mislabeled pickles as corn, or a cat cuddling a furry mouse instead of ridding the house of the scurrying rodent. The joke is that the job was clear and simple, yet the person (or cat) couldn’t get it right!
The church in Ephesus had one job, but the fact that they didn’t get it right was no laughing matter. Indeed, Jesus told the church if they couldn’t return to serving God out of their great love for Him, they would cease to be a church at all. (Revelation 2:5) While they did great things as a church, they did not overflow with love for God because they were focused on tasks and issues instead of relationship with God. (Psalm 63:1) Without this love of God, the church had no purpose since they existed to proclaim that God is Love.
Charles Spurgeon notes, “A church has no reason for being a church when she has no love within her heart, or when that love grows cold. Lose love, lose all.” The encouraging thing we learn from this letter to the church at Ephesus is that when we prioritize relationship with God, we can fulfill our purpose as the Body of Christ. When we love God with our whole hearts, we can spill that love on to others. (1 Corinthians 16:14)
Study the GT Focus Journey Theme in book format!
“Shofar” is available in the GT Bookstore!
This Week's Lock Screen
Authentically living out a life of worship to the God who rescued us from darkness requires accountability and intentionality. Join a GT POD and take the next step in your faith journey!
