The Church That Lost Its First Love

The sermon opens with Mark Twain's metaphor of the moon having a dark side no one can see, applying it to both individuals and the church. Only Christ, the Head of the Church, can see both the bright and dark sides of every congregation. The seven letters in Revelation 2–3 are interpreted as addressed to all churches throughout history, since the number seven symbolizes completeness. Each letter follows the same seven-part structure: greeting, description of Christ, commendation, rebuke, call to repentance, exhortation to hear the Spirit, and a promised reward.

The church at Ephesus receives commendation for two outstanding qualities: diligent, exhausting labor in service, and doctrinal steadfastness — the ability to discern false apostles and teachers, especially its hatred of the works of the Nicolaitans. The sermon presents three theories about the Nicolaitans, with the most plausible connecting them to Balaam in Numbers — those who infiltrated the church to entice believers into idolatry and sexual immorality. Living in a city full of sin, sorcery, and the temple of Artemis, the Ephesian believers stood firm in faith and morality — by human standards, a model church.

Yet when Christ looked into the hearts of the congregation, He found that the fire of first love had gone out. This is a rebuke unlike any other religion in the world would give — Christ evaluates not only outward works but also hidden motives of the heart, as confirmed by Jeremiah 17:9–10 and 1 Samuel 16:7. The sermon emphasizes that first love for Christ is the true foundation and motivation for everything: genuine love for God leads naturally to love for fellow believers and for the lost, as taught in 1 John 4:16–21. The Apostle John — known as the apostle of love and pastor of the Ephesian church — must have been deeply grieved to receive this rebuke on behalf of his flock.

Christ calls the Ephesian church and all believers to three specific steps: first, remember the early days of first love to recognize the present coldness; second, repent sincerely before God, confessing that the heart has grown cold and that worship and service have become mere habit or social obligation; third, intentionally return to the first works — personal devotions, reading Scripture, prayer, listening to songs that once moved the heart, fellowship, and witnessing. The sermon warns that failure to repent will result in Christ removing the lampstand — meaning the church will cease to exist.

The sermon concludes with the promised reward for the one who overcomes: the right to eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God (Revelation 2:7), symbolizing eternal life in the new heaven and new earth, free from sin, sickness, and sorrow. The image of the tree of life — barred to humanity after the fall in Eden (Genesis 3:24) — is fully restored in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 22:2). Christ promises eternal life to all who keep their first love for Him undiminished and sincere.