AM Bible Study Group; February 10, 2016 from Revelation 3:14-22
Theme: We can be deceived by affluent materialism into apathy toward our Master.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
Each of the previous letters has given us an important spiritual warning. We must not lose our first love (as did the church in Ephesus), or be afraid of persecution (as was wonderfully untrue of the church in Smyrna) or compromise on doctrinal truth (as did the church in Pergamos), or tolerate immorality in our midst (as did the church in Thyatira), or become dead through complacency (as did the church in Sardis), or fail to persevere (as was not the case for the church in Philadelphia). So far, two churches received nothing but commendation from the Lord, and four were called to repent.
When we come to Jesus’ last letter to the seven churches, we find a church for whom—like the church in Sardis—there were no words of commendation; but only a call to repent. We find the Lord Jesus expressing His frustration with it. He wished that it was either hot in its zeal for Him or cold in its deadness to Him; but instead, He finds that it had been lulled by material comforts and a false sense of self-sufficiency into a blind, sleepy, self-deceiving complacency and apathy toward Him. The church itself thought everything was fine. But its spiritual ‘lukewarmness’ made our Lord want to spit it out of His mouth in disgust.
I. BACKGROUND ON THE CHURCH IN LAODICEA.
A. The city in which this church dwelt was founded by the Syrian king Antiochus II Theos, and was named after his wife Laodice in the third century B.C. In an agreement with the king of the southern regions in Egypt, Antiochus II consented to peace on two conditions: first, that he divorce his wife Laodice and marry the southern king’s daughter; and second, that any child of that southern princess would become the heir of Antiochus. The marriage took place; but when the southern king died, Antiochus went back to his first wife Laodice. Laodice, sought to secure her position by poisoning her untrustworthy husband Antiochus, and by having the southern princess, her attendants, and her infant son all killed. Laodice then installed her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus in Antiochus’ place. And that’s who this city was named after! The name Laodicea (laos + dikios) meant “A Righteous People”; but neither the people nor its namesake lived up to it.
C. Because it was a commercial center, this ancient city had developed a prosperous banking industry. As a result, it was very wealthy. A major earthquake occurred in the year 60 A.D. that had destroyed the city. But whereas other cities would have depended on the Roman government to provide the financial support for the rebuilding project, Laodicea was able to rebuild itself without any government subsidies whatsoever. It was also known for having quality grazing land that allowed for careful breeding of sheep. As a result, an industry developed in Laodicea around the production of garments woven from the sheep’s’ unique, soft, glossy black wool. This wool was in high demand around the region; and it made Laodicea famous for its garments. It also had a reputation of being a substantial medical city. One of its most famous medical products was a salve made from Phrygian powder mixed with certain oils. This salve became an important healing product—specifically for eyes. In spite of these things, it had one major disadvantage. Water had to be brought into the city from nearly six miles away through a system of underground stone pipes. The water may have been cool and refreshing at its source; but by the time it had reached the city, it was lukewarm and stale. (The local folks used to enjoy watching visitors taste it for the first time—and spit it out in disgust.)
C. As far as the people in the church were concerned, everything was fine. The Christians who lived there were rich and had made themselves wealthy; and so, they thought they didn’t need anything. But they were dreadfully wrong. They had grown spiritually indifferent and apathetic toward Jesus. When He came to them, they left Him standing outside the door—knocking to be let in.
II. THE LORD’S INTRODUCTION TO THE INDFFERENT CHURCH (V. 14).
A. He introduces Himself as “the Amen”. The word is ordinarily used as an affirmation of the truth of something—that it’s something firm, stable and credible. Jesus is, to His church, the embodiment of “amen”. All the promises of God are “Yes” and “Amen” in Him (see 2 Corinthians 1:20).
B. He also introduces Himself as “the Faithful and True Witness”. The church may have been lulled into a self-deception about its true condition; and as a result, its witness to the world was hampered. But Jesus bears a witness to the world of His Father that is characterized by faithfulness and truth. Even if His church fails to be a true and faithful witness, He will never fail to be so.
C. He introduces Himself as “the Beginning of the creation of God”. This isn’t saying that Jesus was a created being—as though He were the very first of all of God’s creation. Here, the word translated “beginning” describes Him as the Originator and Source of all of God’s creation (see John 1:1-5 and Colossians 1:15-18). Sometimes, the same word is translated “ruler”.
III. THE LORD’S DIAGNOSIS OF INDIFFERENCE (vv. 15-16).
A. He says, “I know your works . . .” He has said this same thing in the introduction of every one of His letters to the other churches; and it is always true. The church may be mistaken about its true condition; but He isn’t. He knows each one’s works; and is in no way fooled by outward appearances.
B. What He knew about the Laocidean church—which the church itself apparently didn’t realize—was “that you are neither cold nor hot”. This church was neither fervent for Him nor in open opposition to Him; neither a zealous witness to for Him nor a violent persecutor of Him; neither His sacrificial servant nor His spiteful adversary; neither His faithful follower nor His bitter enemy. This church was somewhere in the middle.
C. Jesus makes an amazing statement about this ‘in the middle’ church: “I could wish you were cold or hot.” He actually says that He’d prefer anything over a lukewarm Christian—even someone flatly cold to Him! Jesus can direct someone who’s “hot”, and can convert someone who’s “cold”. He says “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”
D. It’s important to note that, in the original language of Jesus’ words, He qualifies this statement with a word that means “about to”; and it’s best translated, “I am about to spew you out of My mouth.” He hadn’t done so yet; but He was on the verge of doing so. This indicates a warning of the imminence of His coming discipline. He has a close relationship with this church now; but because of it was spiritually indifferent, complacent and tepid, He threatened to spew it out of His mouth. But this also indicates His mercy, even in judgment. He is only “about” to spew it out; suggesting that there’s still time for it to repent of its lukewarm condition.
IV. THE LORD’S DESCRIPTION OF THE CAUSE OF LUKEWARMNESS (v. 17).
A. The Lord goes on to describe how overly-confident this church was about things as they were. Notice what they were saying about themselves:
1. “I am rich.” It may be that they were speaking in terms of their own sense of spiritual strength and maturity; or it may be that they were literally “rich” in a material sense. It’s a sad fact that many churches measure their blessedness before Christ on the basis of their financial prosperity. (There’s a story told about St. Thomas Aquinas. The pope showed him the material wealth of the church and said, “So you see, Thomas; the church no longer has to say, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’” Thomas replied, “But neither can it say, ‘Rise up and walk’!”)
2. This sense of being “rich” takes on an even more insidious tone in the Laodicean church’s next phrase; “I have become wealthy.” In the Greek, this is phrased in such a way as to suggest the idea, “I have arrived to the state of being wealthy through my own efforts.” It’s a deeply ‘self-reliant’ kind of statement, utterly lacking in humility toward its divine Provider and Protector.
3. This independent spirit reaches its worst form when we read the next phrase; “and have need of nothing”—no repentance was needed; no grieving over sin was needed; no pardon from Jesus was needed. It was a church that almost thought it didn’t need the grace of the Lord Jesus anymore! What a horrible state for our Lord’s church to be in!
B. These self-assured people didn’t know the truth of their situation, however. It as a truly desperate one. As our Lord goes on to tell them, they didn’t know that—in reality—they were . . .
1. “Wretched”. This is a word that describes someone who is desperately unfortunate and helpless, and in grave need of someone else to come and rescue them. It’s found in only one other place in the New Testament: in Romans 7:24, where Paul says, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
2. “Miserable.” This word describes someone who is an object of pity. “Pitiful” might be a way of translating this word. It, too, is used in only one other place in the New Testament; in 1 Corinthians 15:19, where Paul says, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
3. “Poor.” This word doesn’t simply describe someone who is below the poverty level. It describes extreme poverty to the point of beggarliness. Jesus used this word in reference to the church in Smyrna (see Revelation 3:9). But here, Jesus tells the Laodicean church what we might think of as the opposite of what He told Smyrna—”I know all about your so-called ‘riches’; but you are really in extreme poverty and don’t even have a clue!”
4. “Blind.” Blindness is often presented in the Bible as a figure of speech for an absence of spiritual insight (see 2 Peter 1:5-9). These folks thought that they had great insight; but in reality, they were utterly ignorant of their true condition. Blindness about one’s own condition before God is the worst kind of blindness there is!
5. “Naked.” Jesus warned, in Revelation 16:15; “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” As far as the Laodiceans were concerned, they thought that they were walking about in robes of wealth and prosperity—in need of nothing to cover themselves. but Jesus tells them that, as far as He was concerned, they’re walking about in shameful nakedness and didn’t even know it!
C. The remarkable thing is that this church had probably started off “hot”. Paul apparently wrote a letter to the church in Laodicea, because he told the Colossian believers, “Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16). Some scholars believe that the New Testament epistle that we call “Ephesians” is in reality this letter to the Laodiceans. Yet, over time, this church began to cool in its fervency. It didn’t become “cold”; that is, it didn’t deny Jesus altogether. But it became so comfortable with where it was in the context of this world that it began to be blind to its true need. It ceased to be fervent; and the way its fervency was compromised was through the deceit of worldly self-confidence and comfort.
V. THE LORD ADVISES THE CURE (v. 18-19).
A. He counsels them to buy true riches from Him. The riches of Jesus’ grace are always free for the asking (see Isaiah 55:1-2; Revelation 22:17). But here, Jesus is saying something with a bit of sarcasm to it: “You who are ‘so rich’; I advise you to ‘buy’ certain necessary things from Me.”
1. “Gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich . . .” Such refined gold is an illustration of the godly product that comes from going faithfully through times of trial (see 1 Peter 1:6-7; Matthew 5:11-12).
2. “And white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed . . .” White robes have a special significance in the Scriptures. They symbolize the righteousness of Jesus applied to the believer (see Revelation 3:4-5; 7:14; 16:15). Jesus counsels these believers to put on once again His righteousness and to live in a consistent pattern of personal holiness.
3. “And anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” There’s no blindness more terrible than blindness to someone’s own real condition before God. They needed to see things as Jesus saw them. The truth is always there for the asking.
B. He also advises zealous repentance (v. 19). He says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” Note how He uses the word for strong affection and a kindly and sympathetic attitude. Our Lord isn’t just saying that He loved these lukewarm Laodiceans; but also that He has genuine affection and compassion for them. And He rebukes and disciplines everyone that He loves in this sense. Examples of the kind of repentance He speaks of may be that they:
1. Repent of neglecting our time with Him in prayer and private worship.
2. Repent of allowing the cares and demands of this life to usurp His primary place in our hearts.
3. Repent of refusing to say ‘no’ when this world seeks to entertain us with or
conform us to its own values and priorities.
4. Repent of the way we sometimes try to live our lives without a sense of total dependency upon Him.
VI. THE LORD’S PROMISE (vv. 20-21).
A. “Behold,” He said, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.” What a remarkable verse! And let’s always remember—these are words that the Lord Jesus spoke to a church! The literal sense of what Jesus says is that He has ‘taken His permanent stand’ at the door. And as a continual, habitual, ongoing act, He knocks. It’s because of His determined desire for fellowship with His saints.
B. For Jesus to make this offer—that His people welcome Him in and enjoy intimate fellowship with Him—is itself a blessing beyond description. But there’s more. He says, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” This is an offer not only to have intimate fellowship with Him, but an invitation to reign with Him in kingly glory (see Matthew 19:28; Revelation. 20:6). What a greater offer of ‘affluence’ this is than anything that could be gained from this world!
VII. THE LORD’S CONCLUSION (v. 22).
Jesus says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” His word to Laodicea is a word to all His churches—including our own.
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In a sermon, Charles Spurgeon once said, “It is harder a great deal to work for Jesus with a church which is lukewarm than it would be to begin without a church. Give me a dozen earnest spirits and put me down anywhere in London, and by God’s good help we will soon cause the wilderness and the solitary place to rejoice; but give me the whole lot of you, half-hearted, undecided, and unconcerned, what can I do? You will only be a drag upon a man’s zeal and earnestness. Five thousand members of a church all lukewarm will be five thousand impediments, but a dozen earnest, passionate spirits, determined that Christ shall be glorified and souls won, must be more than conquerors; in their very weakness and fewness will reside capacities for being the more largely blessed of God. Better nothing than lukewarmness” (from Treasury of The Bible, vol. 8, p. 719).
May His Holy Spirit show us the truth about ourselves as a church; and may we seek, by His power, to be zealous for the Savior. May our Lord never find us to be “lukewarm” toward Him.