One of the most sobering aspects of human existence is that important lessons of history go unheeded or are soon forgotten. As a result, mistakes of the past are repeated again and again by individuals who fail to learn from history. The story of God’s Church is no exception. In this article we will examine an important warning the Eternal God inspired and recorded in His Word that has clear application for us today.
Remarkable Parallels
The history of the Church of God is outlined (in prophetic form) in the 2nd and 3rd chapters of the Book of Revelation. As we approach the end of this age the people of God have grown more concerned about the messages recorded for the Philadelphian and Laodicean eras of the Church—and rightly so! However, it is instructive to notice a number of remarkable similarities between conditions in the Church at the end of the age and the circumstances that existed in the Church during the first century—the Ephesian era.
The Ephesian era represents the Church started by Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Jesus’ ministry began in the second decade of the first century (the late 20’s). The New Testament Church actually began in the 30’s (see Acts 2). The book of Acts covers events in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Paul’s epistles were written in the mid-50’s and early 60’s. These were times of rapid growth in the early Church. The books of I, II, III John and Revelation were probably written in the 90’s. These books indicate that within 60 years of its founding by Jesus Christ and the Apostles, serious problems and divisions had arisen in the Church. The Bible explains why these problems developed, and records lessons that are for our admonition today (I Cor. 10:11).
The modern era of the Church of God appears to have begun in the late 1920’s with the call of Herbert Armstrong. Mr. Armstrong started the Radio Church of God in the 1930’s. The 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s were periods of rapid growth for the Church of God. However, beginning in the 1970’s, problems and divisions were becoming apparent. By the 1990’s, after the death of Mr. Armstrong, serious splits and factions developed. Within 60 years of the founding of the modern era, devastating divisions engulfed the Church— just like in the first century! The question is—what can we learn from the lessons of history that God has recorded in His Word? What can we glean from the admonitions given to the Ephesian Church? How can we avoid the mistakes of the past?
The Warning to Ephesus
The Church at Ephesus, depicting the churches of the first century founded by the Apostles trained by Jesus Christ, is praised for its works, patience, labor and perseverance for the truth of God. They are also commended for being able to discern true apostles from deceiving impostors (Rev. 2:2-3; see also how Peter handled the encounter with a teacher named Simon in Samaria in Acts 8:9-23). The Scriptures, however, record a sobering admonition to the churches of the Ephesian era! God plainly states, “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”(Rev. 2:4-5).
The lesson of the Ephesian era churches is that they lost their original focus! As time went on they drifted away from their founding mission and purpose. They apparently forgot why they had been called out of the world and into the Church. As a result they began to splinter into factions and to follow different leaders with different ideas (I Cor. 1:10-17). In order for us to be able to learn important lessons from the experience of the first century church, we must clearly understand what they lost sight of. We must get a clear focus on the mission and purpose that Jesus Christ outlined for the Church—that they drifted away from!
The Basic Commission
Today many people have different ideas of why the church was founded and what it is supposed to be doing. However, Jesus Christ gave specific nstructions to his first disciples. The night before He was crucified, Jesus told His disciples “If you love Me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Love of God is equated with following His instructions. After His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus told his disciples to go to all nations “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:20). But just what commands did Jesus give to the disciples He used to raise up the New Testament Church? What was their focus to be? What were they commissioned to do?
Notice the beginning of Christ’s ministry. Jesus told His disciples “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). He urged them to think bigger than just themselves, and He set an example for them to follow. Jesus was busy preaching the gospel of the coming kingdom of God and attending to the needs of people (Matt. 4:23). When He sent the twelve out on their initial training mission He commissioned them to preach this same gospel of the Kingdom and to heal the sick (Matt. 10:7-8). Jesus also indicated that His disciples would not complete this mission before He returned (Matt. 10:23). Bible prophecy states that this gospel of the kingdom of God would be preached to all the world at the end of the age as a witness (Matt. 24:14). This has been the focus of the Church of God for the last 50-60 years. We have been united in that focus for over half a century.
However, some today feel this job—of preaching the gospel of the coming kingdom of God to the world—has been accomplished. Their focus has turned inward—on getting themselves and the Church ready for Christ to return—instead of sharing the exciting hope of the kingdom with mankind. Today, for some, the gospel has become merely a gospel of “good works”—which Jesus himself said was a misunderstanding of His original instructions (Matt.7:21-23). In this sense many have begun to drift away from what has been—for nearly a half century—their first love!
A second important purpose given to the Church by Jesus Christ was to warn this world of the sobering and climactic events that will precede His second coming. Entire chapters of three gospels are devoted to this theme—Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21.
Paul, Peter and John emphasize the same warning (II Thes. 2, II Tim. 3, II Pet. 3, and the entire book of Revelation). Jesus repeatedly urged disciples who would be alive at the end of the age to WATCH world events (Matt. 24:36-44; 25:13; Mark 13:32-37). For people to remain alert and watchful, someone needs to function as a WATCHMAN. This is the message of chapters 3 and 33 of Ezekiel. This, too, has been an important function of the Church of God for the last half century! It has been a mission that has united us. However, there are some who feel this is not our job and is no longer necessary. This is another aspect of the “first love” that has been forgotten—a focus that has been lost!
Jesus gave another vital commission to His disciples. He told them to “feed my sheep” (John 21: 15-19). That feeding involves teaching those who are called out of this world about the mission of the Church and how to live by every word of God so they can learn to live according to the rules that will govern every aspect of life in the coming kingdom of God. The Church is to be busy preparing individuals to function as the leaders—kings and priests—in God’s coming kingdom. Such individuals must come to understand the real causes and solutions to the problems facing mankind—not just participate in church social occasions. They must develop the capability to function as part of an effective world-ruling government under Jesus Christ—instead of resisting and resenting godly authority. They must be of the same mind, able to work together as a smoothly functioning team—instead of being preoccupied with “doing their own thing.”
Sadly, some today seem to feel that having their own minister, their own song books, their own church building or preaching their own ideas is evidence that the flock is being fed. Jesus Christ, however, was moved by His compassion for the plight of mankind (Matt. 23:37) and He urged His true disciples to be willing to sacrifice their personal wishes, ideas and comforts in order to finish the job—of conveying the hope of the gospel to a dying world (Luke 9:58-62). For most of us, learning the Truth of God was not just to feed ourselves. We learned that “to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48). We felt deeply that our responsibility was to be part of a work that involved sharing the good news we had come to understand and to warn this world of the coming judgment of God. This has been our historical focus!
For decades, through the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, Mr. Armstrong was the only minister many people ever knew or heard—over radio or TV—yet many people were fed and many people grew spiritually. Today, we have ministers, tapes and videos, magazines and newsletters for feeding the flock as well as preaching the gospel of the coming kingdom of God and for warning the world. To accomplish the fundamental missions of the Church and follow the instructions of Jesus Christ, decisions must be made about the allocation of resources. Not everyone would make those decisions the same way. That is where leadership and respect for leadership comes in. It is the job of those in leadership positions to keep the Church focused on the basic commission Jesus gave to the Church— preaching the gospel of the kingdom to the world, warning the world of coming cataclysmic events, and feeding the flock. All three aspects are important. We cannot pick and choose from among the three. When some decide to focus on one aspect of the commission and others focus on other aspects divisions arise. This is a fundamental lesson from both the Bible and history.
Early Zeal
Jesus Christ, as the founder of the Church, set the initial example. He was focused on doing the work He was given to do. He stated to His disciples “my food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish the work” (John 4:34-36). He told His disciples there was plenty of work to do, and that it needed to be done while there was opportunity to do it (John 9:4)! The early disciples followed the example of their Master. The Church began with a sense of unity and common purpose (Acts 2:1, 40-46). They asked God for boldness and guidance as the Church began to grow (Acts 4:29-31). Even in the face of persecution that scattered the Church they “went everywhere preaching the word” that Jesus had given to them (Acts 8:1-4). In the early chapters we find Philip preaching “the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12). In the last chapter of the same book we find the apostle Paul preaching the same gospel of the kingdom of God and teaching about Jesus Christ (Acts 28:23, 31). They continued preaching what they had been commanded by their Master in spite of persecution and threats of physical harm. The initial picture of the first century Church is one of a highly motivated, sharply focused and unified group of believers. They were excited about their calling and their commission. They enthusiastically embraced their “first love.”
Problems Arise
This ideal situation, however, did not last long. On his last visit to Ephesus (in 56 or 57 AD) the apostle Paul warned the assembled elders that “after my departure savage wolves (false teachers) will come in among you, not sparing the flock” and that “from among your own selves men will rise up, speaking perverse (misleading) things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:29-31). Paul had to deal with divisive factions that developed around personalities (I Cor. 1:10-13), with different ideas about what constituted the gospel (Gal. 1:6-9), with different ideas about Jesus Christ and even different spirits that were influencing congregations (II Cor.11:1-4). Paul clearly labeled those who promoted such divisive ideas as agents of the Devil—in spite of the fact they claimed to be ministers of Jesus Christ (I Cor. 11:12-15).
Nearly every one of the epistles deals with issues that erupted to trouble and divide the early New Testament Church. False teachers and misleading doctrinal ideas seemed to pop up everywhere. Paul warns Timothy that “the time will come when they [people in the Church] will not endure sound doctrine” but having itching ears would flock to false teachers and would “turn their ears away from the truth” to believe fables instead (II Tim. 4:1-5). Paul reminds Titus that a true elder must be found “holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught” (Titus 1:7-9). Peter warned that false teachers would “secretly bring in destructive heresies” and would use “deceptive words” to exploit people and lead them astray (II Pet. 2:1-3). He describes these false teachers as presumptuous, self-willed and despisers of those in authority (II Pet. 2:10).
Near the end of the first century John states that “many deceivers have gone out into the world” (II John :7) and he describes one situation where “Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence” was actually putting true believers out of the congregation he presided over (III John: 9-10). Jude admonishes his audience to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once and for all delivered to the saints” because certain individuals had subtly and deliberately twisted and perverted the instructions and truth that Jesus gave to the original Apostles. The gospel Jesus proclaimed about the coming kingdom of God was altered to became a gospel about Jesus’ person and about love and good works. Instead of looking forward to reigning with Christ on earth converts were told about the glories of going to heaven. In place of the hope of becoming part of God’s family, God was increasingly described as a closed Trinity. Instead of focusing on preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, the Church was divided by arguments over the nature of God.
At the close of the first century the picture of the Ephesian era of the Church—the Church founded by Christ and the Apostles—is of a church that is increasingly divided and struggling with a growing list of false or perverted doctrines promoted by misguided teachers. It is a Church that has lost its unity, its sense of mission and its original focus. This is the context in which John is given the admonition regarding the Ephesian era of the church (Rev. 2:1-7). God reveals that the problems of the early first century Church were due to the fact they had lost their focus! They had drifted off course. They had ceased to follow Christ’s clear example and His specific instructions. This is a sobering indictment, but it is the lesson that God chose to record in the Scriptures about the first century Church. The lesson is preserved in the Bible for those who “have ears to hear!”
Modern Applications
So what can we learn as we compare our present situation to the conditions that developed in the Ephesian era of the Church of God? How can we avoid making the same mistakes? The most important lesson is that we must maintain the same focus that Jesus Christ emphasized through His example and His instructions to the disciples. Our goal, as it has been for over fifty years, must be to preach the gospel of the coming kingdom of God to this world and to function as a watchman to warn this world of the dramatic events that will mark the imminent return of the Savior of mankind. This commission requires a coordinated team effort. It cannot be done effectively by uncoordinated, piecemeal attempts of isolated individuals. That is why Jesus Christ founded a Church. The churches of the Ephesian era got into trouble when they lost this fundamental focus— leaving their first love—as they began following individuals who pointed congregations in different directions. Such individuals must be clearly labeled as false teachers who cause divisions—in spite of their “good intentions”.
For years we have emphasized the importance of “proving all things” and “holding fast to what is good” (I Thes. 5:21). In order to avoid getting caught up in reasonable-sounding yet misleading ideas, we must know what the Bible clearly teaches. This requires regular, personal study of the Scriptures (II Tim. 2:14-16). Christians in the early Church had to do this (Acts 17:11; Rev. 2:2). We must do the same today to avoid being led off in reasonable but wrong directions. We must remember Paul’s admonition to Titus to hold onto what we have been taught (Titus 1:9) in spite of the fact that well-meaning critics may assert that we are stuck in the past and are unwilling to change. Here, again, it is an issue of staying focused!
We must also learn to think about bigger issues than just our own personal needs and desires. Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth to save mankind, to establish a world-ruling government that will address and solve global problems. He needs individuals who have learned to think about more than local church issues and individual concerns. We have been called to prepare to rule the world with Jesus Christ—that should be our focus—not to just play church! Future members of the family and government of God must be able to respect those God has put in positions of authority and work smoothly together to get jobs accomplished (I Thes. 5:12-13). Personal preferences and agendas cannot be allowed to disrupt and redirect the commission Jesus gave to His Church. We must stay focused on the mission that Christ commanded His disciples to accomplish.
Finally, we cannot afford to become lukewarm regarding the commission we have been given. Christ’s commandments matter! His instructions are not issues for debate and discussion. To entertain such an approach only fosters discord and division. The focus then becomes fuzzy and blurred. People begin drifting away. The sense of mission dissipates and the mission falters. That is what happened to the Church in the first century. That is the clear lesson of both Scripture and history. Brethren, we cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the early Church. We must remain focused. We must follow the clear example and the plain instructions of Jesus Christ. That is how we can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. That is how we will gain the crown and the reward that God promises to His faithful servants (Rev. 3:10-12). That is the importance of staying focused!