Ephesians 1:1 KJV
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
I am beginning a brand new series of messages tonight from the book of Ephesians.
It is an important letter for a lot of reasons.
Ephesus, at the time of this writing, was one of the most important cities in the known world. Pliny, a Roman historian who lived just about the same time as Paul, called Ephesus one of the two “lights of the world.”
Paul said of Ephesus,
1 Corinthians 16:9 (KJV)
For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
Consequently Paul invested a great deal of time there.
Acts 19 tells us that he was there more than two years. Some students of the Bible believe he was there closer to three years.
That the members of the church in Ephesus were very closely attached to the Apostle Paul is evident;
Acts 20:16-38 (KJV)
For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,
Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:
And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.
And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him,
Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.
The church in Ephesus became such an important one that:
- Paul’s preacher boy Timothy and, later,
- The Apostle John,
both labored in this church.
But I want to remind you that this is not the only epistle found in the Bible that is written to the church in Ephesus.
Jesus Himself dictated a letter written by Apostle John to be delivered to the church in Ephesus,
Revelation 2:1-7 (KJV)
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
I want to take my cue for tonight’s message from 1 Corinthians 16:9 (KJV)
For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
The fact that there were adversaries in no way hindered Paul from going to Ephesus. But he was aware of them.
We are wise when we also are aware of those enemies of our faith.
I find three types of adversaries Paul faced in Ephesus:
I. THE VIOLENT
I think I see three levels of aggressiveness or violence toward Paul and the Christian faith:
A. Evil speaking
Acts 19:9 (KJV)
But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.
Christians in America have been so blessed that for the last 230 – some years we have lived relatively peacefully.
About the worst thing that ever happens to us is that
- Someone doesn’t believe what we believe or
- Someone speaks negatively about what we believe.
I don’t want to make too little of it because it warranted mention in the Bible.
But it can sure be worse.
B. Evil Spirits
Acts 19:14-16 (KJV)
And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
In this case it wasn’t directed at Paul, but it was real.
Evil spirits are still real and still active.
I think the only difference is that no one is willing to admit that it is what it is these days.
C. Evil stirring
Acts 19:23-28 (KJV)
And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.
For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.
Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
In the case of Ephesus, the townclerk prevented physical violence.
- Paul did not always escape that. he was eventually beheaded for the faith
- For almost 15 centuries, physical violence was the norm for true Christians
Violent adversaries against the Christian faith came from:
- The Jews
- The other religions
- The Government and
- The false forms of Christianity
Yet, for all the physical violence,
- The tortures
- The cruel deaths and
- The fleeing for their lives
The violent adversaries were by no means as dangerous to the Christian faith as the other two adversaries I want to show you.
Besides the violent there were,
II. THE VIRULENT
The word virulent means contagious or infectious.
I refer here to those who attempted to inject false doctrine into the churches.
In that other letter to the church in Ephesus Jesus told them,
Revelation 2:6 (KJV)
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
The two most aggressive false doctrines of the first century were:
- The Judaizers and later
- The Gnostics
Though no one is certain, many believe the Nicolaitanes to these Gnostics.
These guys blended Greek philosophy with Christianity.
They tried to make Christianity appealing to the more intellectual.
They remind me of theistic evolution
Somewhere some professing believer determined that there was no way to deny evolution.
So rather than denying the evolution happened, they came up with a way to explain how God created everything using evolution.
I think it is ridiculous and unnecessary.
I am just going to believe the Bible.
- God created everything
- God created it by speaking it into existence and not through evolution and
- God did it all in six 24 hour days, not billions of years.
Modern Gnosticism can get into Fundamental Baptist churches too.
Years ago I had a medical doctor who was a member of our church.
Dr. Drew was a really nice guy and supportive of me most of the time.
One time I was preaching out of the book of Joshua and, when I came to the place where Joshua commanded the sun and moon to stand still, I said that I believe that the sun and moon stood still exactly as the Bible says.
A few days later Dr. Drew dropped by with a book for me to read explaining what really happened in the book of Joshua.
I politely told him that I was aware of the position of this particular book, but that I did not believe the Bible needs to be explained away.
Dr. Drew said to me, “You will never have educated people in your church if you insist on preaching things like that.”
A third form of Gnosticism that is prevalent today is a mentality that certain Christians and certain preachers are just smarter than others.
They would claim that most preachers are good and honest men, they just don’t know better.
These might be the most dangerous because they come in to churches with a friendly spirit, but then they try to “teach” people in the church those things the pastor comes short on.
I find this sot of pernicious spirit among
- Those who believe in mid trib or pre wrath rapture
- Those who follow the teachings of Peter Ruckman and most recently
- Those who are buying in to neo-Calvinism
It’s amazing to me how many, mostly younger preachers are beginning to follow the teachings
- John MacArthur
- John Piper and
I heard one young pastor just the other day quote positively a modernistic Presbyterian pastor by the name of
- Tim Keller
They view these guys and smarter than our own pastors.
No wonder, when one of the most revered pastors in our churches has advanced degrees from
- Dallas Theological Seminary and
- Gordon Cromwell Seminary
Because, he personally told me, he wanted to see if he could cut it in truly academic schools.
Much more dangerous to the faith and violent adversaries are the virulent ones one bring in contagious and false doctrines.
But worse than either of the first two adversaries are,
III. THE VOLATILE
Revelation 2:2-4 (KJV)
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
The church at Ephesus
- Survived the violent adversaries and
- Stood up against the virulent adversaries
But by the end of the first century Jesus said He had one thing against them; they had left their first love.
- The most dangerous adversary any of us has
- The most dangerous adversary a church ever faces
Is the adversary that lives inside of each of us.
There is a seed, an element inside every Christian that, if not aggressively contended against, tends to backsliding.
- We give in just a little bit here
- We compromise just a little bit there
- We grow weary of well doing
And before we know it, we no longer have the same
- zeal,
- love and
- passion
for our faith.
It’s been a lot of years ago now that I was at a dinner table with two preachers whom I considered to be mentors above me.
One of them had worked many years as the associate pastor for one of the most well known and powerful pastors in America.
That well known pastor eventually backed off of some of the most Baptist of our Baptist distinctive and when his son became the pastor of the church, it lost all distinctiveness and influence.
I asked the pastor I was having dinner with, his name is Ron Jones, his son is preaching at the men’s retreat some of you are going to, what happened.
Bro Jones said he asked his pastor that very thing. His answer was, “I am just tired of the fight.”
- It got to be too hard to insist on Baptist baptism for all members
- It got too difficult to insist that the Lord’s Supper is for members of the local church only
And he just lost his passion for them.
Conclusion
- The most dangerous adversary this church faces.
- The most dangerous adversary you face in your own Christian life
Is the one that lives inside of you and would like you to just ease off a little bit.
- He’s not going to ask you to change your Bible convictions
- He’s only going to ask you to stop being so passionate about them.
And if he can rob you of your passion, he will rob you of your power to change your world for Christ.
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