Revelation 2:1-7

Ask any confessional Presbyterian what the church is supposed to look like and they will have an answer ready: sound doctrine, presbyterian government, and regulated worship. If those criteria were applied to the Ephesian church at the end of the apostolic era, it would appear that the Ephesian church would have been heartily welcomed into the club of Old School Presbyterianism. On Jesus’ own assessment, it had all of this and more. Yet, Jesus was not impressed. After commending the Ephesian church for soundness in faith and doctrine, He challenged their heart and threated to remove their lampstand because they had fallen from their first love. The point of this letter to the Ephesian church is that doctrinal orthodoxy without fervent love for Christ is offensive to God and will bring judgment upon the church.