The first epistle was to the church in Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7). It provides a picture of the church at the end of the initial stage, during the last part of the first century. The word Ephesus in Greek means “desirable.” This signifies that the initial church at its end was still desirable to the Lord; the Lord still had much expectation in her.
The church in Ephesus had works, labor, endurance, and much discernment, being able to try the false apostles and to reject them (v. 2). These false apostles were those whom Paul referred to in 2 Corinthians 11:13, which says, “Such ones are false apostles, deceitful workers, transfiguring themselves into apostles of Christ.” The last time Paul met with the elders of the church in Ephesus, he told the elders to beware of these persons, saying, “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among you yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverted things to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30). Because the apostleship is very important in the Lord’s church, unlawful ones pretend to be apostles.
False apostles were already present before the apostles passed away. After the apostles’ departure, there were even more false apostles. At the end of the initial stage of the church, false apostles were not accepted by the believers. The church in Ephesus tried those who called themselves apostles and were not and found them to be false. The trying of the false apostles, together with their works, labor, and endurance were all approved by the Lord.
The New Testament reveals that the church, as the bride of Christ (John 3:29), is a matter of love. In his Epistle to the church in Ephesus Paul prays for the saints to be strengthened that they might be rooted and grounded in love to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ (3:16-19). He also says, “Peace to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruptibility” (6:23-24). However, in the epistle to the church in Ephesus in the book of Revelation, the Lord rebuked them for having left their first love (2:4). According to The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, an ancient book written approximately ten or twenty years after the writing of Revelation, the church at the end of the initial stage still held the pure faith and hoped for the Lord’s second coming, but she had left her first love toward the Lord. A sentence in the book says, “If you have wealth, give with your own hands, that your soul may have its ransom.” This refers to the giving of wealth as payment for sins; it does not refer to the Lord’s redeeming blood. What a degradation! Hence, the Lord admonished the church in Ephesus to “remember therefore where you have fallen from and repent and do the first works”; otherwise, the Lord would come to her and would remove her lampstand out of its place unless she repented (v. 5).
The church in Ephesus hated the works of the Nicolaitans, which the Lord also hated (v. 6). Nicolaos is composed of two words, one meaning “conquer or be victorious over” and another meaning “common people, secular people, or laity.” Thus, it means conquering the common people, being victorious over the laity. Therefore, Nicolaitans must refer to a group of people who esteem themselves higher than common believers. According to church history at the end of the initial stage, the Nicolaitans intervened among the saints, producing two classes: the clergy and the laity. This system was gradually adopted by the Roman Catholic Church and has been retained by the Protestant churches. Today the priestly system of the Roman Catholic Church, the clerical system of the state churches, and the pastoral system of the independent churches are a mediatorial class that spoils the universal priesthood of all believers in the proper church life (1:6; 5:10; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9).
In the second century Ignatius wrote to the church in Ephesus, saying, “It is very obvious that as we honor the Lord Himself, we should also honor the bishop [i.e., overseer].” The word bishop here is singular. According to the New Testament revelation, an overseer in a local church is an elder (Acts 20:17, 28). Two titles refer to the same person—elder, denoting a person of maturity, and overseer, denoting the function of an elder. However, Ignatius taught that an overseer, a bishop, is higher than an elder. This erroneous teaching was the source of the episcopal system of ecclesiastical government from which came the hierarchy of bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and the pope in the Roman Catholic Church. In the Lord’s eyes these are the works of the Nicolaitans and are abominable. The church in Ephesus hated what the Lord hated. They sympathized with the Lord and were truly pleasing to Him.