• We strive to be a place where there can be honest discussion, debate and fellowship. The rules are few so you can speak your mind. We know we are living in tough times and we hope to share answers and help with each other. Please join us.

First Church: Ephesus

CoreIssue

Administrator
Staff member
Revelation 2New International Version (NIV)
To the Church in Ephesus
2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
They are commended but also there is a fault. They have forsaken (left) their first love.

While they were doing a lot of the right things, they were not doing them for Christ, he had been removed from their priorities and focus.
Strong's Number: 863 Browse Lexicon
Original Word
Word Origin
afiemi from (575) and hiemi (to send, an intens. form of eimi, to go)
Transliterated Word TDNT Entry
Aphiemi 1:509,88
Phonetic Spelling Parts of Speech
af-ee'-ay-mee Verb
Definition
  1. to send away
    1. to bid going away or depart
      1. of a husband divorcing his wife
    2. to send forth, yield up, to expire
    3. to let go, let alone, let be
      1. to disregard
      2. to leave, not to discuss now, (a topic) 1c
  2. of teachers, writers and speakers
      1. to omit, neglect
    1. to let go, give up a debt, forgive, to remit
    2. to give up, keep no longer
  3. to permit, allow, not to hinder, to give up a thing to a person
  4. to leave, go way from one
    1. in order to go to another place
    2. to depart from any one
    3. to depart from one and leave him to himself so that all mutual claims are abandoned
    4. to desert wrongfully
    5. to go away leaving something behind
    6. to leave one by not taking him as a companion
    7. to leave on dying, leave behind one
    8. to leave so that what is left may remain, leave remaining
    9. abandon, leave destitute
While commended, they are also rebuked.

Here we already see the beginnings of moving away from the leadership and teachings of Christ to those of men. The start of denominations.

We see a similar warning elesewhere.
1 Corinthians 1
10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,a]">[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephasb]">[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?
Galatians 1
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
Galatians 4
]8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
 

CTZonEdit

Site Administrator
Staff member
When it speaks of us having no divisions among us is that even possible, was it ever possible? Regarding the Gospel I would think there was a point in time where all were of one mind since they were right there before Christ himself. But now there are divisions over the Creation, and End-times, and even the Law.

Are we supposed to be of one mind on every aspect of the bible, history and such or only as it pertains to salvation and the Gospel?
 

CoreIssue

Administrator
Staff member
It is talking about who you listen to and accept as true doctrine.

We see denominationalism at work in these verses. Instead of studying and listening to what God said in his Bible, they listen to what the denominational leaders are telling them to believe. They are only listening to what one or a few people say the Bible means, how it is to be read, etc.

Lost is the ability to challenge, discuss, debate and use only the Bible to tell us what to believe.

2 Timothy 2
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
The KJV phrases it this way:
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Of course the Gospel, salvation, future resurrection and few other things are noted as not up for debate in the NT. They are the core fundamentals we need to agree upon. There is no excuse to not be able to figure those out.

The rest is subject to discussion and differences.

But, even there doctrines vary. Salvation by works vs grace alone, in example.

Eternal Security vs Conditional salvation deals with how much of a role you play in your salvation.

So yes, there is plenty of room for not agreeing on certain things. But no room on others.

There is no room for discussion on our being told to study and not just accept what a denomination tells you to believe.
1 Thessalonians 5 New International Version (NIV)
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.
There is not time limit on what the verses say. And no reason we cannot all follow this today.

Denominationalism is the surrender of of the need to study. An excuse.

When you ask people what religion they are, you often hear Catholic, Baptist Pentacostal, etc. Not Christian.

Or, when did you get that belief? They whip out their doctine, not the Bible.

How many churches will not allow you to join if you do not pledge to believe in and support their doctrine?
 
Top