The rich, poor church
When John wrote to the assembly at Laodicea, it could not be called a Christ-centered assembly. It had been at one time (Col. 4:15), but now it was the only one of the seven assemblies in Revelation where He was outside the meeting, knocking to get in (Rev. 3:20). Perhaps this helps explain why our Lord describes Himself from Revelation 1:5 rather than from John’s vision of Christ in Revelation 1:9-20, as with the other assemblies. In Revelation 1:5 John prays for grace rather than revealing Christ in the midst.
The Saviour’s Names
The Lord presents Himself to Laodicea as “the Amen,” the source of eternal reality. Believers end prayers with “amen” (1 Cor. 14:16) meaning “may it be so.” On earth, the Lord Jesus Christ alone began sayings with “Amen,” meaning “verily” or “truly.” Only John’s Gospel doubles the “amen.” It is equivalent to the Old Testament’s “Thus saith the Lord….”
He is also “the witness.” In Him, eternal reality is revealed. He faithfully bears witness, not sparing mere pretense. His witness is true and genuine; He can be relied upon. So Christ is the touchstone of every assembly. Only with Him in the midst is spiritual and eternal reality known and practiced.
Furthermore He is “the beginning of the creation of God.” All creation begins with Him as its creator and also as the firstborn (Col. 1:15), we being made in His image and likeness. This applies to both creations, old and new. Without Him in the center of the gathering, we need a new beginning as a local assembly.
The Saviour’s Rebuke
It is not surprising that He can say, “I know your works” (Rev. 3:15). He alone is the test of reality. The Lord uses the second person singular “you” in all these letters as He is writing to the assembly as a unit. Laodicea was no exception.
They were not “cold.” A cold glass of water on a hot day refreshes the soul (Mt. 10:42). A cool head bringing God’s peace in time of trouble reflects the presence of the Lord. Being a peace maker is more than mediating in times of trouble (Mt. 10:13) but certainly includes such intercession. Our Lord demonstrates such refreshing coolness in Gethsemane (Mt. 26:51ff) when Peter cut the ear off Malchus. Except for His cool spirit of perfect peace, murderous strife would have engulfed them all.
Neither were they “hot.” They were not on fire for the Lord. There was no zeal in their assembly affairs. A work without heart is a lifeless work. If we are not excited about our message and our ways, why would anyone else pay attention? Contrast this with the passion of Christ’s love for His own (Rev. 3:19).
Lukewarmness shows clearly that Christ is not in the midst. Nothing of Him was found in this assembly for He is surely “cold” as seen by His practical, spiritual advice in verse 18. He is just as surely “hot” as seen by His love in verse 19. The reality of Christ in the midst refreshes in all ways.
No doubt Laodicea held right doctrine, church order, and meetings. But no spiritual refreshment was to be had. Temporal glory (v. 17) was all they boasted of. There was no lasting value to their work. Perhaps they criticized others for being “emotional” (hot) on the one hand or “legal” (cold) on the other.
They also demonstrated that Christ was not in the midst by testifying of themselves (v. 17) which testimony is not true (Jn. 5:31). Strikingly, this is the only place in the book of Revelation where we read “you say” (second person). Clearly the word of the Lord was not in their mouth (Rom. 10:8f) so their works did not glorify God (Mt. 5:16). It seems proper that the Lord threatened to “spue thee out of My mouth” (v. 16). Imagine the faithful and true witness with nothing to say about us because we are not in His mouth!
An assembly that pats itself on the back is in great danger. Self-satisfaction takes what belongs to the Lord for its own. When we meet around Him, He is made known and glorified. Only so is His refreshing Spirit available.
The Saviour’s Solution
How could this assembly return to Christ-centeredness? The Lord counseled them (v. 18) to exchange their riches for pure gold proven in the heat of fire. Their enthusiasm had to be for Him. Perhaps a good start would have been to speak often (warmly) of Him, for we talk of what is important to us. They would quickly have found they didn’t have much to say. This would have forced them back to the Scriptures to learn of Him and His love.
He also counseled them to cool the burning shame of their nakedness with the robes of His righteousness. Their walk had to be by faith rather than feeling. When they began to boast of His doings in their lives, they may not have had much to say. This would have forced them to walk prayerfully by His Spirit. But they needed eyes opened by personally applying salve. Who other than the Amen, the faithful and true witness, to open them? They had to do more than read the Bible. They needed to hear His voice and know when He was speaking of them. A clear conviction of need makes the rest much easier.
Here for the first time in these seven letters the Lord addresses the individual. All seven letters end with a personal exhortation to the “hearers” and the “overcomers” but only here is the body of the letter addressed to an individual. The “anyone” of verse 20 refers to any individual in the meeting. Just as the whole impacts the individual, so the individual impacts the whole assembly. One person clearly makes a difference. Israel’s well-being was endangered by one man right at the start. In Joshua 7:21f Achan explains how he came to sin. He “saw…coveted… took…hid” what belonged exclusively to God. It began with a look but ended with God’s possession becoming Achan’s. In Joshua 7:2ff, the whole nation did the same thing. Israel saw that Ai was a small town and felt sure they could take it themselves. It seems Achan’s sin preceded Israel’s, influencing the whole camp.
The Church also had a similar incident in its early days. Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) sold a possession and gave it to the Lord. That was fine but they kept for themselves half of what they said they gave to Him. There was no burning zeal for Him. Their “cold” was selfish human calculation. As a result, they jeopardized the whole Church.
Is that what happened in Laodicea? Did they take the Lord’s portion as their own? They testified of their own greatness. But God is not deceived. He is the faithful and true witness who reveals all to them. His love is hot. His counsel is cold. Both provide refreshment.
Notice the grace of Christ. He did not demand but rather “wished” (v. 15, NASB) that they were like Him. He “counseled” (v. 18) them. Even more amazingly, the Lord of the Church stood outside knocking, patiently waiting for anyone to open the door and enjoy fellowship with Him.
Let Him cause your heart to burn. Let Him quiet your heart with His cool comfort. Then you can return to a Christ-centered meeting. How good is the God we adore!
Written by Jack Baker