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The Necessity of Humility June 25, 2017

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The Necessity of Humility June 25, 2017 Study Notes The Necessity of Humility June 25, 2017 Revelation 3:14-22 To the Church in Laodicea 14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. 15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” 1 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org Study Notes 14. This is the one letter in which the titles of Christ are not drawn from the description ​ in chapter 1. They stress his faithfulness and his authority. The Amen reflects ‘the God of ​ ​ truth’ (lit. ‘the God of Amen’, Isa. 65:16) and is reinforced with the faithful and true witness ​ (cf. 1:5). This reliability stands in sharp contrast to the unfaithfulness of the Christians in this city. Ruler (archē) combines the thoughts that Christ has the supreme authority over ​ ​ ​ creation and that he is the origin of created being (cf. John 1:3; Col. 1:15–18). There are a number of resemblances in Colossians (which Paul had directed to be read in Laodicea, Col. 4:16) to expressions in this letter. It is a reasonable conclusion that the Laodicean church had copied and treasured Colossians and that John is appealing to their knowledge of it. 15. The deeds of this church are summed up in the accusation you are neither cold nor ​ ​ ​ ​ hot. The imagery may be derived from the water-supply of the city which appears to have ​ been drawn from hot springs at some distance, so that it arrived at the city lukewarm. This forms a contrast with the hot springs at nearby Hierapolis and the cold, refreshing water at Colosse. ‘Hot water heals, cold water refreshes, but lukewarm water is useless for either purpose, and can serve only as an emetic.’ Alternatively the words may mean that the Christianity of this church was lukewarm, when the meaning would be ‘outright denial is better than phoney piety’ (Orr). To prefer a rejection of the faith to the way the Laodiceans professed it is startling to say the least (cf. 2 Pet. 2:21). But to profess Christianity while remaining untouched by its fire is a disaster. There is more hope for the openly antagonistic than for the coolly indifferent. ‘There is no one farther from the truth in Christ than the one who makes an idle profession without real faith’ (Walvoord). Their coolness was a denial of all that Christ stands for. 16. Lukewarm (chliaros, here only in biblical Greek) underlines the trouble, which is ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ spelt out in the repetition of neither hot nor cold. On I am about to (mellō) Simcox ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ comments, ‘The word used does not necessarily imply that the intention is final, and v. 19 shows that it is not.’ A very strong warning has been given, but it is still a warning. To spit ​ you out of my mouth expresses in the strongest way a vigorous repudiation of the ​ Laodiceans. Lukewarmness is not to be endured. The Ephesians were condemned for too great a zeal, coupled as it was with lovelessness, the Laodiceans for too little. 17. This church says (habitually, present tense), I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do ​ ​ not need a thing (contrast Smyrna, where the church was poor materially but rich ​ spiritually, 2:9). Laodicea was a self-reliant city. It did indeed receive help from the government in AD 17, but when it was destroyed by the earthquake in AD 60, Tacitus could ​ ​ ​ ​ say the city ‘without any relief from us, recovered itself by its own resources’. But this commendable attitude in material things can be a disaster if carried over into the spiritual realm. The Laodicean church saw itself as wealthy and there is an article before wretched which yields the sense ‘You are the wretched one’, ‘the wretched one par ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org Study Notes excellence’ (Charles). Where an unsatisfactory state of affairs is concerned this church leads ​ all the rest. It is pitiful (eleeinos, ‘in need of mercy’); it is poor, blind and naked, which is ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ surely a hit at Laodicea’s banking, medical school, and clothing manufacturers. For poor ​ (ptōchos) see note on 2:9. ​ ​ 18. For this threefold deficiency the remedy is in Christ. From him they should buy gold ​ ​ refined in the fire (cf. 1 Pet. 1:7), real wealth. White clothes should be seen against the city’s ​ ​ ​ reputation for making clothing from black wool. Nakedness was in the ancient world the ​ ​ ultimate humiliation (cf. 2 Sam. 10:4; Isa. 20:4; Ezek. 16:37–39; Nah. 3:5; etc.), while contrariwise to be clothed in fine clothing was to receive honour (Gen. 41:42; Esth. 6:6–11; Dan. 5:29). The putting of salve on the eyes may allude to the fact that there was a ​ ​ ​ ​ world-famous remedy for sore eyes which came from Phrygia and may have been especially associated with Laodicea. Christ alone gives real sight (cf. John 9:39). 19. Those (hosous, ‘as many as’) makes no exceptions. Chastening is the lot of all whom ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ God loves (cf. Prov. 3:12). On love Charles comments, ‘It is a touching and unexpected ​ ​ manifestation of love to those who deserve it least among the Seven Churches.’ The I is emphatic; chastening comes not from hostile forces but from the Lord of the church himself. This is the basis of an exhortation to a continuing state of zeal (be earnest, zēleue, is ​ ​ present continuous) and a decisive act of repentance (repent is aorist of once-for-all ​ ​ repentance). 20. Here I am! (paraphrase for ‘Behold’) is vivid. John sees it before his eyes. Christ is ​ ​ ​ there, standing at the door. He is knocking, where the tense signifies not a perfunctory rap, but a knocking continued in the hope of a response. Up till this point the letter has been addressed to the church as a whole, but now there is a change. If anyone is an appeal to the ​ ​ individual. Even if the church as a whole does not heed the warning, some individuals may. There is a note of tender pleading and probably also that of love (cf. Song 5:2). Christ promises to enter in to anyone who opens the door. More than that: I will eat (deipnēso) ​ … ​ ​ ​ conveys the thought of familiar intercourse. The deipnon was the main meal of the day and ​ ​ was a leisurely affair, not a hurried snack (cf. John 14:23). And he with me brings the ​ ​ believer into active fellowship. It is not necessary for the sense, but it emphasizes the continuing fellowship. It all forms a remarkably tender appeal to a church far gone from its rightful state. 21. The throne signifies royal honour, and a place with Christ is the highest honour ​ ​ ​ conceivable for a Christian. This is emphasized by likening it to the way Christ is enthroned with the Father (cf. 22:1, 3). Just as I overcame is important. Christ overcame by the way of ​ ​ the cross and this set the pattern for his followers (cf. 12:11). They face grim days. But let them never forget that what seemed Christ’s defeat was in fact his victory over the world. 3 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org Study Notes 1 They need not fear if they are called upon to suffer, for in that way they too will conquer. 3:14–22 The letter to the church in Laodicea Laodicea was situated on the bank of the River Lycus. Its position at the junction of three imperial roads traversing Asia Minor favoured its development as a wealthy commercial and administrative centre. Three facts known throughout the Roman world about the city throw light on this letter: it was a banking centre, whose banks even Cicero recommended for exchanging money; it manufactured clothing and woollen carpets, made especially from the glossy black wool of sheep reared locally; and it had a medical school and produced medicines, notably an eye ointment made from a pulverized rock in the area. The stern characterization of the church’s spiritual life (17) and the call for its repentance (18) are both couched in terms of these three activities of the city. 14 As the Amen Jesus is the embodiment of the faithfulness and truthfulness of God (see ​ ​ ​ Is. 65:16). The Christian use of ‘Amen’ adds the thought that he is also the guarantor and executor of the purposes of God.
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