In a recent episode of The John Bevere Podcast, John Bevere and his son Arden walked listeners through the sobering yet hopeful message Jesus gave to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2. Though praised for their commitment to truth and discernment, the Ephesian believers were confronted with a heart issue many in today’s church may also face: the loss of their first love.
“You can’t get a more direct message from Jesus about the churches post-Resurrection than these,” Bevere said. “God never would have put this in Scripture had it not all applied to you and I today.”
Ephesus, a city once known as “the light of Asia,” was a cultural and spiritual powerhouse. It was home to one of the largest churches in the first century. Bevere noted, “It literally was huge… Timothy was pastoring a mega church, so to speak.”
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Jesus’ words to this influential church, found in Revelation 2:2-3, were both affirming and alarming. Bevere read the passage: “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.”
Despite the impressive spiritual résumé, Jesus followed with a powerful rebuke: “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first. Look how far you have fallen!”
Bevere emphasized the seriousness of this statement: “This is Jesus talking. Words are in red.”
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The Ephesus church was strong in truth but had grown cold in love. “If you have truth without love, you end up into being dogmatic and legalistic. If you have love without truth, you end up being woke. Worldly. It takes both,” Bevere said.
He warned against majoring on the minors in Christian practice, particularly when it leads to judgment instead of love. “There are people that literally get on social media and berate my wife because they say, ‘You are a female and you’re preaching the Gospel.’ One person actually said, ‘The greatest of evils is a woman preaching behind a pulpit.’”
This type of legalism, Bevere pointed out, mirrors the very attitude Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for: “You strain out a gnat and you swallow a camel.”
Quoting Revelation 2:5, Bevere read Jesus’ command to the church: “Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.”
This warning comes with a promise for restoration: return to love. “Jesus is looking at all these churches, what they do—not what they believe,” Bevere said. “Because what you do reflects what you believe.”
Even works rooted in truth are meaningless without love. “Jesus said their original works were out of their pure love for Jesus. Their works now are out of, hey, we’re in our club. We’ve got our rules… They have lost the compassion of God in their heart for people.”
The good news? There’s a way back.
“I want to just take the time right now. If you say, John and Arden, I actually can see how I’ve drifted from my first love… the word is repent. Repent just means I’m going to have a change of heart, a change of mind. I’m going to return back to my passionate love for Jesus.”
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John closed the podcast by encouraging believers to regularly ask God for renewed love: “Keep praying and just saying, ‘God, just pour out your love in my heart for your people every single morning when you go to prayer.’”
If you find yourself serving but lacking joy, standing for truth but missing compassion, or growing cold in your passion for Jesus, He’s inviting you back. Just as He called the Ephesians, He calls you to return to the works you did at first, when your heart burned with love for Him.
Let His love be your driving force. Let your life reflect not just truth, but truth in love.
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
