1. REVELATIO 3 14-22 COMME TARY EDITED BY GLE PEASE To the
Church in Laodicea 14 To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the
ruler of Gods creation. 1. BAR ES, "And unto the angel of the
church of the Laodiceans write - See the notes on Rev_1:20. These
things saith the Amen - Referring, as is the case in every epistle,
to some attribute of the speaker adapted to impress their minds, or
to give special force to what he was about to say to that
particular church. Laodicea was characterized by lukewarmness, and
the reference to the fact that he who was about to address them was
the Amen - that is, was characterized by the simple earnestness and
sincerity denoted by that word - was eminently suited to make an
impression on the minds of such a people. The word Amen means true,
certain, faithful; and, as used here, it means that he to whom it
is applied is eminently true and faithful. What he affirms is true;
what he promises or threatens is certain. Himself characterized by
sincerity and truth (notes on 2Co_1:20), he can look with
approbation only on the same thing in others: and hence he looks
with displeasure on the lukewarmness which, from its very nature,
always approximates insincerity. This was an attribute, therefore,
every way appropriate to be referred to in addressing a lukewarm
church. The faithful and true witness - This is presenting the idea
implied in the word Amen in a more complete form, but substantially
the same thing is referred to. He is a witness for God and his
truth, and he can approve of nothing which the God of truth would
not approve. See the notes on Rev_1:5. The beginning of the
creation of God - This expression is a very important one in regard
to the rank and dignity of the Saviour, and, like all similar
expressions respecting him, its meaning has been much controverted.
Compare the notes on Col_1:15. The phrase used here is susceptible,
properly, of only one of the following significations, namely,
either: (a) That he was the beginning of the creation in the sense
that he caused the universe to begin to exist - that is, that he
was the author of all things; or. (b) That he was the first created
being; or. (c) That he holds the primacy over all, and is at the
head of the universe. It is not necessary to examine any other
proposed interpretations, for the only other senses supposed to be
conveyed by the words, that he is the beginning of the creation in
the sense I that he rose from the dead as the first-fruits of them
that sleep, or that he is the head of the spiritual creation of
God, axe so foreign to the natural meaning of the 2. words as to
need no special refutation. As to the three significations
suggested above, it may be observed, that the first one - that he
is the author of the creation, and in that sense the beginning -
though expressing a scriptural doctrine Joh_1:3; Eph_3:9; Col_1:16,
is not in accordance with the proper meaning of the word used here
- arch. The word properly refers to the commencement of a thing,
not its authorship, and denotes properly primacy in time, and
primacy in rank, but not primacy in the sense of causing anything
to exist. The two ideas which run through the word as it is used in
the New Testament are those just suggested. For the former -
primacy in regard to time - that is properly the commencement of a
thing, see the following passages where the word occurs: Mat_19:4,
Mat_19:8; Mat_24:8, Mat_24:21; Mar_1:1; Mar_10:6; Mar_13:8,
Mar_13:19; Luk_1:2; Joh_1:1-2; Joh_2:11; Joh_6:64; Joh_8:25,
Joh_8:44; Joh_15:27; Joh_16:4; Act_11:15; 1Jo_1:1; 1Jo_2:7,
1Jo_2:13-14, 1Jo_2:24; 1Jo_3:8, 1Jo_3:11; 2Jo_1:5-6. For the latter
signification, primacy of rank or authority, see the following
places: Luk_12:11; Luk_20:20; Rom_8:38; 1Co_15:24; Eph_1:21;
Eph_3:10; Eph_6:12; Col_1:16, Col_1:18; Col_2:10, Col_2:15;
Tit_3:1. The word is not, therefore, found in the sense of
authorship, as denoting that one is the beginning of anything in
the sense that he caused it to have an existence. As to the second
of the significations suggested, that it means that he was the
first created being, it may be observed: (a) that this is not a
necessary signification of the phrase, since no one can show that
this is the only proper meaning which could be given to the words,
and therefore the phrase cannot be adduced to prove that he is
himself a created being. If it were demonstrated from other sources
that Christ was, in fact, a created being, and the first that God
had made, it cannot be denied that this language would
appropriately express that fact. But it cannot be made out from the
mere use of the language here; and as the language is susceptible
of other interpretations, it cannot be employed to prove that
Christ is a created being. (b) Such an interpretation would be at
variance with all those passages which speak of him as uncreated
and eternal; which ascribe divine attributes to him; which speak of
him as himself the Creator of all things. Compare Joh_1:1-3;
Col_1:16; Heb_1:2, Heb_1:6,Heb_1:8, Heb_1:10-12. The third
signification, therefore, remains, that he is the beginning of the
creation of God, in the sense that he is the head or prince of the
creation; that is, that he presides over it so far as the purposes
of redemption are to be accomplished, and so far as is necessary
for those purposes. This is: (1) In accordance with the meaning of
the word, Luk_12:11; Luk_20:20, et al. ut supra; and, (2) In
accordance with the uniform statements respecting the Redeemer,
that all power is given unto him in heaven and in earth Mat_28:18;
that God has given him power over all flesh Joh_17:2; that all
things are put under his feet the. Joh_2:8; 1Co_15:27); that he is
exalted over all things, Eph_1:20-22. Having this rank, it was
proper that he should speak with authority to the church at
Laodicea. 2. CLARKE, "These things saith the Amen - That is, He who
is true or faithful; from aman, he was tree; immediately
interpreted, The faithful and true witness. See Rev_1:5. The
beginning of the creation of God - That is, the head and governor
of all creatures: the king of the creation. See on Col_1:15 (note).
By his titles, here, he prepares 3. them for the humiliating and
awful truths which he was about to declare, and the authority on
which the declaration was founded. 3. GILL, "And unto the angel of
the church of the Laodiceans write,.... Of the city of Laodicea;
see Gill on Rev_1:11; there was a church here in the times of the
Apostle Paul; by whom it was founded is not known; mention is made
of it in Col_2:1, who was now the angel, or pastor of it, whether
Epaphras, who is there named, or another, is not certain. According
to the Apostolical Constitutions (t), Archippus was ordained bishop
of it by the apostles; see Col_4:16. There was a church here in the
second century, for Sagaris, bishop of it, suffered martyrdom in
the times of Antoninus Verus (u); and in the "fourth" century, this
church was famous for two eminent bishops, Theodorus and Gregory;
and in the "fifth" century, it was the metropolitan church of
Phrygia, as it was in the "seventh" century, in which age Tyberius,
bishop of this place, was in the sixth synod at Constantinople (w);
but now it is even without inhabitants (x). This church represents
the state of the church, from the end of the spiritual reign of
Christ, till the time of his personal appearing and kingdom, to
judge the quick and dead; for after the spiritual reign is over,
professors of religion will sink into a formality, and into a
lukewarm frame of spirit, and into great spiritual sloth and
security, Rev_3:15, which will make those times like the times of
Noah and of Lot; and such will be the days of the coming of the son
of man to judge the world. Its name signifies either "the
righteousness of the people"; and so may point at that popular and
external righteousness, which the majority of the professors of
religion in this period of time will be boasting of, and trusting
in; being self-sufficient, and self-dependent, when at the same
time they will be naked, as well as poor and blind, Rev_3:17; or it
signifies "the judging of the people"; for this church state, at
the end of it, will bring on the general judgment; the Judge will
now be at the door indeed, standing and knocking; and they that are
ready to meet the bridegroom, when he comes, will be admitted into
the nuptial chamber, and sit down with him in his throne, in the
thousand years' kingdom, at the close of which will be the second
resurrection, when all the people, small and great, shall be
judged, Rev_3:19. These things saith the Amen; see Isa_65:16; The
word "Amen" is the name of a divine Person with the Jews, and it
seems the second Person; for so on those words in Pro_8:30; "then
was I by him as one brought up with him", they observe (y), do not
read "Amon", the word there used, but "Amen"; and, a little after,
"Amen", they say, is the "notaricon", or sign of , "God the
faithful King"; they make (z) "Amen" to be one of the names of the
second "Sephira", or number in the Cabalistic tree, by whom the
second Person in the Godhead seems to be designed: and they say
(a), that the word "Amen", by gematry (or numerically) answers to
the two names "Jehovah, Adonai". Christ may be so called, because
he is the God of truth, and truth itself; and it may be expressive
of his faithfulness, both to God his Father, and to his people, in
whom all the promises he either made, or received, are yea and
amen; and also of the firmness, constancy, and immutability of
Christ, in his nature, person, and offices, in his love, fulness of
grace, power, blood, and righteousness; and is very appropriately
assumed by him now, when he was about to give the finishing stroke
to all covenant engagements, and to all promises and prophesies;
see Rev_1:18. 4. The faithful and true witnessThe faithful and true
witnessThe faithful and true witnessThe faithful and true witness;
who as he was in the days of his flesh; see Gill on Rev_1:5; so he
will be at the day of judgment, a swift witness against all ungodly
men; and he may the rather take up this title, not only on that
account, but to show that the description he gives of the state and
condition of this church is just, Rev_3:15; and to engage it to
take his advice the more readily, Rev_3:18; and to assure it of the
nearness of his coming, Rev_3:20; and to strengthen the faith of
his people, and quicken their hope and expectation of the happiness
with him promised, Rev_3:21; the same character is given to the
Logos, or Word of the Lord, by the Targumist in Jer_42:5, let the
Word of the Lord be to us , "for a true and faithful witness"; the
very phrase here used, The beginning of the creation of GodThe
beginning of the creation of GodThe beginning of the creation of
GodThe beginning of the creation of God; not the first creature
that God made, but the first cause of the creation; the first
Parent, producer, and efficient cause of every creature; the author
of the old creation, who made all things out of nothing in the
beginning of time; and of the new creation, the everlasting Father
of, everyone that is made a new creature; the Father of the world
to come, or of the new age and Gospel dispensation; the Maker of
the new heaven and new earth; and so a very fit person to be the
Judge of the whole world, to summon all nations before him, and
pass the final sentence on them. The phrase is Jewish, and it is a
title the Jews give to Metatron, by whom they sometimes mean the
Messiah; so those words in Gen_24:2, and Abraham said unto his
eldest servant of his house, they paraphrase thus (b), ""and
Abraham said unto his servant", this is Metatron, (or the
Mediator,) the servant of God, "the eldest of his house"; for he is
, "the beginning of the creation of God", who rules over all that
he has; for to him the holy blessed God has given the government of
all his hosts. Christ is the , "the Prince", or Governor of all
creatures, 4. HE RY, "We now come to the last and worst of all the
seven Asian churches, the reverse of the church of Philadelphia;
for, as there was nothing reproved in that, here is nothing
commended in this, and yet this was one of the seven golden
candlesticks, for a corrupt church may still be a church. Here we
have, as before, I. The inscription, to whom, and from whom. 1. To
whom: To the angel of the church of Laodicea. This was a once
famous city near the river Lycus, had a wall of vast compass, and
three marble theatres, and, like Rome, was built on seven hills. It
seems, the apostle Paul was very instrumental in planting the
gospel in this city, from which he wrote a letter, as he mentions
in the epistle to the Colossians, the last chapter, in which 5. he
sends salutations to them, Laodicea not being above twenty miles
distant from Colosse. In this city was held a council in the fourth
century, but it has been long since demolished, and lies in its
ruins to this day, an awful monument of the wrath of the Lamb. 2.
From whom this message was sent. Here our Lord Jesus styles himself
the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the
creation of God. (1.) The Amen, one that is steady and unchangeable
in all his purposes and promises, which are all yea, and all amen.
(2.) The faithful and true witness, whose testimony of God to men
ought to be received and fully believed, and whose testimony of men
to God will be fully believed and regarded, and will be a swift but
true witness against all indifferent lukewarm professors. (3.) The
beginning of the creation of God, either of the first creation, and
so he is the beginning, that is, the first cause, the Creator, and
the Governor of it; or of the second creation, the church; and so
he is the head of that body, the first- born from the dead, as it
is in Rev_1:5, whence these titles are taken. Christ, having raised
up himself by his own divine power, as the head of a new world,
raises up dead souls to be a living temple and church to himself.
5. JAMISO , "Laodiceans The city was in the southwest of Phrygia,
on the river Lycus, not far from Colosse, and lying between it and
Philadelphia. It was destroyed by an earthquake, a.d. 62, and
rebuilt by its wealthy citizens without the help of the state
[Tacitus, Annals, 14.27]. This wealth (arising from the excellence
of its wools) led to a self-satisfied, lukewarm state in spiritual
things, as Rev_3:17 describes. See on Col_4:16, on the Epistle
which is thought to have been written to the Laodicean Church by
Paul. The Church in latter times was apparently flourishing; for
one of the councils at which the canon of Scripture was determined
was held in Laodicea in a.d. 361. Hardly a Christian is now to be
found on or near its site. the Amen (Isa_65:16, Hebrew, Bless
Himself in the God of Amen ... swear by the God of Amen, 2Co_1:20).
He who not only says, but is, the Truth. The saints used Amen at
the end of prayer, or in assenting to the word of God; but none,
save the Son of God, ever said, Amen, I say unto you, for it is the
language peculiar to God, who avers by Himself. The New Testament
formula, Amen. I say unto you, is equivalent to the Old Testament
formula, as I live, saith Jehovah. In Johns Gospel alone He uses
(in the Greek) the double Amen, Joh_1:51; Joh_3:3, etc.; in English
Version, Verily, verily. The title happily harmonizes with the
address. His unchanging faithfulness as the Amen contrasts with
Laodiceas wavering of purpose, neither hot nor cold (Rev_3:16). The
angel of Laodicea has with some probability been conjectured to be
Archippus, to whom, thirty years previously, Paul had already given
a monition, as needing to be stirred up to diligence in his
ministry. So the Apostolic Constitutions, [8.46], name him as the
first bishop of Laodicea: supposed to be the son of Philemon
(Phm_1:2). faithful and true witness As the Amen expresses the
unchangeable truth of His promises; so the faithful the true
witness, the truth of His revelations as to the heavenly things
which He has seen and testifies. Faithful, that is, trustworthy
(2Ti_2:11, 2Ti_2:13). True is here (Greek, alethinos) not
truth-speaking (Greek, alethes), but perfectly realizing all that
is comprehended in the name Witness (1Ti_6:13). Three things are
necessary for this: (1) to have seen with His own eyes what He
attests; (2) to be competent to relate it for others; (3) to be
willing truthfully to do so. In Christ all these conditions meet
[Trench]. beginning of the creation of God not he whom God created
first, but as in Col_1:15-18 (see on Col_1:15-18), the Beginner of
all creation, its originating instrument. All creation would not be
represented adoring Him, if He were but one of themselves. 6. His
being the Creator is a strong guarantee for His faithfulness as the
Witness and Amen. 6. PULPIT, "The epistle to the Church in
Laodicea. Laodicea, on the Lycus, a tributary of the Maeander, lay
some fifty miles to the south-east of Philadelphia. The modern
Turkish name, Eskihissar,signifies "the old castle." It is situated
on the western side of the valley of the Lycus, on the opposite
slopes of which, some six or eight miles distant, were Hierapolis
and Colossae, with which it is associated by St. Paul (Col_4:13,
Col_4:16). Named at first Diosopolis, after its tutelary deity,
Zeus, it subsequently became Rheas, and finally received its name
from Antiochus II., in honour of his wife, Laodice. There were
several other cities of the same name, from which it was
distinguished by the addition of the words, "on the Lycus." It was
a wealthy city, its trade consisting chiefly in the preparation of
woollen materials. It was advantageously situated, too, on the high
road leading from Ephesus into the interior. Though, in common with
the other cities of Asia Minor, visited by earthquakes, it quickly
recovered; and it was the proud boast of the Laodiceans that,
unlike Ephesus and Sardis, they required no extraneous assistance
to enable them to regain their former prosperity. This fact
undoubtedly explains the temptations to which the Laodiceans were
liable, and the reference in Rev_3:16 to those who were neither
cold nor hot, and that in Rev_3:17 to those who said they were rich
and had need of nothing (see on Rev_3:16, Rev_3:17). The Christian
Church there may have been founded by Epaphras, through whom St.
Paul probably learned of the existence of false doctrine there
(Col_2:4, Col_2:8 and Col_1:8), for the Epistle to the Colossians
seems to be equally addressed to the Laodiceans (Col_4:16). The
importance of this Church continued for some time, the celebrated
Council of Laodicea being held there in A.D. 361, and a century
later its bishop held a prominent position. But its influence
gradually waned, and the Turks pressed hardly upon it; so that at
the present time it is little more than a heap of ruins. The
warnings of the Apostles SS. Paul and John, if heeded at all for a
time, were forgotten, and her candlestick was removed. Rev_3:14 And
unto the angel. Those expositors who understand "the angel" of a
Church to signify its chief officer, may with some plausibility
argue that at Laodicea it seems almost certain that this was
Archippus. In his Epistle to Philemon, a wealthy convert of
Colossae, St. Paul sends greeting to Archippus (Phm_1:2). If
Archippus were the son of philemon, he might very well have been
Bishop of Laodicea at the time of St. John's message. Moreover, the
son of a wealthy and influential Christian, though likely to have
been selected as bishop in the neighbouring Church, may have lacked
the zeal necessary for the thorough performance of his work; and
would thus incur the marked rebuke of St. Paul, "Say to Archippus,
Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord,
that thou fulfil it" (Col_4:17), which appears immediately after
the mention of the Laodicean Church. The Apostolical Constitutions
also assert that Archippus was first Bishop of Laodicea. Of the
Church of the Laodiceans write; or, of the Church in Laodicea ( ).
These things saith the Amen. The word "Amen" is here used as a
proper name of our Lord; and this is the only instance of such an
application. It signifies the "True One." It is a word much used in
St. John's Gospel, where it appears repeated at the commencement of
many discourses, "Verily, verily." In Isa_65:16 "the God of Amen" (
)) is rendered in the LXX. by ; in the Authorized Version by
"truth" (cf. the use of the English "very" as an adjective "the
very one," i.e. the real or true one). The term is peculiarly well
adapted to our Lord (who is the Truth, Joh_14:6), not only as a
general name or title, but especially in connexion with this solemn
announcement to the Laodiceans. There was great need of the truth
being openly proclaimed by him who is the Truth to those who,
though nominally Christians, were ensnared by the deceitfulness of
riches (Mat_13:22), and were deceiving themselves in the attempt to
make the best of both worlds by their lukewarm Christianity. It was
the purpose of this epistle to draw aside the veil which was hiding
the truth from their eyes, and to bring them to a realization of
that most 7. difficult of all knowledgea knowledge of self. The
faithful and true Witnessan amplification of "the Amen." The
epithet "faithful" asserts the truthfulness of Christ's work as a
Witness; "true" ( ) signifies "real and complete." He is a faithful
Witness because his witness is true; and he is a true Witness
because in him is the complete realization of all the
qualifications which constitute any one really and truly a witness.
"Faithful" ( ) has the passive meaning of "that which is worthy of
faith," not the active meaning of "he who believes something."
Trench well points out that God can only be faithful in the former
sense; man may be faithful in beth senses. Christ was a Witness
worthy of faith, since he possessed all the attributes of such a
witness. He (1) had seen what he attested; (2) was competent to
relate and reproduce this information; (3) was willing to do this
faithfully and truly. The Beginning of the creation of God. There
are two ways in which these words might be understood: (1) that in
which "beginning" is taken in a passive sense, and which would
therefore make Christ the first created thing of all the things
which God created; (2) the active sense, by which Christ is
described as the Beginner, the Author, Moving Principle or Source
of all the things which God created. That the latter meaning is the
true one is plain from the whole tenor of Holy Scripture. The
Ariaus, attempting to disprove the Divinity of our Lord, quoted
this passage, attributing to it the former sense. But is often used
actively, and may well be so used herea view which is confirmed by
the abundant evidence of our Lord's Divinity found elsewhere in the
Bible, and nowhere more plainly asserted than in the writings of
St. John. The self- reliant Laodiceans are thus directed to place
their trust in him who is the Source of all things, rather than in
those created things of which he is the Creator. 7. BARCLAY,
LAODICEA, THE CHURCH CONDEMNED Laodicea has the grim distinction of
being the only Church of which the Risen Christ has nothing good to
say. In the ancient world there were at least six cities called
Laodicea and this one was called Laodicea on the Lycus to
distinguish it from the others. It was founded about 250 B.C. by
Antiochus of Syria and was named after his wife Laodice. Its
importance was due entirely to its position. The road from Ephesus
to the east and to Syria was the most important in Asia. It began
at the coast at Ephesus and it had to find a way to climb up to the
central plateau 8,500 feet up. It set out along the valley of the
River Maeander until it reached what were known as the Gates of
Phrygia. Beyond this point lay a broad valley where Lydia, Phrygia
and Caria met. The Maeander entered that valley by a narrow,
precipitous gorge through which no road could pass. The road,
therefore, detoured through the Lycus valley. In that valley
Laodicea stood. It was literally astride the great road to the east
which went straight through Laodicea, entering by the Ephesian Gate
and leaving by the Syrian Gate. That in itself would have been
enough to make Laodicea one of the great commercial and strategic
centres of the ancient world. Originally Laodicea had been a
fortress; but it had the serious handicap that all its water supply
had to come by underground aqueduct from springs no less than six
miles away, a perilous situation for a town besieged. Two other
roads passed through the gates of Laodicea, that from Pergamum and
the Hermus Valley to Pisidia and Pamphylia and the coast at Perga
and that from eastern 8. Caria to central and west Phrygia. As
Ramsay says: "It only needed peace to make Laodicea a great
commercial and financial centre." That peace came with the dominion
of Rome. When the Roman peace gave it its opportunity it became, as
Pliny called it, "a most distinguished city." Laodicea had certain
characteristics which have left their mark on the letter written to
it. (i) It was a great banking and financial centre. When Cicero
was travelling in Asia Minor it was at Laodicea that he cashed his
letters of credit. It was one of the wealthiest cities in the
world. In A.D. 61 it was devastated by an earthquake; but so rich
and independent were its citizens that they refused any help from
the Roman government and out of their own resources rebuilt their
city. Tacitus writes: "One of the most famous cities of Asia,
Laodicea, was in that same year overthrown by an earthquake and
without any relief from us recovered itself by its own resources"
(Tacitus: Annals 14: 27). No wonder that Laodicea could boast that
it was rich and had amassed wealth and had need of nothing. It was
so wealthy that it did not even need God. (ii) It was a great
centre of clothing manufacture. The sheep which grazed round
Laodicea were famous for their soft, violet-black, glossy wool. It
mass-produced cheap outer garments. It was specially connected with
a tunic called the trimita, so much so, indeed, that it was
sometimes called Trimitaria. Laodicea was so proud of the garments
it produced that it never realized it was naked in the sight of
God. (iii) It was a very considerable medical centre. Thirteen
miles to the west, between Laodicea and the Gate of Phrygia, stood
the temple of the Carian god Men. At one time that temple was the
social, administrative and commercial centre of the whole area.
Until less than a hundred years ago great markets were regularly
held on its site. In particular the temple was the centre of a
medical school which was transferred to Laodicea itself. So famous
were its doctors that the names of some appear on the coins of
Laodicea. Two of them were called Zeuxis and Alexander Philalethes.
This medical school was famous for two things throughout the world,
ointment for the ear and ointment for the eyes. The King James and
Revised Standard Versions speak of eye-salve. The word for salve is
kollourion (GSN2854) which literally means a little roll of bread.
The reason for the word is that this famous tephra Phrygia,
Phrygian powder, was exported all over the world in solidified
tablet form in the shape of little rolls. Laodicea was so conscious
of its medical skill in the care of the eyes that it never realized
that it was spiritually blind. The words of the Risen Christ arise
directly from the prosperity and the skill in which Laodicea took
so much pride and which had in the minds of its citizens, and even
of its Church, eliminated the need for God. (iv) We add a final
fact about Laodicea. It was in an area where there was a very large
Jewish population. So many Jews emigrated here that the Rabbis
inveighed against the Jews who sought the wines and baths of
Phrygia. In 62 B.C. Flaccus, the governor of the province, became
alarmed at the amount of currency which the Jews were exporting in
payment of the Temple tax which every male Jew paid and put an
embargo on the export of currency. The result was that twenty
pounds weight of gold was seized as contraband in Laodicea and one
hundred pounds in Apameia in Phrygia. That amount of gold would be
equal to 15,000 silver drachmae. The Jewish Temple tax amounted to
half a shekel, which was equal to two drachmae. This means that in
the district there were at least 7,500 male Jews. In Hierapolis,
six miles away from Laodicea, there was a "Congregation of Jews"
which had power to levy and to retain fines, and an archive office
where Jewish legal documents were specially kept. There can have
been few areas where the Jews were wealthier and more influential.
LAODICEA, THE CLAIMS OF CHRIST 9. Rev. 3:14-22 (continued) Of all
the seven Churches that of Laodicea is most unsparingly condemned.
In it there is no redeeming feature. It is interesting to note that
the third century work The Apostolic Constitutions (8: 46) says
that Archippus was the first Bishop of the Church in Laodicea. When
Paul was writing to the neighbouring Church of Colossae, he says
sternly: "Say to Archippus, See that you fulfil the ministry which
you have received in the Lord" (Col.4:17). It would seem that
Archippus was somehow failing in his duty. That was thirty years
before the Revelation was written; but it may be that as long ago
as that the rot had set in in the Church in Laodicea and an
unsatisfactory ministry had sown the seeds of degeneration. Like
all the letters it begins with a series of great titles of Jesus
Christ. (i) He is the Amen. This is a strange title and may go back
to either of two origins. (a) In Isa.65:16 God is called the God of
truth; but in the Hebrew he is called the God of Amen. Amen is the
word which is often put at the end of a solemn statement in order
to guarantee its truth. If God is the God of Amen, he is utterly to
be relied upon. This would mean that Jesus Christ is the One whose
promises are true beyond all doubt. (b) In John's gospel Jesus'
statements often begin: "Truly, truly, I say to you" (e.g. Jn.1:51;
Jn.3:3,5,11). The Greek for truly is Amen. It is possible that when
Jesus Christ is called the Amen it is a reminiscence of his own way
of speaking. The meaning would be the same, Jesus is one whose
promises can be relied upon. (ii) He is the witness on whom we can
rely and who is true. Trench points out that a witness must satisfy
three essential conditions. (a) He must have seen with his own eyes
that of which he tells. (b) He must be absolutely honest, so that
he repeats with accuracy that which he has heard and seen. (c) He
must have the ability to tell what he has to say, so that his
witness may make its true impression on those who hear. Jesus
Christ perfectly satisfied these conditions. He can tell of God,
because he came from him. We can rely on his words for he is the
Amen. He is able to tell his message, for never did man speak as he
did. (iii) As the Revised Standard Version has it, he is the
beginning of God's creation. This phrase, as it stands in English,
is ambiguous. It could mean, either, that Jesus was the first
person to be created or that he began the process of creation, as
Trench put it, "dynamically the beginning." It is the second
meaning which is intended here. The word for beginning is arche
(GSN0746). In early Christian writings we read that Satan is the
arche (GSN0746) of death, that is to say, death takes its origin in
him; and that God is the arche (GSN0746) of all things, that is,
all things find their beginning in him. The connection of the Son
with creation is frequently made in the New Testament. John begins
his gospel by saying of the Word: "All things were made through
him, and without him was not anything made that was made" (Jn.1:3).
"In him," says Paul, "all things were created" (Col.1:15,18). The
insistence on the Son's part in creation was due to the heretics
who explained sin and disease by saying that the world had been
created by a false and inferior god. It is the Christian insistence
that this world is God's creation and that its sin and sorrow are
not his fault, but are caused by the disobedience of men. As the
Christian sees it, the God of creation and the God of redemption
are one and the same. LAODICEA, NEITHER ONE THING NOR ANOTHER Rev.
3:14-22 (continued) The condemnation of Laodicea begins with a
picture of almost crude vividness; because the 10. Laodiceans are
neither cold nor hot, they have about them a kind of nauseating
quality, which will make the Risen Christ vomit them out of his
mouth. The exact meaning of the words is to be noted. Cold is
psuchros (GSN5593); and it can mean cold to the point of freezing.
Ecclesiasticus (Sir.43:20) speaks of the cold north wind which
makes the ice congeal upon the waters. Hot is zestos (GSN2200); and
it means hot to boiling point. Tepid is chliaros (GSN5513). Things
which are tepid often have a nauseating effect. Hot food and cold
food can both be appetizing, but tepid food will often make the
stomach turn. Directly opposite Laodicea, on the other bank of the
Lycus, and in full view, stood Hierapolis, famous for its hot
mineral springs. Often hot mineral springs are nauseating in their
taste and make the person who drinks them want to be physically
sick. That is the way in which the Church at Laodicea affected the
Risen Christ. Here is something to make us think: (i) The one
attitude which the Risen Christ unsparingly condemns is
indifference. It has been said that an author can write a good
biography if he loves his subject or hates him but not if he is
coldly indifferent. Of all things indifference is the hardest to
combat. The problem of modern evangelism is not hostility to
Christianity; it would be better if it were so. The problem is that
to so many Christianity and the Church have ceased to have any
relevance and men regard them with complete indifference. This
indifference can be broken down only by the actual demonstration
that Christianity is a power to make life strong and a grace to
make life beautiful. (ii) The one impossible attitude to
Christianity is neutrality. Jesus Christ works through men; and the
man who remains completely detached in his attitude to him has by
that very fact refused to undertake the work which is the divine
purpose for him. The man who will not submit to Christ has
necessarily resisted him. (iii) Hard as it may sound, the meaning
of this terrible threat of the Risen Christ is that it is better
not even to start on the Christian way than to start and then to
drift into a conventional and meaningless Christianity. The fire
must be kept burning. There is an unwritten saying of Jesus: "He
who is near me is near the fire." And the way to "maintain the
spiritual glow" (Rom.12:11, Moffatt) is to live close to Christ.
LAODICEA, THE WEALTH THAT IS POVERTY Rev. 3:14-22 (continued) The
tragedy of Laodicea was that it was convinced of its own wealth and
blind to its own poverty. Humanly speaking, anyone would say that
there was not a more prosperous town in Asia Minor. Spiritually
speaking, the Risen Christ declares that there was not a more
poverty-stricken community. Laodicea prided itself on three things;
and each is taken in turn and shown at its true value. (i) It
prided itself on its financial wealth. It was rich and had acquired
wealth and had need of nothing--so it thought. The Risen Christ
advises Laodicea to buy gold refined in the fire. It may be that
gold tried in the fire stands for faith for it is thus that Peter
describes faith (1Pet.1:7). Wealth can do much but there are things
that it can never do. It cannot buy happiness nor give a man health
either of body or of mind; it cannot bring comfort in sorrow nor
fellowship in loneliness. If all that a man has to meet life with
is wealth, he is poor indeed. But if a man has a faith tried and
refined in the crucible of experience, there is nothing which he
cannot face; and he is rich indeed. (ii) Laodicea prided itself on
its clothing trade. The garments made there were famous over all
the world, and the wool of the sheep of Laodicea was a luxury
article which all men knew, But, says the Risen Christ, Laodicea is
spiritually naked; if it wants really to be clothed it must come to
him. The Risen Christ speaks of "the shame of the nakedness of
Laodicea." This would mean even more in the ancient world than now.
In the ancient world to be stripped 11. naked was the worst
humiliation. It was thus that Hanum treated the servants of David
(2Sam.10:4). The threat to Egypt is that Assyria will lead her
people naked and barefoot (Isa.20:4). It was Ezekiel's threat to
Israel that her enemies would strip her of her clothes
(Eze.16:37-39; Eze.23:26-29; compare Hos.2:3,9; Mic.1:8,11). God's
threat passed on by Nahum to the disobedient people was: "I will
let nations look on your nakedness, and on your kingdoms shame"
(Nah.3:5). On the other hand, to be clothed in fine raiment was the
greatest honour. Pharaoh honoured Joseph by clothing him in
vestures of fine linen (Gen.41:42). Daniel is clothed in purple by
Belshazzar (Dn.5:29). The royal apparel is for the man whom the
king honours (Esth.6:6-11). When the prodigal son returns, it is
the best robe that is put upon him (Lk.15:22). Laodicea prides
itself on the magnificent garments it produces but spiritually it
is naked and nakedness is shame. The Risen Christ urges it to buy
white raiment from him. This may well stand for the beauties of
life and character which only the grace of Christ can give. There
is little point in a man adorning his body, if he has nothing to
adorn his soul. Not all the clothes in the world will beautify a
person whose nature is twisted and whose character is ugly. (iii)
Laodicea prided itself on its famous eye-salve; but the facts of
the case show that it was blind to its own poverty and nakedness.
Trench says: "The beginning of all true amendment is to see
ourselves as we are." All eye-salves in the ancient world caused
the eyes to smart at their first application, and Laodicea had no
wish to see itself as it was. LAODICEA, LOVE'S CHASTISEMENT Rev.
3:14-22 (continued) Rev. 3:19 is one whose teaching runs throughout
Scripture. "I rebuke and discipline all those whom I love." There
is a very lovely thing about the way this is put. It is a quotation
from Prov.3:12, but one word is altered. In the Greek of the
Septuagint the word for love is agapan (GSN0025) which indicates
the unconquerable attitude of goodwill which nothing can turn to
hate; but it is a word which maybe has more of the head than the
heart in it; and in the quotation the Risen Christ changes agapan
(GSN0025) to philein (GSN5368) which is the most tender affection.
We might well paraphrase it: "It is the people who are dearest to
me on whom I exercise the sternest discipline." Let us first take
the word rebuke. The Greek is elegchein (GSN1651) and it describes
the kind of rebuke which compels a man to see the error of his
ways. Elegchos (GSN1650) is the corresponding noun, and Aristotle
defines it: "Elegchos (GSN1650) is the proof that a thing cannot be
otherwise than we say." The most vivid example of this kind of
rebuke is the way in which Nathan opened David's eyes to his sin
(2Sam.12:1-14). The rebuke of God is not so much punishment as
illumination. Let us see how the idea of discipline runs through
the Bible. lt is very characteristic of the teaching of Proverbs.
"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is
diligent to discipline him" (Prov.13:24). "Withhold not correction
from the child; for, if you beat him with a rod he will not die. If
you beat him with the rod you will save his life from Sheol"
(Prov.23:13-14). "Faithful are the wounds of a friend" (Prov.27:6).
"The rod and reproof give wisdom; but a child left to himself
brings shame to his mother. . . . Discipline your son and he will
give you rest; he will give delight to your heart" (Prov.29:15,17).
"Blessed is the man whom thou dost chasten, O Lord, and whom thou
dost teach out of thy law" (Ps.94:12). "Behold, happy is the man
whom God reproves; therefore, despise not the chastening of the
Almighty" (Jb.5:17). "We are chastened of the Lord that we may not
be condemned along with the world" (1Cor.11:32). "For the Lord
disciplines him whom he loves and chastises every son whom he
receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is
testing you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not
discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have
participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons"
(Heb.11:6,8). "He that loveth his son 12. will continue to lay
stripes upon him, that he may have joy of him in the end. He that
chastiseth his son shall have profit of him and shall glory of him
among his acquaintances" (Ecc.30:1). It is, in fact, God's final
punishment to leave a man alone. "Ephraim is joined to idols; let
him alone" (Hos.4:17). As Trench has it: "The great Master-builder
squares and polishes with many strokes of the chisel and hammer the
stones which shall find a place at last in the walls of the
heavenly Jerusalem.... It is the crushed grape, and not the
untouched, from which the costly liquor distils." There is no surer
way of allowing a child to end in ruin than to allow him to do as
he likes. It is a fact of life that the best athlete and the finest
scholar receive the most demanding training. The discipline of God
is not something which we should resent, but something for which we
should be devoutly thankful. LAODICEA, THE CHRIST WHO KNOCKS Rev.
3:14-22 (continued) In Rev. 3:20 we have one of the most famous
pictures of Jesus in the whole New Testament. "Behold," says the
Risen Christ, "I am standing at the door and knocking." This
picture has been derived from two different sources. (i) It has
been taken as a warning that the end is near, and that the Coming
of Christ is at hand. The Christian must be ready to open whenever
he hears his Lord knocking (Lk.12:36). When the signs come, the
Christian will know that the last time is near, even at the doors
(Mk.13:29; Matt.24:33). The Christian must live well and live in
love because the judge is standing at the doors (Jas.5:9). It is
true that the New Testament uses this picture to express the
imminence of the coming of Christ. If that is the picture here,
this phrase contains a warning and tells men to have a care, for
Jesus Christ the Judge and King is at the door. (ii) We cannot say
that that meaning is impossible and yet it does not seem to fit the
context, for the atmosphere of the passage is not so much warning
as love. It is much better to take this saying of Christ as
expressing the appeal of the lover of the souls of men. The origin
of the passage is much more likely to be in Solomon's Song when the
lover stands at the door of his beloved and pleads with her to
open. "Hark! my beloved is knocking. Open to me, my sister, my
love, my dove, perfect one" (SS.5:2-6). Here is Christ the lover
knocking at the door of the hearts of men. And in this picture we
see certain great truths of the Christian religion. (a) We see the
pleading of Christ. He stands at the door of the human heart and
knocks. The unique new fact that Christianity brought into this
world is that God is the seeker of men. No other religion has the
vision of a seeking God. In his book Out of Nazareth Donald Baillie
cites three witnesses to the uniqueness of this conception.
Montefiore, the great Jewish scholar, said that the one thing which
no Jewish prophet or Rabbi ever conceived of is the "conception of
God actually going out in quest of sinful men, who were not seeking
him, but who were turned away from him." The National Christian
Council of Japan in a document found the distinctive difference of
Christianity from all other religions in, "Man not seeking God, but
God taking the initiative in seeking man." St. Bernard away back in
the twelfth century used often to say to his monks that, "However
early they might wake and rise for prayer in their chapel on a cold
mid-winter morning or even in the dead of night, they would always
find God awake before them, waiting for them--nay, it was he who
had awakened them to seek his face." Here is the picture of Christ
searching for sinful men who did not want him. Surely love can go
no further than that. (b) We see the offer of Christ. As the King
James Version has it, "I will come in and sup with him." The word
translated "sup" is deipnein (GSN1172) and its corresponding noun
is deipnon 13. (GSN1173). The Greeks had three meals in the day.
There was akratisma, breakfast, which was no more than a piece of
dried bread dipped in wine. There was ariston (GSN0712), the midday
meal. A man did not go home for it; it was simply a picnic snack
eaten by the side of the pavement, or in some colonnade, or in the
city square. There was deipnon (GSN1173); this was the evening
meal; the main meal of the day; people lingered over it, for the
day's work was done. It was the deipnon (GSN1173) that Christ would
share with the man who answered his knock, no hurried meal, but
that where people lingered in fellowship. If a man will open the
door, Jesus Christ will come in and linger long with him. (iii) We
see human responsibility. Christ knocks and a man can answer or
refuse to answer. Christ does not break in; he must be invited in.
Even on the Emmaus road, "He appeared to be going further"
(Lk.24:28). Holman Hunt was right when in his famous picture The
Light of the World he painted the door of the human heart with no
handle on the outside, for it can be opened only from within. As
Trench has it: "Every man is lord of the house of his own heart; it
is his fortress; he must open the gates of it," and he has "the
mournful prerogative and privilege of refusing to open." The man
who refuses to open is "blindly at strife with his own
blessedness." He is a "miserable conqueror." Christ pleads and
offers; but it is all to no avail if a man will not open the door.
THIS MEANS YOU Rev. 3:14-22 (continued) The promise of the Risen
Christ is that the victor will sit with him in his own victorious
throne. We will get the picture right if we remember that the
eastern throne was more like a couch than a single seat. The victor
in life will share the throne of the victorious Christ. Every
letter finishes with the words: "Let him who has an ear hear what
the Spirit is saying to the Churches." This saying does two things.
(i) It individualizes the message of the letters. It says to every
man: "This means you." So often we listen to a message which comes
through a preacher and apply it to everyone but ourselves. In our
heart of hearts we believe that the stern words cannot possibly be
meant for us and that the promises are too good to be true for us.
This phrase says to every one of us: "All these things are meant
for you." (ii) It generalizes the message of the letters. It means
that their message was not confined to the people in the seven
Churches nineteen hundred years ago, but that through them the
Spirit is speaking to every man in every generation. We have set
these letters carefully against the local situations to which they
were addressed; but their message is not local and temporary. It is
eternal and in them the Spirit still speaks to us. 8. CHARLES SIMEO
, Rev_3:14-16. Unto the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans
write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou
art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then
because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue
thee out of my mouth. WHEREVER the leading truths of Christianity
are maintained and professed, there may be said to be a Church of
Christ. But it is too often found, that the angels or ministers of
such Churches go on in the external exercise of their functions,
without ever feeling the influence of the truth upon their own
souls, or stimulating their people to high and heavenly
attainments. Thus it was with the Church at Laodicea: the pastor
and the flock had shamefully degenerated from their former
experience; and were resting in a state worse than any other of the
Churches in Asia; a state wherein their Lord could see nothing to
approve, but every thing to condemn. Having occasion to testify
against them in so severe a manner, our Lord described himself
precisely in such terms as the occasion required. 14. Being about
to declare what their inward experience was, as opposed to their
outward appearance and profession, he spake of himself as the Amen,
the Faithful and True Witness, whose testimony could not be
controverted or questioned: he spake of himself, also, as the
Beginning, that is, the Efficient Cause, or Ruler and Governor
[Note: .], of the creation of God; who, having all things at his
disposal, would with irresistible power execute all that his wisdom
had decreed, and his lips had spoken. Such being his perfections,
he could not be deceived, and would not be mocked. In all of this
we are interested, even as they; being alike bound to submit to his
reproofs, and to dread his displeasure. Bearing in mind, then, what
a glorious Being we have for our Judge, let us, with becoming
reverence, consider, I. His reproof of that lukewarm Church Hear
his testimony respecting them [I know thy works, that thou art
neither cold nor hot. Doubtless there was amongst them a form of
godliness: but they were altogether destitute of its power [Note:
2Ti_3:5.]. They would so far maintain religion, as to keep up a
fair character before men; but not so regard it, as to approve
themselves to God. If only they had a name to live, it was all that
they felt any concern about [Note: ver. 1.]. In all the sublimer
exercises of piety they were habitually and wilfully deficient. As
for delight in God, and zeal for his glory, they sought not any
such attainments. They had fixed for themselves a far lower
standard, which required little, if any, exertion on their part;
and beyond that they had no desire to advance.] In just accordance
with this was the judgment he denounced against them [Because thou
art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my
mouth. The terms here used to express the Saviours indignation
against them are doubtless strong, and, to our refined notions,
offensive. But they declare precisely the lothing and abhorrence
which such professors excite in the bosom of a holy God. In truth,
if we justly viewed the sinfulness of sin, and estimated with any
degree of accuracy its utter malignity, we should feel, that no
terms whatever can be too strong to express its odiousness, and the
abhorrence in which it must of necessity be held by God, not only
when it is manifested in a way of gross excesses, but when it
appears even in a way of secret defect.] From this address to the
Church of Laodicea, we shall do well to consider, II. The
instruction which it conveys to us We must remember, that in every
epistle we are called upon to hear, with self-application, what the
Spirit saith unto the Churches. In this reproof, then, we are
distinctly taught, 1. That the religion of the world is hateful to
God [The world, especially the more sober and thoughtful part of
it, approves and applauds religion, when carried to a certain
extent. But it is the external part of religion alone that commends
itself to the unregenerate man. That which is really spiritual and
heavenly, is rather to him an object of disgust. A carnal man will
say, Cast not off all religion: be not cold, and regardless of all
sense of duty to your God: but, on the other hand, lay not religion
too much to heart, neither be hot after it, as is the manner of
some, who can scarcely speak or think of any thing else. Take a
proper medium between these extremes, being neither overmuch
righteous, nor overmuch wicked [Note: Ecc_7:16-17.]. Avoid equally
what has the character of profaneness, and that excessive 15.
attention to divine things which borders on enthusiasm. Moderation
is that which you must aim at; even such a moderation, as, whilst
it satisfies God, will give no offence to man. But what says God to
this? O brethren! far different from this is the standard which God
approves; or, rather I should say, it is the very reverse of this.
Lukewarmness is that which God abhors, yea, so abhors it, that
nothing can be so offensive to the stomach of a man, as that is to
him. He even declares,] 2. That, in some respects, it is worse than
a total want of all religion [Beyond all doubt, morality is in
itself better than immorality, and an outward respect for religion
better than down-right impiety and profaneness. But still, when our
Lord says, I would thou wert cold or hot, he must be understood to
say, that, on the whole, either extreme would have been preferable
to the medium they had chosen. And this is true: for, A mere formal
religion is more dishonourable to God than open irreligion; because
it is understood by all the world as intimating, that such a
measure of service is, in our opinion, all that God deserves, and
all that he requires; and that not even the love of God, in
redeeming our souls by the blood of his dear Son, merits at our
hands any better return than this. The ungodly mans life never has
any such construction put upon it. A mere formal religion, also, is
more injurious to our fellow-creatures: for it says to every one
who beholds us, This is the way to heaven: this is the precise
path, in which, if you walk, you will attain salvation. An ungodly
mans life conveys no such sentiment to those around him. Nobody
looks to him for a pattern; and therefore nobody is deceived by
him: but by the formal or hypocritical professor the world are
stumbled, when they see how little good is effected by religion:
and weak Christians are kept back from aspiring after higher
attainments. A mere formal religion is yet further more fatal to
our own souls.A man without any religion is open to conviction;
and, if convinced of sin, will gladly accept the remedy provided
for him in the Gospel: whereas a lukewarm professor is satisfied
with what he has attained, and will not be persuaded that he needs
any further progress. Thus you perceive that the world and God are
at issue upon this point: the world approving of no religion but
that which God hates; and God approving of none but that which the
world abhors. God says, It is good to be zealously affected always
in a good thing [Note: Gal_4:18.]. The world, on the contrary,
says, Be as zealously affected in worldly pursuits as you will; but
never carry your zeal into religion: in every thing that relates to
God and to your souls, moderation and not zeal must direct you. In
confirmation of this, the world says, Seek to enter in at the
strait gate, and all will be well: but God warns us to the
contrary, saying, Strive to enter in; for many shall seek, and not
be able [Note: Luk_13:24.]. In a word, the world think it better to
have no religion at all, than to be wholly under its power; and God
accounts it better to have none, than such as does not engage and
call into activity all the powers of the soul.] Let me then entreat
you, brethren, 1. To examine the state of your souls before God
[You find that these persons, who were so reproved, thought
themselves rich and increased with goods, and in need of nothing
[Note: ver. 17.], Beware lest ye also be led away by a similar
delusion. Try yourselves, not by the worlds standard, but Gods. To
what purpose will it be to be applauded by man, if God condemn? or
what need you regard the judgment of man, if God approve? Look into
the Scriptures, and see, Which amongst the prophets did the world
approve? or which amongst the Apostles? or when did they approve
even Christ himself? The zeal and piety of these were objects of
offence to the world, and to none more than to the self-righteous
Pharisees: and, if your religion be such as the world approves, you
need no other evidence that you are yet in a 16. state offensive to
God, and fatal to your souls. God requires the heart [Note:
Pro_23:26.]; and will be satisfied with nothing less. A divided
heart he abhors [Note:Hos_10:2.]. See to it, then, that you give up
yourselves to him without reserve; and let nothing under heaven
interfere with your duty to your God. Yet let me not be mistaken,
as recommending enthusiasm. No; brethren, I would be as averse to
enthusiasm as any; and would cry out against it as loudly as any.
Enthusiasm consists in following some conceits of our own, without
duly attending to the word of God. Against that I would guard you,
with all my might. But the world condemns all vital and
experimental religion as enthusiasm: and by this device they seek
to justify their own supineness. Be not ye, however, kept back by
them; but, in obedience to the written word, and in dependence upon
divine grace, endeavour to serve your God, as God himself is
serving you, with your whole hearts, and with your whole souls
[Note: Jer_32:41.].] 2. To consider what your feelings will be when
The True and Faithful Witness, the Judge of quick and dead, shall
call you to his tribunal [Will you not then wish that you had
followed the Lord fully? Will you not then have far different
sentiments about religion, from those which the Christian world at
large approve? And will it not be a matter of deep regret to you,
that you feared man more than God, and obeyed man rather than God?
Do but conceive what your feelings will be, when the great Author
and Governor of the universe shall execute upon you the judgment
threatened, and cast you out, with the abhorrence which his word
has so emphatically declared. Remember, I pray you, it is not gross
sin alone that will bring this judgment upon you: no; it is
lukewarmness: yes, though ye have been ever so observant of outward
duties, if your heart have not been in them, ye are not accepted of
your God. To what purpose will any man run, or strive, or fight, if
he do not put forth all his strength, and exert himself to the
uttermost to gain the prize? So, then, must ye be fervent in
spirit, while serving the Lord [Note: Rom_12:11.], if ever ye would
receive from him the crown of righteousness which fadeth not away
[Note: 2Ti_4:8.].] 9. PAUL KRETZMA , The congregation had been in
existence at the time when Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians,
for he stated that he had a great conflict also for the Christians
at Laodicea, Col_2:1;Col_4:15-17. Apparently there was even greater
reason for apprehension at this time, to judge from the general
tone of this letter. The very introduction places the faithful and
true Christ in strong opposition to the unstable and vacillating
Christians of this Phrygian town: And to the angel of the
congregation at Laodicea write: These things says Amen, the Witness
faithful and true, the Beginning of God's creation. It was a sad,
almost disagreeable task which devolved upon the pastor of the
Laodicean congregation, especially since the blame for the
conditions in that city fell upon him. It was Amen that was
speaking, a word which He Himself explains by stating that He is
the true and faithful Witness, that every word which He utters is
the eternal truth, that He does not recede from His position or
change His mind like a vacillating weakling. He Himself is the
Beginning of God's creation, the active Source of God's universe,
the Creator of all things, almighty as well as omniscient, Joh_1:3.
It is a sentence of divine disgust over lukewarm religion which the
Lord utters: I know thy works, that neither cold thou art nor hot;
would that cold thou wert or hot; so, because thou art tepid, and
neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit thee out of My mouth. The
omniscient Lord, familiar with all their hearts and minds, knew
also all their doings, their attitude toward the Christian faith
and all their customs and habits. They were not cold, they were not
outspoken unbelievers, they did not range themselves on the side of
the enemies of the Cross and of the Gospel, they were not of the
party of the blasphemers. But, unfortunately, neither were they
warm or hot; they did not possess that energetic warmth of
religious life, of fervent faith and love, they had none of the
warm zeal which breaks forth in holy wrath over the ungodly
attitude of their day and age. Even a frank enmity against the
Christian religion is more promising in a person than the
luke-warmness and spiritual indifference which these people showed.
It would have been better for them never to have come to 17. the
knowledge of the divine doctrine than to have come to this
knowledge and not to be filled with spiritual zeal, 2Pe_2:21. Their
attitude fills the Lord with supreme disgust, with unspeakable
loathing; it acts upon Him literally as an emetic, He is
constrained to vomit them out of His mouth. That is the judgment of
the Lord upon all such as are not seriously concerned about their
Christianity, that still profess to be Christians, usually from
some ulterior motive, and yet will not oppose the godless ways of
the world. They want to mediate between Jehovah and Baal, between
God and the world, between Christ and Belial, between light and
darkness, between faith and unbelief, between righteousness and
unrighteousness. Such people the Lord cannot bear, and unless they
change their tactics very decidedly, His disgusted attitude will
result in their punishment, in their being excluded from the
blessings of the Kingdom. The Lord adds a further characterization
of lukewarm behavior in the Christian Church: Thou sayest, Rich I
am, and abundance I possess, and of nothing I stand in need, and
thou knowest not that thou art miserable and pitiful and poor and
blind and naked. Self-sufficiency, self-satisfaction, is an
attribute of lukewarm Christians. They are convinced of the
perfection of their own Christianity and are careful to let
everyone else know of the good opinion which they hold of
themselves. They imagine that they are rich in all spiritual truth
and knowledge; they claim that they are filled to satiety with the
old Gospel doctrine, and that no one can teach them anything. See
Hos_12:9. The talk which is heard from Christians of this type in
our day often agrees word for word with what is here recorded.
People are turning up their noses in disgust at the old
Gospel-truth; the doctrines of the Catechism are beneath their
dignity. But they deceive themselves. They are afflicted with
blindness, and do not know it; they are in need of sympathy, and do
not feel it; rich they claim to be, but in reality are poor beyond
conception; they think their eyes have been opened, whereas in
reality they have returned to the spiritual blindness of their
state before conversion; they are proud of their dress of
self-righteousness, and do not know that in the sight of God they
are bare and naked. Warningly, therefore, the Lord calls out to
them: I advise thee earnestly to buy from Me gold tried by fire
that thou mayest be rich, and white garments to clothe thee, lest
the shame of thy nakedness appear, and salve to anoint thine eyes
that thou mayest see. Here the earnest love of the Savior even for
those that do not realize their own defects appears, He, in whom is
the Spirit of counsel and of understanding, is so concerned about
their soul's salvation that He earnestly and urgently advises them
to buy from Him wares tried and true. The gold which has been tried
by fire is true, sound faith, 1Pe_1:7, such faith as stands the
test of persecutions and tribulations as well as that of peace and
quietness. The white garments that will cover the nakedness of men
is that of Christ's righteousness, which is imputed to everyone
that believes. And the salve is the illumination of the Holy Ghost,
which is needed above all to bring men to the knowledge of their
real spiritual condition. These wonderful gifts are not obtained by
any man by his own reason or strength; the price which man pays for
them is not one of his own merit. The buying of which the Lord
speaks is that which He brings out in that wonderful passage: "Ho,
every one that thirsts, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no
money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without
money and without price. " It is all free, wonderful love and mercy
on the part of God. The Lord follows up His warning with a powerful
appeal: As for Me, as many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Be
zealous, then, and repent. Here Christ places His own person and
work into the foreground and emphasizes His disinterested love for
even such as have proved themselves unworthy of His love. It is
this love which causes the Lord to be instant in reprimanding, and
even in inflicting painful punishments, His object being to restore
the lukewarm to the former loyalty. They should return to the habit
of a true zeal for Him and for His work; they should repent at once
and once for all of their indifference and inconsistency. In this
way the Lord at all times lets the congregation feel the warmth and
the eagerness of His love, in order that at least some Christians
be kindled to new spiritual life. The Lord now adds a very general
invitation: Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone will
hear My voice and open the door, I shall enter in to him and hold
the feast with him and he with Me. The time of mercy is still at
hand, the Gospel is still being preached. The coming of the Lord is
near, however. Many events, many happenings in Church and State are
intended to remind us of the fact 18. and of the nearness of His
return. Upon US devolves the supreme necessity of hearing His
voice, of heeding the Word of His Gospel and of His will that all
men come to the knowledge of the truth. If we thus heed His
knocking and obey His voice, then He will enter into our hearts and
make His abode with us, hold the feast of His everlasting grace
with us, feed us with the heavenly manna of His body, and let us
drink of the river of heavenly pleasures forevermore. He repeats
this thought for the sake of emphasis: He that conquers, I shall
give him to sit with Me on My throne, just as I conquered and sat
with My Father on His throne. He that has conquered and overcome,
everyone who here in time renounced all those things which are
opposed to Christ, will in yonder world take part in the glory and
triumph of Christ, will rule and govern with Him with divine honor,
glory, and bliss, world without end. That is what happened to
Christ in His exaltation, and that is the reward which awaits those
that are faithful to the end, to share the throne of God, the
heavenly Father, and of the Lamb which was slain for them. They
will enjoy the most intimate, the most blessed fellowship with God
and with Christ to all eternity. And again the call of the Lord,
inviting, appealing, sounds forth: He that has ears, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the congregations! Summary The Lord
addresses letters to the congregations at Sardis, Philadelphia, and
Laodicea, commending them wherein they were faithful, but
reprimanding all defilement and all luke- warmness in the strongest
terms. 10. W. BURKITT, This epistle to the Laodiceans is the
seventh and last epistle which Christ commanded St. John at this
time to write; most of the churches were found faulty before, but
none like this here. Formality and hypocrisy, coldness and
indifferency, in religion, had so for prevailed in this church,
that we find nothing commended in them, nothing good spoken of
them, and none of them exempted from the general charge brought in
against them for that lukewarmness and hypocrisy. In this epistle
now before us, Observe, 1. A description of Christ in his
deservedly glorious titles: thus saith the Amen, the faithful and
true Witness, that is, he that is verity and truth itself, both in
his promises and his threatenings, who is holy, and cannot lie;
righteous, and cannot deceive; wise, and can never be deceived;
therefore Christ takes upon him this name here of the faithful and
true Witness, to awaken these drowsy hypocrites, to see and
consider that he knows their state and condition, and will testify
and witness against them. There is no such effectual remedy against
hypocrisy, lukewarmness, and indifference in the matters of
religion, as a firm belief of Christ's omnisciency and veracity.
The other title given to Christ, is the beginning of the creation
of God; that is, the beginner of the creation of God, the original
and first cause, by which all the creatures of God had their
beginning. Christ is not onlyprincipium principatun, but principium
principians; not the passive beginning, or he that first created,
but the active beginning, or he by whom the creation was begun,
both the old and new creation. Now Christ takes upon him this
title, to encourage the Laodiceans to come unto him, (according to
the invitation, given Rev_3:18.) to recover them from their
formality, seeing he is omnipotent, and can give a being and
beginning to grace in the new creation as he did to nature in the
old and first creation. Observe, 2. The reproof here given to this
church of Laodicea, I know thou art neither hot nor cold; thou art
not for open heresy or infidelity, but likest well a profession of
Christianity; you receive the gospel, and so are not quite cold,
but you want zeal to suffer any thing for it, and so are not at all
hot; I see nothing in thee but a lukewarm indifferency, for which I
disown thee, nay, disdain thee. 19. Learn hence, 1. That Christ
loathes lukewarm persons, who profess Christianity with reserves
for worldly safety. These Laodiceans were neither enemies to
Christ, nor true friends, but served God and gain, Christ and the
world, by turns, as occasion served. Learn, 2. That though God
abominates lukewarmness and want of zeal, yet he will not disown
those who have any spark of true zeal, though defective and
culpably remiss; he will not quench smoking flax, but blow it up
into a holy flame; but all that have not so much zeal as to prefer
Christ before the world, shall be accounted his enemies, and
disowned by him. 11L. BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, Laodiceathe
self-complacent Church Laodicea is the type of a self-complacent
Church. Underneath the condemnation of luke- warmness there is a
yet more heart-searching lesson. Lukewarmness itself is the sure
result of self-complacency; it is absolutely impossible for
self-complacent men |o be other than lukewarm. If we grasp this
truth we get below symptoms of a grave and conspicuous evil in
Churches to its very source; we reach the heart and display its
hidden weakness and woe. Perhaps, also, we shall find the way of
deliverance; many a man is lukewarm, and he knows not why. It is
his constant morrow and his wonder; he ought to be earnest, and he
feels he is not. To show any who may be conscious of this strange
indifference the real reason of their unimpassioned, powerless
piety, to disclose the secret of the lukewarmness which is their
never-forgotten perplexity and their self- reproach, may suggest to
them how they are to be cured. There are two points in the
description of the self-complacency of Laodicea, the simple
statement of which bites like satire; it is the self-complacency,
first, of the moneyed man, and, secondly, of the so- called
self-made man. By a strange moral irony the self-complacent man
fixes his attention on what he has of least value, and lets his
higher possibilities go unthought of. The R.V., I am rich and have
gotten riches, strikes harshly on the ear accustomed to the older
reading, I am rich and increased with goods; but it has this
meritit shows us the self-complacent congratulating himself that he
is the author of his own success. Laodicea was a town of some
consequence in the Roman province of Asia. Its trade was
considerable; it lay on the line of a great road. It is now a ruin,
absolute and utter; the site of its stadium, its gymnasium, and its
theatres alone discernible. North of the town are many sarcophagi,
with their covers lying near them, partly embedded in the ground,
and all having been long since rifled. The remains of an aqueduct
are there, with stone barrel-pipes, incrusted with calcareous
matter, and some completely closed up. It is an awful historic
parablebroken buildings, rifled tombs, water-pipes choked with the
earthy matter they conveyed. So may the soul be charged with the
dregs of what we allow to filter through it; so will the soul be
rifled which has allowed itself to become a tomb, the receptacle of
dead forms of activity that might have been ennobled with the
highest life. The curse of societies which measure the things of
God by a worldly standardand where this is not done,
self-complacency is impossibleis the inevitable degradation and
ruin which set in. There is no common measure between the
surpassing purpose of the Saviour and the satisfaction men have in
what they have attained, and in themselves for having attained it.
All things are possible to me, says the believer in Christ; for his
faith goes out to a life, an energy beyond him; it becomes surety
for what his eye has not seen. All things are possible to me, says
the worldly Christian; for he takes care never to admit into his
purpose anything more than he has already achieved. Where the
purpose is thus debased the thought is narrow, and mind, and heart,
and soul are contracted to the limit of what they hold. So, when
the appeal of the gospel is made, there is no 20. response; there
is nothing which seems worth a transcendent effort. The man is
lukewarm, there is nothing to fire him in his purpose, no heart in
him to be fired. He is poor for all his wealth. Thus the central
thought of the message to Laodicea, when once we have caught it,
dominates all our perception; it recurs to us again and again; its
inevitableness strikes us; we never can forget that the
self-complacent man or Church is and must be lukewarm. In Hogarths
picture of Bedlam, the most distressing figures are those of the
self-complacentthe Pope with his paper tiara and lathen cross; the
astronomer with paper tube, devoid of lenses, sweeping not the
heavens, but the walls of the madhouse; the naked king, with
sceptre and crown of straw. Their misery is seen upon their faces;
even their self-complacency cannot hide it. The heart is hopeless
where the man is self-centred; gladness is as foreign as enthusiasm
to him who is full of the sense of what he has acquired. But out of
this same dominating thought comes the hope of recovery. When we
are conscious of lukewarmness, the first thing which occurs to us
is that we ought to be earnest; and we set ourselves to try to be
so. We try to arouse the lukewarm to intensity; we lash them with
scorn; we overwhelm them with demonstrations of their misery, and
present them with images of the resolved; Be earnest, we cry to
them again and again; without earnestness there is no possibility
of Christian life. How vain it all is! The young may be awakened by
appeals; but not those who have come to their lassitude through
prosperity, the rich, and increased with goods. One way remainsgive
them to see the glory of Christ; there is in Him a sublimity, an
augustness, a moral dignity and worth which may thrill the soul
with a new passion, and set the tides of life flowing toward a
central splendour. And this is what we find in the message to
Laodicea. First there is presented a stately image of Him who walks
about among the seven golden candlesticks. These things saith the
Amen, etc. We feel at once the mystic sublimity of the phrases: an
unrevealed grandeur is behind the form of the man Christ Jesus,
arousing our expectation, moving the heart with a faintly imagining
awe. Next, we have a picture of the tender Saviour, one which has
entered into our common Christian speech as few presentations even
of Christ have, luring on the painter to body forth, and the poet
to describe what they can never express, but what we all can feel.
Behold, I stand at the door. etc. Here, too, is a cure for self-
complacency. The heart can be won by tenderness. And then there is
the sublime promise, so reserved, yet sounding into such depths of
suggestionHe that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down, etc.
The throne on which Christ is seated is a Divine throne; but it is
also a throne on which are exalted disappointed human hopes. When
Jesus died upon the cross He died in faith of what He had not
realised. And then the triumph came. God raised him up from the
dead and gave Him glory. Christs mission is accomplished when human
souls awaken to a faith and a hope for ever in advance of all men
can attain to on earth, a faith and a hope which are in God. There
is a cure for self-complacency here; and with self-complacency the
deathly lukewarmness is gone. There are some pathetic touches which
we should notice before closing this solemn, heart-searching appeal
to the self-complacent. The abrupt change of tone in Rev_3:17;
Rev_18:1-24 is significant. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and
have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that
thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and
nakedwith such an introduction, what words may we not expect to
follow, of warning, censure, doom? They are not spoken. The Lord
begins in another strainI counsel thee to buy of Me, etc. The
pathos of all self-complacency, at once its condemnation and the
more than hope of deliverance from it, is thisthe delivering Lord
is so nigh. The true riches, the robe of righteousness, the Divine
vision, all are for us; to be bought, as Gods best gifts can only
be bought, without money and without price. Some words follow with
which we are very familiar, the thought they express entering so
largely into Biblical teaching and human experience. As many as I
love, etc. 21. One of the suggestions of this utterance is, that
with all its self-complacency Laodicea was profoundly unhappy. The
denizens of Bedlam are more than half conscious of their
derangement; the self-satisfied Christian knows how deep is his
discontent. Another suggestion is that of coming tribulation; the
knocking at the door of which the next verse speaks is an
intimation that trouble is at hand. Let it come; it will be
welcome; anything will be welcome which can stir this mortal
lethargy. The treasures of the Divine chastisement are not
exhausted; and they are treasures of the Divine love. (A.
Mackennal, D. D.) Laodicea I. Three aspects of the character of
Christ. 1. The Amen. This sets forth His immutability. 2. The
faithful and true Witness. (1) Christ is a Witness (a) In His
personal life and death. (b) By the Holy Spirit in the inspired
Word, in the plan of redemption, and in the organisation of the
Church. (c) In the hearts of individual believers, where He dwells
by faith. (2) Christ, as Witness, in this threefold sense, is
faithful and true. (3) His promised rewards will be faithfully
fulfilled, and His threatened penalties will be strictly carried
out. 3. The beginning of the creation of God. The Head, Prince, or
Potentate. II. The twofold character of the Laodicean Church. 1.
Latitudinarian. 2. Self-deceived. III. Christs appropriate counsel.
1. This counsel is characteristic of our Lord. (1) Tender and
considerate. (2) Appropriate and definite. (3) Timely and solemn.
2. This counsel is very suggestive. (1) Buy of Me. In one sense
grace cannot be bought. It has been boughtnot with silver and gold,
etc. In another sense, if we are not willing to give up the world
and its sinful pleasures for Divine grace, we shall not obtain it.
(2) Gold tried in the fire. That which enriches the soul for ever,
and will endure the test of His judgment. (3) White raiment
(Rev_19:8). (4) Eye-salve. The illumination of the Holy Spirit. 22.
IV. Three proofs of Christs loving interest. 1. Discipline. 2.
Patient, personal appeals to those who have practically rejected
Him. 3. His gracious proffer of the highest honour to him who
becomes conqueror in His name. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.) The word of
Christ to the congregation at Laodicea I. Its real character was
thoroughly known. II. Its spiritual indifferentism is divinely
abhorrent. 1. Spiritual indifferentism is a most incongruous
condition. 2. Spiritual indifferentism is a most incorrigible
condition. III. Its self-deception is terribly alarming. IV. Its
miserable condition need not be hopeless. 1. Recovery is freely
offered. 2. Recovery is Divinely urged. 3. Recovery is Divinely
rewarded. (1) The throne of all approving conscience. (2) The
throne of moral rule. (D. Thomas, D. D.) The Church abhorrent to
Christ because of the lukewarm temperature of its spiritual life I.
This church was lukewarm in the temperature of its spiritual life.
1. The language of this verse aptly describes the religious state
of many Churches now. (1) A lukewarm Church is unique in the world.
In every sphere of life, save the moral, men are red hot. (2) A
lukewarm Church is useless in the world. It cannot make any
progress against a vigilant devil and a wicked world. (3) A
lukewarm Church is an anomaly in the world. The Church is destined
to represent on earth the most energetic and spiritual ministries
which exist in the unseen universe. (4) A lukewarm Church has much
tending to awaken it. It should be awakened by a study of the lives
of the Old and New Testament saints, by the earnest life of Christ,
by the great need of the world, by the transitoriness of life, and
by the quickening influences of the Divine Spirit. 2. That this
lukewarm Church was abhorrent to the Divine Being. It is better to
be a sinner than a merely nominal Christian; because the latter
brings a greater reproach upon the name of Christ; because the
latter is in the greater peril; and because 23. hypocrisy is a
greater sin than profanity. II. This lukewarm church, sadly
deceived, was wisely counselled as to the real condition of its
spiritual life. 1. Sad deception. (1) The members of this Church
imagined that they were rich and had need of nothing. (2) The
members of this Church imagined that they were prosperous. (3) The
members of this Church imagined that they had attained all possible
excellence. 2. Wise counsel. (1) This Church was advised to get
true wealth. (2) This Church was advised to get renewed purity. (3)
This Church was advised to get clear vision. (4) This Church was
advised to get Christly merchandise. 3. Disguised love. All the
Divine rebukes are for the moral good of souls, and should lead to
repentance and zeal. III. This church was urgently encouraged to
amend its moral condition and to enter upon a zealous life. The
advice of Christ is always encouraging. He will help the most
degraded Church into a new life. Lessons: 1. That a lukewarm Church
is abhorrent to the Divine mind. 2. That Christ gives wise counsel
to proud souls. 3. That the most valuable things of life are to be
had from Christ without money and without price. 4. Are we
possessed of this gold, raiment, eyesalve? (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
These things saith the Amen. Christs names The name which the Lord
assumes in addressing this Church is threefold, yet onethe Amen,
the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of
God. The name Amen as here employed has its root in the Old
Testament, where God is called the God of truth, the God of the
Verily, the God of Amennot merely distinguishing Him from the lying
vanities of the heathen and the phantom-gods of philosophy, but
bringing into view the absolute truth of His nature and of all His
attributes. We cannot but mark how supremely and absolutely, in
assuming this name, Jesus claims to be what the Jehovah of the Old
Testament was. Two successive steps may give us a glimpse of the
meaning of this name as now assumed and worn by the Lord. In the
first place, He Himself is true, and deserves our absolute trust.
His compassions are true, His love is true, His word is true, His
smile is true, yea, His very silence is true, even as He said to
His disciples, If it were not so, I would have told you. He does
not say and unsay; He does not come and go; He is without
variableness or shadow of turning. In the second place, He is the
Amen, the Verily, to all that God has spoken. The ancient promises
that 24. had come down through thousands of years unfulfilled are
fulfilled in Him, and that not in the letter merely, but in the
inner spirit. The promises that still look to the future are in Him
certain and sure, as hopes. And so with every word that God has
spoken, whether promise or threatening. There is no may be or may
not be about them; in Him they are all Amen. He is their full and
sure accomplishment, even as He is the accomplishment of the past,
Besides being the Amen, Jesus is to the Laodiceans the faithful and
true Witness. He is the Messenger and Revealer of the Father, who
answers all the deep questions of the conscience and heart, as well
as of the intellect, according to the ancient prophecyBehold, I
have given Him for a Witness to the people. I have manifested Thy
name, He says to the Father, unto the men whom Thou gavest me out
of the world. It is essential to a witness that he have personal
knowledge of that which he reports; and this Witness was in the
bosom of the Father, and knows what is in His heart. As Witness He
is faithful and true. These two words are like the right hand and
the left. As I conceive, they are not interchangeable; but each
conveys its own distinct and special meaning. Taken together, they
mark that He kept back nothing which the Father delivered unto Him,
and that all He said might be relied upon to the last jot and
tittle. Once more the Lord names Himself the Beginning of the
creation of God. We trace the things that are back and up to Jesus
Christ; He is the uncaused cause of their being, their vital
origin, willing them into existence; and the increasing purpose is
but the gradual unfolding of the thought of His heart. It is the
same truth that fills such words as these: All things were made by
Him, etc. In Him (comprehended within the sphere of His being,
power, and will) were all things created, etc. The grand thought
is, that this glorious universe, whose origin lies back of human
imagination, was brought into being (according to the will of the
eternal Father) by our blessed Redeemers creative power, and exists
for His sake. (J. Culross, D. D.) The Amen The word Amen is much
more full of meaning than may be supposed, and as a title of our
Lord Jesus Christ it is eminently suggestive. I might have divided
my discourse very fairly under these three headsasserting,
consenting, petitioning. For in each of these our adorable Lord
Jesus Christ is certainly the Amen. He asserts the will of GodHe
asserts God Himself. God the Son is constantly called the Word; He
who asserts, declares, and testifies God. In the second place, we
know that Jesus Christ consents to the will, design, and purpose of
Jehovah. He gives an Amen to the will of Godis, in fact, the echo,
in His life and in His death, of the eternal purposes of the Most
High. And, thirdly, He is the Amen in the petitionary sense, for to
all our prayers He gives whatever force and power they have. But we
have preferred to divide the discourse another way. I. Our Lord is
superlatively Gods Amen. 1. Long ere you and I had a being, before
this great world started out of nothingness, God had made every
purpose of His eternal counsel to stand fast and firm by the gift
of His dear Son to us. He was then Gods Amen to His eternal
purpose. 2. When our Lord actually came upon the earth, He was then
Gods Amen to the long line of prophecies. That babe among the
horned oxen, that carpenters son, was Gods declaration that
prophesy was the voice of heaven. 3. Christ was Gods Amen to all
the Levitical types. Especially when up to the Cross as to the
altar He went as a victim and was laid thereon, then it was that
God 25. solemnly put an Amen into what otherwise was but typical
and shadowy. 4. Christ is Gods Amen to the majesty of His law. He
has not sinned Himself, but He has the sins of all His people
imputed to Him. He has never broken the law, but all our breaches
thereof were laid on Him. The law says He is accursed, for He has
sin upon Him: will the Father consent that His own Beloved shall be
made a curse for us? Hearken and hear the Lords Amen. Awake, O
sword, against the man that is My fellow, saith the Lord. What,
does God the Father say Amen? Can it be? It is even so. He says,
Amen. And what an awful Amen too, when the sweat of blood started
from every pore of His immaculate body. 5. Jesus Christ is very
blessedly Gods Amen to all His covenant promises, for is it not
written that all the promises of God in Him are yea and in Him
Amen. 6. Jesus Christ will be Gods Amen at the conclusion of this
dispensation in the fulness of time. II. He is our Amen in Himself.
1. He proved Himself to be Amen; the God of truth, sincerity, and
faithfulness in His fulfilment of covenant engagements. Lo I come!
In the volume of the book it is written of Me: I delight to do Thy
will, O God. From all eternity He declared Himself to be ready to
go through the work, and when the time came He was straightened
till the work was done. 2. He was also the Amen in all His
teachings. We have already remarked that He constantly commenced
with Verily, verily I say unto you. Christ as teacher does not
appeal to tradition, or even to reasoning, but gives Himself as His
authority. 3. He is also the Amen in all His promises. Sinner, I
would comfort thee with this reflection. 4. Jesus Christ is yea and
Amen in all His offices. He was a priest to pardon and cleanse
once; He is Amen as priest still. He w