DEMAND LAID UPON THE LAODICEA CHURCH

The Demand Laid Upon the Laodicea Church

"I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

 

The Call to Counsel Together as From the Physician

"I counsel thee" (sumbouleuw)

This counsel is to the church to reason together as those who are friends seeking an arrangement that will be best for the church. In this case it covers the threefold need of the church described by the Physician in vs. 17. The Physician is counselling the purchase of the things in His threefold prescription in the market place. It so happens that He not only makes the diagnosis, and writes the prescription, but He Himself is the One who fills the prescription. All these things must be purchased from Him.

The Prescription for Poverty

"Gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich."

The gold He offers is without money and without price. It is merely His way of carrying on the figure of speech. They can get this gold from Him by faith. They have been intensely interested in getting refined gold in the city. There is a spir­itual gold which has gone through the fires of testing which He has to offer (Psa. 66:10 cf. 1 Pet. 1:7). Once they get this gold there will be the beginning of true riches in their lives (cf. Col. 2:2-3).
"For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried."
"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:"
"That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;" "In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

The Prescription for Nakedness

"And white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and  that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear."

The white raiment may well refer to the acts of righteousness which adorn the profession of faith (cf. Rev. 19:8).

"And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."

 

This will be cast about the believer as a mantle, an outward garment for adornment. And once it is cast about the believer, the shamefulness and the shocking ugliness of scanty attire will not be exposed. The habits of life, the ruling principles, the worldly ethics, and the conduct which is according to the course of this world and which provide such a bare covering for one will immediately be covered beneath the luxuriant garments of holiness one may get from Christ.

 

The Prescription for Blindness

"And anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see."

This language is familiar to the residents of Laodicea. Long had they been manufacturing an eye salve in this city.

Now for spiritual blindness they need eye salve. They must get it from Him. When it has been applied by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, they may not only begin to see, but also continue to see (present tense).

This undoubtedly is an indication that they do see, but they are gradually becoming more nearsighted and therefore losing their sight. But this prescription will enable them to continue. This is effected by beholding His blessed face. 1 John 3:2
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

The Call to Correction as From a Father

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."

In this verse, Christ turns from the language and demeanor of a Physician to that of a Father. This verse is a free rendering of Prov. 3:12 but with an indefinite plural ("as many as"). Those who are His He will chasten. But those who are not His He will let go.
"For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."

The Compelling Passion of Love

"As many as I love" (egw osouV ean jilw)

In this statement Christ uses the word jilw, denoting warm personal affection arising out of attractiveness and delight in the object. One might add here that Christ delights in the church as a father does his children, but even more than that like a bridegroom delights in his bride. The church is so dear to Him that He cannot give her up.

The Change He Urges the Church to Make

"Be zealous therefore, and repent."

"Therefore" Because I love you and am determined to help you.

He first urges a change of mind (metanohson).

"And repent."

This means a change of mind. It amounts to more than a change of opinion. It is almost equiva­lent to a complete spiritual revolution. It certainly means that there is such a shake-up in the entire thinking that one's whole viewpoint and thought structure is completely rearranged.

He Finally Urges a Change of Conduct

"Be zealous" (zhleue).

This word urges them to begin and to continue boiling. There needs to be an urgency, a passion, an importunity, an enthusiasm of life that indicates they are in desperate earnest­ness.

The Course of Action He Will Adopt as a Last Resort

"I rebuke and chasten" (egw...elegcw kai paideuw)

 He does not intend to lose those who are His. If He loses them (and this is impossible with such a Savior), He will not do so by doing nothing. If worse comes to worst, He will act as any real father toward them out of a heart of affection.

 

He will Bring Conviction on the Basis of Facts
"I rebuke" (elegcw)

This is entirely objective. It does not mean that the church will understand now. They will by and by. And when they come to the judgment seat of Christ, they will be able to see that Christ acted upon the basis of facts.

He will Achieve Correction by Means of Child Training

"Chasten" (paideuw)

This word refers to punishment that is not penal but corrective. It is always administered in love with a view to the best interests of the child. It is grievous for the present but afterward it yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness. With human fathers there may be some mistakes. But never does the Christ ever make any mistakes, and He always achieves His purpose.

The Call to Communion as From the Savior

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

This has its first application to the church and then to the individual within the church. The most appalling thing of all is that Christ is outside this church. This church has everything but Christ.

The Last Appeal of the Savior

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock."

Grk.: (idou esthka epi thn quran kai krouw)

He alerts this church by using the word "behold." He has taken His stand and is now standing at the door (perfect tense). This undoubtedly is a reference to His Second Coming (cf. Matt. 24:33; Jas. 5:9). This indicates that His coming is near, even at the doors. And because it is near, He is doing His best to arouse this people to the urgency for change.
"So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."
"Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door."

As He stands at the door He is knocking (present tense). This marks His persistent and loving effort to gain admittance to the church.

The Final Answer Must Come From the Individual

"if any man will hear my voice, and open the door."

Christ does not expect the church as a whole to take action. Once a church goes this far, it is unlikely that it will change. Once an organization forsakes its original principles, it will never reverse itself. So Christ is not waiting for a committee to bring in a resolution for the church to pass. If He waits for such a thing as this the case is hopeless.

So He is now addressing the individual member and waiting for a response from him. There is always some likelihood that one man may hear the accents of love in this appeal, take inventory of the condition of the church and of his own soul, and open the door to Christ.

The Blessed Association With the Savior

"I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

This is the result when the member of such a church opens the door to Christ. This speaks of the most intimate communion.

"With him" and "with me" use a preposition that indicates intimacy (met). Supper speaks of sharing alike at a common table. Entering in need not refer to the experience of salvation, though it might in many cases. It might mean only the blessed experi­ence of fellowship with Christ long broken, but now restored.

But in any case, the entrance is not into the church but into the individual. And since Christ is outside the church, it can only mean that the individual member must go where Christ is. This means that both Christ and the Christian will ultimately be excluded from such a church. In Israel there was a day when Moses pitched the tabernacle without the camp (Ex. 33:7). All the people had finally to come out to this new center. There was a day when Christ excom­municated the whole nation of Israel (Heb. 13:12-14). The people must go outside to Christ. The only way for this church to get right is to leave the church and come out to Him.

"And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp."

"Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate." "Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach." "For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come."

A form of sanctification (separation) through excommunication.

The blind man of John 9 was one who having received his sight made testimony to Christ. For doing this he was cast out of the center of worship, the synagogue. But Christ came to him and the blind man found a new center of worship, the true One, Jesus Christ (John 9:34-38). Some day in the eternal city, men will never be deceived any longer with the outward trappings of religion, such as congregations, buildings, and rituals, etc. Then the temple will be the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Rev. 21:22).
"They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out." "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" "He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?" "And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee." "And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him."
"And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it."