He Knows Part 5

REVELATION Number 43
He Knows Part 5

In Revelation 2:19 the Lord Jesus tells the folks in Thyatira, “I know your deeds, and your love and faith, and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.” (NASB 2020)

The Lord tells five of the seven churches that He knows their deeds. Earlier in the study we saw that “works”, or deeds, is not a dirty word.

We work out of the overflow of Father’s abundant supply (John 4:14).
We work because deep in our hearts we want to do godly things (Philippians 2:13).
We work because the love of God overwhelms us with the desire to express love to others (1 John 4:19).
We work because godly attitudes and actions now characterize our lives just as Father planned that they should (see Ephesians 2:10).

Here in Thyatira, the Lord commends these works of faith. He points out their love. This is not familial or brotherly love, but it is the Love of God, agape’ love. Such love has as its source the Lord God alone. He is agape’ (1 John 4:8 & 16). This is what Romans 1:5 and 16:26 calls “the obedience of faith.” In context those verses refer to turning to God in faith, believing on Jesus Christ, but Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Romans 14:23 boldly teaches us that whatever is not from faith is sin, and Galatians 5:6b says that “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through agape’” (NIV). Indeed, the Lord points to their faith in the same sentence.

Faith expressing itself through agape’ results in works, or deeds. Consequently, the Lord continues by letting the Thyatiran Christians know that He sees their service and perseverance. Paul gave similar praise to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 1:2–3 he wrote, “We always give thanks to God for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly keeping in mind your work of faith and labor of love and perseverance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father” (NASB 2020). James 2:22 puts it this way, “his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did” (NIV). The deeds, or works, God values are those done by faith in Him, not those done by our attempts to merit His favor.

The Lord Jesus also says that their more recent displays of “faith working itself out through love” (NIV) are greater than their first. I agree with Dr. Paul Ellis, who writes in “Letters from Jesus; Finding Good News in Christ’s Letters to the Churches” *, “‘Later, greater deeds’ does not mean upping your output and working harder than ever. In fact, the pressure to do more for the Lord can leave you busy and barren.” As Dr. Ellis points out, “Growth is what happens when you feed on the goodness of God.”

This is what spiritual growth looks like, Saints. This is maturity in Christ, growing up into the fullness of Him in every respect. Ephesians 4:15–16 lays it out well, saying, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (NIV)

* Ellis, Paul. Letters from Jesus: Finding Good News in Christ’s Letters to the Churches (p. 99). KingsPress. Kindle Edition.