He Knows Part 7

REVELATION Number 45
He Knows Part 7

To the church at Philadelphia, the Lord Jesus simply states that He knows their deeds (Revelation 3:8). He says the same thing to five of the seven churches addressed in His letters. Included in that list is Laodicea to who He says, in Revelation 3:15 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot”.

As we saw in the earlier letters, the Lord sees the good and godly deeds done by faith in His dynamic work. Sardis taught us that He also sees the fleshly worldly deeds done by self-righteous role playing.

His comment here that the Laodicean church is neither hot nor cold has generated all manner of discussion and doctrinal filibustering. In more recent times, most have taken to understanding this to be related to the availability in Laodicea of only tepid warm water, which was distinctly unpalatable. While that is true about their water supply, it would seem that the Spirit has something else to say here.

Later we will read that the Lord would rather the Laodiceans be cold or hot. Many teach that either the extreme of rebellious rejection of Christ or zealous dedication to Him is the Lord’s preference. That is similarly unlikely in my view because it seems uncharacteristic for the Lord to promote the idea of a cold lack of commitment.

A better understanding of this as I see it is that the Lord is speaking of the witness the Laodiceans have to the world around them. We will discover in coming segments of our study that all the other churches are commended or condemned for their witness. Additionally, the Lord introduced Himself here as the faithful and true witness. His introduction of Himself in the other letters is related to and suited for the particular situations those churches face. It is doubtful it would be different here.

We are at the end of our study of what the Lord knows about the churches. In the coming segments we will examine the problems He sees in them. One thing will be clear in the end. The Lord Jesus wants the very best for His bride. As we read in Ephesians 5:25–27, Christ “loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” (NASB 2020)

No wonder then, that He will point out and remind the churches of the outcome of following idolatrous and religious practices rather than living by faith in Him. There is no Life in those things, just as “witnessing” programmatically is ineffective and has no Life in it.