Revelation 3:1-6

(Revelation 3:1-6)

『 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 』

 

This is Jesus' message to Sardis Church. It is only mentioned that a few have kept their spiritual purity, and nothing has been praised by the Lord. Rather, he only heard many reproofs and warnings due to extreme formalism, spiritual powerlessness, and faith without actions. Jesus practiced the Sardis church and said, "I know your deeds." At Sardis, his faith was formal. Faith seems beautiful and inferior on the outside. However, God did not judge by appearance, but looked at the center. To see the center means to see the motive of action and its fruits.

There is no fruit of repentance because the center of the formal one is selfish and is based on his own glory. She said she had a name that said she lived in Sardis Church. It is that they had the faith that they said, Lord, Lord. However, they did not do the will of their father. It is said that faith without works is dead faith and self-deceived faith. He said he had the faith that came to be seen before God. This kind of faith tells me that it is a heavy burden to me as I only step on the courtyard of the temple. There was a filthy offering. However, God said he would not accept their sacrifices. There was an office buried in the ground. They only boasted of the splendor of the office, but were not loyal to that office. There was power to do lawlessness. But their power was illegal.

Jesus told them that they were dead, but this dead man did not find the whole thing before God. In other words, the spirit did not come alive. That is, they become those who do not know exactly about God. They came to church and lived a life of faith, but they never lived according to God's will. Then, being perfect before God means producing fruit worthy of repentance. Jesus said that producing fruit worthy of repentance is more important than boasting of being a descendant of Abraham. The fruit worthy of repentance refers to those who repent and die to sin.

Jesus tells them how the Sardis church should repent. To hear means the word of God. God's Word is the spiritual food for Christians. By listening to these words, Christian faith grows. The members of the Sardis church say they should think about how they have been favored and how they have heard the Word. Jesus said to Sardis, "Keep and repent." This is repentance.

To keep is to keep the dead every day. The fruit of repentance is to become the dead. Jesus turned to Sardis and said, "If I am not awake, I will come like a thief." This means the Second Coming of the Lord, and it is a warning that if you see these people at His Second Coming, you will not escape judgment. Since the book of Revelation is the gospel of the Second Coming, it is always linked to the Second Coming at the end.

Sardis Church is the spiritual aspect of the end church. Like the Sardis church, which boast of fleshly fruits, the ruined church does not have the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but shows off the external and physical fruit. However, for such a church, the Lord, who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, declared, "You have the name that you lived and are dead." The Lord warned of coming to such a church like a thief. The word of coming like a thief means that you will put the church in Sardis in spiritual darkness by moving the candlestick in the church.

Sardis Church is the spiritual aspect of the end church. Like the Sardis church, which boast of fleshly fruits, the ruined church does not have the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but shows off the external and physical fruit. However, for such a church, the Lord, who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, declared, "You have the name that you lived and are dead." The Lord warned of coming to such a church like a thief. The word of coming like a thief means that you will put the church in Sardis in spiritual darkness by moving the candlestick in the church.

In the book of Revelation, the emphasis is placed on “the overcomer” Only two kinds of humans exist, whether all the sins in the world have disappeared or have been. In order for all sin to disappear, we must enter into Jesus. I must be the one who wins and overcomes the battle against myself in me. This is because the self, “self,” is Satan's old man. In order to overcome the old man, we must die with Jesus on the cross, not doing all our efforts. There is no way other than perfect union with the cross of Jesus.

If you are not united with the cross, you are staying in the flesh and not in the Holy Spirit. There is no middle. You cannot be saved unless you are guided by the Holy Spirit. Faith is the faith that comes from heaven when guided by the Holy Spirit, as in Galatians 3:25. Only those who died with Jesus and then live with Jesus again overcome evil and can receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit. To those who overcome, God clothes them with white clothes. Those who dress in white are those who live according to the word of the Lord. The obedient wears a white robe and becomes pure.