Inner Reality

Revelation 2:1-4 - "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love."

The Lord tells the church at Ephesus that He knows their works and He goes on to list several qualities that the Ephesian church had. However, after a list of commendations the Lord says to them "I have this against you, that you have left your first love." All the things that the Lord said about the church in verses 2 and 3 are visible to one extent or another. They can be seen and recognized by other people. The one thing He had against them, however, is an inward thing. Love cannot be seen. It's true that there is an outward display of love, but love is an inward thing that God alone can see. And I want to look at the difference between the outward show and the inward reality as it's seen in the church at Ephesus. 

There is a principle here that is emphasized throughout Scripture and that is this: The Lord is far more interested in the inner than He is in the outer. In other words, what we do and how we act is important, but it’s not the most important. The most important is what’s going on inside of us. In Matthew 23:25-26 the Lord Jesus says this - “Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.” The Lord Jesus is not saying that the Scribes and Pharisees use dirty dishes, He’s saying that they are the dirty dishes. Jesus is speaking to the religious leaders of His day and He is telling them that they are dirty dishes. In the Bible our bodies are sometimes referred to as different objects to help and give us a deeper understanding of a certain spiritual truth. For instance, our bodies are referred to as tents, they are referred to as a temple, and they are also referred to as vessels or dishes. So Jesus is saying that the Scribes and Pharisees, while they looked good and they looked very religious, He saw what was in their hearts and their hearts were not right with Him. Jesus said “These people draw near to Me with their words, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:20-21 - “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore if a man cleanses himself from these things he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.” Here again our humans bodies are referred to as vessels or dishes. And in this passage God is teaching us that He is not looking at our outward show of religion, but He is looking on the inside, and we need to be clean inside before God can use us. Works are a part of the Christian life, but they flow out of us only after we are clean inside. It doesn’t work the other way around. At our house our dishwasher doesn't always work like it should, so I've developed a habit where, when I pull out a cup I always look inside to make sure it's clean before I use it. And in these passages the Lord is saying that He does the same thing. He looks inside His vessels before He uses them. God doesn't use dirty dishes.

The Lord always works inside-out. In 1 Samuel 16 the Lord sent Samuel to anoint a new king of Israel, and here again we find the truth that the Lord is more concerned about the inward person than the outward. He is more concerned with who we are on the inside than what we do or how we look outwardly. The Lord had rejected Saul from being king and so He sent Samuel to the house of a man by the name of Jesse who had eight sons, because the Lord had told Samuel that one of his sons would be king. So Jesse's old son, a young man named Eliab came and stood before Samuel and Samuel took one look at him and thought, "Surely the Lords anointed is before Him." Because of his strength or his kingly look, we're not told exactly, but there was something very impressive about this man that caused Samuel to think that he was Gods chosen king. But look at verse 7 - “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his outward appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” God shows us this idea again that He is interested in the inside more than the outside. Davids older brother may have looked kingly, he may have had the outward appearance of a godly leader, but they Lord chose a young shepherd boy because He saw his heart. And David is called in Scripture "a man after Gods own heart." This is what God is looking for. God cares far more about the condition of our heart than our stature.

The Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27-28 - “Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like white washed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so, you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and all lawlessness.” The Lord Jesus compared the religious leaders of His day to whitewashed tombs. They may have been fooling men into thinking that they were righteous, and they may have even been deceiving themselves, but they weren’t fooling God. You can’t fool Him. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. The reason I'm spending so much time on this issue is because this is a trap that a lot of people, Christian and non, fall into. It's so easy to get caught up in the outward show of religion and doing the right thing outwardly because that's what's seen. We are natural beings who operate in the natural world. So these outward things, these things which are seen, come naturally to us. But we need to understand that the unseen things, the things that don't come naturally for us, a genuine love for God from the heart, this is what God considers most important.

In Exodus 25 the Lord was instructing the people of Israel to make a tabernacle for Him. The tabernacle was a tent for the presence of the Lord to dwell in until the time that the temple was built in Jerusalem. And so the Lord is telling His people how they were to construct this tabernacle and everything that would go inside. The tabernacle had an outer court, which was like a wall that separated the tabernacle from everything else. This outer wall, like the rest of the tabernacle, could be easily taken down and set up somewhere else as the Lord guided His people through the wilderness. As you went through the gate the first thing you would come to in the outer court was a piece of furniture called the Bronze Alter, or the Brazen Alter. This is where sacrifices would be offered. After you passed the Brazen Alter you would come to another piece of furniture called the Bronze Laver. This was like a giant bowl that would hold water used for washing. After you passed the Laver you would come to the tabernacle itself. The tabernacle was divided into two rooms. As you entered the first room, which was called "the Holy Place" you would see three pieces of furniture. The Golden Lampstand, the Table of Showbread, and the Golden Alter of Incense. The other room, the most inward part of the tabernacle was a room called the "Holy of Holies" or the "Holiest of all." This room was separated from the rest of the tabernacle by a veil. Inside the Most Holy Place was one piece of furniture called the ark of the covenant which was built like a box or a chest. The lid to the ark of the covenant had two cherubim facing toward one another with their wings spread upward and their faces looking downward, and this lid was called the Mercy Seat. It was here that the visible presence of God dwelt among His earthly people. Now, only the high priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place and only once a year.
Here in Exodus 25 is where the Lord is instructing His people on how to make this tabernacle, and this is what He says in verses 8-11 -"Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it. They shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding around it." And He goes on to talk about the construction. But do you know what I find odd here? The Lord is telling the people to build Him a tent for Him to dwell in and He starts with the Ark of the covenant. If you're ever considering a building project and you sit down with an architect to draw up the blueprints, you don't begin with a piece of furniture. We always get the building figured out first and then we'll work on how to arrange the furniture. But that's not how God works. God begins with the innermost part of the tabernacle, the piece of furniture over which His presence would dwell, because this was the most important part. And we see this principle throughout the entire Bible. Gods primary concern is the inward. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

In 1 Peter chapter 3 Peter is giving instructions to wives, and we see this principle presented again in verses 3 and 4 where Gods Word says -  “And let not your adornment be merely external - braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” We cannot see a gentle and quiet spirit. It's in the "hidden person of the heart." Who is it hidden from? Other people. But even though it's hidden from the sight of man this verse also tells us that it's not hidden from the Lord, because it says that it is "precious in the sight of God." Even though this inner person is hidden from human eyes, this is the thing that is precious in Gods sight, because God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

I understand that I’m spending a lot of time on this point but that’s because I want you to grasp this. Don’t miss it. We can look very religious outwardly, we can be going through all the motions, but the Lord looks at the inside. He saw the works of the Ephesian church, but more importantly, He saw that in their hearts they had left their first love. In Mark chapter 12 the Lord Jesus is asked the question "which commandment is foremost of all?" And in verses 29 and 30 we read this - “Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’”" The Lord Jesus says that the most important commandment is to love the Lord with our all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Our love for God is primarily an inward thing. Heart, soul and mind are all inward. and the Lord Jesus says that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind, three inward things, before He turns to strength. Now there's an inward strength, but also a strength outwardly. A threefold love inwardly before we get the outward display. So which do you think might be more important? The church at Ephesus had an inward problem. Outwardly they looked good, but the Lord looks at the heart, and He had to say to them - "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love."

1 Samuel 16:7 - "for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."