"I know thy works, and thy labour,
and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil:
and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, 
and are not and hast patience, 
and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted." 

 And the Lord commended them for it. 
However in v. 4 -5, the Lord said: 
  "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, 
because thou hast left thy first love." 
  "Remember therefore from whence thou are fallen, 
and do the first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, 
and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, 
except thou repent." 
 

     They were all laboring for the Lord tirelessly and with patience,
but He rebuked them. He told them to remember from where they have fallen.
and to repent and do the first works.  Apparently they were working but not doing the first works. 
What is the first works? 
The first works is not our labour for the Lord. 
The works that the Lord is speaking of are many works, but they go together with the love,
that He called thy first love. 
It is associated with the cross where our first love was manifested. 
It was when I first learned of the love that God has for me,
when He sent His only begotten Son to die for me. 
When I believed and received that good news, His work became mine. 
It was by faith that the works became real to me.  It by believing. 
 Notice when He says this. 

  “Remember from where thou are fallen,
and repent and do the first works.” 
 

     It is when we forget our first love, (which is God’s love for us, grace) 
that we are fallen from our first love, and thus not doing the first works. 
We maybe working very vigorously. 
The word “works” is plural because it involves many of God works. 
But to do the first works is to believe and believe and believe and continue to believe,
all that He did and continues to do. 
Thus it is not doing but believing. 
It is believing what He has done, is doing, and will do,
that we do the first works. 

Our works is believing and continue to believe.
It is FAITH

We first believe at the Cross the work of Christ,
and thus we believe God created the world, and will make a new world. 
When we forget His love for us which is our first love, 
we are not doing the first works, for we have ceased to believe,
and we are not walking by faith in His Grace.

Now we are doing our work for Him and He is displeased,
because it is His love for us that does the work in us and through us. 
Remembering our first love, 
which is His love for us, we will continue to walk by faith,
and now doing the first works 
which is believing that He has done it all, and continue to do it,
and we enter into His rest for it is all finished. 

The First Works is not doing,
but believing, and by believing, you are doing the first works. 
Christianity is a paradox.  It seem to be contradictory, but in essence, it is the truth. 
 

     The disciples asked Jesus,
"What must we do that we might work the work of God?" 
Jesus answered,
"This is the work of God that ye believe in whom He has sent." 

The works of God is that we believe in Him, in His Word.  It is faith in Him, in His Word. 
The first works is what God has done in creation, and on the Cross for salvation,
and continues to do in sanctification.  When we forget His love for us, doubts enters in
and  we cease to do the first works, (which is faith in HIm) 
but now are doing our works, which is not The first works. 

    Our own works is not based on faith but on our own efforts and common sense,
and effort and worldly intelligence.  We labor hard thinking this is pleasing to God. 
We become like Martha, anxious and troubled about many things. 
Only by faith can we do the works that is pleasing to Him,
because it is not we who are doing it, but it is He through His Spirit that does it in and through us. 
Thus it is God that worketh in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
 Faith is resting and knowing that it is He, who has and can and will do it all. 
This is done only through love, His love for us which is our first love. 
 
 

    In the Old Testament, from the Garden of Eden to the Cross,
the world was told to obey according to what they must do or not do. 
Man failed miserably continually throughout the history of the mankind. 
Adam and Eve was given one commandment and they failed. 
Mankind became as gods knowing Good and Evil, and acted the part of gods,
by deciding what is right and what is wrong, and who is right and who is wrong in their own eyes, 
thus it says in the Book of Judges about the children of Israel;
“everyone did what was right in their own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25). 
Man has strayed away from God and acted as though they were God. 
 Jesus Christ came to die on the Cross, to display God's love for mankind,
and to those that believe, there is peace, not in the world but in their hearts. 
It is available to only those that believe in their hearts the works of God and the work on the Cross
(Joh. 14:27). 
 

    Christians also will not find peace, joy, etc. nor establish the Will of God in their lives,
by doing the works of God.  It is by believing,
and having a deeper knowledge of the work of God,
done on the Cross that the works of God be done in our lives. 

 In Gal. 5:6
Paul says: 

  "Nothing availeth much except faith which worketh by Love." 

 Again it is the love of God that worketh our faith.
It is not my love for Him, but it is His love for me that was displayed on the Cross of Calvary. 
Knowing more deeply the love of God for us increases and strengthens our faith in Him. 
This is the love that worketh our faith.
 

     He does not say, thy first works, but the first works, because it is not our works but it is God's works.   It is God that does it in us and through us (Phil. 2:13). 
Returning to the first works, is again returning to the place of the Cross where we found our first love,
that is God's love for us. 
Our first love, is for us, and embracing His love for us,
and remembering this love of God for me, results in the first works.

 The disciples asked Jesus; 

 "what shall we do, that we might work the works of God?"

 Jesus answered and said unto them; 
 "This is the work of God, 
that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." 
(Joh. 6:28-29).

 And again Jesus said; 

 "And this is the will of Him that sent me,
that every one which seeth the Son,
and believe on Him, may have everlasting life..."
 It is believe, believe and believe.

 "always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus 
that the life also of Jesus, may be made manifest in our body." (2Cor. 4:10). 

 "That I may know Him,
and the power of his resurrection 
and the fellowship of His sufferings,
being made conformable unto His death, 
if by any means 
I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead........."(Phil. 3:10-11). 
 

     I keep working for the Lord not out of duty or obligation but because of His love for me. 
It is His grace that worketh in me to will and to do of His good pleasure. 
Knowing His love for me is His Grace, that Paul often speaks of. 
My true love for Him is knowing and realizing His love for me. 
I can only love Him when I realize that He loves me 
(1Joh. 4:19).

Paul says:
"I am what I am for the Grace of God. 
It is this Grace that is laboring in me and through me." 
(1Cor. 15:10).
 

    My laboring, based on works and debt and obligation will result in pride and complaints. 
If things go well, we become proud and may not realize it. 
If things do not go well, we blame it on circumstances, and even on others,
and complaining usually follows.  Grace is free. 
The song that says,
"All to Him I owe" is not true. 
I do not owe Him anything, for it is by Grace and a gift and it is free. 
If it is because of obligations, then there is no reward for I am paying back my debt to Him. 
He saves by Grace which is free and now He does the works in us and through us,
and for this He rewards us. 
 

    Truly, His Grace is amazing.
Some say, "because He died for me, I owe Him all and should now do his will." 
We can never pay back what He has done for us. 
To think that, we can shows the terrible pride that the human race has. 
The whole world is trying to show God how good we can be by works. 
Christians, too, make the same mistake. 
We must understand and come to know God's Grace much, much more. 
 

    His love for me that gives this love in my heart for Him, is the power that keeps me going,
for without Him in His grace I can do nothing. 
If you are doing His will because you love Him, it is only true because you realize,
He first loved you. 
The former is true only if the latter is true
. 
"We love Him because He first loved us"
(1Joh. 4:19). 
We must realize His love that was displayed on the Cross
or we may take it for granted. 
The more in depth I realize His love for me, 
the greater is my love for Him and for one another. 
 

     There are many who are laboring for the church, the organization, their goal, etc., 
thinking it is because they love Him, or this is what is required of me,
but this is not true, for He rebuked those who were laboring at the church at Ephesus. 
He rebuked them because they have left their first love. 
How can you really and truly love the Lord if you left the place of His love for you, 
thy first love. 
Leave His love for me which is my first love
and all my laboring will be in vain
for our laboring is not of Grace but of works. 
It should be a labor of love
(1Thes. 1:3; Heb. 6:10). 
 

    Continue in this way and He will move 
or stir thy candlestick out of its place shortly. 

The candlestick represents the church, which is you and me and all believers. 
 The word REMOVE used here should be the word MOVE (kineo). 
This means to stir up or shaken. 
This is the same word used in Mat. 15:29, WAGGING their heads. 
I believe this verse means to stir up, or to eventually chastise,
which is to awaken the church to remember its first love, or to the place of Grace. 
 

    He does not want to remove you, but for you to remember. 
He says to repent, change your mind, your thinking. 
You must realize that your heart is in the wrong place. 
You must come back to the place of the first love, the place of the Cross. 
This is why He instituted the Lord's Supper and baptism. 
These both point to the Cross. 

The Lord's Supper is to remind us of His love and that He has done it all. 
Baptism is to remind us that we are dead, and can do nothing,
and it is Christ in resurrection who continues to do all. 
The church is the candlestick and Christ is the Light of the church. 
The church should shine forth the Lord, but emphasizing works is not shining forth the light. 
Works are the result of the Light and not the means. 
 

       Jesus says,
"Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father, who is in heaven."
(Mat. 5:16).
Man cannot see in darkness. 
When we shine forth Christ, man sees the Good Works, as light reveals the truth. 
 

     Without the Light, the church is nothing. 
Without the Light, the candlesticks are just ornaments and useless. 
Without the Light, we cannot see nor understand the deeper things of God. 

The answer is the Cross of Christ.

The Cross is the key to the inner mysteries of God, 
the understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven and of the Kingdom of God. 
See and know the deeper meaning of the Cross of Christ,
and God will reveal the deeper things of the spiritual realm to us. 

The answer is in Christ and we must begin at THE CROSS OF CHRIST!

    In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and on the seventh day He rested,
and we enter into His rest.  God always does the works and we rest because it is finished. 
Man failed and brought curse and judgment to the whole creation and Christ redeemed all creation. 
Christ is our Rest.  On the Cross again God did the work and we enter into the work by faith,
and we rest on the finished work of Christ. 
It is God who always does all the works and we enter into His Rest by faith,
by believing that it is finished. 
We rest on Christ’s finished work on the Cross. 
Christ is our Rest. 

    God’s works is DOING!  Our work is BELIEVING on God’s works! 
By faith we believe that things that we see were made by things that were not here. 
By faith we believe that Christ died on the Cross for our sins, 
and was buried, and the third day He rose from the dead for our justification. 
 How can we do the works of God? 

By BELIEVING THAT IT IS ALL DONE! 
On the Cross He shouted;

"IT HAS BEEN COMPLETED!"
 
 
 

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