In revelation Chapters 2 and 3 we find Jesus commending and correcting churches. The elephant in the room about this is we as followers of Jesus need to be diligent around what 'church' is and what we do. The answer I have heard from a lot of people is that gathering together with 'the right heart' is all we need to be mindful of. This seems to be a lazy response to something Jesus is very precise and clear about in the seven letters. With this in view we need to examine the church that has no bad report and find what the elements of that church were. That church is Philadelphia and is on the earth today. We know this because Sardis and Laodicea are easily identified and Philadelphia sits between these church times.
Rev 3:7
As per all the letters, Jesus introduces himself with a specific title. here is as Holy and True. The 'true' element can be translated as real, genuine or ideal. Holy means set apart. It is a trend that Jesus' titles in the letters are some kind of comment on the church. Somehow the church at Philadelphia can be seen as genuine and set apart. We then come across the phrase 'The Key of David. If we look at Isaiah 22:20 we find that Eliakim is replacing the treasurer. Jesus has the Key of David which represents access to the King. For this church the Lord has placed an open door before them... to access King Jesus! No-one can shut this door so from the text it appears 'Philadelphia' are in a position where access to the Lord and His access to them is an open door. What can Christians do to place them in a position where Jesus is accessible and they are able to be accessed?
The New Testament is clear that this accessibility is something freely given. Hebrews 4:14-16 is clear that all can access the Lord. However, looking at the other churches that precede Philadelphia, we find that an overarching problem emerging from Pergamum. The church becomes merged with the world. Man steps in and takes over thus creating what I have written about extensively 'Mediatory Substitution.' This is when the clear passage to the Lord and his clear passage to His people is hindered by the systems and structures man makes around 'church.' The worst offenders in this are Laodicea when the Lord has to knock on the door of the church... Jesus is outside!
So Philadelphia get back to offering a clear space between themselves and the Lord to allow all Christians equal access to Jesus and in turn the Lord can come and work with His people. In the churches where there are prominent, presiding leaders it doesn't always mean the leader is in between the believer and Jesus blocking the way. However, the leader is not in control of how the other believers perceive him/her. If someone is placing the leader is a position above them in some sort of respect, honoring the office or outright ranking them as 'over' them in some way, it hinders this open door. Many get saved into churches that have good people leading but in an erroneous structure of leadership. As westerners we struggle to find a way to lead and default to rank. But we must explore this default and make changes to make sure the open door to Jesus remains open.
To be able to have this open and clear space for Jesus to allow access and vice verca, it demands a change in the systems and structure of how we meet and practice Christianity. We are supposed to be able to access the Lord but our very church structures means it is hard or impossible. When all said and done the access to the Lord and his access to us is for one reason. The reason, and a characteristic of Philadelphia as the church that received no bad report is because the access meant the people could be truly anchored into Jesus. He can access us to make sure we are truly making Him the source of all our lives. We can access him for the same reason.
Philadelphia was given good report and no bad report for several reasons but one is that they made sure they didn't place anyone or anything before then that would hinder the Lord's access to them and their access to him. Next we will explore Rev3:8 and find another aspect of Philadelphia which made it sit well with Jesus. I want to be an overcomer. I want to do all it takes to be accessible to the Lord.
Gary Ward
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