I Know Your Deeds—Love, Faith, Service, and Perseverance
Jesus praised the works of the faithful in the Church in Thyatira. He told them to hold fast to what they had until he comes and continue in his works until the end, and he placed no other burden upon them.
What did he praise them for? We can learn from their example:
He said he knew their DEEDS (work, labor, actions), which were:
1. LOVE—They had (agape) love for God, humanity, and one another. (1 Corinthians 13, Hebrews 13:1, Philippians 1:9-11, 1 Peter 3:8)
2. FAITH—They were holding on to faith, belief, trust, and confidence in God; fidelity, faithfulness to God. (Hebrews 11, 2 Timothy 4:7, 1 John 5:4, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 6:16)
3. SERVICE—They were engaged in Christian service, ministry, relief, and support as prescribed in New Testament teachings and fulfilling their God-given ministries. (Ephesians 4, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Matthew 25:14-30, Matthew 25:31-46, Matthew 20:1–16)
4. PERSEVERANCE—They had endurance, perseverance, patience, and steadfastness in their faith, looking to the Lord’s return. (Matthew 24:13, James 5:7, James 1:12, Hebrews 10:36, Hebrews 12:1)
5. LATTER DEEDS, WHICH WERE GREATER THAN THE FIRST—They were growing in their works and deeds of faith. (Galatians 6:9, 1 Corinthians 15:58, 2 Peter 3:18, 2 Peter 1:5-9, James 2:18)
*******
To the Church in Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29)
- 18To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like a blazing fire and whose feet are like polished bronze.
- 19I know your deeds—your love, your faith, your service, your perseverance—and your latest deeds are greater than your first.
- 20But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
- 21Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.
- 22Behold, I will cast her onto a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation unless they repent of her deeds.
- 23Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
- 24But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned the so-called deep things of Satan: I will place no further burden upon you
- 25than to hold fast to what you have until I come.
- 26And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations.
- 27He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery —just as I have received authority from My Father.
- 28And I will give him the morning star.
- 29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
If this article blesses you, please share it with your friends, on your socials, and with anyone who needs to know Jesus Christ. Please subscribe below to get more articles regularly straight to your inbox!
Have you given your life to Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior? He loves us so much that he, our creator, left heaven and came to earth, died for us on the cross, taking our sins upon him so that we may be forgiven and receive his righteousness. He conquered death by rising from the dead and made a way for us who were dead in sin to be reconciled back to the Father (God). What’s more, he has prepared a wonderful home for us in Heaven, where those who love him and obey him will spend eternity with him. Learn more here about how to be born again and have eternal life after this brief life on earth.
To find out how to be born again, click here
Subscribe below to join my email list and receive my posts and updates straight to your inbox. Never miss a thing!
