SEV Biblia, Chapter 2:2
Yo s tus obras, y tu trabajo y paciencia; y que t no puedes sufrir a los malos, y has probado a los que se dicen ser Apstoles, y no lo son, y los has hallado mentirosos;
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Revelation 2:2
Verse 2. I know thy works] For the eyes of the Lord are throughout the earth, beholding the evil and the good; and, being omnipresent, all things are continually open and naked before him. It is worthy of remark, that whatsoever is praiseworthy in any of these Churches is first mentioned; thereby intimating that God is more intent on finding out the good than the evil in any person or Church; and that those who wish to reform such as have fallen or are not making sufficient advances in the Divine life, should take occasion, from the good which yet remains, to encourage them to set out afresh for the kingdom of heaven. The fallen or backsliding who have any tenderness of conscience left are easily discouraged, and are apt to think that there is no seed left from which any harvest can be reasonably expected. Let such be told that there is still a seed of godliness remaining, and that it requires only watching and strengthening the things which remain, by prompt application to God through Christ, in order to bring them back to the full enjoyment of all they have lost, and to renew them in the spirit of their mind. Ministers continually harping on Ye are dead, ye are dead; there is little or no Christianity among you, &c., &c., are a contagion in a Church, and spread desolation and death wheresoever they go. It is far better to say, in such cases, "Ye have lost ground, but ye have not lost all your ground; ye might have been much farther advanced, but through mercy ye are still in the way. The Spirit of God is grieved by you, but it is evident he has not forsaken you. Ye have not walked in the light as ye should, but your candlestick is not yet removed, and still the light shines. Ye have not much zeal, but ye have a little. In short, God still strives with you, still loves you, still waits to be gracious to you; take courage, set out afresh, come to God through Christ; believe, love, obey, and you will soon find days more blessed than you have ever yet experienced." Exhortations and encouragements of this kind are sure to produce the most blessed effects; and under such the work of God infallibly revives. And thy labour] He knew their works in general. Though they had left their first love, yet still they had so much love as excited them to labour, and enabled them to bear persecution patiently, and to keep the faith; for they could not tolerate evil men, and they had put fictitious apostles to the test, and had found them to be liars, pretending a Divine commission while they had none, and teaching false doctrines as if they were the truths of God.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 2. I know thy works , etc.] The good works, both of ministers and churches; no evil works are mentioned, nor anything complained of in this church but an abatement of the fervour of her first love. Christ, as the omniscient God, knows all the works of his people, and the springs, and principles, and ends, and views of them, whether they are done in obedience to him, and spring from love to him, and are performed in his strength, and by his grace, and are directed to his glory; and such he takes notice of, approves of, and is well pleased with, not as the ground of his delight in their persons, but as the fruits of his own grace; and during the apostolic age, churches and ministers were very diligent in working; yea, they were laborious, as follows: and thy labour : particularly the labour of ministers of the Gospel, in these times, in the frequent preaching of it, in season and out of season; and in the constant administration of the ordinances; and in the diligent exercise of church discipline. The work of the ministry is a laborious work to the mind in studying, and to the body in the outward discharge of it; and it becomes more so, through the malice and opposition of enemies, and the weakness of friends; and such as are diligent and laborious deserve respect, even double honour; and though they may not have it from men, yet Christ takes notice of them and their labours, and commends them for them, and will reward them. And thy patience ; as this may refer to the ministers of the word, it may denote their patience in suffering reproaches and persecutions for the sake of the Gospel, which they bore patiently, cheerfully, and constantly; and in bearing the infirmities of weak saints, in their several communities; and in reclaiming and restoring persons out of the way; and in waiting for the success of their ministry, and their continuance and perseverance in it. And as this may respect members of churches, it may point at their patience under afflictions from the hand of God, and under reproach and persecution from men, for their embracing and professing the Gospel; and their patient waiting for the heavenly glory, and their firm expectation of it, and their perseverance unto it. And how thou canst not bear them that are evil ; that were so either in their principles or in their practices, or both; men that lived immoral lives, and held erroneous doctrines, these the primitive ministers and churches could not bear; they had an inward abhorrence and detestation of them in their minds; they could not bear them in communion with them; they admonished them according to the nature of their offence, and cast out such as were obstinate and incorrigible; they withdrew from such as were disorderly, and rejected heretics after the first and second admonition; their zeal for church discipline is here taken notice of to their commendation. And thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not , and hast found them liars ; this doubtless was done in the church at Ephesus, where, after the Apostle Paul's departure, grievous wolves, in sheep's clothing, entered, and men arose from among themselves, speaking perverse things, ( Acts 20:29,30); yet it was not peculiar to that church, though it was to the apostolic age; for in no other could men with any face pretend to be the apostles of Christ; and such there were, who sprung up in the several churches at Jerusalem, Corinth, Galatia, and elsewhere, who called themselves the apostles of Christ, but were false apostles, deceitful workers; they pretended to have their doctrine, call, mission, and commission, immediately from Christ, as the true apostles had, and a power to work miracles, and talked of inspirations and revelations by the Spirit of God. Now the apostles, ministers, and churches of those times, tried their pretensions and doctrines by the word of God, and by the fruits which they produced in themselves and others; and through that discerning of spirits which they had, they found them to be liars; that they were not, nor had they what they pretended to be, and have, and exposed them as such.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-7 - These churches were in such different states as to purity of doctrin and the power of godliness, that the words of Christ to them wil always suit the cases of other churches, and professors. Christ know and observes their state; though in heaven, yet he walks in the mids of his churches on earth, observing what is wrong in them, and what they want. The church of Ephesus is commended for diligence in duty Christ keeps an account of every hour's work his servants do for him and their labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. But it is not enoug that we are diligent; there must be bearing patience, and there must be waiting patience. And though we must show all meekness to all men, ye we must show just zeal against their sins. The sin Christ charged thi church with, is, not the having left and forsaken the object of love but having lost the fervent degree of it that at first appeared. Chris is displeased with his people, when he sees them grow remiss and col toward him. Surely this mention in Scripture, of Christians forsakin their first love, reproves those who speak of it with carelessness, an thus try to excuse indifference and sloth in themselves and others; ou Saviour considers this indifference as sinful. They must repent: the must be grieved and ashamed for their sinful declining, and humbl confess it in the sight of God. They must endeavour to recover their first zeal, tenderness, and seriousness, and must pray as earnestly and watch as diligently, as when they first set out in the ways of God If the presence of Christ's grace and Spirit is slighted, we may expec the presence of his displeasure. Encouraging mention is made of what was good among them. Indifference as to truth and error, good and evil may be called charity and meekness, but it is not so; and it is displeasing to Christ. The Christian life is a warfare against sin Satan, the world, and the flesh. We must never yield to our spiritual enemies, and then we shall have a glorious triumph and reward. All wh persevere, shall derive from Christ, as the Tree of life, perfectio and confirmation in holiness and happiness, not in the earthl paradise, but in the heavenly. This is a figurative expression, take from the account of the garden of Eden, denoting the pure satisfactory, and eternal joys of heaven; and the looking forward to them in this world, by faith, communion with Christ, and the consolations of the Holy Spirit. Believers, take your wrestling lif here, and expect and look for a quiet life hereafter; but not til then: the word of God never promises quietness and complete freedo from conflict here.
Greek Textus Receptus
οιδα 1492 5758 τα 3588 εργα 2041 σου 4675 και 2532 τον 3588 κοπον 2873 σου 4675 και 2532 την 3588 υπομονην 5281 σου 4675 και 2532 οτι 3754 ου 3756 δυνη 1410 5736 βαστασαι 941 5658 κακους 2556 και 2532 επειρασω 3985 5668 τους 3588 φασκοντας 5335 5723 ειναι 1511 5750 αποστολους 652 και 2532 ουκ 3756 εισιν 1526 5748 και 2532 ευρες 2147 5627 αυτους 846 ψευδεις 5571
Vincent's NT Word Studies
2. Thy works (ta erga sou). See on John iv. 47.
Labor (kopon). Originally suffering, weariness; hence exhausting labor. The kindred verb kopiaw is often used of apostolic and ministerial labor (Rom. xvi. 12; 1 Cor. xv. 10; Gal. iv. 11).
Patience (upomonhn). See on 2 Pet. i. 6; Jas. v. 1. Compare Paul's exhortation to Timothy in Ephesus, 2 Tim. ii. 25, 26.
Bear (bastasai). See on John x. 31; xii. 6. Compare Gal. vi. 2, where the word is used of Christians bearing each others' burdens.
Them which are evil (kakouv). Trench observes that "it is not a little remarkable that the grace or virtue here ascribed to the angel of the Ephesian Church (compare verse 6) should have a name in classical Greek: misoponhria hatred of evil; the person of whom the grace is predicated being misoponhrov hater of evil; while neither of these words, nor yet any equivalent to them occurs in the New Testament. It is the stranger, as this hatred of evil, purely as evil, however little thought of or admired now, is eminently a Christian grace."
Hast tried (epeirasw) Rev., didst try. See on tried, 1 Pet. i. 7; and compare 1 John iv. 1; 1 Cor. xii. 10.
