Revelation 3:22

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

The congregation had been in existence at the time when Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians, for he stated that he had a great conflict also for the Christians at Laodicea, Colossians 2:1; Colossians 4:15. Apparently there was even greater reason for apprehension at this time, to judge from the general tone of this letter. The very introduction places the faithful and true Christ in strong opposition to the unstable and vacillating Christians of this Phrygian town: And to the angel of the congregation at Laodicea write: These things says Amen, the Witness faithful and true, the Beginning of God's creation. It was a sad, almost disagreeable task which devolved upon the pastor of the Laodicean congregation, especially since the blame for the conditions in that city fell upon him. It was Amen that was speaking, a word which He Himself explains by stating that He is the true and faithful Witness, that every word which He utters is the eternal truth, that He does not recede from His position or change His mind like a vacillating weakling. He Himself is the Beginning of God's creation, the active Source of God's universe, the Creator of all things, almighty as well as omniscient, John 1:3.

It is a sentence of divine disgust over lukewarm religion which the Lord utters: I know thy works, that neither cold thou art nor hot; would that cold thou wert or hot; so, because thou art tepid, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit thee out of My mouth. The omniscient Lord, familiar with all their hearts and minds, knew also all their doings, their attitude toward the Christian faith and all their customs and habits. They were not cold, they were not outspoken unbelievers, they did not range themselves on the side of the enemies of the Cross and of the Gospel, they were not of the party of the blasphemers. But, unfortunately, neither were they warm or hot; they did not possess that energetic warmth of religious life, of fervent faith and love, they had none of the warm zeal which breaks forth in holy wrath over the ungodly attitude of their day and age. Even a frank enmity against the Christian religion is more promising in a person than the luke-warmness and spiritual indifference which these people showed. It would have been better for them never to have come to the knowledge of the divine doctrine than to have come to this knowledge and not to be filled with spiritual zeal, 2 Peter 2:21. Their attitude fills the Lord with supreme disgust, with unspeakable loathing; it acts upon Him literally as an emetic, He is constrained to vomit them out of His mouth. That is the judgment of the Lord upon all such as are not seriously concerned about their Christianity, that still profess to be Christians, usually from some ulterior motive, and yet will not oppose the godless ways of the world. They want to mediate between Jehovah and Baal, between God and the world, between Christ and Belial, between light and darkness, between faith and unbelief, between righteousness and unrighteousness. Such people the Lord cannot bear, and unless they change their tactics very decidedly, His disgusted attitude will result in their punishment, in their being excluded from the blessings of the Kingdom.

The Lord adds a further characterization of lukewarm behavior in the Christian Church: Thou sayest, Rich I am, and abundance I possess, and of nothing I stand in need, and thou knowest not that thou art miserable and pitiful and poor and blind and naked. Self-sufficiency, self-satisfaction, is an attribute of lukewarm Christians. They are convinced of the perfection of their own Christianity and are careful to let everyone else know of the good opinion which they hold of themselves. They imagine that they are rich in all spiritual truth and knowledge; they claim that they are filled to satiety with the old Gospel doctrine, and that no one can teach them anything. See Hosea 12:9. The talk which is heard from Christians of this type in our day often agrees word for word with what is here recorded. People are turning up their noses in disgust at the old Gospel-truth; the doctrines of the Catechism are beneath their dignity. But they deceive themselves. They are afflicted with blindness, and do not know it; they are in need of sympathy, and do not feel it; rich they claim to be, but in reality are poor beyond conception; they think their eyes have been opened, whereas in reality they have returned to the spiritual blindness of their state before conversion; they are proud of their dress of self-righteousness, and do not know that in the sight of God they are bare and naked.

Warningly, therefore, the Lord calls out to them: I advise thee earnestly to buy from Me gold tried by fire that thou mayest be rich, and white garments to clothe thee, lest the shame of thy nakedness appear, and salve to anoint thine eyes that thou mayest see. Here the earnest love of the Savior even for those that do not realize their own defects appears, He, in whom is the Spirit of counsel and of understanding, is so concerned about their soul's salvation that He earnestly and urgently advises them to buy from Him wares tried and true. The gold which has been tried by fire is true, sound faith, 1 Peter 1:7, such faith as stands the test of persecutions and tribulations as well as that of peace and quietness. The white garments that will cover the nakedness of men is that of Christ's righteousness, which is imputed to everyone that believes. And the salve is the illumination of the Holy Ghost, which is needed above all to bring men to the knowledge of their real spiritual condition. These wonderful gifts are not obtained by any man by his own reason or strength; the price which man pays for them is not one of his own merit. The buying of which the Lord speaks is that which He brings out in that wonderful passage: "Ho, every one that thirsts, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. " It is all free, wonderful love and mercy on the part of God.

The Lord follows up His warning with a powerful appeal: As for Me, as many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, then, and repent. Here Christ places His own person and work into the foreground and emphasizes His disinterested love for even such as have proved themselves unworthy of His love. It is this love which causes the Lord to be instant in reprimanding, and even in inflicting painful punishments, His object being to restore the lukewarm to the former loyalty. They should return to the habit of a true zeal for Him and for His work; they should repent at once and once for all of their indifference and inconsistency. In this way the Lord at all times lets the congregation feel the warmth and the eagerness of His love, in order that at least some Christians be kindled to new spiritual life.

The Lord now adds a very general invitation: Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone will hear My voice and open the door, I shall enter in to him and hold the feast with him and he with Me. The time of mercy is still at hand, the Gospel is still being preached. The coming of the Lord is near, however. Many events, many happenings in Church and State are intended to remind us of the fact and of the nearness of His return. Upon US devolves the supreme necessity of hearing His voice, of heeding the Word of His Gospel and of His will that all men come to the knowledge of the truth. If we thus heed His knocking and obey His voice, then He will enter into our hearts and make His abode with us, hold the feast of His everlasting grace with us, feed us with the heavenly manna of His body, and let us drink of the river of heavenly pleasures forevermore.

He repeats this thought for the sake of emphasis: He that conquers, I shall give him to sit with Me on My throne, just as I conquered and sat with My Father on His throne. He that has conquered and overcome, everyone who here in time renounced all those things which are opposed to Christ, will in yonder world take part in the glory and triumph of Christ, will rule and govern with Him with divine honor, glory, and bliss, world without end. That is what happened to Christ in His exaltation, and that is the reward which awaits those that are faithful to the end, to share the throne of God, the heavenly Father, and of the Lamb which was slain for them. They will enjoy the most intimate, the most blessed fellowship with God and with Christ to all eternity. And again the call of the Lord, inviting, appealing, sounds forth: He that has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the congregations!

Summary

The Lord addresses letters to the congregations at Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, commending them wherein they were faithful, but reprimanding all defilement and all luke-warmness in the strongest terms.