Revelation 2:1-7 (ASV)
1 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks:
2 I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false;
3 and thou hast patience and didst bear for my name’s sake, and hast not grown weary.
4 But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love.
5 Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent.
6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
The church of Ephesus did everything right but it seems their reason was not because the loved Jesus Christ above everything and everyone else but because it is the right thing to do. Out of this attitude legalism can come. Jesus desires us that our love for God should be greater than his love for our closest relatives, including his father, mother, son, and daughter “Matthew 10:37 (ASV) He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”. One thing they were commended for that they exposed false apostles and hating what they did. Even in these days there are false apostles, prophets, teachers, etc.. They pervert and twist the Word of God or put themself in positions they are not called to by Jesus Christ resulting in bringing disrepute to the church. A shoe as a glove does not work. Jesus also mentioned that they hated the doctrines of the Nicilaitans. There is much speculation concerning the identity of the Nicolaitans. Finis Dake comments “Followers of Nicolaus, a heretic. They are thought to have been a sect of Gnostics who practiced and taught impure and immoral doctrines, such as the community of wives, that committing adultery and fornication was not sinful, and that eating meats offered to idols was lawful. This was similar to the doctrines of Balaam and Jezebel of Thyatira (Rev 2:6, Rev 2:14-15, Rev 2:20).”. The Defender’s Study Bible explains “The “Nicolaitans” are mentioned only here and in Rev 2:15. There was no known sect or movement with this name during the apostolic period, so this is probably a descriptive term rather than a proper noun. Since these messages were meant ultimately for all churches, it is certain that the term has meaning for all churches. In context, it almost certainly is referring to the false apostles of Rev 2:2. Practically all churches have been plagued at one time or another by false teachers, false prophets, false apostles and sometimes even by false christs. The term “Nicolaitans” means literally “overcomers of the people.” That, of course, is precisely what false apostles seek to do, desiring to turn the love and allegiance of the people in the church to themselves rather than to Christ. Christ hates both the deeds and doctrines (Rev 2:15) of Nicolaitanism, and we should do the same.” Either way we are to have the same attitude as GOD and the church of Ephesus toward deeds that are against the teachings of Jesus Christ
Therefore let us be encouraged to not wander away from loving Jesus and if we have to turn back (repent) and start loving Jesus Christ more and more. One measure we can use to check our love for GOD is to see how do we love each other in the church “1 John 4:20 (KJV) If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”. Let us hate any deeds that are against Christ and nurture our love for GOD and each other and this can only be done when we hang out with Jesus Christ and each other.
“1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ASV) Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, [5] doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; [6] rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; [7] beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”