The Church in Laodicea Part 1

Revelation 3:14-15 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!”

This church in Laodicea is the last church mentioned in the book of revelation. The Lord speaks many interesting things to this church. God desires the church to be in way that he expects. The Laodicea city was a wealthy city known for its banking, textile industry, and a famous medical school that produced eye salve. The city was financially sound as they were flourishing in their business. Despite their material wealth, the church in Laodicea was spiritually poor and self-sufficient. In their spiritual state they were lagging behind. Also they were in the state of contentment and they did not wanted to progress in their life. Even in our lives, many of us are self-sufficient in their spiritual status which the Lord strongly condemns. Just like how the teacher in the school constantly pushes the children to score more, we need to keep progressing in our spiritual life. We should not be in a dull state like the church in Laodicea. Our Lord Jesus gives this church a stern rebuke, calling them to repentance and renewal. The church had spiritual lukewarmness, indifference and self-reliance—leads to spiritual poverty. Let us take warning from the message God gave to this church.

1. Lukewarmness and Spiritual Complacency

Revelation 3:15-16 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.'

The Lord speaks about the temperature. The Lord says because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. The church had a spiritual complacency. The church knew their spiritual status was feeble yet they did not take any actions. It is true they were wealthy but they were dull. Laodicea’s lukewarmness reflects spiritual apathy—neither passionate for God nor outright rejecting him. Even if we are not passionate , we should not act irresponsibly. We need to understand that God knows our deeds and the state of our hearts.
The Lord sees beyond outward actions. Lukewarmness is a heart condition marked by spiritual laziness, lack of zeal, and complacency. If we have all these sympotoms, we can clearly understand our current spiritual state. Lukewarm faith is displeasing to God and lukewarm is dangerous , self-satisfied, unaware, and ineffective. This signifies God’s disgust with half-hearted faith and compromised devotion.

Lesson: Lukewarm faith is ineffective and unacceptable to God. He desires wholehearted commitment.

2. Self-Reliance and Blindness

Revelation 3:17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.'

This is a very important shorfall. We see the Lord is rebuking the church by using all these words. The church was completely unaware of all the shotfalls in their lives because they were wealthy. The church’s material wealth led to spiritual pride and self-reliance. They failed to see their true spiritual poverty. The church in Laodicea was wealthy, proud, and thought they were doing well. Pride keeps us from admitting our need. The Laodiceans said:“I am rich... I need nothing." Proverbs 3:5 'Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.' Self-reliance is a form of spiritual pride—it blinds us to our need for God. When pride comes in, we will lose the eagerness to get closer to God. Therefore we need to be very careful when we are wealthy. Material success does not equal spiritual health. We the children of God should believe the victory comes from the Lord and not on material things and our own skills. Today many of us are thinking their family & kids are under their control with pride. They do not have the experience of depending upon God. Do we think we have everything under control? Are we depending more on what we have than on who God is?

Even in the life of Samson, he did not realise he departed from the Lord and he ended up in trouble. In John 9:41 “Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.’ Blindness here is not physical, but spiritual—a hardened heart and closed eyes to the truth. Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind, but only the humble receive healing from the Lord.

3. The Church that must be Holy and Vision

Revelation 3:18 'I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.'

The Lord wants the church to be holy and with a vision. The Lord speaks about a gold refined in fire. When we talk about a Gold refined in fire, which means a true spiritual wealth comes from a faith tested and purified by God. Secondly the Lord speaks about white clothes which refers to the symbol of righteousness and purity found in Christ. Thirdly the Lord speaks about the salve for the eyes which indicates Spiritual vision restored through the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. (Since eye medicine was prepared there, the Lord uses the eye as an example). They have sight in their eyes but certain things are hiding it. Therefore, the Lord asks the church to get rid of the dirt.

Today we need to check Where is our visionary life? Where is our righteous conduct? Our Spiritual eyes should undergo a surgery. We need to seek spiritual wealth, righteousness, and vision from Christ, not from worldly resources.

1. Examine Your Spiritual Temperature: Are you lukewarm, cold, or on fire for God? Identify areas where complacency or indifference has crept in.
2. Reject Self-Reliance: Rely on Christ for spiritual wealth, righteousness, and vision. Acknowledge your dependence on Him in every area of life.
3. Pursue Wholehearted Devotion: Cultivate a passionate, vibrant relationship with Christ through prayer, worship, and obedience to His Word.