“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
After His straightforward words to the Laodiceans, the Lord gives
an invitation. He addressed the church but now He speaks to each
individual in the church: the believer, the lukewarm follower and the unsaved.
Behold The Lord urges us to look at an amazing sight.
I The God of truth who is ready to spew this church out of His mouth has not given up on them. Because He is the God of truth, they can count on what He is about to say just as they can count on
the correction that will come if they continue in their direction away from Him.
Stand at the door The Lord makes another amazing statement. The Lord is not inside the church, there is no fellowship (phileo) with Him. The Lord stands (places Himself in front of) at the door of the church but more importantly, their hearts. He has every right to break the door down but He will not enter unless He is wanted. So He waits. (Now we see why the word phileo (fellowship) is used for love in verse 19. He has no fellowship with this church, He is not at the center, He is not even on the periphery. The Lord’s desire is to enter, be in their midst and have fellowship with them.
And knock The Lord is not silent. He raps on the door with a heavy blow. He wants to be heard.
If The word is contingent – should anyone choose to do so, The choice is not the Lord’s, it is ours. Anyone hears my voice The Lord extends his invitation to all people, no matter their need – salvation or revival and renewal. The great God of truth the great God of love extends His invitation to all people. But we note a second truth. A person must hear the Lord’s call. Despite his rapping on the door to get their attention, many tune him out or refuse to answer.
And opens the door We read there is a second response required. One must hear and one must open the door. They must invite the Lord in. The word open can also mean break showing their fervent desire to open the door and allow Christ in as Lord.
I will come in to him The Lord shows His mercy and forgiveness. There is no retaliation, only compassion. If invited, the Lord will enter. Strong’s Concordance says the word “come” means “to enter into for an important purpose – for the believer, doing so for the purpose of experiencing the result of the Lord’s fellowship (phileo).”
And eat with him The Lord will dine with those who desire His fellowship. This reminds us of the Lord on the road to Emmaus. When they came to Cleopas’ house, the Lord did not go in, He intended to continue His journey. The two disciples beg him to enter
and dine with them. He graciously accepts and after He enters and dines with them they learn an amazing truth – they learn who
He is. Thus we see that fellowship (phileo) is how we are able to know Him! The other thing we notice is the Lord eats supper,
the main meal of the day with them. The work is done, there is time to sit and fellowship for as long as we desire. The Lord has the time for us. Do we have time to know Him?
And he with me Inviting the Lord in allows us an amazing privilege. Like Mephibosheth with king David, we are invited to eat at the King’s table. Unmerited, unearned and undeserved fellowship (phileo) with the King of Kings.
What can we learn? We see the Lord’s love for us. When we are far from Him He stands outside, waiting. He knocks loudly to get our attention and to ask for permission to enter. But we must hear, desire and and open the door and invite Him in. The issue? Do we want to have fellowship with Him or are other things more important to us?