“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” Revelation 3:8
I know your works After having reassured this church that He is set apart by God, speaks only the truth and has all authority to act or not act, the Lord states His omniscience. He sees with His eyes and knows with His mind all their labor which includes their motive for
serving Him
But at that point the Lord changes his normal format. To all the
other churches (except Smyrna) the Lord has told them of their lack,
where they have fallen short. To Philadelphia, however He skips over
Condemnation to go straight to His commendation. Philadelphia is not
a perfect church but what they are doing and how they are doing it
pleases the Lord – “a church after the Lord’s own heart”.
See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it We have seen this before in verse 7. The Lord is the one who opens doors. He gives or withholds opportunities to serve and witness. Since the Lord is speaking to this church in terms of their works, He comments on their faithfulness to use their talents to capitalize on
the opportunities the Lord opens for them.
For you have a little strength Next the Lord commends the church’s humility. They realize they do not have the strength to do what the Lord asked, they have to depend on Him. So they must do what the Lord gave them to do in His strength. So far, so good.
Have kept My word Next the Lord commends their obedience. In John 14:15 the Lord told His disciples, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”. Here the Lord commends the church for loving Him, what Ephesus had left behind.
And have not denied My name Finally the Lord commends their endurance. Some of the other church’s testimony is so weak they are tolerated by the culture they are in with little problem. For the church in Philadelphia that is not true. They fac persecution in Philadelphia from the idolatrous temples and from the Jewish synagogue. Despite these attacks the church did not deny (refuse to acknowledge) the Lord. How did they do that? The confessed Jesus was Lord and that they were His followers. They would not deny the name of Jesus under threat of punishment. The word name means character or authority.
The Romans demanded that Christians say “Caesar is Lord”. This church would not deny the Lord’s rightful authority by admitting that anyone or other any way was equal to the Son of God. By the way, every Christian in Philadelphia was eventually slaughtered around 1,360 AD by Tamerlane because of their faith.
What can we learn? What was the key to Philadelphia’s success? Unlike the church at Ephesus they never left their first love for Jesus Christ. They kept His word, they prayed for strength and they confessed that He is Lord.
Remember this is a small church – it does not have large numbers to stand against the enemy. But God is true, as is His word – “Man looks n the outward appearance, God looks on the heart”. This is the way we are to stand in these last days “Not by might but by my Spirit says the Lord.” Humility and love for the Lord leading to obedience – the combination that pleases God.