John 1:14 says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” In the life of Jesus Christ, the divine and the human united in a process that transcends human comprehension. The living Word of God, Who in the beginning “was with God, and…was God,” became part of His creation. The spoken Word took on flesh and blood, and was made in the likeness of men. The result of this mysterious act is the keystone in an archway that connects divine power with human weakness. The result? True religious liberty from the tyranny of sin.
As the divine Word was made flesh in the life of Jesus Christ, so must the Word of God become flesh in our lives. As James puts its, we must become “doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). The self-deception of the sinful heart is “deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9). It leads spiritual rebels to believe that merely hearing about the gospel or repeating the name of Jesus automatically sets them free from spiritual captivity. It dismisses doubt, greed, lust, unfaithfulness, abuse of power, manipulation, and selfishness as insignificant speed bumps on the highway to heaven. It leaves half-hearted churchgoers medicated with a feel-good anesthesia that masks the deadly cancer of sin. Religious persecution is unnecessary where the sinful heart reigns, because the Word’s effect has already been destroyed. The lies told and believed by the sinful heart are, therefore, the most deceptive and effective form of spiritual tyranny.
It is to free God’s people from the oppression and deception of the sinful heart that the Faithful and True Witness delivers a straight message to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:17. “[T]hou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” This “Laodicean message” reveals a people and a church in which the Word has not become flesh. Like a beautiful car wrap covering a rust-infected vehicle, the Word surrounds the Laodiceans without transforming their character. Though repeated in pulpits, splashed across websites, and distributed like the leaves of autumn in printed materials, the Word nevertheless remains an external observer to the self-deceptive pride of the Laodicean heart. Though frequently referred to and talked about, the Word makes no lasting impression on the Laodicean mind. It works no permanent conversion in the Laodicean life. At the end of the day, the Laodiceans are that man described by James who “beholding his natural face in a glass…goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was” (James 1:23, 24). The condition is not just pitiable. It is fatal.
The True Witness identifies the specific dangers of the Laodicean condition. The first is that they are “wretched.” The Greek word used here appears only one other time in the New Testament, in Romans 7. In that passage, the apostle Paul relates his natural inability to do what is right and to stop doing what is wrong. His sad story culminates with the exclamation in verse 24, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” To be “wretched” is to experience no victory over the power of sin. The Laodiceans, like Paul in his natural human strength, are wretched because they cannot overcome sin. Some are bound by the grip of destructive habits forged through years of intemperance and self-abuse. Others, distracted by the things of this world, never exercise the faith necessary to experience God’s power in their own lives. Others–perhaps a majority–end up believing a Laodicean group-think that simply denies the possibility of victory over sin. Whatever the reasons, the Laodiceans remain obedient to the merciless demands of the sinful heart. They are, in the truest sense, spiritual captives with no religious liberty.
The True Witness also says that the Laodiceans are “miserable.” Again, the Greek word used here appears only in one other place in the New Testament, this time in 1 Corinthians 15. The passage begins with the importance of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. The warning is repeated with greater emphasis a few verses later. “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (verse 17). The message is clear. If our faith does not lead us to recognize and experience the power of the risen Savior in our lives, our faith is useless. Verse 19 drives the point home with the same Greek word used in the message to the Laodiceans. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” How ironic. In spite of their focus on the return of Jesus Christ, the Laodiceans are “miserable” because their faith and their focus remain fixed on the things of “this life only.” Their recognition of the resurrection of Christ has not brought them into new life with the risen Savior. Instead, the “old man” remains entranced and controlled by the customs, traditions, policies, relationships, and praise of the world. As a result, the Laodiceans remain “poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17).
The good news is that God loves the Laodiceans. The True Witness reveals heaven’s solution for their poverty, blindness, and nakedness. “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see” (Revelation 3:18). Yes, we need the clothing of Christ’s righteousness, faith that works by love, and eyes that can clearly see the bright light of prophecy shining like a morning star in our hearts. But to have these things, we must first accept heaven’s solution for our miserable and wretched condition.
The cure for miserableness is found in verse 19. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Laodicea must repent of its worldliness and lack of zeal for the things of heaven. At some point, for Laodicea to be saved, it must confess that it often cares more about the world than it does about God. It must admit that it frequently acts as if money means more than missions, security means more than soul-saving, and virtue-signaling means more than truth. It must stop worrying what the world thinks, and begin asking God what He knows.
While repentance is ultimately a gift from God, He will never force conversion on those who do not wish to be changed. The act of repentance is our choice. It is our responsibility. And if we remain miserable sinners caught in the clutches of the deceptive heart, it will only be our fault. “Be zealous therefore, and repent.”
What about Laodicea’s wretched condition? What releases a person from the iron grip of the “body of death”? What power frees a captive from incessant demands of the “old man” of sin? The answer comes in Revelation 3:20. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him,and he with me.” The True Witness here explains the only solution to sin. The Word must become flesh and dwell within us. The Holy Spirit must execute the “old man” of sin and invigorate us with divine power. We must become partakers of the divine nature.
Laodiceans often read this verse and respond with warm self-confidence, “Isn’t this wonderful, how close Jesus is to us, knocking on the door of our heart.” Yes, the Savior loves the Laodiceans. And yes, He is knocking on the doors of their hearts. But the cold reality is that Christ is asking for admission because the Laodiceans have never truly invited Him inside. They have kept the Word at arm’s length, close enough to call on when needed, but not so close that it may expose or transform their true condition. They are not partakers of the divine nature. They are not doers of the Word. For them, the Word has not yet become flesh. For all their talk of religious liberty, the Laodiceans are spiritual captives of the sinful heart.
But there is hope. The message to the Laodicean church ends with a powerful promise. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Revelation 3:21). The promise of overcoming would not be given if it were impossible. God’s Word contains the same power today that it did at creation. It still calls forth light out of darkness. It still controls the elements and subdues the turbulent waves. It still creates new life where there was none. The Word of God can still become flesh and make even Laodiceans partakers of the divine nature.