In Revelation we find the root of all failure in the church in responsibility. “I have against thee that thou hast left thy first love” (ch. 2:4 JND).
What injures and finally ruins is invariably from within, not from without. In vain does Satan seek to cast down those who, resting on Christ’s love, have Him as the loved object of their life and soul. Having lost their first love for Christ, the Lord has to pronounce the solemn words, “Thou art fallen.” However outwardly blameless their testimony might be before the world, the church was a fallen church in the sight of the Lord. The warning follows that, unless there was repentance, their candlestick would be removed. If the first love for Christ was lost, the light before men would fail.
What is true of the church as a whole is surely true in the history of any local assembly, as, indeed, of each individual believer. The root of all failure is within, in the heart, and unless there is repentance, the outward testimony will, in the government of God, cease to have any power.
Nevertheless though there was no recovery on the part of the church as a whole, it was possible for individuals to overcome this solemn, inward failure and maintain first love to Christ. To such the Lord would reveal Himself as the tree of life the hidden source of spiritual sustenance in the paradise of God, where no enemy will ever intrude to draw our hearts from Christ.
H. Smith (adapted)