WHAT DID EPHESUS/ASIA DO?
Some of the saddest words in all Scripture are those Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Tim. 1:15: This you know, that ALL in Asia (which would include Ephesus, Colossae, and Laodicea) be turned away from me. To make this even more shocking, the last time we saw the Ephesians in Acts this is what they were doing: And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke (Acts 20:37). Now, about 6 years later, and about 2 years after they had received Paul's great Epistle to them, Paul says that they had ALL turned away from him. This ought to send shivers up and down our spines and make us re-double our commitment to use of the whole armor of God so that we can remain constant in proclaiming the Mystery of the Gospel in all its purity (Eph. 6:19-20).
The first question we should ask is: How did the Ephesians go from being an overall faithful assembly that fell on Paul's neck, kissing and crying over his departure in 60 AD and receiving an edifying letter to them in 64 AD that indicated they were still an overall faithful assembly (Eph. 1:1), to turning away from him so rapidly in 66 AD? How could this happen? The only way to explain it is that they did not put on the whole armor of God as Paul described to them in Eph. 6:10-17), for that is the only thing that would protect them from the deceptive snares of the devil and empower them to stand firm in the bold proclamation of the Mystery (Eph. 6:19-20).
And this leads to the second question we should ask: What are the wiles and snares of the devil? Well, if God's plan is for us to boldly speak the Mystery (Eph. 6:19-20), then Satan's plan involves silencing us, and all his attacks center on doing that. One way he tries to silence us is to get us to add something to Pauline Grace. When we add things to Grace, most of us have good intentions. We think adding this thing to Grace will help God out! Or, adding that thing will enhance and increase Grace. But this is just human wisdom and always fails.
Adding anything to grace—ANYTHING AT ALL—always, 100% of the time, detracts and diminishes Grace, contaminates and ultimately ruins it. One of my previous Grace Pastors used to say that adding a little bit of the Law to Pauline Grace is like adding a little drop of cyanide to a gallon of baby's milk: IT RUINS THE WHOLE BATCH! I would extend this simile to include the addition of absolutely anything to Grace—ANYTHING AT ALL—no matter how good we think it looks, or how much we have justified it in our own minds. Adding anything to Grace always diminishes and ruins it. Put another way, every minute we have the opportunity to preach Grace and preach something else instead, anything else, we have stolen a minute away from God and used it for our own selfish interests.
This is exactly how Paul describes what happened in Ephesus and the whole Asia Minor region. Speaking again to Timothy, Paul wrote: Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world ... At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me ... Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear (2 Tim. 4:9-18). And we could add to that: For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's (Phil. 2:21). Note carefully. It isn't just that they turned away from Paul personally, but that they turned away from Paul's bold proclamation of the Mystery! These people had been co-workers of Paul's until the road got tough, and they decided to go an easier way that compromised Pauline Grace Mystery Truth. They added things to it, no doubt being deceived into thinking they were helping God out when, in fact, they were just seeking their things rather than Christ's things.
Which leads us to the second way Satan attacks the Body of Christ: He tries to get us to follow someone other than the Apostle Paul. He doesn't really care who, just as long as it isn't Paul! That may be worldly wisdom and human knowledge, but more likely and most deceptively of all, he tries to get us to follow after SOMEONE ELSE IN THE SCRIPTURES. This is doubly deceptive because when Satan tricks us into leaving Paul to follow Peter at Pentecost or Jesus in His earthly ministry or the Prophets of the Old Testament or David in the Psalms or Moses and the Law, he also leads us away from Christ and God our Father (1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1; Eph. 5:1-2). But it gets even worse. This Satanic deception is doubly, triply, deceptive because while we are in the process of leaving Paul and, therefore, Christ and, therefore, the Father, we think we are being spiritual and walking in a way that pleases God when, in fact, we are really being carnal and walking in a way that displeases God, wasting away our Christian lives down here on earth.
So, what happened in Asia? The two mostly apostate so-called Christian religious systems present with us today began when Asia turned away from Pauline Grace Mystery Truth. In Paul's day, Asia referred Asia Minor, the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. Very early on, going back to the days of the apostles themselves, historical documents show that this area had already replaced the Apostle Paul with the Apostle John. No doubt, this started with someone's “great” idea that they would help God out and increase the Gospel. Can't you just hear them talking? Well, Paul is pretty good, but John was actually with Jesus on earth for three years in intimate communion with Him. Why, perhaps he was even the disciple that Jesus especially loved (Jn. 13:23). We should add him to Paul, and really help God out and improve the Gospel. Did you hear Satan's trap snap shut? Now, today, 2,000 years later, all that is left is a mostly apostate Eastern Orthodox religious system that claims to be centered on John, and Paul is nowhere around.
But the historical story doesn't end there. Not many years after this, the Western part of the Roman Empire, including Rome, was deceived in the same way but instead of going with the Apostle John, they went with the Apostle Peter. Can't you hear them justifying this? Well, Paul's pretty good, but Peter was with Christ for the whole three years of His earthly ministry in intimate communion with the Lord. And Jesus did, after all, give Peter the keys to the Kingdom and the power to forgive sins!! Let's add Peter to Paul. That will help God out and improve the Gospel! Did you hear Satan's trap snap shut? Now, 2,000 years later all that is left is a mostly apostate Western religious system, Catholicism, that claims to be centered on Peter, and Paul is nowhere around.
In short: Adding to Grace never helps God or improves or increases Grace. It always diminishes Grace, spoiling it, leading us away from God and His Word for today: Pauline Grace Mystery Truth.
WHAT IS TIMOTHY GOING TO DO?
Now let's look at Timothy. 2 Timothy begins sounding a lot like Paul's concluding words to the leaders of the Ephesians in Acts 20. At that time, the Ephesians clung to Paul's neck, crying and weeping over HIS PHYSICAL DEPARTURE FROM THEM (Acts 20:37!. What great irony and sadness it is that even after all this emotion and drama, in the end it was THE EPHESIANS WHO DEPARTED SPIRITUALLY FROM PAUL AND, THEREFORE, CHRIST (2 Tim. 1:15)!!
Now, here in 2 Timothy, we have another departure of Paul; Paul's departure from Timothy. His words to Timothy sound remarkably similar to his final words to the Ephesians: I thank God ... that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee ... Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God ... Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord (2 Tim. 1:3-8). If we took a minute to review Acts 20:17-38, we would see many common themes. Both passages refer to Paul's faithfulness, his call for their faithfulness, his warnings about tough times ahead that would require them to stand firm to boldly proclaim the Gospel. Timothy's response was similar as well. Like the Ephesians, he cried and wept tears of sorrow (2 Tim. 1:4).
In relating the precarious predicament of Timothy to the fallen Ephesians, the narrative is filled with extreme tension. Both the Ephesians and Timothy were taught of Paul and wept tears when Paul departed physically from them. The Ephesians tears, however, became insincere and hypocritical because later THEY DEPARTED SPIRITUALLY FROM PAULINE GRACE MYSTERY TRUTH! So, that begs the question: What will Timothy do? Will he fall or stand? Will he leave Paul and follow after the Ephesians like everyone else? Or, will he remain with God's one Apostle for today, the Apostle Paul, standing firm in the sincere (pure--without admixture), fearless, shameless, bold proclamation of Pauline Grace Mystery Truth (2 Tim. 1:3‑14) thereby defeating all the wiles, tricks and deceptions of the devil (Eph. 6:10‑20)?
While the Ephesians and Asia left Paul in his day, taking most of historic Christianity with them, Timothy probably remained with Paul boldly speaking the Mystery. Now, the ball is in our court, and the only question left is what are we going to do?