Revelation 3:16-17 Spiritual Pride and Lukewarmness are Frequently Produced by Worldly Prosperity.

What happened to the church is what so often happens among believers. They equated wealth and prosperity with spirituality. They felt that they had been especially blessed by God because they had been blessed with material possessions and wealth. 

“But since you are merely lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth! “You say, ‘I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that spiritually you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.^[1] 

The distaste and nausea produced by lukewarm food, which the stomach naturally rejects with loathing, are used as a figure in which to express the abhorrence of Christ for those who lacked zeal in his service. No doubt spiritual riches are immediately referred to; but spiritual pride and lukewarmness are frequently produced by worldly prosperity. It is not enough for the wealthy Christian to contribute a portion of his wealth, and then to consider his task done and his reward sure. The self-satisfied spiritual pride of the Pharisee caused him to regard with complacent pity the condition of the publican. But he was mistaken; he himself was the wretched one, who was to be pitied. So with the Laodicean Church. How different the conduct of St. Paul, who recognized his own wretchedness. These Christians, in their spiritual pride, were miserable—deserving of pity; poor in the wealth accumulated by zeal in God’s service; blind as to their real condition and their fancied spiritual safety; and naked of the cloak with which charity—fervent love of God—would have covered them.^[2] 

4. The Warning: Will Be Spit Out By Christ (Revelation 3:16–17).[3]
H.  The Message to Laodicea: The Church That Is Affluent but Lukewarm & Half-Committed,  Revelation 3:14–22
1.   The recipients a.   The messenger of the church b.   The Laodicean church	14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the
2.   The speaker: Jesus	Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
3.   The complaint: Are neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm	15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
4.   The Warning: Will Be Spit Out By Christ	16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
a.   Because Of Your False Profession: Saying You Are Rich & In Need Of Nothing b.   Because Of Your True Condition: You Are Wretched, Miserable, Poor, Blind, Naked	17 Because thou 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:
5.   The counsel a.   Buy the things of God, of lasting value 1)   Spiritual gold or wealth 2)   White clothing or righteousness 3)   Eye salve or spiritual sight	18 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.
b.   Know that the Lord rebukes & chastens c.   Be earnest & repent	19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
d.   Hear the Lord: Open your heart & fellowship with Him	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.
6.   The promise: To the overcomers a.   Will rule with Christ b.   Will rule with Christ even as He rules with His Father	21 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.
	22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.[4]

5. The Conceit (Revelation 3:16-17)

“Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” (Revelation 3:17). The Laodiceans were a conceited bunch.

• It is a distasteful condition. “I will spew thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). This condition is so distasteful to the Lord that it makes Him vomit. Nothing tastes good; that is tepid.

• The boasting in their conceit. “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” The Laodiceans were full of pride. They gloried in their material prosperity. Furthermore, they thought their material prosperity was so great that they did not need anything else—they did not consider their spiritual needs. But no material prosperity is sufficient to give you all you need. A wealthy person has a tendency to think he has it all when in truth, he is bankrupt, where it counts the most.

• The blindness of their conceit. “Knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). The Laodiceans were blind to their true condition. Material prosperity does not mean you are in good condition. There are other criteria that must be considered before you make any conclusions about your condition. The other criterion is your spiritual health. The Laodiceans were spiritually in bad shape, which meant they were in bad shape regardless of their material prosperity.^[5] 

4 (Revelation 3:16–17) Warning—Judgment: There Is The Warning.

Jesus Christ warns the lukewarm and half-committed person: “I will spew you out of my mouth.” This is graphic language, but it is used for a purpose. The person who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ is claiming to be a part of His body, claiming to be nourishment for His body, a part of the growth of His body. But when the person is lukewarm, he is none of this. He is like lukewarm food, unappetizing and unwanted. Christ does not want the nourishment that such food provides. It is not fit to help in the nourishment and growth of His body. Therefore, He rejects all who are lukewarm and half-committed. There are two reasons why He rejects them. 

1. The Lukewarm Make A False Profession (Revelation 3:17^a). Note the verse: the church felt that it was rich and prosperous and had need of nothing. As stated above, the city was extremely wealthy, and practically everyone but the slaves shared in the wealth. We can tell by the very charge of Christ against the church that the believers were financially wealthy. What happened to the church is what so often happens among believers. They equated wealth and prosperity with spirituality. They felt that they had been especially blessed by God because they had been blessed with material possessions and wealth. They became …

•     self-sufficient

•     independent

•     self-centered

•     prideful

•     conceited

•     boastful 

They carried their wealth over into their spiritual life; they confused prosperity and material blessings with spirituality and spiritual blessings. They were able to have a full staff of ministers and to have all the ministries. They were able to launch any program, to promote any activity, and to do anything the minister or church felt should be done.

⇒   They focused upon their capability instead of Christ.

⇒   They depended upon their ability instead of Christ.

⇒   They relied upon their resources instead of Christ. 

Worship, Bible study, prayer, missions, witnessing, and activities—all were done as a matter of form and as a part of the normal activity of the church. There was no hunger or thirst after God, no sense of a deep-seated need, no desire for God’s Word, no burden for the lost, no sense of needing to grow spiritually. Simply speaking, the church was self-sufficient and comfortable. It had the money and the members to operate and work the ministries of the church; and many of the members, being industrious business and management people, had the energy and ability. Therefore, the members operated and carried on the activities of the church, but it was all done in the energy of the flesh and of self. It was not done in the power of God’s Spirit.

“Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits” (Ro. 12:16).

“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Co. 10:12).

“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Co. 10:12).

“For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (Ga. 6:3).

“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil” (Pr. 3:7).

“Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?” (Pr. 20:6).

“Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him” (Pr. 26:12).

“There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness” (Pr. 30:12)

“Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight!” (Is. 5:21).

“The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?” (Ob. 3–4). 

2. The Lukewarm Are Rejected Because Of Their True Condition: they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. What does this mean? All of these refer to the spiritual life of the church and its believers. 

a.         The church was spiritually “wretched” (hotalaiporos). The word actually says the wretched one in the Greek. The church had its full staff and all the programs—so much so that it felt it needed nothing. But the church was really the wretched one. The word means to be afflicted spiritually; to be spiritually contemptible; to be spiritually inferior. In God’s eyes they were spiritually lacking, very much so—so much so that they were afflicted, contemptible, and inferior.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Ro. 3:23).

“And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness” (1 Jn. 5:19).

“Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?” (Pr. 20:9).

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6). 

b.         The church was spiritually “miserable” (eleeinos). The word means pitied, despicable. The believers felt self-sufficient and were carrying on all the works of the church, but they were doing it in their own strength. They were missing out on the greatest thing in all the world: the presence of Christ and the power of Christ. They were missing out on experiencing the power of Christ working in their lives and in the church. They were to be pitied. In God’s eyes they were despicable, for they were ignoring and neglecting His Son.

“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth” (1 Jn. 1:6).

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:8).

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:10).

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Is. 64:6). 

c.         The church was spiritually “poor” (ptochos). They felt rich and in need of nothing, but in truth they were as spiritually poor as a church and person can be.

“And when he [the prodigal son] had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want” (Lu. 15:14).

“That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ep. 2:12).

“Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself” (1 Ti. 6:5).

“Because thou 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” (Re. 3:17).

“Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God” (Je. 5:4). 

d.         The church was spiritually “blind” (tophlos). They could see only what was in the world: money and human ability and effort. They did not look beyond to the spiritual need of the human soul nor to the possibility of spiritual and supernatural power working within the church and the lives of people.

“But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Mt. 6:23).

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Co. 4:4).

“Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ep. 4:18). 

e.         The church was spiritually “naked” (gumnos). They failed to see their need for the righteousness of Jesus Christ, for the clothing of Christ’s righteousness. They believed they could be good enough and do enough good to become acceptable to God on their own. They felt their religious works and gifts to the church would secure God’s approval. They did little thinking about their need for the righteousness of Christ and about the death of Jesus Christ for their sins.

“And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment [of Christ’s righteousness]? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 22:11–13).

“If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked [without the righteousness of Christ]” (2 Co. 5:3).

“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Re. 16:15). 

Thought 1. Note that many lukewarm and half-committed persons never witness for Christ. They say that they do not witness for Christ …

•       because they want to be kind and not offend people

•       because they are too meek and shy

•       because there is a place for professing Christ (the church) and a place for the affairs of this world 

But note: a lukewarm commitment to Christ is nauseating to Him. He will reject all of the lukewarm and half-committed.^[6] 

“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” ^{Revelation 3:16 NRSV [7]} 

HALFWAY

The Laodiceans were “lukewarm” (Revelation 3:16). The church had become distasteful and unusable like the city’s water. Lukewarm water makes a disgusting drink. The church in Laodicea had become lukewarm, and thus distasteful and repugnant. The believers didn’t take a stand for anything; indifference had led to idleness. By neglecting to do anything for Christ, the church had become hardened and self-satisfied, and it was destroying itself. As a result, Christ was about to spit them out of his mouth. There is nothing more disgusting than a halfhearted, in-name-only Christian who is self-sufficient. Don’t settle for following God halfway. Let Christ fire up your faith and get you into the action.[8]

“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” ^{Revelation 3:17 NIV}

Laodicea was a wealthy city, and apparently the church was also a wealthy church. It is unclear whether the Laodiceans were claiming spiritual or material wealth. They may have been materially rich and assuming that riches were a sign of God’s blessing on them. With their wealth came an attitude of self-sufficiency—feeling that they did not need a thing. They were materially secure and felt spiritually safe—with no need for further growth. Unfortunately, that attitude made them blind to their own true condition—wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Contrast this with the church in Smyrna; they were poor, but Christ called them rich (Revelation 2:9). The Laodicean believers may have been wealthy, but spiritually they were impoverished. While the city prided itself on extreme financial wealth, a productive textile industry, and the special healing eye salve, the church’s true spiritual condition left it poor, naked, and blind (see Revelation 3:18).^[9]

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Revelation 3:16-17 Spiritual Pride and Lukewarmness are Frequently Produced by Worldly Prosperity. 

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^[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

^[2] Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. 1909. Revelation. The Pulpit Commentary. London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.

^[3] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

^[4] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

^[5] Butler, John G. 2010. Analytical Bible Expositor: Revelation. Clinton, IA: LBC Publications.

^[6] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

^NRSV Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

^[7] Barton, Bruce B. 2000. Revelation. Edited by Grant R. Osborne. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^[8] Barton, Bruce B. 2000. Revelation. Edited by Grant R. Osborne. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^NIV Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version^®. NIV^®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

^[9] Barton, Bruce B. 2000. Revelation. Edited by Grant R. Osborne. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.