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.
Read all of Revelation Chapter 3 here
This particular Scripture verse is often used in the context of an invitation. Preachers often use it as an example of Jesus’ invitation to the lost sinner to come to salvation. I don’t rule out that it has that application, but the reach of it is likely far broader than that.
This will be an extremely un dogmatic devotion. In fact, I may ask more questions than I answer during the course of it, and I hope readers will chime in with their thoughts. As always, be nice. We can disagree and go round and round about the meaning here, and nobody becomes a heretic, okay? Thanks!
So, some things do seem evident. This is a church with serious problems, as Jesus’ critique of them has been quite harsh. It has been the worst of any of the seven churches thus far. Jesus’ own words seem to indicate He is outside this church in some fashion. Why? Who exactly is Jesus talking to?
Is this a church of saved believers who have simply backslid to the point where one would never know? Maybe. Jesus did say As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. In other places in Scripture we see Jesus chastening believers as his children. In fact, references are made that a lack of chastisement means we are not children of His. On the other hand, some commenters make a case that the terminology in our passage, rebuke(reprove in some translation), is a reference to the Holy Spirit’s conviction of lost sinners. Honestly, I am okay either way, to tell the truth.
One writer thinks the use of the phrase any man indicates that this is a church full of lost people under the delusion that they are saved. Could any man be the idea that Jesus only needs one saved person in that church in order to start a work?
Regardless of how we look at the soul situation of the people in this church, Jesus’ promises to them are ironclad and available if they simply repent and either come to Him, or repent and return to Him. See the last part of our verse: I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. That speaks of the joy and fellowship that any individual, and any church can experience with God, if they only allow Him in.
To sum up, it matters greatly that Jesus implies he is at the door of this church knocking to get in. If Jesus is not in our church, but is outside seeking entrance, then we might need a revival.
Truth in Palmyra 
July 16, 2015 at 06:47
A thought provoking post Walley !! I believe one possibility is Jesus talking to believers…telling them that He (through the indwelling Holy Spirit) is there all the time, trying to tell us how to live a life pleasing to the Lord…
If we would just confess our sins (1 John 1:9), and are walking in the Spirit…the Lord will give us blessings for our obedience..
Hebrews 11:6… But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (NKJV)
I used to believe these rewards God promises in this scripture were monetary… And that is a possibility, if it is in God’s will… But I am now believing through the blessings of peace and joy God gives me when I am living for Him…that Spirit filled Christians are blessed beyond the norm, when they live in obedience to the Word…
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July 16, 2015 at 07:10
Nice Bruce thank you
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July 16, 2015 at 07:21
Hey Bruce meant so add I am glad you said what you did about money and your thoughts on it changing some. God may bless us that way but it is certainly not simply in exchange for us serving Him. Good point about His will being the key
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July 16, 2015 at 07:02
Morning Brother Wally! Another excellent daily devotional!
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July 16, 2015 at 07:09
Thank you brother Vincent for the kind words and the reblog
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July 16, 2015 at 08:04
You’re very welcome Brother Wally!
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July 16, 2015 at 07:03
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
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July 16, 2015 at 07:08
It is clear to me that Jesus was speaking to those within a church since He said, “To the CHURCH in Laodicea write…”. I imagine it was a social club type church and He was not an invited member. I like your idea of Him being on the outside looking in.
The part of the verse that is interesting to me today is this, “if any man hear my voice”. I don’t know how many times I have heard a leader in a [baptist] church say, “Of course God doesn’t actually speak to us audibly anymore.” My guess is the leaders who say that are the ones on whose doors He is knocking. But sadly, they have not heard His voice.
Someone will say, “He doesn’t speak in an audible voice, He makes an impression on our hearts.” Yes, He does, often, but this verse does not say He is knocking on our hearts. And the Greek word for voice used here (phone) is the same word used in Matthew 2 “A voice was heard…” and in Matthew 3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness…” and later in Matthew 3, “and behold a voice out of heaven said…”, etc. In every case it is an audible voice.
Anyway, I hope I didn’t throw your discussion off course. Have a great day Wally.
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July 16, 2015 at 07:18
Not at all Julie. I get what you are saying about the audible voice as sometimes what we get is more than just an impression on our hearts. I guess what I think of when somebody says God spoke to them is that next they usually say that He told them something not in or counter to His Word. Not a big fan of extra Biblical revelation. That is a sure ticket to being led astray by a human. So do you think those people in these were mostly saved people just seriously good astray or lost and deluded ones?
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July 16, 2015 at 07:44
I think they were church goers who didn’t actually know God.
But, on the other hand, when I was a young new believer, I became acquainted with a young man who was raised in the church. At some point, he stopped attending. Then one morning he was in the shower and he audibly heard a voice say, “Go to church!” So he did. So perhaps this verse extends to those who are “in the church”, but no longer attending.
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July 16, 2015 at 07:47
Ahhh nice.
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July 16, 2015 at 07:50
“Not a big fan of extra Biblical revelation.” I know this is a tricky one and wrought with all kinds of potential abuses, but I would hate to think that God has nothing new to say, no new insights to make known. Do you really expect a living God to just hush for 2,000+ years?
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July 16, 2015 at 07:54
I get what you are saying and might adjust a little but sadly some get revelation which runs counter to scripture. There I stop. That make sense?
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July 16, 2015 at 08:00
Oh of course, anything that runs counter to the words of the Prophets and the words of Jesus should be discounted. Time will always tell when it comes to prophecy, and fruit will always reveal when it comes to motives.
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July 16, 2015 at 07:51
Reblogged this on My Daily Musing and commented:
I had never thought about Revelation 3:20 being consider like Wally explained it but it makes sense. It is something to ponder on.
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July 16, 2015 at 07:54
Thank you
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July 16, 2015 at 07:59
It was my pleasure, :). I have to say your post gave me something to think about on Revelation 3:20. I always heard it as an invitation to God. 🙂 God bless.
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July 16, 2015 at 08:22
Thanks
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July 16, 2015 at 07:58
I knew a very respectable Baptist woman who was sitting in a Burger King one evening with a friend. She kept noticing a “woman” sitting alone in one of the booths. God revealed to her that the woman was actually a man. She didn’t look at all like a man, but God was insistent. He told her to go and talk to him. So she did. She asked him why he was dressed as a woman. The man eventually broke down and cried. He was a pastor. My friend and her friend talked to him awhile, took him to K-Mart to buy some men’s clothing and watched a spiritual battle take place as he stood over a trash bin struggling to deposit the women’s clothing into it. To me, that was definitely an extra-Biblical revelation.
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July 16, 2015 at 08:22
See I can get that!
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July 16, 2015 at 09:44
I have to remember to tell you a story later don’t let me forget lol
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July 16, 2015 at 10:16
Looking forward to it.
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July 16, 2015 at 17:39
Hi Julie
OK, here is the story. It was your story about the Baptist lady that made me think of it, and it actually illustrates your point very well. It’s about the first time I ever witnessed to a complete stranger.
Some background. I am a satellite TV installer, so I am in many housed with many people five, sometimes six days a week. Our company policy is, however, that we simply don’t talk about religion with customers. We don’t even talk about it, much less witness. That would be a you are in really deep trouble thing. So, I comply for the most part LOL.
About 7 years ago, not long after I came to faith, I was at a gentleman’s house working on his satellite. It came to light as we talked that the fellow had cancer. Sad, but his outlook was quite decent. Anyway, as I worked, I remember the words, “You need to talk to him,” kept popping up in my head. No audible voice, but certainly not some vague pressure in my hear either. I basically ignored it, but it just would not go away. “Tell him, tell him, tell him,” kept ringing in my head. Needless to say, I resisted until I could hardly bear it anymore. So, I sort of piddled around at it a bit, sat on the back of my truck and read my Bible while taking a break, said some vague things about church that night, and so forth.
Apparently that was not sufficient. Next, the words got stronger and more direct. Something like, “You need to talk to him, and you need to talk to him very directly.” Well, I really bowed up at that one, as this was crossing into forbidden territory for sure. The thing is, the next thing my brain thought was, “I have this, you will be fine.”
Well, since diplomacy is not my strong suite, I just sort of tossed the hand grenade right into the room. I said to the fellow, “Sir, you told me you have cancer. You might be ok, and you might not. If something doesn’t work out, and you are not ok…do you know what will happen to you when you go?” Boom, there it was.
Guy looked at me rather stunned for a moment, and then said something like, “Yes, I do know because I have been saved by Jesus Christ and will be with him when and if that happens. But, thank you very much for caring enough to ask me.”
Training I guess. I think to this day, God wanted to see if I would comply. I actually had similar things happen several more times, and it never failed the person already knew Jesus. I used to gripe at my wife about the fact that I couldn’t find any lost people. Yeah, absurd I know. Then one day, I finally got my chance, and have had many more since then. Although generally not while working, But if God says do it, I do.
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July 16, 2015 at 22:06
Thanks for sharing that Wally. Great story. Maybe it was training, and maybe it was also God’s way of letting the gentleman know that someone cared.
Obedience is a powerful thing.
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July 16, 2015 at 08:10
I think the idea of the open door is key here. If we get comfortable as a church with our financial numbers and attendance, we may become lazy and lose the zeal to reach out. The door must always remain open so we can reach out.
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July 16, 2015 at 08:24
Amen. What do you think of the image of Jesus on the outside wanting in?
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July 16, 2015 at 08:40
And if the door was closed, how would we know?
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July 16, 2015 at 08:45
Nice!
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July 16, 2015 at 11:31
It is amazing the patience and grace which makes up the loving nature of our Lord God! I can only imagine how evil the very ancient world must have been when, in Genesis 6, God said “He saw that man’s every thought was only to do evil…and He was saddened that He had made man on earth.”
But throughout the bible, we have recorded for us God’s willingness to come back into our lives at our invitation. And He does not ever diminish His gifts of grace and glory to us, no matter how many times we leave and then return.
Now that’s not an invitation to do what we want to time and again, knowing He will take us back. That shows a heart which is not convicted, and that won’t fly with God. Only the sincere, who slip at times and seek His forgiveness will be afforded this “return policy.”
To conclude, God is willing that none should perish, and gives us every opportunity to come to Him, for the first time AND the last time! “He who has ears, let him hear…”
Steve
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July 16, 2015 at 11:35
Well Steve I’m not gonna mess up that fine comment by adding to it. Nicely said brother
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July 17, 2015 at 10:43
Wally, I’m sure you could enhance it with your understanding and ability where the scriptures are concerned…
Steve
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July 17, 2015 at 10:52
Nope it was dandy as is. Just a great comment.
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July 17, 2015 at 15:07
Too kind, my friend…
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