“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)
“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. 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. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev. 3:20–22).
Despite the fact that the church at Laodicea was in a wretched state, the Lord still offers to commune with any who will commune with Him. The invitation is famously stated as though the Lord were knocking at the door of someone’s heart, but there is no mention of a heart in this text at all. The door He is knocking on is the door of a church. If any of the Laodiceans hear His voice—which indicates that He is both knocking and calling—and comes to open the door, the Lord promises to come into “to him” and sup with him, and the table fellowship would be mutual. This is not a salvation text at all—it is a reformation text.
And despite the defeated condition of that particular church, a glorious prospect is held out. That defeated church might have overcomers contained within it. To anyone who overcomes, the Lord will invite him to be seated together with Christ in His throne. This is done according to the same logic that was applied when the Lord overcame in His trial, and was seated together with the Father in His throne. As that Father shared His throne with the Son, so the Son shares His throne with believers who overcome.
The same general invitation is given to them that is given to other churches—if a man has an ear, he should take care to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Here we should note the plural churches. What is said to each church is said—mutatis mutandis—to them all. We make adjustments in application in the different churches, but there is always some application.
