“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
My Notes
What Does Revelation 3:13 Mean?
This is the same refrain as 3:6, appearing after the letter to the church in Philadelphia. The repetition to Philadelphia — the faithful church that kept Christ's word and didn't deny His name (verse 8) — shows that even the church with the best evaluation still needs to hear. Faithfulness doesn't exempt you from the instruction to listen.
Philadelphia received no rebuke — one of only two churches (with Smyrna) that received entirely positive evaluations. And yet: he that hath an ear, let him hear. The instruction doesn't change based on the church's performance. The best church and the worst church both need to hear what the Spirit is saying.
The consistency of the refrain — the same words to the praised and the rebuked — means hearing is a permanent posture, not an occasional correction. You don't stop listening because you're doing well. The listening is constant. The ear is always needed.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Are you still actively listening to the Spirit even when things are going well?
- 2.Why does the best church need the same instruction as the worst?
- 3.How does success create the temptation to stop listening?
- 4.What might the Spirit be saying to your thriving community that you haven't heard because you assumed you didn't need to?
Devotional
Even Philadelphia — the church with no rebuke, the faithful community that kept Christ's word — gets this instruction: hear what the Spirit says. The best church needs to hear as much as the worst church.
This is the corrective for every community that thinks its performance exempts it from continued listening. You kept My word? Great. Keep listening. You didn't deny My name? Wonderful. Keep your ears open. The faithfulness that earned the commendation doesn't produce graduation from the instruction.
The sameness of the refrain — identical words to praised and rebuked churches — means the call to hear isn't a punishment for failure. It's a universal requirement for every community in every condition. The struggling church needs to hear because correction requires listening. The thriving church needs to hear because continued thriving requires continued listening.
The danger for the praised church is assuming the praise is permanent. Philadelphia is faithful now. But the instruction to keep hearing implies that the faithfulness requires ongoing attention. The moment you stop listening — even at the peak of your faithfulness — is the moment the faithfulness begins to erode.
No church ever reaches a point where hearing is unnecessary. No community is so healthy that it can stop paying attention to the Spirit. No level of faithfulness produces the right to close your ears.
Are you still listening — even though things are going well?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
I know thy works,.... Which were far from being perfect, and not so good as those of the former church:
that thou art…
We have now come to the sixth letter, sent to one of the Asian churches, where observe,
I. The inscription, showing,
1.…