Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 3:1

"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead." — Revelation 3:1 (ASV)

The speaker identifies himself as “him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars” (cf. comments on 1:4, 16, 20; 2:1). Christ is the one who controls the seven spirits of God. If the Sardian church is strong, it is because Christ has sent his Spirit to encourage and quicken the Sardian believers; if they are dead like Sardis, it is because in judgment he has withdrawn his Spirit from them. Yet the faithful minority at Sardis (v.4) can count on the divine power of Christ to sustain them, give life, and mobilize them to do his will even though the majority are dead. The speaker’s knowledge of the church in Sardis reveals their true condition. He knows their “deeds.” This may allude to their past accomplishments, which gave them their reputation of being alive, but more likely it refers to their present deeds, which were not those Christ sought from them (cf. v.2). He also knows that though they claim to be a healthy Christian church, in reality they are “dead.” How does a church die? Why does Christ use this expression for Sardis, even though the churches in Thyatira and Laodicea also had serious problems? Sardis had had significant fame as a royal city, but now it was nothing. The citizens were living off past fame. Apparently the same spirit had affected the church. Their loyalty and service to Christ were in the past; now they were nothing. Perhaps they had so made peace with the surrounding society that the offense of the Cross had ceased, and they were no longer in jeopardy of life or vulnerable to suffering. Further facts emerge when we consider the series of commands in vv.2–3. Death was a special preoccupation of the Sardians, as witnessed by the impressive necropolis. What had been a part of the pagan rites had also crept into the church, but through deception. The Sardian church was for the most part a duped church.