The letter to the church at Sardis--3:1-6. 1. “ Saith he that hath the seven spirits, and the seven stars” --3:1. In Jesus Christ there is the uniting of these symbols of the spirits and the stars. The office of a spirit is to testify or teach; and the function of a star is to shine. It is a dual symbol which apparently refers to the uniting of the spirit of Christ in each church with the spirit of the congregation itself, that is, in the testimony of the truth, and having it shine as stars, as affirmed of God’ s servants in Daniel 12:3. 2. “ Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead"-- 3:1. The history of the city of Sardis had been one of splendour, but it was generally known at this time to be in a state of decadence and decay. The Lord used this condition of the city to impress the spiritual state of the church-- they had a name like the city in which they were situated, but they were spiritually dead. The religious history of Sardis, like the civil, was in the past.