Bible Verses About First Love: 12

"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first."

— Revelation 2:4 (NIV)

People who search bible verses about first love want Scripture on the Ephesus warning — "the love you had at first" — and the call to remember, repent, and do the works you did at first — not only the general love inventory or God's love survey alone. This page is a numbered list of twelve passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about love, Bible verses about God's love, Bible verses about renewal, Bible verses about discipleship, Bible verses about repentance, Bible verses about following Jesus, Bible verses about hope, and Bible verse of the day. First love here means Rev 2:4-5 and matching return-to-first-works / hold-fast love lines — distinct from a general love survey alone.

Word study (lead theme). In Greek, "first" in Revelation 2:4 is πρῶτος protos (Strong's G4413; Bible Hub G4413) — first in time or rank. The "love" is ἀγάπη agape (Strong's G26; Bible Hub G26). Jesus tells the church at Ephesus they have forsaken the love they had at first, then calls them to remember, repent, and do the works they did at first. This list tracks that first-love warning and return, not the whole love inventory.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Revelation 2 presses that leaving the first love is a serious charge even where orthodoxy and labor remain, and that the remedy is to remember, repent, and do the first works (Bible Hub MHC Revelation 2; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Revelation 2). (Love and God's-love lists live on those pages; this list centers first love.)

12 Bible verses about first love

1. Revelation 2:4. "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first." Forsaken the love you had at first — the Ephesus charge. See Bible verses about love.

2. Revelation 2:5. "Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." Remember, repent, do the first works. See Bible verses about repentance.

3. Revelation 2:2-3. "I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary." Labor without first love is still incomplete. See Bible verses about perseverance.

4. Jeremiah 2:2. "'Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: This is what the Lord says: "I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown."'" Devotion of your youth — bride love remembered. See Bible verses about the bride.

5. Hosea 2:19-20. "I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord." Betrothal renewed — love and faithfulness restored. See Bible verses about faithfulness.

6. John 13:34-35. "'A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.'" Love one another — the mark of disciples. See Bible verses about discipleship.

7. 1 John 4:19. "We love because he first loved us." He first loved us — the source of first love. See Bible verses about God's love.

8. Luke 15:20. "So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." The father ran — return welcomed. See Bible verses about repentance.

9. Psalm 51:10-12. "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." Restore the joy — renew a steadfast spirit. See Bible verses about renewal.

10. 2 Corinthians 11:3. "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ." Sincere and pure devotion led astray — first love cooled. See Bible verses about worship.

11. Philippians 1:9-10. "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ." Love abounding more and more — growth, not cooling. See Bible verses about hope.

12. Hebrews 10:24. "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Spur one another toward love and good deeds — first works together. See Bible verses about the church.

How to use these verses

Pick one verse when you need first love — not twelve as a grind. If you need the Ephesus charge, start with Revelation 2:4-5. If you need the Lord's memory of youthful devotion, open Jeremiah 2:2. If you need the source of love, open 1 John 4:19. For the general love list, open Bible verses about love. For God's love, open Bible verses about God's love. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.

Questions people ask

What is a good Bible verse about first love?

Revelation 2:4 (you have forsaken the love you had at first), Revelation 2:5 (repent and do the things you did at first), and Jeremiah 2:2 (I remember the devotion of your youth) are clear starting places.

How do Bible verses about first love differ from love alone?

Love pages inventory many kinds of love across the canon. This page centers Revelation 2:4-5's first-love warning and the call to return to first works, then cross-links love. See Bible verses about love.

What does "left your first love" mean in Revelation 2?

Jesus tells the church at Ephesus they have forsaken the love they had at first — even while their labor and orthodoxy remain. The remedy is to remember how far they have fallen, repent, and do the things they did at first.

What Greek words stand behind "first love"?

Protos (G4413) means first; agape (G26) is the love named in the charge. See the word study above and the Blue Letter Bible / Bible Hub lexicon links.

How can I use these verses in prayer or study?

Read Revelation 2:4-5 slowly, then one return verse. Ask God to restore first love where labor has cooled affection. For repentance, open Bible verses about repentance. For discipleship, open Bible verses about discipleship.

Sources

• Blue Letter Bible lexicon: G4413, G26 (links above).
• Bible Hub Greek entries and Matthew Henry Concise on Revelation 2 (links above).
• Cross-links: love, God's love, renewal, discipleship, repentance, following Jesus, hope, faithfulness, the bride, perseverance, worship, the church.

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