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To the angel of the church in Ephesus write (Revelation 2:1a, NASB1995).
In the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John writes letters from the Isle of Patmos to seven churches. These seven churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea form a half-circle in what was known as Asia (Turkey/Türkiye today).
Note the map below with the Isle of Patmos in red and Ephesus in blue, and the rest of the churches in the semi-circle. The Apostle John follows this geographical pattern in writing to Ephesus first, then Smyrna, continuing in the semi-circle with the last letter to Laodicea.
The key phrase in John’s letter to Ephesus is found in Revelation 2:4, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” What does this verse mean? Many commentators believe it means both “love for Jesus” and “love for one another,” following the First and Second Great Commandments as taught by Jesus…
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).
As a pastor, I’ve used this phrase “losing your first love” in both marital counseling sessions and preaching to the church I pastored. I’ve also asked myself this question many times: “Have I lost my first love?” I don’t want to lose my first love of Jesus. How about you?
Jesus says to the Church of Ephesus, “I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand from its place – unless you repent” (Revelation 2:5b).
(A historical note that I read in a commentary: “Because of the silting of its harbor, the city of Ephesus was later literally moved to a site about three kilometers from where it was in John’s day.”)
Losing our first love stands as one of the great accusations in the Bible toward Christians and churches in the first century, but how relevant do we find this charge today? The same commentator writes…
Given the high degree of assimilation of North American Christians to our culture’s values—more time spent on entertainment than on witness, more money spent on our comfort than on human need—the prognosis for the USA is not good. When pagans charged that Rome fell because of its conversion to Christianity, Augustine responded that it fell rather because its sins were piled as high as heaven and because the commitment of most of its Christian population remained too shallow to restrain God’s wrath.
Losing its first love keeps the church from purity, from boldness in witness, and from engaging in spiritual warfare. And within marriages, losing first love sets the stage for infidelity, spousal abuse, and divorce. This is not the “first love” that we all considered when accepting Jesus or when saying our marriage vows.
Fortunately, after the statement of admonishment, Jesus gives a path of recourse…
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Revelation 2:7).
I’m listening, Lord. Please come quickly.
Are you also listening?