The Holy Spirit pours out God’s love

Romans 5:5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. We’ve been encouraged the last few days by the affects of God’s great love for us when He justified us in Christ through faith and gave us His righteousness. This is our grace place to stand before God. Our assurance that we are righteous in His sight comes from the beautiful work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to us, and through Him, we receive the assurance of our salvation through faith. Faith is a gracious and loving work of the Holy Spirit. When the Gentiles responded to the gospel in Caesarea, Peter described what happened to them in this way. Acts 15:8-9. “And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.” Let’s connect some dots. Remember what Paul told the Galatians? Faith works through love. What do we read here? The hope we have from the perseverance in trials which proves that Jesus lives in us (proven character) is not disappointing. The Holy Spirit manifests the life of Christ cleansing our hearts with faith. When we believe in Jesus, we know God loves us and has removed our sins and our guilt. Our consciences, a function of our hearts, are cleansed by His love poured out in our hearts. This is how we live to love with Jesus—by faith through the God-glorifying ministry of the Holy Spirit. We have a hope that doesn’t disappoint because our hope is not an inactive object. God’s love produces hope and that hope moves us to action—to love everyone He puts in our paths with the same kind of love with which we have been loved. It’s a love that produces peace, exultation in God, endurance, Christ-likeness, and hope. That fullness satisfies our souls today which then enables us to love others. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com