Romans 5:5

Romans 5:5. — The love of God to us, not ours to Him. Our love is so weak and unworthy that it makes every renewed soul ashamed; but His love is so full and rich that even the hope of His glory does not put us to shame. If the Holy Spirit, given to us, has poured that love into our hearts, then such a hope fits it well. It is the natural completion of the love that has already done such great things for us.

So in verse 5 we have the love of God in us — His love poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. In verse 6 we have the love of God for us, because when we had no strength at all, "Christ died for us." What a picture for faith to look at! What a treasure for the heart to keep! What a stronghold in the day of trial! This love has come into our hearts through the presence of the Holy Spirit there. It is also shown openly in the gift, the work, the resurrection, and the glory of the Saviour.

I have said God's love is not a doctrine but a fact. It is not for the head but for the heart, as the next mention of it in this letter proves. It is too beautiful to pass by lightly: "the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." It is for the heart and in the heart. But if it fills the heart, it warms and spreads through the whole being. The head and hands and feet come under its influence. As the sun flooding a house with its rays drives out all darkness and chill, so the love of God acts on a life that opens to it.

This verse is remarkable as the first one that speaks either of the Spirit given to us, or of the love of God which is poured into us by Him. We have His righteousness fully displayed and applied before there is any mention of either… It is good that the soul should be shut up to what is absolutely perfect outside ourselves, on God's part. This rests not on the Spirit's work in us, but on Christ's work for us… Had it come in before this, the heart would readily have turned from Christ and God's righteousness to its own workings and affections.

Here we see the Holy Spirit as the seal given to the believer. He seals to him the value of the blood of Christ, and the perfect cleansing he shares in through that blood. Washed from his sins, he becomes the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. He is the anointing, the believer's seal, and the down payment of glory… And here, in this passage, we learn that by Him also the love of God is poured into our hearts.

People often read these words as meaning the exact opposite of what they say. They take them to mean that we must have this experience first, so that God may then pour His love into our hearts. They think that if we pray much and are very diligent in patience, experience, and hope, then we may hope for the gift of the Holy Spirit. No words can tell how utterly wrong all this is… To think God gives the Holy Spirit because of our own efforts, or experience, or devotedness, is to set aside the perfect work of Christ.

In the end it will make me hope, "because the love of God has been poured into my heart." This gives me the key to all the tribulation, and lets me glory in it. It is the fruit of God's own love. I trust Him. How do I get this? By the Holy Spirit who is within me… It is not mine but His, God's love poured out; God, who is love, is in me — God's own love. This brings us back to a strength of hope that nothing can shake.