Love of the Spirit

Romans 5:5 | Love of the Spirit

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Slides:

The Spirit is not to be feared. He is a good God, who is Himself love. He helps us know and share the Love of Christ! 

Who: The Holy Spirit, eternal God. He is love, but He is not an impersonal force.  

-He teaches and helps: John 14

-He can be grieved: Ephesians 4:30

-He can be lied to: Acts 5

-He wills and chooses: 1 Corinthians 12:11

-He has joy: 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

What: The Holy Spirit facilitates 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.

Ephesians 3:14-19 

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,  that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,  may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Romans 8:38-39 

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Samuel 7:14-16  

I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

1 John 4:11-14

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

Galatians 5:22-23 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

-Who: The person of the Spirit

-What: Facilitating love

-Why: Worship, Washing, Witness

Worship- as we receive the love of God, we grow in love for God. As we see Christ rightly and glorified, He is exalted in us.

Philippians 3:3 

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh

Washing:

As we grow in trust and knowledge of His love, reality, and holiness; our sin becomes repulsive to us, not secretly appealing. We grow in desire to be Christ-like!

2 Corinthians 3:18 

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Witness: 

Witnesses testify to what they have seen and experienced. Not just what they believe. 

Acts 1:8

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

God the Spirit empowers the Church to obey the Great Commission, by helping us obey the Great Commandment. 

Luke 11:5-12

Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7 and from inside he answers and says, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you [anything.]' 8 "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him [anything] because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 11 "Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 "Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?