«　WEEK 3　DAY 6　»

　　Rom. 5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

　　1 John 4:8 He who does not love has not known God, because God is love.

　　19 We love because He first loved us.

　　The love of God is God Himself (1 John 4:8, 16). God has poured out this love in our hearts with the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us, as the motivating power within us, that we may more than conquer in all our tribulations. (Rom. 5:5, footnote 1)

　　God is love; we love because He first loved us (1 John 4:8, 19). God does not want us to love with our natural love but with Him as our love. God created man in His image (Gen. 1:26), which means that He created man according to what He is. God’s image is what God is, and His attributes are what He is. According to the revelation in the Holy Scriptures, God’s first attribute is love. God created man according to His attributes, the first of which is love. Although created man does not have the reality of love, there is something in his created being that wants to love others. Even fallen man has the desire within him to love. But that is just a human virtue, the very expression of the divine attribute of love. When we were regenerated, God infused us with Himself as love. We love Him because He first loved us. He initiated this love. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” p. 121)

　　From the day we believed in the Lord Jesus, the love of God has been poured out in our hearts. This is not merely a matter of feeling. On the contrary, something substantial, something essential, has been poured out in our hearts. This means that, as believers, deep in our hearts we have something of the divine essence, and this is God as love. In other words, God as love is the divine essence that has been poured out in our hearts. Therefore, the pouring out of the love of God in our hearts is not merely a matter of feeling; rather, it is a matter of the essence of God.

　　Because something of the divine essence has been poured out in our hearts, the heart of every Christian is a heart of love. I can testify that from the time of my regeneration my heart has been very different from what it was before regeneration. Because we have been regenerated, we have the loving essence within us, even if we are temporarily angry about something. This loving essence is God Himself as love. The Father’s nature, His essence, has been poured out in our hearts, and now we have this essence within us. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 2, “The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity,” p. 512)

　　From the day we first called on the Lord Jesus, the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. This means that the Spirit reveals, confirms, and assures us with the love of God. The indwelling Holy Spirit seems to say, “Don’t doubt. God loves you. You don’t understand why you must suffer now, but one day you will say, ‘Father, I thank You for the troubles and trials which I passed through.’” When you enter the gate of eternity, you will say, “Praise the Lord for the sufferings and tests which fell upon me on my journey. God used them to transform me.” We cannot deny the presence of God’s love within us…. Once we were enemies, but Christ shed His blood on the cross to reconcile us to God. What love is this!…God is sovereign. He knows what is best for us….We should simply pray, “Lord, have your way. I simply want what You want. I leave everything entirely in Your hands.” This is our response to God when we realize afresh that He loves us so and that His love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 102-103)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1983, vol. 2, “The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity,” ch. 43; Life-study of Romans, msg. 9