Romans 5:5 (Amplified) says, "Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us; for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given us."
The much quoted scripture of John 3:16 (Amplified) says, "For God so love the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son." It was God's love that sent Jesus to do the work of being our eternal sacrifice. He was, and is, the love of God in action. Once Jesus ascended back to the Father, that same love that sent Him, was sent to us in the form of the Holy Spirit. He is the full manifestation of God's love for us. He is not Someone or something that we can see like Jesus was, but He is the power of the love that sent Jesus to us and back to the throne. This power is alive in the hearts of God's people and is present for all to partake of by faith in Jesus.
God's power is in His love. God has power but God is love and His power is released in His love. Until we realize His love for us and in us, His power is diminished. Our faith in Jesus is based on how much we believe in His love. We struggle with condemnation, even after receiving Jesus as our Sacrifice Lamb. Many Christians still believe that some calamity was brought upon them by God, because of something they did. In a sense, we're still awaiting the punishment we feel we deserve. All these beliefs happen because we don't allow God's love to manifest to its full potential within us, by the Holy Spirit.
The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is based on how we understand the love He placed in us from the Father. The Holy Spirit is capable of doing anything in us that He did in Jesus. It's the same love, after all. If this love gave up Jesus for us and this unconditional love is now poured out in us by the Holy Spirit, then why would it not be the same outward show of His power?
Jesus knew and understood why He came. He knew that only love could offer this kind of sacrifice. Love didn't only set us free by Jesus' sacrifice, but now this love that Jesus was and had within Him, could be in and for us. Through the outpouring of love on the Day of Pentecost, grace replaced Law, mercy set aside judgment, righteousness replaced lambs and bulls, and peace expelled fear. Now that the Holy Spirit was poured out from heaven, He Who is love can live and reign in our own lives, like it did with Jesus.
The Holy Spirit spoke through John, expressing the very essence of His presence and His ministry in our lives. Thus, 1John 4:18 (Amplified) says, "There is no fear in Love (dread does not exist), but full grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment and (so) he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love (is not yet grown into loves complete perfection)."
In other words, the Christian who is still fearful, still awaiting judgment and still dreading facing the Father, is not acquainted with the Holy Spirit and is not mature in His salvation. When the Holy Spirit was poured out into our hearts, Love was literally poured out in our lives. The life of God is the love of God and the two things cannot be separated. God is love.
The very work and ministry of the Holy Spirit is to bring the very power that raised Jesus from the dead into the hearts of God's family. The Holy Spirit's ministry is to take the love that our eyes had seen in the Man Jesus walking the shores of Galilee and place it in our hearts. Through the Holy Spirit, we can know that the love that healed the sick, now lives in us. There is no condemnation to the ones who actually know the Holy Spirit as He really is.
Isn't the Holy Spirit God's Spirit and the Spirit of the Lord? Isn't God Love? Of course, we know He is. Why then, can't we know this love by His presence in our lives and be at peace with God? Didn't Jesus say that He was giving His peace to us? Jesus' peace was with the Father and now, through the Holy Spirit, He intended for us to be at peace with the Father like He is.
Until we realize that the Holy Spirit is actually the full manifestation of God's Love enveloping us and keeping us, we will continue walking in the bondage of fear and dread and fear of punishment. When we do this, then we only show our Father and the world how spiritually immature and child like we are in our faith.
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