The Love of the Spirit (Romans 15:30)

Sometimes we assess the importance of a theme or a phrase by the number of times it is mentioned in the Bible. The phrase ‘the love of the Spirit’ only occurs once, but since it mentions one of the divine Persons we should regard it as important, indeed very important, because anything involving the Trinity will be very important. It is possible to suggest that what Paul has in mind is the love that the Spirit produces in believers. Of course, it is true to say that the Spirit does this in his people, but it may not be the truth about him that is mentioned here. 

Personally, I think Paul is referring to the Holy Spirit’s love for his people. In the context, the apostle is asking for prayer about a journey that he is about to make which could have dangers for him. He recognises the importance of prayer and reminds his readers that two divine persons will help them as they pray to the Father about Paul’s forthcoming mission. The two divine persons are Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Their involvement must be an encouragement to pray because what greater help could a person have. But we do not need to limit their involvement to the matter of praying.

 

How does the Spirit show his love?

No doubt, there are many answers to this question. The first I would mention is that it was his love that gave to us the Bible. We know that the Bible is a book about the love of God. It is the case that other matters are referred to in it, but only in connection to what it says about its major theme. But it is not only its contents that reveal his love, so too does the method of composition. It was a great privilege for Moses and Paul and all the other writers to be enabled to contribute to this divine book. They were divinely superintended by the Spirit of love as they wrote their words. Sometimes we treat the Bible as an encyclopaedia for information or as a manual for guidance, but it is best to regard it as the expression of love, a book from the heart of God in which his purpose is revealed. 

 

The second answer I would mention is that the Spirit reveals his love in connection with the gospel and its effects in the lives of sinners. Recall when the Holy Spirit was dealing with you as a sinner and convicting you of your sins. Were you convicted to the degree that you deserved to be as a sinner? Did you find yourself captured by a God who was determined to punish you to a great degree with the penalty that your sins deserved? Or did you find that you saw yourself as a sinner who could go to the cross for mercy from the Father? Did you find yourself being drawn by the cords of love to the Saviour? If that is what took place, then the Holy Spirit was at work in your mind and heart in a loving way. He wounded you, it is true, but he wounded you because he intended to heal you with salvation. The gospel is about the Father’s love, the Son’s love, and the Spirit’s love.

 

A third answer is to remind ourselves of how the Spirit revealed his love for us at the moment of our regeneration. We did not ask him to regenerate us. If somehow we used those exact words in a prayer, it was because he already had done his work, and we had such a desire because of his making us spiritually alive. But think about what we were like one second before he quickened us. We were dark sinners, spiritually blind to the glory of the gospel and still deaf to its invitations. The Holy Spirit, because he is divine, knew the depths and the amount of our sinfulness, and yet he touched us with his power and gave us life. Through his action of love, we became new creatures and believed the gospel, and discovered the blessings connected to the Spirit’s enlightening.

 

A fourth answer is to recall how the Holy Spirit then came to indwell us as believers. When we were regenerated, we believed in Jesus. Immediately we were justified by the Father for the sake of Jesus and adopted into his family. Paul tells us in Galatians 4:6 that ‘because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”’ Obviously, the Trinity is mentioned there by the apostle. But we can understand how the arrival of the Spirit in this way is one of great delight for him, an expression of his love to sinners. Among the blessings of adoption that the Spirit brings to believers is what Paul calls the witness of the Spirit, an action whereby the Spirit of love assures believers that they truly belong to the family of God. He tells them that the Father is their heavenly Father and enables them to express their joy at knowing this wonderful relationship.

 

A fifth answer is to consider how the Holy Spirit gives certain gifts to each of his people. Some of those gifts are more public, such as ministers and evangelists and exhorters. Others may be more practical, such as what Paul calls ‘helps’ or ‘administrations’. The usual motive for giving gifts between persons is that of love. And we also know that usually the one who gives a gift thinks carefully about what should be given to the recipient. The Holy Spirit reveals his love and wisdom in the choice of particular spiritual gifts he gives to his people to use for the glory of God. This means that he chooses the gifts that we have and which he will develop within us. But they are expressions of his love for us. It is a challenge to ask ourselves if we are using the gifts he lovingly gave to us and through which divine blessing may be known by ourselves and others.

 

A sixth answer is the involvement of the Holy Spirit in the process of sanctification in which he enables believers to mortify their sinful tendencies and become increasingly conformed to the image of Jesus. The Holy Spirit loves holiness and while believers are never perfect in this life, he does enable them to please God as they obey his commandments from their hearts. That involvement in their lives is also evidence of the love of the Spirit. 

 

A seventh answer is the involvement of the Holy Spirit in the provision of aid to poor Christians. This is seen from the context in which the phrase ‘love of the Spirit’ is found in Romans 15. Paul is concerned with taking to Jerusalem from Corinth a collection he had gathered for the poor saints there. As he encourages prayer for this endeavour, he mentions that the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of love are involved in his appeal for their prayers. This is a reminder that the Holy Spirit does not regard the provision of such help as somehow being unspiritual or less spiritual. It is part of the duty of a Christian to give and to pray about it, and Paul knows when he makes this request that the Trinity are in agreement with what he was doing and with what he was asking the Romans to do.  

 

An eighth answer is to consider the involvement of the Spirit in the final state of glorification that will be the experience of the people of God. At regeneration, he comes into their lives as the firstfruits, the seal that means they belong to God, the permanent identity marker of his people. The idea of firstfruits, as we know, is a sample of the full amount of a coming harvest. In the world to come, believers will have the blessing of the Spirit in a much fuller way, which must mean that they will have greater expressions of divine love conveyed by him to their souls. 

 

When does the Spirit show his love?

We can see by the reference here in Romans 15 that the Spirit reveals his love when believers engage in prayer. Prayer is an aspect of communion with God and it should not be a surprize for us to realise that it is also an occasion of love in action. While Paul made the request, he also knew that the Spirit would give the burden to the Romans to participate in Paul’s mission by praying for him. 

 

We can also deduce from this petition that the Spirit of love is present when Jesus enables his people to perform a Christian activity. Here Paul is wanting the Roman believers to pray to the Father. We are to remind ourselves that the Godhead works in harmony, and here we have an example of Jesus and the Spirit enabling the believer. It may be that what Paul means is that Jesus enables the believer by the Spirit.

 

A third area in which the Spirit reveals his love is when he functions as the Comforter, as Jesus promised he would do. The word so translated can be rendered in a variety of ways. In addition to Comforter, it can be translated by such words as Helper and Counsellor. No doubt, the Holy Spirit reveals his love as the Counsellor when he helps us understand and apply the teachings of the Bible to ourselves. How often does he reveal his love when we have been tempted by the enemy? Think of all the times he revealed his love when we needed to be restored after falling.

 

Double intercession

Two divine persons make intercession for God’s people. One does so in heaven and the other does so on earth. Jesus in heaven has the names of his people in his affections and in his power (seen symbolically in the Old Testament high priest who had the names of Israel on his heart and on his shoulders). The Holy Spirit on earth, within us, makes intercession with groans that cannot be uttered, as Paul says in Romans 8. What does the image of groaning say to us about the love of the Spirit? Does it not point to him yearning for something to occur within us and through us? Here, in his appeal to the Romans, Paul mentions the two intercessors. I suppose the Romans would get the message: how can they not pray for Paul if Jesus and the Holy Spirit are already doing so?

 

No doubt, we may wonder why Jesus and the Spirit would want us to pray for such things. But that kind of question is the same as asking why Jesus and the Spirit want us to witness to people since they could bring salvation without our involvement. The only answer we can give is that they tell us to get involved. And is that not what Paul is indicating here? It would say something about the Roman Christians if they refused to pray for Paul after such an exhortation from him.

 

Surprising words

Sometimes the Bible uses surprising words when describing God. For example, he uses various human activities to illustrate his work. There are at least two such words used of the Holy Spirit, and I would suggest that they reveal his love. One is the word ‘groan’ and the other is the word ‘grieve’. 

I wonder how often the Holy Spirit has groaned on our behalf. That is a good question to ask ourselves. After all, he has been with us since he regenerated us. Think of some of the decisions you made this past week. How did the indwelling Spirit respond? Of course, the groaning could be anticipatory in intent, because he knows that one day we will be sinless.

 

Then there is the word ‘grieve’. Grieving is usually connected to love; it is an expression that highlights our sense of loss or disappointment. But when it is used of God the Holy Spirit, what does it mean? We are meant to think about that. 

 

Why does the Spirit show his love?

No doubt many reasons could be given in this regard. I will mention two. First, we should think back to the eternal counsels when the God of love made their plan. The Holy Spirit was as involved as the Father and the Son. When your name was considered, the three persons thought of you lovingly. Second, we should think forward to the day of the resurrection when you will be presented in glory. Why does the Spirit express his love to you now? Because he is looking ahead to that wonderful day when he will have completed the work of your salvation.