CHAPTER 14
The Fulness of Love

If the fruit of the Spirit is love and, as Paul explains, "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost" (Romans 5:8), then the fulness of the Holy Spirit is absolutely vital to any teaching on love. After all, God Himself is love.

In past years I have always winced a bit when I have heard some of the older saints praying "Lord, fill us with thy love," No more. Terminology is not that important. But reality is. And the revolution of love has brought reality to thousands of Christians.

There are obvious dangers in setting out one's points: one, two, three. Usually, the Holy Spirit is much more imaginative and responsive than our sterile logic would dictate.

Nevertheless, for clarity's sake, if nothing else, here is how I believe you can be filled with God's love and the Holy Spirit.

1. You must be saved. Saved is a biblical word. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16::l1), is still very good Bible teaching.

The Campus Crusade for Christ movement has made it increasingly clear to thousands of evangelicals who wish to share their faith, that God has a wonderful plan for all. But men, all of them, have sinned and spoiled God's plan. Fortunately, God has supplied a remedy through Christ's sacrificial death on the cross. And the Crusade people properly conclude, salvation must be individually and personally received. "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God" (John 1:12).

For those of you who are perhaps not even religious but have been reading this book, searching for the revolution of love, I have something very important to say to you.

You must be saved. You must know Christ personally. And when you have found Him you will know it. "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16).

The gate that leads to the revolution of love is spiritual conversion. It is the only gate and there is no other approach to God but through His Son Jesus Christ. "There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).

2. You must have a right motive. Amazingly enough, thousands of Christian believers seek God with wrong motives.

"We must decide," said one man of God, "whether the Holy Spirit is a power that we are to take hold of and use, or whether the Holy Spirit is a personal being Who is to take hold of and use us."

3. You must be obedient. Acts 5:32 speaks of "the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him." Obedience is what a rebellious and unregenerate heart resents and resists. On the other side, obedience is the Christian's key to power and blessing. Included in obedience is consecration, surrender, yieldedness, confession and restitution. The all-inclusive word obedience allows for no resistance, resentment or rebellion. It calls instead for a military and instant response to God. This obedience in every area of life is a condition for the fulness of love.

There is no better rule for the hungry heart than, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it" (John 2:5).

4. You must dethrone self. Earlier in this book we have made clear that the self-life is an obstacle to the fulness of the Spirit and the revolution of love. Death to self is the door to life in the Spirit. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2).

5. You must be spiritually hungry. "They that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). This matter of spiritual hunger cannot be overstated. In our journeys to many countries and here in North America we have yet to see a single person have a deep encounter with the Lord without first having a near insatiable thirst for God.

6. You must believe. "Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).

Like loving, believing is something one does. I am going to believe. I do believe. I have believed. It is a spiritual transaction, and the proof of its accomplishment is spiritual reality.

7. You must share your faith. It is highly important to believe that God fills you with love and the Holy Spirit. But there is a world waiting for your love. There are thousands of lost around you.

St. Paul had been filled with the Holy Spirit. And he expressed it this way, "The love of Christ constraineth me. . ." (II Corinthians 5:14a). Moved and motivated by love, the great missionary plunged on, not driven, but compelled, wishing himself even to be accursed if he might win his lost brethren to Christ.

We can do no less than passionately love the lost. Invite them to Christ. Love your Christian brothers and sisters. Tell them so. And show them by your thoughtful deeds.

Jesus recognized this important principle. First He spoke the healing words. Then to the man with the withered hand He gave the impossible command: Do. "Stretch forth your hand" (Matthew 12:13).

Dr. John Sung, a flame for God in China and the Far East, had a remarkable ministry among Christian believers. One of the keys to it all was the emphasis on doing. Certainly there was fine Bible teaching in his crusades, and great blessing in the churches. But he would not allow them: to stop there. They had to share. Go out. Do.

Similarly, the Lay Institutes for Evangelism, conducted by Campus Crusade for Christ all across America and Canada, are distinct and revolutionary because of one key factor - those who attend the seminars and soak up the spiritual atmosphere go out to share their faith door to door. To do.

The Rev. D. James Kennedy of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Florida was singularly unsuccessful in his effort to teach witnessing to his people - till he began to do it with them. The "Evangelism Explosion" that is still unfolding there is contemporary church history in the making.

Doing is not a key to open to us the door of faith. But doing is the nearly forgotten key to the abundant life in Christ.

Finally (and this could be the most important paragraph in the entire book), love is not only a present responsibility. Love must be the continuing response that brings the revolution!