That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God (Ephesians 3:17-19). When you are established in divine love, you are full of God; and you have living reality of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The grace of God is abounding for you; all of God’s promises are available to you, and all your needs are being supplied through Christ Jesus. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work (II Corinthians 9:8).

Being rooted and grounded in divine love means your faith in Christ is firmly established. The Bible says, Faith which worketh by love (Galatians 5:6). When you are rooted in divine love, no man or devil will be able to uproot your faith in Christ; and nothing will cause you to draw back on God.

If you are struggling in the faith and don’t seem to be receiving the benefits of the Lord according to His Word, examine your divine love. How much of it do you possess, and how much is working within you on a daily basis?

Paul Was Rooted in Divine Love

The Apostle Paul’s spiritual roots ran deep in divine love; and as a result, no other apostle gave more of himself to the whole will of God. He was the only apostle who never saw Christ in the flesh; yet through the Holy Ghost and divine love, no one possessed more understanding and insight of Christ than Paul did.

Paul suffered much to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ; yet through it all, he was able to write, For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38,39).

When a life is rooted and grounded in divine love like Paul’s was, the Kingdom of God will be blessed and magnified; and the person’s love light will shine bright to souls out in the dark night of sin.

A Restless, Empty Society

The world today is in a state of turmoil and restlessness. People are continually dissatisfied and are always searching for peace, happiness and contentment in this life; yet they are unable to find it. Jesus spoke of this generation saying, And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold (Matthew 24:12).

You can find people living empty lives in every part of our society. Some are ruining their lives by abusing drugs and alcohol; some are obsessed with making money, and others are consumed with sports and entertainments. But all are trying to divert their attention from the emptiness within them.

Our society has become one that loves pleasures more than God. It is morally decaying because of a lack of love, and the storm clouds of tribulation are beginning to gather on the horizon; but between now and those storm clouds arriving, there are souls yet to be won for God’s Kingdom. That is why the Bride of Christ must be a shining light of truth.

The Bride must be filled with answers, not questions; and she will have the peace of God, which passeth all understanding (Philippians 4:7). She will be full of the Holy Ghost and full of divine love. Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Romans 5:5). To be properly rooted and grounded in the love of God, you must not only be baptized in the Holy Ghost but be yielded to Him daily.

Love Casts Out Fear

In this life, every child of God will encounter fear in one form or another; but when that fear moves in, just yield your mind and your spirit to the love of God through the Holy Ghost who abides within you. Then all the fear will go. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love (I John 4:18). Divine love is the perfect remedy for any kind of fear that comes against you.

Many Christians think they can produce divine love, but it is impossible for people to generate divinity within themselves. The person of the Holy Ghost is the one who produces divine love within; and He keeps it circulating in your mind, your spirit and your soul as you stay yielded to Him.

Galatians 5:22,23 lists the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit that He produces within a person, and the first one is divine love. It is the Holy Ghost who makes a person perfect in divine love.

The Bride Has No Fear

Divine love in operation will make the Bride of Christ a terror to Satan’s kingdom. Who is she [the Bride] that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners (Song of Solomon 6:10)?

Because of divine love, the Bride of Christ will not fear Satan and his kingdom or people’s opinions and persecutions. She will continually stand for truth in this society of compromise for she knows the fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe (Proverbs 29:25).

The Bride of Christ will not fear when diseases and afflictions come against her because the divine love within her will make every promise of healing a reality to her. When sickness does come, she will know that with his [Jesus’] stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

The Bride of Christ will not fear the future because divine love says, Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself (Matthew 6:34). She knows that God holds all of her tomorrows in His hands and that He is big enough to take care of whatever she needs.

The Bride of Christ will not fear all the troubling events coming upon the face of the Earth for she knows they are just signs of the times and end-time prophecies being fulfilled. Instead of being full of worry and fear, the Bride will work harder and hurry faster to make all things ready for her Master’s return.

Love Those Who Persecute You

Divine love goes far beyond human love. Jesus said, But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:44,46,48). The Lord is commanding His children to be perfect in divine love through the person and the power of the Holy Ghost.

As the Son of man, Jesus was made perfect in divine love; and that love within gave Him the courage to go to Calvary and to suffer and die for the sins of the human race. Without divine love in operation, there would have been no Calvary because the Bible tells us that Jesus despised the shame of the Cross. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus endured the Cross for the joy of seeing multitudes of people rescued from an eternal hell and receiving eternal life in Heaven.

Divine blood gave Jesus clear vision of souls coming into the Kingdom, and it gave Him the strength on the Cross to ask forgiveness for those who had crucified Him. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).

Jesus forgave so many of us who were unworthy and living in sin. We had betrayed our Lord and made it necessary for Jesus to have to come into this cruel world and suffer endless troubles, sorrows and heartaches. Still, when we presented ourselves to Him in great sorrow and need, He loved us, forgave us and gladly welcomed us into His Kingdom.

Love Covers All

And above all things have fervent charity [love] among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8). If divine love will cover a multitude of sins, then surely divine love will cover misunderstandings and hurt feelings caused by what people have said or done.

To get this Gospel to the world, divine love must be in operation at all times in the midst of God’s people. They must work together in harmony as one unit. Jesus warned, If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand (Mark 3:25).

Divine love in operation by the person of the Holy Ghost will cover those times when things don’t seem to be going your way, and it will quench any spirits of bitterness and resentment that seek to take hold of you. Divine love does not pout or hold a grudge against anyone.

Jesus said, A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:34,35). Jesus did not say His disciples would be identified by their works, their speech, the giving of their finances, their title or the position they held in the church. He said they would be known by the divine love they shared within the body of Christ.

Characteristics of Divine Love

I Corinthians 13 is known as the love chapter; and it tells you that without divine love operating in your life, your words are just a clamor and a noise in the ears of God. Without divine love, the gifts from God in your life are worthless; your wisdom and knowledge are empty, and your faith is in vain. Without divine love in operation, your works, labors and sacrifices will profit you nothing.

Children of God are members of the divine family, and they must continually examine themselves to determine whether or not divine love is in operation in their lives as it should be. Can the characteristics mentioned in the following verses be found in your life? Charity [love] suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth (I Corinthians 13:4-8).

The Bible tells us that only the things we do in divine love will be rewarded by God. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire (I Corinthians 3:11-15).

Only what you do in divine love will stand the test of divine fire; and those are the things Paul described as works of gold, silver and precious stones. All other works done with selfish motives and for the praises of men, works done in a spirit of discontentment, dissatisfaction, grumbling, murmuring and complaining will be destroyed. Those are the works Paul described as wood, hay and stubble; and they will be destroyed by divine fire.

The Churches of Revelation

In Revelation, Jesus addressed the church at Ephesus. He recognized the people’s works, their unceasing labors and their intolerance for sin; yet He rebuked them because divine love was not operating in their midst. They had lost their first love, so all their works and labors were worthless. The Lord instructed them to repent or He would remove His presence from them as a church.

Jesus then addressed the church at Philadelphia. He recognized the people’s good works and commended them for living according to the Word of God and for being true and faithful representations of Him. We know the people in that church were full of divine love because when Jesus was on Earth, He said, If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love (John 15:10). The people in that church were abiding in God’s love.

Jesus went on to tell them, I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name (Revelation 3:8). That does not mean those people were physically weak. It means that because they lived according to the Word of God and stood for pure truth, they were not popular.

The majority of the people in Philadelphia at that time were not a part of the church, but that is how it has always been for the true people of the Lord—when people stand for truth, they are always in the minority. Jesus said, If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you (John 15:19).

Because the church in Philadelphia was faithful, full of love and kept the Word of God, Jesus gave the people a mighty opportunity—an open door that no man could shut. Today, that open door is technology that allows us to take the Gospel to the whole world.

Be Ready to Go

In this final hour, I encourage you to live your life rooted and grounded in divine love. Keep the Word of the Lord, be a doer of the Word and abide in His love. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (James 1:22-25).

Jesus continued to address the church at Philadelphia saying, Because thou hast kept the word of my patience [abided in my love], I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown (Revelation 3:10,11). Until that day, we must finish the work God wills for us to do; and then Jesus will return to take His Bride to Heaven.