Romans 5:5 - The Love of God Shed Abroad in Our Hearts
Romans 5:5 KJV
“And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost which is given unto us.”
Opening Summary
Romans 5:5 reveals that the Christian life is not based merely upon knowing intellectually that God loves us. Paul speaks of the love of God being shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
The expression “shed abroad” carries the idea of something being poured out abundantly. God's love is not presented as a tiny drop reluctantly given, but as something poured into the believer's heart through the ministry of the Holy Ghost.
This verse appears in a passage about tribulation, patience, experience, and hope. Therefore, Paul is not describing God's love only during comfortable seasons. He is explaining why believers can continue hoping even while experiencing difficulty.
Our circumstances may change.
Our emotions may rise and fall.
But the Holy Ghost bears witness within us to the reality of God's love.
“And Hope Maketh Not Ashamed”
Paul begins with hope.
Biblical hope is not simply wishing that something good might happen.
Christian hope rests upon God's character, God's promises, and what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1 begins:
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The believer's hope therefore has a foundation.
We have been justified by faith.
We have peace with God.
We have access by faith into grace.
We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Then Paul explains that even tribulation cannot destroy this hope.
Tribulation Produces Something
Romans 5:3–4 says:
“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope.”
Paul does not say tribulation itself is pleasant.
He explains what God can produce through it.
Tribulation → patience.
Patience → experience.
Experience → hope.
And then:
“hope maketh not ashamed.”
The believer can endure difficult seasons because suffering does not mean God has stopped loving us.
That truth becomes even clearer in the remainder of verse 5.
“Because the Love of God”
Paul says:
“the love of God.”
In this context, the emphasis is upon God's love toward us.
And Paul immediately demonstrates that love in Romans 5:8:
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
How do we know God loves us?
We look to Christ.
The cross stands as the historical demonstration of God's love toward sinners.
God did not wait until we became worthy of His love.
“While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
“Is Shed Abroad”
This expression is especially beautiful.
The Greek verb behind “shed abroad” (ekcheō) means to pour out.
The same verb family is used elsewhere for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.
Paul therefore describes God's love as something that has been poured into our hearts.
This is abundance language.
God's love is not presented as scarce.
It is not measured out reluctantly.
It is poured out.
When you understand this, Romans 5:5 becomes deeply personal.
God does not merely want you to know the theological statement:
“God is love.”
Through the Holy Ghost, the reality of His love is made known within the believer.
“In Our Hearts”
God's love reaches the heart.
The heart in Scripture represents the inner person—the place of thought, desire, affection, intention, and conviction.
Christianity is not merely external religious observance.
God works within His people.
There are truths we understand intellectually, but the Holy Ghost works so that truth becomes deeply established within us.
You may read:
“God loves me.”
You may hear someone preach:
“God loves you.”
But there are moments when the Holy Ghost causes that truth to become deeply settled in your heart:
God truly loves me.
Not because I earned it.
Not because I performed perfectly.
But because love belongs to His character and has been demonstrated through Jesus Christ.
“By the Holy Ghost”
Notice who performs this inward work:
the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost does not draw attention away from God's love revealed through Christ. He makes that reality known within us.
This means Romans 5:5 is not merely positive thinking.
We do not repeatedly tell ourselves that God loves us until we convince ourselves emotionally.
There is divine activity involved.
The Holy Ghost pours the love of God into our hearts.
The Spirit bears witness to the reality of what God has accomplished for us through Christ.
“Which Is Given Unto Us”
The Holy Ghost is given.
He is God's gift to the believer.
Jesus promised His disciples another Comforter.
And after Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension, the Holy Ghost was poured out.
This means that Romans 5:5 also belongs within the larger story of redemption:
Christ died.
Christ rose.
Christ ascended.
The Holy Ghost was given.
And through the Holy Ghost, the love of God is poured into the hearts of His people.
God's Love Is Not Determined by Our Circumstances
This becomes especially important when we remember the context of Romans 5.
Paul has been discussing tribulation.
Sometimes difficulty causes us to ask:
“Does God still love me?”
Romans 5 answers that question by directing us away from circumstances and toward Christ.
A difficult season does not mean God has stopped loving you.
A delayed answer does not mean God has stopped loving you.
Tribulation does not mean God has abandoned you.
Your present circumstances are not the final measurement of God's love.
The cross is.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
His Love Poured Into Us Should Flow Through Us
There is another important application.
If God's love has been poured into our hearts, that love should increasingly become visible in the way we treat others.
God pours love into us, and His love begins producing fruit through us.
This connects beautifully with Jesus' command:
“Love your enemies.”
Human strength says:
“I cannot love someone who treated me that way.”
But Romans 5:5 reminds us that Christian love is not produced merely by human emotion.
The Holy Ghost is at work within us.
The love we have received from God becomes the source from which we learn to love others.
When You Feel Empty
There are times when we may feel emotionally empty.
We may say:
“I don't have anything left to give.”
Romans 5:5 directs our attention away from our limited human resources.
The source is not merely our love.
It is “the love of God.”
And the One pouring it into our hearts is the Holy Ghost.
We love because we have first received love from God.
This does not mean we never become tired, hurt, disappointed, or emotionally exhausted.
It means our ultimate source is greater than ourselves.
Personal Application
When you are experiencing tribulation, remember:
God loves you.
When circumstances make you question His presence:
Remember the cross.
When you feel spiritually empty:
Depend upon the Holy Ghost.
When someone is difficult to love:
Remember how God loved you.
When your hope is being tested:
Remember that hope maketh not ashamed.
Do not measure God's love by the difficulty of your present season.
Measure His love by what He has already demonstrated through Jesus Christ.
The cross says:
You are loved.
The giving of the Holy Ghost says:
You are not abandoned.
And Romans 5:5 declares:
“The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
God's love is not merely something we study.
It is something the Holy Ghost makes real within the heart of the believer.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your great love toward me. Thank You that Your love was demonstrated through Jesus Christ, who died for me while I was yet a sinner.
Father, when circumstances are difficult and my heart becomes discouraged, remind me that my circumstances do not determine whether You love me.
Holy Ghost, fill my heart with the knowledge and assurance of the Father's love. Let the love of God be shed abroad in my heart until fear, bitterness, rejection, anger, and hopelessness no longer control me.
When I feel empty, remind me that You are my source.
When I am hurt, help me to love.
When I am disappointed, help me to hope.
When I am weak, strengthen me.
When I struggle to love others, remind me of the love that God has already shown toward me.
Let Your love flow into my heart and through my life so that others may experience the love of Christ through my words, actions, compassion, patience, and forgiveness.
Thank You that I do not have to manufacture this love in my own strength. Your love has been poured into my heart by the Holy Ghost whom You have given.
May my life become an expression of the love I have received from You.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
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