We all like getting a pleasant surprise—like a friend’s visit, or an unexpected kindness. And joy is like that. It’s always a gift—something over and above what we’ve deserved or worked for. And, it’s always better than we thought it would be.
God has made us for joy, and we function properly when it’s flowing well—even if gently, and underneath the surface. And, as we have seen, he’s provided us with ample material to put a genuine smile on our faces.
Paul gives us a window into this when he writes to his beloved church in Philippi. He’s shared his life with the believers there, and they with him. And he wants the joy they’ve shared to continue.
Their story starts with a jailer being converted. The full account needs to be enjoyed as Luke tells it.[i] We just note here, that what happens to Paul and Silas in Philippi is cruel and unjust. They sit in their prison with their backs bloodied and their feet in stocks. But then, they start singing!
Then, God reveals his presence with an earthquake. The prison is no longer secure. The jailer is ready to suicide, but Paul says all the prisoners are still present and correct. And he shares the good news of Christ with him.
The jailer and his whole family believe and are saved. He takes his new prisoner-friends into his home—possibly next door—tends their wounds and feeds them. And the meal they share celebrates the fact that they have all believed in God.[ii] No need for balloons and jokes at this party!
Now, possibly a decade later, a rich relationship has formed between Paul and the church that has grown from this beginning. Paul writes to them—and again, he’s in another jail. But joy is still high on his agenda. He raises it about a dozen times in his brief letter.
So, what’s giving joy to Paul now? And how can we grow in joy ourselves? Here’s three of the main things he raises.
First, joy grows among those whose affections are widened by the gospel of grace.[iii]
Look at what gives Paul joy. It’s praying for his friends—friends who are actually partners in the gospel. He’s thinking of the good work God has done in them and will complete. They are ‘partakers with me of grace.’ People who know the same Lord and receive the same grace have a special bond.
Paul adds that he longs for them with the affection of Christ. He hasn’t just received grace. He’s let that grace shape his heart. The joy he feels is coming from the grace and love that Christ has for both him and for those he loves.
Christian joy belongs with love. The Holy Spirit produces them together—not as separate qualities. They are the first two of the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit.[iv]
So, the joy he’s talking about is not just the excitement of a reunion and memories of sharing a project. It’s a movement of his heart. Fun can bounce around easily. Joy belongs with loving.
I remember the person who taught me to play tennis. He was also the Bible teacher for the young people in our church. We knew he loved us, and one day, he said to us after a conversation around the tennis court, ‘God bless your little hearts. And may he expand them!’
This love starts with knowing that Christ has loved us—loved us ‘to the end’[v]. And it continues with ‘abiding in’ his love. He wants us to make ourselves comfortable there, and to practice the new habits appropriate to this affection.[vi]
Here is where loves grows. And where love grows, so does our capacity for joy!
Paul’s friends are not only receiving the same grace that he is, they are helping him in his proclamation.[vii] And, in fact, they’ve just sent him a gift.[viii] And this brings him great joy too.
Then again, Paul refuses to get upset by some people with the same gospel who are jealous of him and try to annoy him—so long as the gospel still goes out to others.[ix]
Nor does he mind getting beaten up at Philippi, if by this, people come to know the Saviour.[x] He doesn’t mind if bringing the gospel to him costs him his life. It would be his joy. And he wants his friends to feel the same about this.[xi]
Love is reigning! And the gospel is the way to spread the joy.
Second, it’s unity of heart and mind among believers that makes our joy complete.[xii]
Paul asks the Philippian Church to complete his joy by being like-minded. He doesn’t just mean being agreeable. He’s thinking about everyone thinking in the same way as Christ.[xiii] This is what gives joy to Paul, and one of the ways joy can come to us too.
There’s nothing like a good squabble to destroy joy! Particularly when it’s among people who are agreed on the gospel! Paul says it doesn’t need to be this way. There’s something we can do about it.
We can look at how Jesus thinks. We can have his ‘one mind’ together, and so, be in ‘full accord’. He even names two women who have shared with him in gospel ministry, and asks them to ‘agree in the Lord’.[xiv]
Paul is not talking about a dispute that can be resolved by an appeal to Scripture. He talking about differences that happen because of egos.
Jesus—who comes among us as fully God—empties himself of all priviledge to live among us, like us—apart from sin, to die on a cross. His whole life is focused on his Father’s will to do good for us. There’s not a selfish thought in him anywhere. This is our Saviour who is now established in power beside the Father.
Here is the love, and the unity of purpose, that explains the universe. Here is the message that heals the world. What joy when this outpouring of love—of Father and Son, for each other, and for us—begins to flow into our church community! And out into the world!
In the same way that Paul asks the Philippians to complete his joy by being of one mind, we need to bring joy to one-another by having this mind amongst ourselves. Is there any comfort in Christ? Are we comforted by his love? Is there any affection and sympathy in our gospel? Then it needs to show.
Paul tells us about Timothy who ‘genuinely cares for your welfare’, and about Epaphroditus who has been ‘longing for you all’. He asks the church to ‘receive him in the Lord with all joy…for he nearly died for the work of Christ’.[xv]
We’ll probably spend the whole of our life discovering the layers of self-interest that we all have. But real God-likeness will happen, really happen, when we focus on what manner of Lord we have.
When that work is complete, it will be heaven. Or, in heaven, it will be like that. We need some practice at being that way now!
And this is important for the world too. People around us need to see us being together—as one. It will be a witness to them. They will see our joy in being one in purpose and in heart.
Third, decide to be happy in the Lord.[xvi]
Paul tells us to ‘Rejoice in the Lord’. He raises it twice in his letter, and on the second occasion, repeats it for emphasis![xvii] He’s explained where joy is to be found, but we need to do it!
A British London pastor, George Muller, was called by God to open homes for children who’d been orphaned in the early 20th century. As the work developed, he led a team that cared for some 2000 children. Doubtless, he brought joy to many people.
But the thing that was most important to him, every day, was to have his ‘soul happy in God’. He wrote a small article called ‘Soul nourishment first’ where he describes his discovery of this need.[xviii]
When Paul first tells us to rejoice in the Lord, he follows it up by exhorting us to watch out for any who throw us back on our own resources.[xix] He’s been there! And he knows how sterile this is and how bitter it makes us. Now, he knows the surpassing worth of knowing Christ and makes this his goal. This is where joy flows.
The second time Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord, he follows it up with an exhortation to be gentle with others, and prayerful about our own needs.[xx]
We don’t need to be frustrated with people, and then, insist on everything working as we think it should. And we don’t need to be anxious about the threats and uncertainties of living in this precarious world. Paul is reflecting our Lord’s teaching: ‘Don’t be anxious about your life’.[xxi] But now, this Lord Jesus is ‘at hand’ and ready to act!
Paul may be asking us to think about the second coming of our Lord. That will be the time when everything will be sorted out. Not now! But Paul could also be asking us to think about how close the Lord is to us now. Jesus has told us he will be with us always. Either of these options are true. Either way, we can rely on the Lord.
It’s very easy for people or circumstances that take centre-stage in our attention and affections. And all this while, the Lord ‘waits to be gracious’ to us.[xxii] The heart of our Advocate in heaven ‘grows warm and tender’. He cannot give us up.[xxiii]
In other words, if we live in the knowledge that the Lord is rejoicing over us, it becomes easier for us to rejoice in the Lord.[xxiv]
So, we need to know and to remember that everything we can see and use has come from what we can’t see.[xxv] God has spoken, and so everything has its existence.
And now, it’s the same with joy. We can’t see our Lord. We can’t hear his voice. But when we believe his word, a tangible joy begins to grow where before there was nothing. Joy is a sign that God’s new creation is coming, and even now, we are tasting its beginnings.
[i] Acts 16:16-40
[ii] Acts 16:34
[iii] Phil. 1:3-8
[iv] Gal. 5:22
[v] John 13:1; Gal 2:20
[vi] John 15:9
[vii] Phil. 1:7
[viii] Phil. 4:10
[ix] Phil. 1:16-18
[x] Phil. 1:18-26
[xi] Phil. 2:14-18
[xii] Phil. 2:1-11
[xiii] Phil. 1:27; 2:2, 5
[xiv] Phil. 4:2
[xv] Phil. 2:19-30
[xvi] Phil. 3:1; 4:4-9
[xvii] Phil. 3:1; 4:4
[xviii] The article can be read here. < https://www.georgemuller.org/devotional/soul-nourishment-first >
[xix] Phil. 3:2-11
[xx] Phil. 4:4-9
[xxi] Matt. 6:25
[xxii] Isa. 30:18
[xxiii] Hos. 11:8-9
[xxiv] Zeph. 3:17
[xxv] Heb. 11:3
Simply True 