knowing God – Simply True

The Joy of the Lord

Seeking pleasure is a major occupation for the human race. And this is understandable. We’ve been wired for joy by our Creator. Of course, we’d all like joy to be simple—like getting out of bed and thinking how wonderful the day will be. But life is more complicated than that.

Trying to squeeze some joy out of circumstances is frustrating, and eventually, futile. But God has sent his Son among us announcing ‘good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.’ So, it’s important to hear what he has to say to us.

Strangely, it’s in the few hours before his arrest, and his death, that our Lord has a lot to say about joy[i]—even though his own life is being threatened, and the disciples can see their world crumbling. He explains the joy that is sustaining him.[ii] He also promises to give this joy to us.[iii]

Together with these disciples, we need to hear our Lord and enter into what he promises. He gives us four good reasons, and encouragements, to be joyful. It’s important to be looking in the right place.

Four points is a bit long for a blog. But perhaps you can last the distance, or save a couple of them for later!

First, we should enjoy Jesus being where he is—sitting, gloriously, with his Father (14:27-28).

This may sound a strange place to begin, but it’s where Jesus starts when he wants to explain the joy he is going to give us. Jesus is going to the Father in heaven. And he says that if they loved him, they’d be glad.

From the point of view of the disciples, Jesus, going away isn’t an occasion for joy. They’ve been dependent on him for three years. I can imagine their dismay. Haven’t they loved him? And shouldn’t they want him to remain among them?

But Jesus has been talking a lot about going to the Father in these precious hours. And he’s going to prepare a place for them as well—in his Father’s home. And shortly, he will ask the Father to restore him to the glory he left behind. It’s what he wants. And he wants us to see him in this glory.

We are destined to see the Father’s love for his Son—gloriously displayed.[iv] We’ll be watching the ‘heart throb’ of the whole creation, because everything has been made by the Father and for his Son.

Well, if this is the Son’s future, shouldn’t we be glad for him? And then, if we’re invited to share in this revelation of love and glory, shouldn’t we be glad for ourselves?

We all need to lift our eyes to higher levels—to what is invisible. We need to rely on what we can’t manage—a kingdom that’s ruled by Jesus, sitting in the Father’s presence.

You will probably remember the disciples coming back from a mission trip and being impressed that evil spirits were subject to them. Jesus was deeply moved by their success. The reign of evil was being confronted. But he told them their joy needed to be elsewhere. ‘…rejoice that your names are written in heaven’.[v] We all need to lift our eyes to where Jesus is pointing if we want to know the joy he is talking about.

Second, we need to enjoy sharing in the flow of Christ’s love (John 15:9-12).[vi]

Children understand love by seeing their mum and dad love each other. It’s not so much taught as caught. And this is the environment for them to learn to love other people.

This may help us understand that Jesus is calling us to live in his loving. He, of course, is living in his Father’s love. This shapes all he is and does. We may feel unable to rise to this way of living, but Jesus shows that as we trust him and obey him, the joy he has in being loved by the Father is shared by us. This is how our joy will rise up and be ‘full’.

Love is the environment in which joy flourishes. We can probably recognise that this is where our own real and lasting joys have come from.

But loving is not simple. It’s being wholly focussed on the welfare of another. It’s going against the tide of our tendency to be self-focussed. But it is what God is, it is the way Jesus lived among us, and it is what we are being shaped for.

The disciples have been receiving this love of the Father reflected in his Son. And now, Jesus tells us to make ourselves at home inside his loving—to ‘abide in his love’.

This is not merely a doctrine we are supposed to believe. And it’s not an experience we may sometimes feel. It’s a settled reality in which we can live—by faith.

We’ll look at what Paul has to say about joy later on, but notice how he sums up what his life is about. ‘The life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.’[vii]

And now, this love needs to flow. Jesus commands us to love one-another. He wants us to enjoy the flow of love that begins in heaven, pours out in his own flesh, embraces us, and then emboldens us to love.

In this way, Jesus has opened up to us the secret of his joy. And this is the joy he is giving to us now. It’s flowing to us, and through us, and out into the world.

Third, let’s enjoy Christ’s victory (16:20-22; 20:20)

Perhaps this is the easiest joy to understand. As Jesus speaks to the disciples in these hours, he is going away, but will return. And then, they will be joyful! He’s talking about his resurrection. And when Jesus does stand before the eleven again, they do experience an amazing joy. And Jesus says that no-one will be able to take their joy from them.

This is the way it is for all of us who trust in Jesus Christ. We don’t just have a Jesus who is alive. We have a Lord who is greater than death, greater than our sins and the outcomes these lead to, greater than the world, and the devil who leads it. And this Lord Jesus is present with us.

It’s a win-win-win situation. Peter sums it up beautifully for us in his letter: ‘We’ve been born again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.’ He’s telling us about his own conversion—and about ours.

We need to think often of this victory Jesus has gained over the enemies of our joy. We need to read the promises he’s made. We need to savour the joy he has had in doing this for us.

Life can be miserable! But, as David says, ‘There is a stream which makes glad the city of God!’

Fourth, enjoy the Father, and seek things from him—in Jesus’ name (16:23-27).

The disciples have been asking Jesus lots of questions.[viii] What will they do when he’s not around? Confusion and joy don’t usually belong together!

Jesus says ‘in that day’—the day of fulfilment, when the Holy Spirit has come, they won’t be asking questions as they are now. The Spirit will be with them, in them, revealing Christ to them. Jesus himself will be with them—in this new way.

Of course, there will still be questions. But they’ll know who they are and where they stand! They will know that—through Jesus—they are welcome in the Father’s presence.

Sometimes, it’s not answers that we need. It’s fellowship with God. When this gift is given, some of our questions drop away. We are in his presence.

And Jesus also says that they, and we, will be free to approach the Father in Jesus’ name and ask for what we want. Jesus specifically says he won’t do this praying. Of course, he will intercede for us, but not get in the road of our praying. He wants us to have that joy—with him! It’s as though he takes us by the hand and leads us directly to his Father—as our Father in heaven. This is our new home.

So, ‘Ask and receive, that your joy may be full.’ The Father is predisposed to hearing and granting what we ask. After all, we are asking in Jesus name. We’ve learned what to ask for by heeding his word. This is the fourth time he’s spoken about this in these precious hours.[ix] Having the Maker and Redeemer of the world as our listening Father brings great joy.

This is the way our lives become fruitful—that is useful in the lives of others. And this, Jesus says, is also a source of joy. We’re not helpless. We have agency. We can always do something. We can pray.

Let me encourage us all to walk in the joy of the Lord Jesus! He’s disclosed to us the preciousness of his own relationship with the Father. Better than that, he’s sharing it with us. Our Lord Jesus wants us to enjoy where he is, participate in the outflow of his divine love, live in the light of his victory, and have lives full of meaning.

[i] John 14—17

[ii] Heb. 12:2

[iii] John 15:11; 17:13

[iv] John 17:24

[v] Luke 10:20

[vi] John 15:9-17

[vii] Gal. 2:20

[viii] There’s been 7 questions in the narrative section (chapters 13-16) leading up to this point.

[ix] John 14:13; 15:7, 16; and here.

The fellowship making Spirit—John 14

Here is some of the best news about the Holy Spirit that we have. Jesus sends him to us as another Helper, like himself.

Because he lives in us, we truly know our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father, and ourselves participating in relationship with them. All of this is miracle. And all of this is God’s kindness to us.

It’s good to realise that Jesus tells us these things at a time when everything is falling apart for the disciples. Official hatred of Jesus is at boiling point. Jesus has told the disciples they will all fail badly. And Jesus says he’s going to leave them.

They need some help! But Jesus doesn’t give them a motivational seminar! He doesn’t gift his disciples with special powers. He promises to send them another Helper—like himself. And he promises them a future so joyously related to God that their troubles will seem quite different. They will be seeing life as God does, rather than from below.

These verses have special relevance to the disciples. They are being prepared—as apostles—to declare and explain and record all that Jesus will accomplish. They will need the Holy Spirit’s help to do this[i]. But the same Spirit is promised to everyone who turns to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and new life[ii].

When it comes to knowing God, Jesus has been the go-to person for the disciples. If they have wanted to know how God rules the world, Jesus tells them—or shows them. If they have wanted eternal life, Jesus grants it. If they have wanted to pray, Jesus teaches them how. And much besides. No wonder they don’t want him to leave!

But Jesus insists it will be better if he goes and the Holy Spirit comes.

He says that the disciples already know the Holy Spirit. They have been watching him at work in Jesus—directing and empowering all he has done. But this same Holy Spirit will soon be in the disciples.

This is what Jesus opens up for us too. It’s what we need—even more than having Jesus physically present. And here’s why.

In the first place, we need the Spirit to come to us because, when he does, Jesus has come to us. And we are alive to God[iii].

We’re not accustomed to talking about people being in one another. In fact, it sounds intrusive. But when it comes to God the Father and Jesus his Son, and the Holy Spirit, this is the language we need. And Jesus uses it freely[iv].

It’s love language. God doesn’t text us. He doesn’t outsource his saving work to the church. He comes to us, as Spirit, in communion with the Son and the Father. We are being treated as family—God’s family.

So, the disciples won’t be abandoned like orphans. The Spirit will come. And in this action, Jesus will love them and reveal himself to them[v]. It won’t be ‘like old times.’ It will be better.

This is true for us too. We are Christians because Christ has sent his Spirit to be in us. And he hasn’t come alone. Jesus has come to be in us, full of the new life he has created in his own flesh—a life freed from sin and set apart for God[vi].

And we know we are in Jesus. We are not alive because of what we do. He has embraced us—complete with our corruptions and frailty[vii]. He has welcomed us, chosen us and laid down his life for us. And through this journey, he has taken us to his Father—purified. And he is happy for it to be so. These chapters of John are full of his affection.

In the second place, we need the Spirit to come to us so that our understanding of God can grow. The Spirit enables us to see that the Son has always been living in his Father. And we know that the Father has always been living in his Son. This living in another didn’t begin with us[viii].

Jesus has shown us what it is like to live in his Father. He loves him. He looks at what his Father is doing and delights to share in it[ix]. He can’t do anything without his Father[x]. He asks to be vindicated by his Father[xi]. The idea of ‘being his own person’ would never have occurred to him.

And Jesus has shown us what it is like for the Father to live in him. The disciples should have recognised this[xii]. What they had seen in him was all produced by the Father. And it’s still true now. When we ‘see’ Jesus, we have seen the Father[xiii].

But when Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, we can see all this. We know that the Son is one with the Father in being God, one in love, one in action. And we know that the Father who loves his Son now loves us who are trusting in his Son[xiv].

This is why Jesus can be so emphatic at the beginning of this chapter in telling the troubled disciples not to be troubled. And why? Because there is plenty of room in the Father’s house for them all. The Spirit comes as the fellowship maker[xv]. In this ‘God-family’, everyone knows everyone—really and deeply!

Jesus is describing a relationship that is more than knowing about God or doing something for him. It’s having fellowship or communion with him. God has fellowship within himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are knowing this, not as something to work out but as something to appreciate and to share in.

In the third place, we need the Spirit to come to us because he replaces our old self-satisfaction with love for Jesus. Like Peter and the other disciples, the life that was focused on ourselves needs to die. Jesus asks us to abide in his love[xvi], to love him by doing what he says[xvii] and to love one another[xviii].

And he knows that we will love him[xix]. And we realise that in listening to Jesus, and obeying him, we’ve been loving him[xx]. We’ve seen the smallness of living by what we can create because we’ve started to admire and be captured by Jesus. And we are starting to live in a family of God where everything is as it should be, including us.

We tend to live in our accomplishments and human relationships and wonder why we are always on the edge of unsatisfied. Here’s why. We are built to know God and be known by God[xxi]. Remember Jesus saying to the disciples, after a very successful mission, don’t be happy because evil spirits are obedient to you. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven[xxii].

I’m glad that the Father sent the Son to tell us these things and to bring them into being[xxiii]. And I’m glad our three-personed God has sent his Holy Spirit to live within us so that what we know is not a theory or an accomplishment. It’s all love.

This is what we have been born for. And it’s more important than success or safety.

[i] John 14:25-29

[ii] Acts 2:33, 38-39

[iii]John 14:6, 18-19

[iv] One person being in another is used 15 times between 14:11—15:10, besides other ways of saying the same thing.

[v] John 14:21

[vi] John 16:13-15

[vii] John 13:38; 10:14-15

[viii] John 14:20

[ix] John 14:20

[x] John 5:19; 8:28

[xi] John 12:17-32

[xii] John 14:8-10

[xiii] 2 Cor. 4:6

[xiv] Eph. 1:6

[xv] 2 Cor. 13:14

[xvi] John 15:9-10

[xvii] John 14:15, 21-24

[xviii] John 15:12-17

[xix] John 16:27

[xx] John 21:15-17

[xxi] Gal. 4:9

[xxii] Luke 10:20

[xxiii] John 14:24

Obey Christ, and know you belong to him

There’s nothing more important than to know that we belong to Christ. While we can trust ourselves, that’s what we tend to do. While we can trust—or demand—that governments keep us ‘safe’, that’s what we tend to do.

But in the real world—the one God makes and rules, we need an Advocate. And we need to know that we know him.

John tells us how. We keep his commandments (2:3-6), particularly the command to love one another.

God never thinks obedience to him is hard (Deuteronomy 30:11-14). And Christ says it is easy to learn from and to follow him (Matthew 11:28-30). It’s not an accomplishment. It’s the way to live.

Here’s how it works.

Loving one another is what we learn to do when we first become Christians. Jesus teaches this and says it’s the way we relate to him and to the Father (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10).

These verses are amazing. We already know of the Father’s love for us as sinners, but now Jesus is telling us about the love he and his Father will have for us when we love him. It’s the certainty of this love relationship that we need if we are going to walk securely.

This command is new—or fresh. It’s not just something to remember and do. Christ is alive, shining on us, bringing us to life. As we enjoy him and love one another, the hateful darkness of sin and hate is being pushed back. His command is always coming to us, and being effective!

All of this is happening because Jesus reveals God’s love to us. This love is powerful, and costly. So, we love him! We like what he says. And we respond to his love by doing what he asks.

All this has a profound effect on us. Christ may have seemed distant, but now he is near. Christ’s loving is real. And so is ours! We are living in the same way Jesus did—loving our neighbour.

John’s doesn’t say we are doing this perfectly but that God’s love has done its work in us. After what we’ve been told about confessing our sin, John would hardly be telling us we’re already perfect! But our loving is real!

When we love like this, we’re in the light and don’t fall over hidden obstacles. Hatred, or self-interest, blinds us to what is happening around us, and in us. It leads to confusion. But love—coming from Christ and being passed on by us—helps us to see clearly.

On the other hand, if we pretend to know Christ and don’t like what he says, we’re not being real. We’re believing a lie, and we’re living it as well. Falsehood has invaded our inner life. How we need this love of Christ—in us! The world becomes confused by trying to make its own truth and its own love. But through obedience to Christ, we find certainty, purpose and hope. And all this, not because we are perfect. It works because the true light is shining, changing us, and because it reaches out to our broken world.