3.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• Jesus Christ had true joy, because he was anointed by the Holy Spirit.
• Through the Holy Spirit, we can share in the joy of Jesus.
• We have joy because we know we are saved.
• We have joy because we have assurance that we belong to God.
• We have joy when we see how others are blessed by the gospel.
• We have joy even in suffering.

3.2 Galatians 5:22-23←⤒🔗

^5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

^5:23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

© NET Bible

3.3 John 15:9-17←⤒🔗

^15:9 Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love.

^15:10 If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

^15:11 I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.

^15:12 My commandment is this – to love one another just as I have loved you.

^15:13 No one has greater love than this – that one lays down his life for his friends.

^15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

^15:15 I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father.

^15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

^15:17 This I command you – to love one another.

© NET Bible

3.4 Jesus, the Man of joy←⤒🔗

In the passage that we have read, Jesus tells his disciples to obey him by loving each other. Then he says, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). Yes, Jesus had perfect joy in his heart. Although he suffered more than any other person, he always had this joy.

How could Jesus always have joy in his heart? We find the answer in Psalm 45. This Psalm is a prophecy of Jesus Christ. In verse 7 it says, “God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” In the Old Testament, oil was a sign of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit. It was an anointing of joy! That is why Jesus could always have joy, even when he faced challenges and pain.

Joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit gives us joy in God. For example, in Luke 10:21 we read, “Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.’”

The good news is that we also have the same Spirit! Jesus also wants us to share in his joy (John 15:11). The joy that the Holy Spirit gives is a joy that no one and nothing can take away from us. It can be there in our hearts, even when we also experience suffering and sadness. That is why we read in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

3.5 Joy of salvation←⤒🔗

Our joy is the joy of salvation. We know that we were saved by God from our sins and from death. Deuteronomy 33:29 says, “Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord?”

Before Jesus went up to his Father in heaven, he blessed his disciples. He helped them to understand that they were saved and forgiven by God. That is why they could return to Jerusalem “with great joy” (Luke 24:52).

Jesus is also full of joy about our salvation. He was willing to die on the cross “for the joy set before him” (Hebrews 12:2). He knew that he would have the joy of saving the people of God. Jesus also says that there is great joy in heaven whenever someone comes to faith in Jesus Christ (Luke 15:7).

3.6 Joy of assurance←⤒🔗

Our joy is also the joy of assurance. The Holy Spirit makes us know for certain that we are children of God. The Spirit helps us to trust God, so that we will call God “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). We are full of joy because we know we belong to God, and nothing can take us away from him.

Sometimes we forget these things. Our sins feel too big and we feel far away from God. That is when we must hold on to the promises of God. He is faithful to his promises, even if we are not always faithful. Our feelings go up and down, but his love for us is always the same. When you have sinned, you can pray like David, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Psalm 51:12).

3.7 Joy of gospel blessing←⤒🔗

The Spirit also gives us the joy of gospel blessing. We can be glad when we see how other people are blessed by the gospel. Paul said to the church in Thessalonica, “You are our glory and joy” (1 Thessalonians 2:20). John said, “I have no greater joy than these things, that I should hear of my children walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4).

We can have true joy when we see how God saves other people, and how he works in their lives. That is why there is joy when the church of God comes together. That is also why evangelism (telling the gospel to others) is a joyful thing.

3.8 Joy in suffering←⤒🔗

Finally, the Spirit gives us joy in difficult times. It is possible for a Christian to have joy in the middle of suffering. The church in Thessalonica was like this. They suffered for their faith, but they still believed the gospel “with the joy given by the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

When we live by the Holy Spirit, we can look further than our suffering. We can see the kingdom that God is preparing for us. Jesus says, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:11-12).

True joy is more than just happiness. True joy is given to us by the Holy Spirit, and it stays with us in good times and in bad times. No matter your situation, you can walk by faith. You can be filled with true joy.