The Fullness of Joy

THE FULLNESS OF JOY
Sunday, June 12, 2022

These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11).

The basis of Christian joy is not in ourselves, but in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul affirms the words of Jesus in this text by saying (Philippians 4:4), Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! The measure in which we experience this joy is determined by our daily fellowship with the Lord. (1 John 1:3-4), . . . that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. It is, in essence, what Jesus has said in John 15:11, These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 

‘These things’ refers to all that Jesus has spoken regarding our fellowship with Jesus and the conditions upon which this fellowship is realized. Joy is not circumstantial, it is relational. When our relationship to Jesus is as it should be (love for the Father, love for Jesus, love for others, obedience to His commands, etc.), then His joy is made full (complete; perfected) in us. When fellowship with the Lord is broken through sin (which is to ignore or disregard ‘these things’), His joy in us diminishes. The example is noted in King David’s sin with Bathsheba (Psalm 51).

David had sinned against the Lord egregiously. His was the ‘sin of a high hand’, meaning there was no sacrifice that could be offered for a sin that was willfully and defiantly committed. (Numbers 15:29-31), You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them. But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.

The consequence of David’s sin was that he no longer enjoyed peace with God and joy in the Lord. He cried out to the Lord (Psalm 51:4-12) Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight . . . Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. We know that the Lord did forgive David, not by any sacrifice he brought to the Lord, but by his godly sorrow and repentance for sin. His joy in the Lord was restored, just as it is with all who will repent of sin and turn back to the Lord. (51:17) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart - these, O God, You will not despise. Amen.

Pastor