We thank you for joining us again today. We are looking at some of the great treasures and riches that are ours in Christ. Last time we looked at fellowship in 1 John 1. I am going to look at 1 John again and look at something else today. Fellowship is there, and so is joy. That is our richness today: joy. One of our privileges is to have joy in Christ.
1 John 1:3-4 says, “what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.” Not only do we have this fellowship with God, with Christ, and with one another that we saw last time, but he also says that as we have this fellowship, as we live this way, John says that our joy will be made complete. Now, this passage, in all reality, could be translated one of two ways.
John could be saying that his own personal joy is complete because of the way these people are living their lives and the fellowship he can have with them, or he could also be saying that our joy, our personal joy, is made complete because of our fellowship with Christ and walking and living in the Light. Either way we go there, it is pretty good stuff. We can have joy in Him. So, joy is one of those privileges and riches we have in Christ.
When we think of joy we often think of Philippians as the book of joy. The words joy and rejoicing are found numerous times in Philippians. I want to look at a few verses and see where joy can be found. We must distinguish at this point between joy and what most people would consider happiness. Happiness is more of an external thing. It is something we have when the circumstances are all lined up just right, when good things are happening, and we have this happy spirit. Joy is a deeper, more intense thing that can be with us even in times of trial, sorrow, heartache, and grief because there is an intense settled position of joy within us as Christians. So, it is not so much an outward exuberance or emotion, it is a settled position in Christ. So, as Christians, no matter what our situation in life, we can know joy. Paul writes this particular book from a prison. So, his circumstances are not the best and he talks often about joy and the need for joy . . .
