CHRIST: THE PURPOSE OF JOY

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always PRAY WITH JOY – Philippians 1:3-4

God wants all of His children to experience true joy in our lives. It bears repeating that JOY does not equate HAPPINESS. Happiness is an emotional response to good happening in our lives. Joy flows from an underlying understanding of the eternal truths of God in spite of whatever may be going on – positive or negative. This is most exemplified in the letter of Paul to the Christians in Philippi.

Even though Paul wrote from prison in Rome, he displayed many profoundly joyful expressions. In this brief epistle, the word “joy” occurs five times; while the verb “to rejoice” occurs eleven times. Little wonder, the epistle to the Philippians has often been called Paul's “hymn of joy”. Paul could praise God IN and FOR his prison experience because he saw the opportunity in opposition and the expectation of liberation. Imprisonment created opportunities for the gospel (vs.12-14), and opposition provided opportunities for preaching Christ (vs.15-18).

The first eleven verses describe Paul’s rejoicing in the saints; verses 12-20 describe how he rejoices even in great suffering. Paul always prayed with joy (1:4); rejoiced in preaching Christ (1:18); persisted in the joy of faith (1:25); rejoiced in sacrificial service (2:17); cared about the believers’ joy (2:28); and encouraged them to rejoice in the Lord (3:1; 4:4), even as he also “rejoiced in the Lord greatly” (4:10).

The primary theme of the book of Philippians is summarised in one word – JOY. The main truth of the epistle is that CHRIST is the main PURPOSE of a LIFE of JOY. When your mind is fully surrendered to Jesus Christ – the Word – you are empowered by the Holy Spirit to embrace and experience the joy of the Lord. That’s the purpose of our meditations this month, to allow the Word of Joy dwell in us richly and grant us access into realms of unspeakable joy.