God’s people are a joyful people. Joy is a hallmark of their character and influence in the world. This is not just a put-on of external happiness, but a deep well of joy and satisfaction in the Lord Jesus that is visible as fruit. As Christians, we have so much to be joyful about, yet a classic caricature of a Christian from the world’s perspective might be that we’re killjoys. The perception of Christianity is that it’s all rule-keeping and no fun.
We know from Galatians 5:22–23 that joy is a fruit of the Spirit, a product of spiritual life and health. Joy that can be visibly seen and enjoyed is a consequence of the Holy Spirit working grace in us daily. It is not forced or put on. Rather, it is natural and effortless because of an inward reality. The fruit of the Spirit is a product of the Spirit and not a product of man. Our vision of Him shapes our inclination and demeanor.
The fruit-producing work of the Spirit, where joy occurs simultaneously with love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, results in an abundant harvest within the church. Fruit means vitality and growth. It’s also a process, meaning that it is the regular work of the Spirit within us as He uses the Word, teaching, discipleship, and fellowship of the saints. It is a gradual work of sanctification within believers, resulting in congregations that effectively reach their communities. This is to be Christlike in thought and deed. But where does our joy truly come from?
The fruit of joy blossoms from the heart of God’s gracious work. His very indwelling by His Spirit gives joy because He Himself is joyful. This is far more than a superficial cheeriness or a passing happiness dependent on circumstance. Joy overflows from a heart wholly satisfied in Christ and daily takes delight in Him. Joy blossoms even in the most naturally melancholy believer, for our source is not a temperamental disposition, but the generous, life-giving work of God in which He gives Himself to us, filling us with Himself.
Joy as a fruit of the Spirit ensures the Spirit’s presence and enables us to rejoice in the Lord always, even when our circumstances are far from being happy. Paul says we are to rejoice in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4), drinking deeply of Jesus. Loving Jesus actively stirs our affections and deepens our joy in Him.
The preacher C.H. Spurgeon struggled through his life with depression. Yet, wonderfully, he was a man filled with joy. He said: “I commend cheerfulness to all who would win souls. . . . There are more flies caught with honey than with vinegar.”
When this spiritual fruit of joy takes root and multiplies, it yields an appetizing harvest of holiness, empowering believers against temptation by cultivating such a delight in God that inferior worldly delights lose their attraction. As Spurgeon observed, the joy of the Lord is and must be our strength, for those who enjoy close communion with our blessed and happy God cannot remain unaffected; they become like Him. This joyfulness makes Christians attractive, commending cheerfulness as a winsome means to draw souls, for far more are caught with sweet honey than with vinegar.
Thinking of things that taste bitter, we can have joy in the Holy Spirit even through affliction and persecution, through times of testing, hardship, and suffering. In Romans 5, Paul writes:
We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Rom. 5:3–5)
The consequence of our knowledge and assurance of God’s love toward us is a deep and unsinkable joy.
Furthermore, in 1 Peter 1:8, the Apostle talks of joy unspeakable and full of glory. Though we haven’t seen our Savior, yet loving and fully believing, we rejoice. Though, like these early believers, with faith tested severely, we can sing with full hearts, having joy that is so overwhelming that words might even fail us. This is a delicious taste of eternal glory, where we will possess such joy and rejoice before the Lamb of God. Yes, there will be a marriage supper with the Lamb, full of joy, feasting, and glory.
Ligonier Ministries