The Fruit Of The Spirit: JOY

The world has a woeful shortage of joy and a surplus of fear, worry, discouragement and depression. Even the “pursuit of happiness” and obsessive pleasure-seeking do not bring deep and lasting joy.

Let’s first understand the difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is an emotion, and God never intended for people to be in that emotional state all the time. There is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4).

Biblical joy—the true joy—comes from filling the spiritual void with good relationships, primarily an intimate relationship with the One who is pure joy. Jesus put it this way: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit” (John 15:5). That fruit includes much joy!

The Bible speaks much more often of joy than of being happy. “Hap” means chance and is the root of several words— happen, happening, haphazard(dependent on mere chance), hapless, happenstance (a chance circumstance) and happy.

Happiness is a glad feeling that depends on something good happening. God wants you to experience happy times (as long as God approves of what is happening). But His greater desire is that you have unconditional joy. Jesus said His joy would “remain in you” and “your joy no one will take from you”(John 15:11; John 16:22, emphasis added throughout).

Think of joy as a strong foundation that supports a variety of healthy emotions, including happiness. The long-range evidence of joy is general gratitude, contentment, optimism, a sense of freedom and other positive attitudes.

Joy looks out and up, not inward

A common mistake is to think that getting something will make you happy. We tell ourselves, “If only …” But joy and happiness come much more from giving and serving than from getting.

The apostle Paul reminded his listeners that Jesus Christ had taught this very thing: “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving” (Acts 20:35, Today’s English Version).

To grow in joy, we must resist not only self-pity but also being self-centered and self-absorbed. For joy to flourish, we must focus on loving others and especially on loving God.

Joy is largely composed of gratitude —gratitude for the wonderful things God has done for us and His “exceedingly great and precious promises” for our future (2 Peter 1:4). Gratitude produces joy (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). And our gratitude should be for other people’s blessings as well as for our own (Romans 12:15).

Try to follow this biblical formula: Add to your life gratitude, humility, forgiveness, faith, hope, patience and love. Take away resentment, anger, fear, worry, materialism, greed, jealousy, complaining and pride. The result? Joy!

Joy is spiritual, supernatural and essential

God is joyful—far more than any human being ever was! It’s tragic that many people think of God as somber and stern rather than cheerful and smiling with a great sense of humor. He is enjoying His creation, and especially the delightful anticipation of many new “sons of God” (Romans 8:14; Romans 8:19).

True followers (imitators) of God will be joyful also. Psalms 68:3 says, “Let the righteous be glad; … let them rejoice exceedingly.” God desires that we serve Him “with joy and gladness of heart” (Deuteronomy 28:47).

Paul spoke of the “joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:6). It is through His Spirit that God shares and communicates His joy.

And when Paul lists the “fruit of the Spirit,” joy is second, preceded only by love (Galatians 5:22-23). If we are filled with godly love, won’t that produce joy? Of course it will.

Being second in the list surprises many people who mistakenly think joy is spiritually unimportant. Some religious people even shun joy, at least subconsciously, thinking that pious people should instead be solemn. A few even choose asceticism, which God abhors.

Joy is a major topic in the Bible. In the King James Version, “joy” appears 158 times and “rejoice” 198 times (not counting other variations such as joyful, joyfully, joyous, jubilant, happy and glad ).

Rejoice is the verb form of joy, meaning to feel or have joy! Clearly there is great emphasis in the Bible on feeling and expressing joy. That explains why the Bible also emphasizes prayers and songs that praise (celebrate) God (James 5:13; Colossians 3:16-17).

Joy is not optional. The Bible repeatedly commands us to rejoice! The most emphatic exhortation is in Philippians 4:4, where Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

Is it wrong to have sorrow?

The Bible describes two kinds of sorrow. “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Those who have joy frequently experience godly sorrow at the same time. It can be the sorrow of repentance toward God. Those who feel the worst about their sins feel the greatest joy about their forgiveness and God’s amazing grace.

Another example is mourning over the suffering of others while having the joy of knowing that God will eventually solve all problems (Matthew 5:4).

Worldly sorrow is generally self-pity or a victim mentality. While one indulges in worldly sorrow, it’s virtually impossible to have either godly sorrow or joy.

Isaiah’s prophecy said Jesus would be “a Man of sorrows”—sorrows over mankind’s sins and suffering (Isaiah 53:3). Yet He was also prophesied to be “anointed … with the oil of gladness more than [His] companions” (Hebrews 1:8-9; Psalms 45:6-7). And indeed, Christ had great joy and also experienced great sorrow (John 17:13; Matthew 26:37-39).

Grieving is a healthy response when a loved one dies. However, if we believe the truth of the resurrection, we also have comfort and joy because we know our loss is only temporary. The grief is much more painful for those “who have no hope” in a resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Joy because of trials?

God’s joy continues to flow through His people even during their suffering because of their rock-solid hope. They know that all suffering is limited to this short life, and the time will soon come when “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Revelation 21:4). They “rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2).

We also have good reason to rejoice because of our trials when we understand how God is using those trials to help us build godly character. “And we know that all things [even severe trials] work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

More specifically, Paul wrote that “we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4, New International Version).

James wrote, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance”—perseverance in remaining faithful to God (James 1:2, NIV).

And because Christ suffered for each of us, we should have a special joy when we are persecuted for our faith. Jesus said, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:11-12).

The number one key to joy: God’s Spirit

Supreme joy is God’s nature and character! We see proof everywhere in God’s creation—birds singing, animals leaping, flowers blooming, brooks babbling and the sun shining! Many people would be less depressed if they would spend more time outside. God “gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17).

Since God is exceedingly joyful, His servants should also be joyful! Sadly, many who claim to be His disciples are austere, sour and dour. But take note of Luke’s description of true disciples: “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52).

How can we be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit? “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission [forgiveness] of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’ ” (Acts 2:38).

What then? Our unique joy begins because Christ lives in us (Galatians 2:20). He tells us to “rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). We then have an intimate relationship with the One Psalms 43:4 calls “God my exceeding joy.” In His presence “is fullness of joy” (Psalms 16:11).

God’s Spirit is a tree of life, producing life-giving fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). That fruit includes great joy.

Jesus prayed for His followers “that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves” (John 17:13).

He also teaches us to pray for joy and for all our needs. As He tells us in John 16:24, “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full!”

The Fruit Of The Spirit: LOVE

“Love” has been horribly abused in today’s world. It has wrongly been used to describe selfish sexual lust. It’s been given as an excuse for passively enabling terrible sins to continue in the lives of loved ones. It’s been seen as an uncontrollable emotion that leads to destructive behavior, or as empty words thrown back and forth with no substance.

The love that is listed as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 is much different. It is translated from the Greek word agape, used here to express the highest form of love that comes through the Holy Spirit. The love we are supposed to be demonstrating must be a godly love, which comes from God, the being who personifies this attribute.

Notice 2 John 1:6, “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it” (emphasis added throughout).

The love Christians are expected to demonstrate as a fruit of the Spirit is based on the two great commandments: love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:35-40). Love can be defined as outgoing concern demonstrated by following the commandments God has written in the Bible. The 10 Commandments show both how to have a true relationship with the Creator (appropriate respect and worship practices) and how to interact with and treat other human beings (avoiding what the Bible calls sin, which destroys relationships).

What is love? Love is a great gift from God. The Bible tells us that love suffers long, is kind, does not envy, does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things and never fails (paraphrased from 1 Corinthians 13, often called the Love Chapter).

Becoming more like God

God is love. The apostle John describes this: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).

God loved the world so much that He gave up His Son to face torture and crucifixion, taking the penalty of sin on Himself, so that we might have our sins forgiven and have access to His Holy Spirit (John 3:16). Those who say they are Christian and who strive to walk as Christ walked (1 John 2:6) realize that God wants us to demonstrate the selflessness of love because He wants us to become more like Him.

Humanity has tried for thousands of years to get by without loving God or loving one another, and it hasn’t worked. The world is full of misery, pain, death, suffering and many other horrible realities. The world’s version of love unfortunately does not come from God, but rather from Satan, an embittered fallen angel who will stop at nothing to twist anything good God has given to man.

Why does God want us to demonstrate love? It is who and what He is, and He wants us to experience that and show those around us that they don’t have to settle for Satan’s mirage of shallow or twisted love.

There are four main categories that love tends to fall into – Eros, Storge, Philos, and Agape. (These are Greek words).

Eros – Eros was the Greek god of love. The word represents what we consider today to be “romantic love.” Eros love is what you feel when you tell someone you’ve fallen in love with them.

Storge – Storge is what we may call fondness or affection. It’s a natural love – something you may feel towards your family or your pets. It also can be considered something that grows out of Philos into a more romantic love.

Philos – Philos is the love of friendship. It is a strong, intimate, and non-romantic love between people. In the Bible, it is often compared favorably with Agape love and, while there is distinction between the two, is considered similar.

Agape – Agape love is described as the highest, purest, and noblest form of love. It is the unconditional love, the love that will do anything for another regardless of cost. This is the form of love that is most commonly used in the Old Testament.

The Nine (9) Fruits Of The Spirit

The most famous Bible verse about the fruits of the Spirit is in Galatians 5:22, where the apostle Paul gives us a list of nine spiritual fruit. (Paul was into making lists.) The list is meant in part as a contrast to the list of the 'deeds of the flesh' found in 5:19-20. The spiritual fruit list is clearly not meant as an exhaustive description of the fruits, but was given to highlight what Paul wants the Galatian church to keep in mind. He lists nine fruits of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control.

Fruits of The Spirit

When Christians speak of the work of the "Holy Spirit", they are speaking about the operations of the Spirit of God in the material world we live in, and within us. But God the Holy Spirit isn't here just to hang out, or to do a miracle for sport, or bliss someone out for an hour or so. The Spirit is there to cause things to happen in peoples' lives that bring them more in tune with God's purposes on earth (and beyond). Words like 'result' or 'outgrowth' don't help us much to envision this. When the Spirit starts changing someone, it shows as a growth in character, a change in their way of life that is good for the people they live among. They start actually being the person of love God calls us to be. This change in character and way of life breeds 'fruit of the Spirit', like the fruit grown by a tree can feed people and wildlife, and fuel the next generations. From ancient times to today, abundant fruit from an orchard is seen as cause for hope and celebration. Abundant spiritual fruit also breeds hope and is well worth celebrating.

Lifestyle In Christ

Our life-style should be disciplined. It's in the Bible, I Corinthians 9:24-25, TLB. "In a race, everyone runs but only one person gets first prize. So run your race to win. To win the contest you must deny yourselves many things that would keep you from doing your best. An athlete goes to all this trouble just to win a blue ribbon or a silver cup, but we do it for a heavenly reward that never disappears."

Our life-style should be consistent with God's Word. It's in the Bible, II Timothy 2:15, TLB. "Work hard so God can say to you, 'Well done. Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what His Word says and means."

More so, our lifestyle should continually depicting Jesus to the world. The Bible says, let your light shine because we are the light of the world. As Christians, a believer should live a life worthy of emulation and depicting Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he paid on Calvary.

Employment

Employees are to work as though God were their boss. It's in the Bible, Ephesians 6:7-8, NIV. "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free."

Employees should be trustworthy. It's in the Bible, Proverbs 25:13, NIV. "Like the coolness of snow at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the spirit of his masters."

Christians should be known as those who do their best. It's in the Bible, Titus 2:9-10, NIV. "Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive."

Does attitude on the job matter? It's in the Bible, Colossians 3:23, TLB. "Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters."

Exploitation of workers by employers does not escape God's notice. It's in the Bible, James 5:4, TLB. "For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. Their cries have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts."

A man who fails to work to provide for his family denies the faith. It's in the Bible, I Timothy 5:8, NIV. "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."