JOY BORN AND BORNE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Scripture Passage: Galatians 5:13-26
 

Joy Across the Bible
•‘Joy’ as seen in the OT and NT
•In Jesus’ teachings we see it in the parables (e.g.Mt 13; Lk 15)
•It’s a defining character of the KoG (Rom 14:17)
•Jesus desired for joy to be an integral part of the God’s vineyard…complete joy (Jn 15)
•Joy is preceded by love received and love to be pursued, love that remains through obedience
 
The source and understanding of Joy
•What brings us ‘joy’?...family, friends, worship
•The joy that Jesus speaks of and Scripture expounds is built on a foundation of God’s work, kept in God’s work and fulfilled in God’s work (Jn 16,17; Col 1; Heb 12)
•A glorious work done
•A glorious work in progress
•A glorious work in the future

Heidelberg Catechism

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A. That I am not my own,1 but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Q. What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?
A. Three things: first, how great my sin and misery are; second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.

Private Orchard on Public Display
The bearing (faith in its working) of the fruit of joy as a resultant knowing and abiding cannot be hidden but should be evidenced (Hab 3:17-18; Matt 5:11-12; Acts 5:40-41)
 
Take Away: As a believer who enjoys heavenly citizenship ask for the Joy of Christ to experienced in your life for God’s perpetual Glory