Chapter 18

Joy and Joy Again

This is vintage Paul; lofty ideals of heaven then practical guidelines for successful living as people of faith in a world not their own, always careful to build on sound doctrine but ever attentive to the behavioral witness of those who believe. As Paul thought about those whose names are in the book of life his primary concern was that they be of the same mind in the Lord.[1] There could be no progress without unity, no witness, no future. Euodia and Syntyche of the Philippian fellowship he entreated urgently with tears to come together with the same mind. They must understand their high calling. Petty are those who vie for position, campaign for votes, assassinate characters for advantage, litigate for gain. For those separated unto Christ there is sovereign appointment to the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of God “Know ye not that you shall judge angels”, was Paul’s plea of exasperation to the carping Corinthians. When there is contention among the people of God, the rule is grace which is the basis for forgiveness and prompt reconciliation. Anger is to be short-lived; the irritating behavior of others quietly suffered.[2] There is for Christians, awareness of the redemptive drama of Christ Jesus being played out profoundly and palpably in their personal lives. Sharing in Christ’s sacrifice is the real and daily sacrifice of self, that is, absolute renunciation of the world view which enthrones self, making pleasure the highest purpose and daily pursuit of life. Paul explains self-sacrifice as primarily a dynamic state of mind, no less than transformational in its effects, producing non-conformity to the world.[3] The non-conforming of Paul is not repudiation in the revolutionary sense, but rather, surrender to a higher principle and order. The descent of man into sin has resulted in collective insanity; an inability to accurately test reality and live in the freedom of truth. Politics, intrigue and conflict characterize the world at all levels and in every place. The world is insane; be in it but not of it![4] Jesus Christ is the only way of deliverance from the collective mental illness which has infested the human race.

The world is infused with tension at the personal level as well as the social level which becomes increasingly destructive to individuals and groups. The antidote is joy in the Lord. For Paul, joy is not a feeling to pursue; in fact, it is not a feeling at all, but a spiritual reality which transcends emotion. There is an aggressive pursuit of joy noted in Paul’s language of Phil. 4:4… “Return to the joy of the Lord, and return again”. Never capitulate to anxiety, fear, the fatigue produced by relentless tension, the emotional excess resulting in reckless compulsive behavior. Paul’s spirit is nurtured by meditation on the mystical Psalms of his Hebrew heritage; joy is strength and it is drawn, as it were, from the inexhaustible wells of salvation.[5] But if joy is not an emotion then what is it and how can we know we have this elusive, yet vital fruit of the Spirit of Christ? We know we have this elusive fruit of the Spirit by its effects; like calmness in crisis, contentment in discomfort a profound sense of being forgiven, readiness to forgive, and a complete release from the fear of death; these, and an infused persuasion that God is good and all will end well.[6] Joy, indeed, is strength.

Paul’s teaching and life is an unwelcome foil to those who would present the gospel as a success and prosperity system or nostrum for the instant relief of unpleasant circumstances. He is lost to the world and all it represents with no concern for its economy, politics or philosophical obsessions. His letters are the pronouncements of an emissary from another country, indeed, another world, thus, his message to this world is the good news of God’s plan to reconcile the world to Himself by the blood of the cross. Without spiritual or what more instructively may be called other-worldly understanding, Paul’s prayer that the saints may be strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, for all patience and long suffering with joy would seem absurd and contradictory. How can one strengthened with all the might and power of God suffer long—it does not follow logically. Paul’s message of strength from weakness and joy from suffering accepted on the premise that God is both good as well as omnipotent is the grand non sequitur of all time. The rub of the Christian faith as presented in the New Testament and with striking emphasis in Paul’s letters to the saints is this: The saint’s glory is not revealed in this present world but the world to come. The glorious power of God in the saints remains veiled until the resurrection except for the joy produced when with faith and spiritual understanding the saints walk in the hope and vision of their heavenly destination.[7]