Prayer: May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, "Let God be exalted" (Psalm70:4). Our God, who looks over us day by day, hour by hour, and in each minute of our lives, keep us in Your favor. Convict us in the times that we stumble and grieve You. Bring us back to full fellowship with You, that we might experience a continual flow of grace and mercy, coupled with Your direction in our lives. Our joy is in You, and You alone, O Lord. Amen.
Main Scripture: Read Philippians 3:1
Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 3:1).
Associated Scriptures:
In that day they will say: "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation" (Isaiah 25:9).
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:6-7).
Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love (Psalms 33:1-5).
Correlative Quotes:
…the same things—concerning "rejoicing," the prevailing feature in this Epistle (Philippians 1:18, 25; 2:17; 4:4 where, compare the "again I say," with "the same things" here). In the Lord, marks the true ground of joy, in contrast with "having confidence in the flesh," or in any outward sensible matter of boasting.[1] – Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
You are commanded to rejoice, brothers and sisters, because this is for your profit. Holy joy will oil the wheels of your life’s machinery. Holy joy will strengthen you for your daily labor. Holy joy will beautify you and, as I have already said, give you an influence over the lives of others. It is upon this point that I would most of all insist; we are commanded to rejoice in the Lord."[2] Charles Spurgeon
Men everywhere have felt the need of a Savior, and to us it should be a subject of unfeigned joy that one has been provided for us. When we think of our sins, we may now rejoice that there is One who can deliver us from them; when we think of the worth of the soul, we may rejoice that there is One who can save it from death; when we think of our danger, we can rejoice that there is One who can rescue us from all peril...[3] – Albert Barnes
Study:
INTRODUCTION
“Rejoice in the Lord.” This statement reflects Paul’s overriding intent for this letter. His prayer for the Philippians was that they would rejoice in the Lord. Their response would be due to their salvation, their spiritual growth, and their hope of eternity. Paul’s hope is that they would find lasting joy here on earth and eternal joy in the presence of Jesus. We will all find lasting joy in Christ as we live in obedience to His Word.
Joy has its birth in salvation. When we are born again, we are given new life in Jesus. At this point, God fills us with His Spirit, who introduces us to joy. The joy that God gives us through our redemption is in its infancy. We feel the assurance of His grace immediately.
As time goes on, we will grow in that joy as we study God’s Word and successfully experience increasing hope. This allows us to walk with Him through times of blessing and suffering.
Though we have never seen Jesus, though we have never touched Him, we love Him for what He has accomplished for us. We find joy in the fact that through our new birth we discover Jesus and feel Him working in and through us. We are immersed in the power of His Spirit.
Every word of scripture deepens our understanding of Him and the sacrifice that He made for us. He left His position in Heaven to walk among us (John 1:14). Jesus experienced temptation as we feel it (Hebrews 2:18). He experienced sorrow and pain, hunger and rejection just as most of us have felt.
Then, Jesus endured the cross. We will never know, nor will we ever understand, we cannot comprehend, or feel the depth of the pain and suffering that Jesus accepted for us. He experienced physical pain and the embarrassment of crucifixion, hanging there naked, beaten, and bleeding. However, Jesus never protested. In the end, He received the spiritual pain by accepting the sin of the world. He accepted God’s punishment for all sin, for all time, for all of us. He gave it all for us. All for our increasing joy.
The wedding of the lamb marks the culmination of our relationship with Jesus. We are the bride of Christ. He will be the head of His church as He becomes the Groom that we have longed for. No more pain. No more suffering. The joy will be fulfilled, completed in this final act of compassion and love. Praise be to God the Father and to His only Son, our Savior; Jesus. Our joy increases with just the thought of that great day.
Summary Statement:
Jesus has paid the ultimate price for our redemption. Nothing more needs to be done by God for us to be rescued from our disobedience. However, even though we are now positionally perfected by Jesus’ sacrifice, we still have to live through this life to get to the next. The incredible gift of joy will accomplish that. It will not do away with the heartache, physical pain and mental suffering. But as we grow in our joy, He will give us the strength and courage to withstand and attack. Praise Him. As others suffer from no hope, no peace, and no comfort, we will have our joy to carry us through these trials.
Lessons within the Lesson:
If we are redeemed, why do we still suffer?
What is the remedy for suffering?
What is the source of our joy?
How do we increase our joy?
[1] Robert Jamieson, D. D., A. R. Fausset, David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Public Domain 1871, Public Domain, Copy Freely.
[2] Charles Spurgeon, Joy, A Duty, Public Domain, Ibid., P. 3.
[3] Albert Barnes, Notes Explanatory and Practical, 1845, Free Download, Ibid., P. 3567.
A Few Clouds, 61°