OUR GLORIOUS, INEXPRESSIBLE JOY
Christianity is a living hope. It is a life beyond this realm, which means that it is the hope of spending life throughout eternity with our heavenly Father. Thus there is a genuine joy that comes with this hope. It is a spontaneous flow of unfathomable joy, that causes us to be completely puzzled.
Reference: 1 Peter 1:8 New Living Translation (NLT) "You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy."
Earlier in this chapter, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, was so thankful to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He acknowledged that God, in His great mercy, has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now watch this: In verse 6 of the above referenced chapter, Peter mentioned that, "In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." Indeed I like this Petrine espitolary expression!
The Joy of the Christian faith is unconditional. It transcends or excels beyond circumstances. No wonder Peter said, "In all this we greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials." In other words, this joy prevails regardless of what comes your way. It is stronger than whatever happens within the scheme of your daily activities and transactions. However it is so, in order to prove the genuineness of our faith, which is of greater worth than gold. True Joy is a serious idea from heaven. It is not only used as an indicator of the Christian strength, it is also used as a standard or touchstone for proving the genuineness of our faith, which is far superior to the worth of gold.
True joy is all about the genuineness of the Christian faith. It is the product of the love we have for God. It is the gauge used in estimating the validity of our love or the evidence that we love God. This is why Peter said, "You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy" (1 Peter 1:8 NLT). How can we demonstrate such love for someone we have never seen with our optical eyes? This is why Peter was quite moved by the love His audience or readers had for the Lord because at least, he was there during Jesus' ministry. So he had seen and been with Jesus, on a one-on-one experience or direct contact throughout the three years of His ministry on earth. But His audience or the readers were not there.
Beloved, we rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy because we love Christ, the Lord. Today, every born again Christian reading Peter's writings or teachings has never seen Jesus, bodily walking on earth or one-on-one, with their own eyes. Yet we trust Him and our hearts are filled with joy, too strong to be described or conveyed in words. Where did we get such ability to love Christ? It is the inner workings of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says in Romans 5:5 (NIV), "And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." The Holy Spirit did not supply this love to us in a little measure. He poured it out into our hearts without measure. In fact, it was a massive outpouring of high-energy love; something that streams out rapidly. So the resultant effect or value is "inexpressible joy". Shalom!
Scripture Reading - Isaiah 35:10; Nehemiah 8:10; James 1:2-3; Romans 14:17; Hebrews 12:2.
Exuberant Declaration: I have a glorious, inexpressible joy in the Holy Ghost. It is the strength, power and blessing of Christian faith which I enjoy daily in Christ. It is the practical fruit of my faith that flows from the love I have for God. No matter the circumstance, I'm constantly influenced and enlightened by the truth; as a result, my joy is generated by the grace of God. Hallelujah!
