PHILIPPIANS
By LLOYD T. ANDERSON
Joy is the central theme of the book of Philippians. This is a com modity that is sadly lacking in many areas and lives today. Jesus Christ must be the subject and the object of all our faith, and the cli max of our own Christian experi ence when we see Him face to face. We see this in Paul's own testimony to his fellow believers in Philippi (Philippians 3:1-3). It was Paul's consuming purpose to know the Lord in the most per sonal and vital way possible. Un der the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he points out that joy is Tound when based on biblically sound doctrines of the faith. The apostle knew of the joy that one can experience even amid very difficult times of trial and human suffering. Can we, and do we, al ways rejoice in the Lord. As some one has well said, unless we turn to the Lord in all of our circum stances, then, in all of our circum stances, we will not find Him. Joy is the birthright of every believer. Jesus Himself encouraged us by saying, “There have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."
We can consider joy as being a supernatural delight in Cod and in God's goodness. It is completely different than happiness. The two are not synonomous at all. The latter is based entirely on outward circumstances while the former comes from within. Happiness is our translation of the Latin for for tune. It is closely related to chance. So if things develop in a manner we desire, this generally causes us to be happy. It is entirely circum stantial and always transitory. Joy on the other hand is an inner qual ity of delight in the Lord. It springs up within the Christian's heart to tally unrelated to adversities or problems on the outside. It is impossible to speak of the supernatural qualities of Christian joy without also pointing out that Christian people fail to experience the reality of such contentment and satisfaction. Instead of victory too many believers suffer depres sion. As one hymn writer has phrased it, "How tedious and tasteless the hours, when Jesus no longer I see." Frustrations and a loss of joy generally result in tak ing our eyes off of the Saviour. Do you know this true joy? You Page 27
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