“But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves” (John 17:13 ESV).
What is this joy that resides in Christ? Isn’t it the continual, irrepressible joy that He shares in fellowship with the Father? As Jesus prayed in anticipation for His return to the Father, He prayed that we might become one in this same fellowship. And by being one in fellowship with the Father, Son and Spirit, we might share in their mutual joy.
The apostle Paul wrote that believers are to “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18), “walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16), and so bear the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23). One of the chief attributes of this spiritual “fruit,” second only to love, is joy. This joy comes from being in union with the Spirit of Christ.
The apostle John also wrote about this fellowship of joy. In his first epistle, he wrote, “That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:3-4). This joy is not decreased but increased by giving it away to others.
What is this joy? It is the joy of being in fellowship with the Father, the Son and the Spirit. It is being held in the embrace of the One who made us, died for us and now offers to live in us and through us.
PRAYER: Dear Father, give us this unconquerable joy that is found only in You and in Your Son. Fill our cups until they run over. We would have the prayer of Jesus answered in us today. May we have His joy fulfilled in us. In Jesus’ name, amen.