Romanos 15

Romanos 15:13

Maclaren has a beautiful description of the joy given by the God of hope " If I am living in an atmosphere of trust, then sorrow will never be absolute, nor have exclusive monopoly and possession of my spirit. But there will be the paradox, and the blessedness, of Christian experience, ‘as sorrowful yet always rejoicing.’ For the joy of the Christian life has its source far away beyond the swamps from which the sour drops of sorrow may trickle, and it is possible that, like the fabled fire that burned under water, the joy of the Lord may be bright in my heart, even when it is drenched in floods of calamity and distress." (Joy and Peace in Believing) Earlier Paul had given us a "definition" of the kingdom of God writing that "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Ro 14:17-note) Comment by Denney: One may serve Christ either eating or abstaining, but no one can serve Him whose conduct exhibits indifference to righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Paul again links the Holy Spirit with joy in his letter to the saints at Thessalonica - "You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit." (1Thes 1:6-note) Notice how this passage emphasizes the supernatural nature of joy, for experiencing tribulations is hardly conducive to producing joy in the natural man (1Cor 2:14-note)! Joy (5479) (chara from chaíro = to rejoice) (cf Ro 14:17-note, Ro 15:32-note) is one of Paul's great themes, with charas being used by him 21x compared to next most frequent use of 9 by John. The Christian life is to be a life of "JOY". It is founded on faith in Jesus, whose life on earth began as "good news of great joy for all people" (Lk 2:10). Joy is the deep-down sense of well-being that abides in the heart of the person who knows all is well between himself and the Lord and is independent of whether circumstances are favorable or unfavorable (Jn 16:20, 21, 22). Joy is God’s gift to believers, a component of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-note). Nehemiah declared, "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Neh 8:10). So Paul prays that they would be filled with all joy, that inner gladness and deep seated pleasure which is independent of one's external circumstances. It is a depth of assurance and confidence that ignites a cheerful heart. It is a cheerful heart that leads to cheerful behavior. Paul prays for Joy to fill the saints at Rome. So as wine fills a man and exerts control over him (just listen to him slur his words and watch his wobbly walk!), in the supernatural way the spiritual fruit of joy and peace fill the believer and "controls" him or her. John