The Absolute World of God Almighty
In God's world, it is always black & white - never shades of grey. For humans, it's much harder to find the absolutes that God lives in. Let me explain what I mean. There are great examples of this found in 1st John. In each chapter we have truths plainly stated that when a man attempts to believe, these truths will make him quake in his shoes or shake his head in wide eyed wonder or walk away astounded saying, "That truth is simply too big for me." Let me give you 3 examples of this just from chapter one alone. I am sure others could find more examples.
Time and space fail me in order to bring all 3 at one writing so I will deal with one of these every few days for the next week or so. Let me start with 1Jn.1:4 (NKJV) which says, "And these things we write to you that your joy may be full." The complete impact of this statement is so large that most simply read the sentence and go on from there to find out what the rest of the chapter says. But, an enormous promise goes unnoticed when that happens as well as the kind intention of our God.
John amazes the reader with this statement if they are paying attention. Everything that he puts in this letter is intended to bring joy to the reader. There are three things here - life changing things. First, the joy that God has - that HE has with His Son - that the 1st believers had - that elevated their world and their existence from that of a mundane sinner to one of unspeakable glory - that joy that the Bible says is the very strength of every Christian (Neh.8:11) - that joy that reveals the difference between believers & unbelievers more than anything else except pure love - that joy coming from knowing the supreme being in all creation (knowing Jesus intimately is THE SOURCE for real joy) - THAT JOY is the result of knowing and believing all that John writes in 1st John. We are not talking religion, 'hard work' holiness, self-discipline, sacrifice, austerity, worthy hardships, etc.; as wonderful as all these things are for they all have their place. No, we are talking joy. Did you know that the joy of the Lord was so strong that when the disciples 1st saw that Jesus was raised from the dead - they were so filled with joy that faith had to wait a minute. You can read all about it in Luke 24:41. I wonder what kind of joyful Christian would be unleashed in this world if they read & believed 1st John. After all, he wrote to us so that we would have in our hearts the very joy of the Lord!
Second, the intention of the Gospel is far more than forgiveness. If that is all there was it would be wonderful indeed. But NO, God has infinitely more in mind. Forgiveness is but the open doorway. The Lord intends to fill us with the joy of a prisoner set free, the joy of complete fulfillment (no more desires since we actually have all that the heart could ever want), the joy that Jesus had with His Father, the joy that made Paul & Silas sing in prison while they feet were jammed into stocks awaiting trial (probably death) in the morning for trumped up false charges, the joy that Jesus had as HE headed for the cross, etc. God isn't just hoping we experience His joy, HE has made full provision for it. God has further designed to bring it to us by (and pay attention to this short list):
1. Sending His Son to die for us thought totally innocent.
2. Raising JEsus from the dead so that death will have NO MORE DOMINION over His children.
3. Sending the Holy Spirit to actually live inside every believer making real to their hearts all the truth & relationship FAther had with His Son, Jesus!
4. Sending one witness after another to confirm these truths to us.
5. Fashioning a faith & placing inside every person so that they can believe & thereby, receive God's life & joy.
6. Answering prayers all over the place.
7. Sending His written Word to us & protecting it down thru the ages - then providing it to us to read & gain the encouragement of it.
8. Giving us the privilege to be about our Father's business so that we can be fulfilled in being used by God to genuinely help another out of the prison of sin & into the Kingdom of His dear Son!
This joy is the Lord's intention & purpose. We are destined to walk in it and be blessed by the joy of the Lord - His joy - the Lord bubbles over in it. We are His delight & He spends His glory on us that we might experience His joy.
Third, if that were not enough, we are to have joy to the FULL! After all this talk and intention about joy, we are to gain so much of this stuff that His Word calls it the fullness of joy! This is a double superlative and most Christians might never understand what that means. Let me try to explain. Example: You owe $100 and you have nothing to pay. Your creditor has mercy on you and not only cancels you debt but pays all the debts you will ever have plus a life income stipend of $5 million. Or, one goes to a 3rd world country (such as Haiti) and finds a person who has had no water to drink for 2 days. He gives that person water, not just a bottle of water or a weeks supply of water, but a life time supply of clean drinking water - enough for him and his entire village. Or, a person loses their business due to a serious financial reversal. A wealthy bystander, not only provides a job with a livable income but a new business venture (set up & successful), not only for him but for all his children as they become old enough. Are you beginning to understand? This FULL joy is so complete that it lasts an eternity & there is so much that it leaks out everywhere so that it can be given away in the same lavish mindset. You say, "That's not possible." Yes it is my doubting friend. And it has happened already to you if you have truly served the Lord for any amount of time. When we lead someone to saving faith in Christ - they receive the same joy that you received when you were born again! The SAME JOY! So we receive a joy that is so full it cannot be contained.
So tell me, how outlandish is this statement? How great a need do we have to believe this book, both its promises and its warnings? To what lengths has God gone to in order to bring His joy to the fullest into our hearts? O Lord - get our attention - quicken our faith - remind us of all that is being offered and let us dare t believe right into the fullness of joy! THEN - we shall do exploits for our God - then we shall live up to our calling - then our personal & spiritual strength will be so great that compromise will be driven from our lives. Holiness is a joyful thing not just the absence of sin. Make sense? You want to shake your head in amazement don't you? I told you. But that is how the absolute God sees things and that is how far we are from comprehending His wonderful person & intentions. Blessed be the name of the Lord for HE is worthy of our soul's best songs and all of our adoration. Jesus keep you strong my precious friends and fill with His joy. Soon, we'll look at 2 more of these fantastic statements in 1st John.
