Joy in Knowing Jesus:  

Reasons to Rejoice in Him

by Eldon DeBoer

Chapter three of Philippians opens with a command:

“Henceforth*, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.”

This challenge by the Spirit of God from the hand of the Apostle Paul is built upon the truth of Jesus Christ. The Lord has given us many good reasons to rejoice. As Paul shares his personal testimony in Philippians three, it is clearly evident why he rejoiced. He knew where true inner happiness is found. It is found in knowing Jesus Christ (3:8). Even though life is oftentimes not what we hoped it would be or what we expected it to be, we can rejoice in the Lord because we know Him. (* “Henceforth” is a good translation of the word that is typically translated “Finally” (loipon).)

Jesus said, “I came that they might have life and that they might have it abundantly” (John 10:10b). What did Jesus mean by this declaration? What is an abundant life to you? Certainly it includes happiness, wouldn’t you think?

Blaise Pascal, the accomplished mathematician of yesteryear, had some insightful thoughts about happiness and rejoicing:

All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. [Happiness] is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.

And yet after such a great number of years, no one without faith has reached the point to which all continually look. All complain, princes and subjects, noblemen and commoners, old and young, strong and weak, learned and ignorant, healthy and sick, of all countries, all times, all ages, and all conditions.

A trial so long, so continuous, and so uniform, should certainly convince us of our inability to reach the good by our own efforts. But example teaches us little. No resemblance is ever so perfect that there is not some slight difference; and hence we expect that our hope will not be deceived on this occasion as before. And thus, while the

present never satisfies us, experience dupes us, and from misfortune to misfortune leads us to death, their eternal crown.

What is it then that this desire and this inability proclaim to us, but that there was once in man a true happiness of which there now remain to him only the mark and empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present? But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself.  (Blaise Pascal, 1623–1662, Thoughts. The Harvard Classics. 1909–14, Section VII, Morality and Doctrine, the SECOND part.—That man without faith cannot know the true good, nor justice. (Brackets and emphasis added.))

It is only in God that we find joy in a world filled with sadness and trouble. This is part of the abundant life that Jesus has promised us.

An Initial Definition of Rejoice and Joy

First of all, we will consider how the Greek words translated rejoice and joy, chairo and chara, bring into view a deep sense of happiness that only comes from the Lord. The command to rejoice is not a directive to have fun or experience surface level happiness. It is much deeper than that.

The Lord frequently commands us to rejoice through the hand of the Apostle Paul. In addition to Philippians 3:1, the following verses also present this challenge (all quotations are from the NASB):

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always. . .

2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

In this verse we are directed join with others in their joy:

Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, . . .

In addition to the three commands to rejoice in Philippians, Paul frequently wrote of rejoicing and possessing joy in this very same letter:

1:18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,

2:17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy (sugchairo) with you all.

2:18 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

2:28 Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you.

2:29 Receive him then in the Lord with all joy (chara), and hold men like him in high regard;

4:10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.

Here are additional verses in which chara, the noun translate “joy,” is used in Philippians:

1:4 . . . always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all,

1:25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

2:2 . . . make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

2:29 Receive [Epaphroditus] then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard;

4:1 Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

As the following reasons to rejoice are presented, keep in mind that the joy being addressed is a deep sense of happiness that only comes from the Lord and is only found in Him.

Reason #1: We can rejoice in the Lord Jesus because we know Him. Philippians 3:7-8

From the perspective of religious Jews, Paul had it made. He had position, power and prestige among his people. But then he met Jesus and found out what really mattered in life. Nothing compared to knowing Jesus Christ. Anything else he considered to be “rubbish.” He wrote in Philippians 3:7-10,

7. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

8. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ,

9. and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

10. that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; . . .

When we have the perspective on life that Paul had, we will have a joyful life.

When knowing Jesus Christ is our main objective in life, we will rejoice in Him. In other words, when nothing else matters to us more than know Jesus Christ, no circumstance in life can take away the joy we have in Him.

When Paul writes of gaining Christ he is addressing attention to his personal relationship with him and the benefits of that relationship (3:8). In his book The Joy of Living: A Devotional Study of Philippians, Dr. J Dwight Pentecost offers this summary of Paul’s letter,

[K]nowing Christ, walking in fellowship with Him, and being obedient to Him floods the life and heart and mind of the apostle Paul with an incomparable joy...so that in Christ he has found perfect rest, satisfaction, and contentment."

Reason #2: There is cause for rejoicing in knowing that your righteousness comes from God by faith.

It should be understood that there is joy in knowing that God has given you His righteousness. You are righteous in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:30-31). Paul has developed the teaching that God’s righteousness is received as a gift from Him in greater detail in his letter to the Romans, chapters three, four and five (see especially 3:21 – 4:9). But here it is clear that Paul is addressing the righteousness of Christ that he wants to be more and more of a reality in his experience before his glorification.

Notice the subjunctive moods used in Philippians 3:8-9 where Paul declares that he “counts” everything in life as rubbish “in order that [he] may gain Christ, and may be found in Him . . .” (NASB). Paul knew that He had been declared to be right with God by God Himself through faith in Jesus. He had been justified by God in Christ (Romans 5:1). But the subjunctives indicate what Paul desires to be true in his life. He wants what is his position in Christ, justification (Romans 5:1), to be his practice in his walk with Jesus. He wants to have a righteous way of life. He develops this further when he writes of his desire to attain to the resurrection of the dead (Philippians 3:11-13). Positionally in Christ he had been raised with Him (cf. Romans 6:4-5; Ephesians 1:3ff.). But it is the apostle’s desire that who he is in Christ may become more and more of a reality in his life as he lives righteously. This is Paul’s main concern in life for which he presses on (Philippians 3:14).

Just as our righteousness in Christ is given to us from God by faith, so righteousness in the Christian grace-way of life is also a reality when we walk by faith. Any righteousness in our life is there because we are heeding God’s word by faith (cf. Hebrews 11:4). This experiential righteousness is not performance based. It is not ours because we are focusing on keeping a set of rules that certainly are good in themselves. No, this righteousness is by faith as we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ and make our main concern gaining Him and knowing Him (cf. 1 John 2:3-6). And this is where joy in the Lord is found.

The relationship between believing God and being filled with joy is found in Paul’s wish for believers in Romans 15:13:

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Back to the Importance of Knowing Christ—and sharing in His sufferings

After stating the fact that a righteous life comes from God through faith (3:9), he once again addresses attention to knowing Christ (3:10). This is where joy is found.

But what in the world, you may ask, is the “fellowship of [Christ’s] sufferings” about? What does that mean, exactly? You may be thinking, yes, I want the “power of His resurrection” but don’t talk to me about suffering with Christ.

Paul frequently wrote of the pain he experienced because he was outspoken about the truth of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 4:11-13; 2 Corinthians 4:7-11; Galatians 5:11; 6:12; 2 Timothy 3:10-12; cf. Colossians 1:24). We may not face persecution like Paul did, but we all experience the effects of sin and the curse because we live in this fallen sinful world. Here is the truth that is taught in the Bible concerning sharing in the sufferings of Christ that has application for all believers everywhere:

Whenever we experience the effects of sin and the curse in this fallen world, we may view it as sharing in the sufferings of Christ (John 11:34; Romans 8:18-23; 2 Corinthians 4:7-11; cf. Hebrews 11:24-26).

Jesus wants you to experience the power of His resurrection, drawing upon His strength, when you share in His sufferings as you experience the pain of living in a sinful world. Just as Jesus wept on His way to the burial place of His friend Lazarus, we may grieve as we experience the effects of sin in our life.

God calls us to keep on demonstrating that we want to know Jesus Christ more and more by continuing to trust in Him—no matter what. This is the Lord’s plan for our life. It is only as we trust Him to give us the strength to obey His commands that we get to know Him better and are able to rejoice in Him.

Reason #3: You rejoice in the Lord because you understand His plan for your life.

Sometimes believers do not rejoice in the Lord because they do not understand the plan of God for the Christian grace-way of life as they should. The Lord’s plan for your life here and now is not a life that is filled with only pleasant experiences. But possibly our expectations of what God should do or must do in our life are skewed, as the perspective of this lady reveals.

A woman told [Larry Crabb] with a peaceful smile that she knows God will bring her deserting husband back to her. When [she was asked to explain] the reason for the hope within her, she smiled even more broadly and replied, “He promised me an abundant life” (Larry Crabb, Shattered Dreams: God’s Unexpected Pathway to Joy, p. 28, brackets added).

Sadly, many believers think that an abundant life must be a life that is filled with pleasant experiences here and now on earth. And if life is not pleasant certainly God will or even must change things for the better.

But as the title of Crabb’s book indicates, Shattered Dreams: God’s Unexpected Pathway to Joy, a deeper experience of joy results from experiencing God’s enabling grace to face life as it is. If our first concern is to know Christ and we appreciate that He is providentially working in our life, then when our hopes and dreams do not come true we should continue to keep in mind that we live in a war zone that involves the decisions that people choose to make.

Does the Lord want a deserting husband to return to his wife? Of course! And He knows just what it will take in that husband’s life to bring that about. But the husband may continue to rebel against the Lord Jesus’ plan for his marriage no matter what He could do in his life. And Jesus knows all of this. Has God failed the wife? No, the husband has. But the wife can look to the Lord for help in the face of her pain. By her painful experience of having a wayward husband, she is sharing in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. But through the pain she can experience Jesus’ joy as He gives her the grace to keep trusting Him to face life as it is without her husband. Or the Lord could choose to remove the husband, bringing about his untimely death.

Are we determined to let no one and nothing stand in the way of gaining Christ? Do we want to view all of life, including relationships with others, from the standpoint of carefully considering how what is happening in our life will help us get to know Christ better? Our Savior who suffered in our place wants us to get to know Him better as He views the suffering we experience because we want to get to know Him better and better.

Our Lord God certainly has given us many good reasons to rejoice. Even though life is oftentimes not what we hoped it would be or what we expected it to be, we can have joy in the Lord because knowing Him is our first concern. We experience the power of Christ’s resurrection when we have joy as we experience the pain of sharing in His sufferings.

Reason #4: You will rejoice when your life is productive for the glory of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:10-14

Jesus promises you His joy if you love Him. And to love Him is to obey Him. He declared in John 15:

8. "By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

9. "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.

10. "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.

11. "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

Jesus wants you to experience the fullness of joy that He has.

It is helpful to keep in mind that the occasion in which Jesus presented the teaching of John 15 took place just prior to His betrayal and crucifixion. In the immediate context He had spoken of being troubled (John 13:21; cf. 14:1). Like Christ, we may have His joy in the midst of difficult and horribly painful times

(cf. 1 Peter 1:6,8; 4:12-13).

Reason #5: You will rejoice when you stay in the love of Jesus Christ.

There is joy in knowing Jesus Christ and enjoying a loving personal relationship with Him (Philippians 3:8,10; cf. 1 John 1:1-7).

Reason #6: You will rejoice when you obey Christ’s commands.

Joy in obedience is the experience of only those who heed the Lord’s commands out of a heart of gratitude for what He has done for them (1 John 4:17-19; 5:3).

These reasons for joy were also the experience of those who looked to the Lord in faith in ages past. The Psalm writers of the Old Testament days knew it well (Psalm 84:1-12; 16:7-11; 89:14-16; 32:10-11; 90:14-16)

Reason #7 There is cause for rejoicing—there is good reason for a deep level of joy—in those who are pure in heart by the grace of God.

The pure in heart know that everything is right between them and God. And they have joy (1 John 1:4-9).

This was true of David after he confessed his sin and cried out to the Lord to restore to him the joy of being delivered from death, sin and sin’s consequences (Psalm 51:6-14).

Reason #8 We should rejoice because there is joy in knowing about the glorious future the Lord has for us. Philippians 3:20-21

When we rejoice in the Lord we may often have to look past the circumstances of life that we are facing and bring to mind what God has done for us and what He has in store for us forever with Him.

Summary

What we have been considering thus far is a level of joy that is not determined by circumstances or the behavior of others. It is the deepest level of joy found in a trusting, loving and obedient relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the deep sense of inner happiness that our Lord God gives to us because we know Him and are trusting in Him. This is the joy that may be ours at any time, in any place, in any circumstance. Because of the grace of God we truly can rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4).