Joy: This is an inherent manifestation of a show of gladness that exudes from the spirit of a recreated man. It is not based on outward circumstances or how one feels. It is embedded within one’s spirit and can be stirred up at any time. Joy is a fruit of the spirit. The seed of God’s kind of life (Zoe) when nurtured and developed on God’s Word, produces the Fruits of the spirit; Joy is one of the manifestations of these Fruits.
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” 1 Peter 1:23 KJV
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,” Galatians 5:22 KJV
When we get born again, the God’s kind of Life (Zoe), is released in our spirits, and the Spirit of God within us lies on the well-level. It furnishes us with the person of God and helps us grow in the fruits of righteousness. The Spirit of God is the well of water deposited in our spirits at salvation. This word “Salvation” is taken from the Greek Word called “Sozo” which includes the salvation of our souls from destruction (being born-again), Healings, Deliverance, Preservation, Protection, and Prosperity. The Joy of the Lord is the tool utilized in partaking of the everlasting Life of the Lord within. Yielding to this Joy helps in partaking and releasing our Healing, Deliverance, Protection, Preservation, and Prosperity.
“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14 KJV
So if you desire to enjoy the “Sozo” life of God within, learn to yield to the Spirit of Joy.
“Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:3 KJV
This Joy releases the Anointing of the Holy Ghost that destroys the evil yokes placed by the enemy and removes the burden.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.” Isaiah 10:27 KJV
If you want to actualize the promises of God in your life, give yourself to rejoicing. Learn to practice His Presence by releasing the Spirit of Joy. Abraham received the promises of God by yielding to the Spirit of thankfulness which is a manifestation of Joy.
“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;” Romans 4:20 KJV
When the Spirit of Joy is present, men give themselves to the manifestations of Joy. Joy is usually confused with a display of Happiness which is based on how one feels and is determined by the reception from our five physical senses. Joy, on the other hand, is an attribute of our spirit. It is an in-depth deposit of life and can be released when stirred up. The life of God received at salvation can be groomed to bring forth Joy as one of the Fruits of the righteousness
There is an anointing to this fruit of Joy. it’s called the “Spirit of Joy”. This fruit of the recreated human spirit is anointed, and expressing it releases the Presence of God in the atmosphere. That is “The Glory of God”. This is synonymous to the experience one has at the baptism of the Holy Ghost. The well of water now becomes the flow of Rivers when stirred up. Releasing that Spirit of Joy (The Holy Spirit) lets us tap into the benefits of Salvation within. We are able by Faith to release our Healing, Deliverance, Protection, Prosperity etc, allowing the Spirit of Joy to manifest. Hallelujah!
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:37-38 KJV
“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” Isaiah 61:3 KJV
When the Glory of the Lord fills an atmosphere, the presence of God becomes heavy and can be felt or seen. There appears notable manifestations of the Holy Ghost and demonstration of Power. The Glory of God presents with physical evidence of His Presence. The Spirit of Joy is released and there are manifestations of Joy in that place of His Glory. When the Glory of the Lord is present, the Joy of the Lord within gives way to Rejoicing.
Rejoicing, therefore, is an expression of the Joy within. Rejoicing can manifest in the form of laughter, singing, and dancing. It is stirred up by the Holy Ghost within, demonstrating the Joy of the Lord in the Spirit, and not of the flesh.
“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” 1 Peter 1:8 KJV
“Thou wilt shews me the path of life: in thy presence is the fulness of joy; at thy right hand, there are pleasures for evermore.” Psalms 16:11 KJV
“When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. ”Psalms 126:1-2 KJV
Rejoicing is a form of offering our Worship to God. It is a depth to Worship. As we go deeper in an attitude of worship and our hearts get filled with praises, the spirit of Joy is stirred up and gives way to rejoicing. The Glory of the Lord fills the temple.
“For we are the circumcision, which worships God in the spirit, and rejoices in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Philippians 3:3 KJV
On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost came upon the disciples in the upper room, the Anointing of Joy was released. The Pentecostals observed the demonstrations of Joy displayed by the Disciples of Jesus. They saw men behaving like drunkards in the early hours of the day. They must have seen manifestations similar to one drunken with wine. There are similarities in the behavior demonstrated by someone drunk on natural wine, and the Holy Ghost wine. They both seem to misbehave; One is due to the excess of natural wine consumed, and the other influenced by the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Very similar behavior, but from two different sources. The bible encourages us to replace the drunkenness of the natural wine with the Holy Ghost wine. Glory to God. When we get drunk on the Spirit, we begin to dance uncontrollably without rhythm, we laugh, sing and shout under the influence of the Holy Ghost.
“And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: Acts 2:12-18 KJV
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”
Ephesians 5:18-19 KJV.
Even Jesus got drunk with this Holy Ghost wine and manifested the Joy of the Lord. Being full of Joy is being filled with the Holy Ghost.
“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:”
Luke 10:21, 23 KJV
What did they see?. They saw Jesus demonstrating the Spirit of Joy. “Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit…..” Luke 10:21. The word “Rejoiced” is taken from the Greek word “Agallio” which describes a leaping forward movement, spinning around a focal point, and releasing uncontrollable jerks without restraint. Jesus demonstrated the Spirit of Joy by agallioing. He was so full of the Spirit he leaped forward and made a spinning movement under the influence of the Holy Ghost wine. Hallelujah. He is our perfect example of releasing God’s Glory.
The same reaction was experienced by the prophet John the Baptist while yet unborn. The Prophecy was given before his birth was then fulfilled; that he would be filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, there was a baptismal by the Holy Ghost on baby John in his mother’s womb. The baby leaped for Joy (agallioed), and Elizabeth began to prophesy under the influence of the Spirit of God.
“For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”
Luke 1:15, 41-42 KJV
The Joy of the Lord can also be likened to the manifestations of the new wine. The Spirit of God longs to dwell in new wine skins to release the freshness of the Holy Ghost. When the new wine is cut off, the Joy of the Lord is lacking, and there occurs lack of goods and the Presence of God.
“Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.” Joel 1:5
When the wine is fresh, there is a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit which is demonstrated in an atmosphere of Joy. New wine is known to be more potent and elicit more uncontrollable drunken behavior than the old. That’s why the Pentecostals believed the disciples were filled with new wine.
“Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.” Acts 2:13 KJV
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”
Ephesians 5:18-20 KJV
“Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.”
Joel 2:23, 28-29 KJV
“The Answer is in Christ” by Gary Anderson
Ephesians 1:17
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Thoughts for Today:
Unfortunately, it appears the NIV incorrectly capitalized the word “Spirit” which might lead to a different understanding of our passage today. In Scripture, “spirit” is used many times and in different ways. The two most common are in reference to the Spirit of God, or the spirit of humanity. I believe Paul is not referring to the Spirit of God, but rather one of the three components of our being. (For example, 1 Thessalonians 5:23: “May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”) Martin Luther comments that human spirit “is the highest and noblest part of man, which qualifies him to lay hold of incomprehensible, invisible, eternal things; in short, it is the house where Faith and God’s word are at home.”
So how does wisdom come to us? By revelation. Think about it — we cannot have a revelation of something that does not already exist. (The Greek word APOKALYPSIS, translated “revelation”, means: “laying bare, an uncovering, unveiling.”) Paul’s prayer is not for the Lord to give us (or the Ephesians) anything new, just for us to receive a revelation of what has already been freely given to us perfectly and completely in Christ.
Questions to Ponder:
There are times when we become confused and each of us desires not only wisdom, but also greater understanding, insight and knowledge. How do we get those things? Paul tells us the answer is profoundly simple: Wisdom and revelation are found in Him. Both Peter and John were examples of this truth. (Acts 4:13: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”) The only explanation for what changed in them was their time spent with Jesus. How much time are you spending with Him? Are you asking, “What is God’s will in my situation?” The answer, including all the wisdom necessary for any circumstance, is found in Christ.
“Out of Focus With God’s Eternal Purpose” by Gary Anderson
Ephesians 1:10
…to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Thoughts for Today:
In our passage today, Paul uses the phrase: “…when the times reach their fulfillment.” This is a reference to the fact that all events throughout history (whether good, bad or indifferent) have been building toward the climax God has planned. And it’s all happening according to the schedule He designed before time began. So what’s the plan? Paul gives us the answer: “…to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”
Take a moment to be amazed at the implications of Paul’s statement. The ultimate victory of Jesus Christ will impact more than simply humanity. In Philippians 2:10 he tells us: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” Everything and everyone from the beginning of time will be compelled to recognize and acknowledge the authority of Jesus Christ. However, this does not mean that all people will enter into heaven. Jesus clearly stated in Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
As believers, we also know this to be true in our daily walk with the Lord. How so? Whenever we’re focused on Jesus, and bringing our thoughts and activities under His authority, we’re right in the center of what God says life is all about. And it doesn’t matter whether we’re driving to work, completing a list of chores on the weekend, reading a Bible story to our children, or discussing a particular section of Scripture with a friend — everything we say and do is to be placed under His Lordship and direction. Unfortunately, those of us who fail to make Jesus Christ preeminent and Lord over lives are out of focus with God’s eternal purpose.
Questions to Ponder:
Are you full of joy, peace and contentment? If you are, then you probably have a pretty good understanding of how to apply the mystery of His will in the present. On the other hand, if you’re feeling angry, frustrated or discontented, then you might need to examine, study, meditate and pray about gaining a greater understanding of God’s present and eternal purpose in Christ. Is your present life in focus with God’s plan for eternity?
