"Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look." 1 Peter 1:8-12
Joy is the biblically informed (Holy Spirit taught) response of the believer to the trinitarian splendor of God.
“But the Spirit not only enables us to know and love Christ, making us like him. Now before anything else, what is most characteristic of the Son is his relationship with his Father, that he knows and enjoys receiving the love and life of the Father, “that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me” (John 14:31). At the heart of our transformation into the likeness of the Son, then, is our sharing of his deep delight in the Father. In our love and enjoyment of the Son, we are like the Father; in our love and enjoyment of the Father we are like the Son. That is the happy life the Spirit calls us to.” Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity, p. 95
Reasons For Our Joy
1. God is…
2. God has revealed himself in the trinitarian splendor.
“according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood” I Peter 1:2
3. “ELECT exiles” (Eternally loved)
4. “Elect EXILES” (We live in the ‘already, but not yet’. We are not home; eternal glory awaits. The inheritance is reserved in heaven for us and we will obtain the salvation of our souls. v. 9)
5. Joy is to be experienced NOW.
Heidelberg Catechism Question 90: What is the coming to life of the new nature?
It is a heartfelt joy in God through Christ, and a love and delight to live according to the will of God in all good works.
This joy is overflowing, inexpressible, and full of glory.
6. We have seen the revelation of Christ and are privileged to see things angels long to examine. v. 10-12.
My response is to strive to understand the goodness, the character of God, in order that I may be used of him and my joy might abound.