THE JOY THAT REMAINS

John 15:11

Morning Meditation 1/11/2014

Verse 11 says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

God puts a hunger in the heart of His child for Himself. It can be ignored, it can be quenched, or it can be drowned in a busy life of service. But if we are saved it is there. Paul said in Philippians 2:13, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” We can always be sure that God will do His work. If it is God’s work to work in us to do His will, then all God’s children have this work done in them. If that work does not appear to be happening, it is not because it is not being done. It is because God’s child is not responding.

Jesus says, “these things have I spoken . . .” The things of which He speaks are the things just said. It is the parable of the vine and branch. There are so many lessons there. One of them is the relationship between the vine and branch. There is no life for the branch apart from the vine. Yet many times believers get caught up in the things of the world and become totally disassociated in their minds from Jesus, the Vine. It is not that they are not connected. The connection is eternal. But the faith that makes the connection a reality to the experience is being hindered by something. Is that relationship being ignored? Is it being quenched? Is it being drowned in a busy life of service? We need to stop and go back and consider the things that Jesus spoke.

Jesus says, “these things have I spoken unto you . . .” Who did Jesus speak these words to? To His disciples. They were not spoken to the unsaved. This passage is not speaking of obtaining salvation. It is speaking of the relationship of a believer to Jesus. Those disciples had settled the issue of salvation with one exception, Judas. Judas was a professed believer but Jesus exposes him as an unbeliever (John 6:64). But the others were true disciples. Jesus is addressing true believers when He says, “Abide in me, and I in you.” He is addressing true believers when He says, “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” The branch is simply of the Vine. It is of the same nature as the Vine and an extension of it. The believer is a partaker of the divine nature (2 Pet.. 1:4). Jesus says, “these things have I spoken.” The verb here is a perfect active indicative. The perfect tense means that they have been spoken and they stand as truth at the time I am speaking to you right now.. And that perfect tense means that they are as true for us living today as they were then. There are some things that Jesus said and did that belonged to His day. But many of the things Jesus said belong to the AGES. The promises are as true today as they were then. Jesus said, “I have given you this truth. It is for you.”

Why did Jesus speak these words? Why is He reminding them of what He has spoken? He says, “that my joy might remain in you . . .” The word “joy” means “gladness.” It is from a root word that means, “to rejoice exceedingly.” Jesus is saying that this joy is my experience. Jesus is saying, “This is my joy and I want you to have what I have.” Some have said that Jesus never laughed. Well, He was not a stand up comic. However, you can’t have the kind of joy that this WORD describes without smiling or without laughing. I believe if you were to describe the emotion of Jesus the word “sober” would best describe Him. But to say He never expressed the joy of which He speaks is to set this verse aside. Jesus had joy in the midst of a serious task. In fact, as serious as His redemptive work was on this earth, He never lost this joy. Jesus wanted His disciples to have His joy that would remain in the midst of trial and tribulation.

The words “might remain” translate “meno” and means, “to abide.” It is an aorist active subjunctive verb. The aorist tense is a snap shot of the believer’s whole life. The subjunctive mood means that it is possible. It is possible for a believer to have His joy through the whole of his life.

Then Jesus added, “and that your joy might be full.” This is where the joy of Jesus becomes the experience of the believer. The words “might be full” translate “pleroo” and means, “to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full, to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally.” It is an aorist passive subjunctive verb. The aorist tense speaks of a point of time. This refers to the point of time that they by faith would enter into the truths of which He spoke in this chapter up to this point. The subjunctive mood is potential and means that it is possible and desirable for them to experience this joy. It is there for them. The passive voice means that it will happen to them. We get His joy in the process of abiding in Him. If you seek joy it may always be out of your reach. If you abide in Him, it will find you. Amen! It is His will that His joy become yours. It is available. We must enter into it by making His business ours like He made the Father’s business His.

Millie Stamm, in her devotional book, Be Still and Know, commented on this verse, “This same joy is possible for us today. From a vital union with Christ comes real joy for our lives—His joy—for He is its source. He said, ‘ .. . . that MY JOY might remain IN YOU.’ It is a supernatural joy produced in us by the Holy Spirit. We try to find joy in what we have or what we do, but real joy comes from constant abiding in the Lord.”

I will close this meditation with an old puritan’s prayer and his prayer is truly mine.

LORD JESUS,

I am blind, be thou my light,

ignorant, be thou my wisdom,

self-willed be thou my mind.

Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit’s voice,

and delightfully run after his beckoning hand,

Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,

make it alive to evil’s slightest touch;

When Satan approaches may I flee to thy wounds,

and there cease to tremble at all alarms.

Be my good shepherd to lead me into the green pastures of thy Word,

and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts.

Fill me with peace, that no disquieting worldly gales

may ruffle the calm surface of my soul.

Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge,

Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean,

Thy death occurred to give me a surety,

Thy name is my property to save me,

By thee all heaven is poured into my heart,

but it is too narrow to comprehend thy love.

I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel,

but thy cross has brought me near,

has softened my heart,

has made me thy Father’s child,

has admitted me to thy family,

has made me joint-heir with thyself.

O that I may love thee as thou lovest me,

that I may walk worthy of thee, my Lord,

that I may reflect the image of heaven’s first-born.

May I always see thy beauty with the clear eye of faith,

and feel the power of thy Spirit in my heart,

for unless he move mightily in me

no inward fire will be kindled.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. Wh