The fruit joy is the fruit of the Spirit. Therefore the fruit of joy should be present in your life as a born-again believer. Unfortunately, many Christians don’t experience joy in their lives. Why don’t they experience joy in their lives? What does the Bible say about the fruit of joy? What does the fruit joy mean?
The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost
The transfer to is should e Word says, that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17)
Before you became born again in Christ and became a new creation, you belonged to the generation of fallen man. You were carnal and led by the flesh. You belonged to the kingdom of darkness (the world) and had a negative mindset and were not happy or joyful. Your mood depended upon your circumstances.
But when you became born again, you were transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God. You were no longer led by your senses, feelings, emotions, circumstances, situations, etc. but you were led by the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit.
Being born again and being translated into the Kingdom of God should be reasons for joy. Because the Word says, that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
This means that if you are born again and have become a son of God and belong to the Kingdom of God, you will live from the Kingdom of God, you will walk in righteousness, and have peace and joy in your life.
What does the word joy mean?
The Greek word is ‘chara’ and comes from G5463; cheerfulness, that is, calm delight: – gladness, X greatly, (X be exceeding) joy (-ful, -fully, -fulness, -ous).
The dictionaries describe the word ‘joy’ as:
- The emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation. A deep feeling or condition of happiness or contentment, something causing such a feeling; a source of happiness, an outward show of pleasure or delight; rejoicing (dictionary.com).
- the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires: delight (Merriam Webster)
- Joy or happiness is a positive emotion of people, a contentment of circumstances and setting/surrounding. When someone has joy or happiness that person doesn’t experience any lack or stress, the person has positive feelings for the surroundings and him/herself and has no means to change their circumstances (Wikipedia).
According to the dictionaries, when you are satisfied with the circumstances and surroundings, and are content, you will experience joy and happiness. When you experience joy and be happy, you don’t experience any lack or stress and have positive feelings towards the circumstances, the surroundings around you, and yourself. When you experience joy, you don’t feel the need to change your circumstances.
So, when you are dissatisfied, depressed, experience stress, burn-out, a negative mindset, speak negatively about yourself or about your surroundings, and when you experience a lack, you are not joyful. You will not rejoice, nor be happy, and therefore the fruit joy is not present in your life. The fruit joy is a fruit that remains and doesn’t come and go.
The fruit joy
When we talk about the fruit joy, we don’t talk about smiling and laughing all the time in front of other people, being a comedian; making funny jokes, being an enthusiastic singer, cheering, etc.
Nor does the fruit joy mean a temporary joy. For example, being happy and joyful on Sunday morning when you go to church and sing praises to the Lord and pretend to be happy in front of others and then going home and feel down and be led and ruled by your daily circumstances, situations, (negative) feelings, and emotions. No, these are just temporary carnal expressions of joy and the fruit joy is not a temporary carnal expression.
What is a rooted joy?
The joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:11)
The Bible doesn’t speak about a temporary joy, but a rooted joy, a calm delight, contentment, that no one is able to take away from you, because the fruit joy abides in your heart.
The fruit joy is born of the Spirit and therefore the fruit joy is an everlasting joy. Nothing and no one, will be able to steal the fruit joy from you.
No matter, what the circumstances are, or what people think or say about you. The fruit joy doesn’t come and go. It is not moved by circumstances and situations, nor dependent upon circumstances, people, and situations, but the fruit joy is the power of God and abides in you forever
A joy from the Holy Spirit
The fruit joy is a joy, that doesn’t come from the outside to the inside and therefore is not dependent upon surroundings, circumstances, and situations. But the fruit joy is a joy that comes from the inside. The Holy Spirit gives that joy in your heart.
It is a joy that goes beyond the temporarily worldly joy. It is a joy, you have received by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Nothing and no one can steal that joy, which you have received from God and comes forth from the Spirit.
No one can steal away your joy
And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you (John 16:22)
Why can no one steal that joy from you? Because you have received the most precious thing there is in life; salvation, reconciliation with God, a relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father through the Holy Spirit, and eternal life.
You have been made complete in and through Him. His Kingdom has come to you.
You are a new creation through regeneration in Christ and you have received God’s nature, now that the Holy Spirit dwells inside of you.
You are born again in the spirit into the Kingdom of God, and joy is one of the elements of the Kingdom.
You have been made complete in Him
The times that you were dissatisfied, negative, depressed, and experienced lack are over. Because you have been made complete in Him. You have become a son of God, and the Father will take care of you.
You have laid down your carnal nature that is sense ruled and always depended upon circumstances. You have received God’s nature and you shall walk after the Spirit instead of the flesh. You are no longer led by the flesh, but you are led by the Word and the Spirit.
People, who live without Jesus are tossed to and fro by their circumstances
People, who live without Jesus are tossed to and fro by their circumstances, cares and situations. Their feelings and emotions are like a raging sea. One moment they are extremely happy, the next they are grumpy, then they are happy again, then they are sad. They are up and down and this will continue their whole lives, because they are led by their feelings and emotions, which are led by the circumstances.
Therefore they don’t know what their mood will be when they wake up and how they feel and behave, since their emotions and feelings reign in their lives and they act according to what they feel.
Jesus Christ gives peace and joy
But as soon as someone meets Jesus Christ and becomes a new creation, this shall all change and there will be an inexplicable peace and joy in the heart. A joy that is not dependent upon situations and circumstances, but only Jesus Christ can provide.
Maybe you think: “Yeah right, it is easy for you to say these things, but you don’t know what I am going through”.
Well, let me tell you, that every born again believer will experience temptations, setbacks, hardships, etc. There is no one excluded! Every Christian must take up his or her cross, crucify his or her flesh and follow Jesus (Read also: ‘Following Jesus will cost you everything’).
As long as the devil is not cast into the eternal pit of hell yet, he still has the ability to tempt and deceive you and destroy your life. The devil will do anything he can to succeed in his mission and to take you down with him into hell.
This means, that you will be tempted and it might even mean, that you will experience persecution, by strangers, but also by the people, who are the closest to you. Even your relatives.
When you don’t experience any persecution, you might ask yourself, if you are walking on the right path of life. You might yourself, whether you walk after the flesh or after the Spirit?
We will all experience temptations. The thing that matters is, how you cope with temptation. Will you become weary, complain and murmur, and give in to temptations, and have pity parties, and do you allow your flesh to reign in your life (Read also: ‘Joy or pity party‘)? Or do you walk by faith after the Spirit and keep standing on God’s Word and stay joyful, so that the temptations will not move you?
The Bible says, that you should count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations because the trying of your faith works out patience (James 1:2-3 and 1 Peter 1:6-7).
How do you produce the fruit joy?
Jesus says: If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full (John 15:10-11)
Here you have the answer; if you keep the commandments of Jesus, you shall abide in His love. You shall do His will on earth, just like Jesus kept the commandments of His Father and did the will of His Father.
When you walk according to His commandments, you shall abide in His love, and your joy will become full.
The Holy Spirit lives inside of you, and it is your job to renew your mind with the Word of God. The renewing of your mind will ensure, that the Spirit rules inside of you and will not be stopped by your old carnal mind.
He lives inside of you, in your heart, and He sits on the throne of your life. This means, that not your will be done, but that His will be done.
I will rejoice in the Lord always!
Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice (Philippians 4:4)
In the letter of Philippians, Paul wrote to the saints at Philippi several times about the fruit joy. Paul urged the saints to rejoice in the Lord always, and Paul even repeated it.
The prophet Habakkuk described it so beautifully, and with these words, I would like to finish this blog post. Habakkuk said:
Although the fig tree shall not blossom,
neither shall fruit be in the vines;
the labour of the olive shall fail,
and the fields shall yield no meat;
the flock shall be cut off from the fold,
and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation
(Habakkuk 3:17-18)
‘Be the salt of the earth’
