By Pastor Dave Farmer

Topic #10 John's Joy Made Complete

1 John 1:4

Indeed, we alone [the writers of Scripture] are writing these things [New Testament Books], so that our joy may be made complete.

Introduction

In this final verse of the Prologue, we move from the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is introduced in verses 1-3, to the written Word in verse four. This is the subject of revelation, which is a major theological doctrine in the Bible. Due to its importance, it would be useful to define this subject as we begin verse four. Revelation is divided into two areas. First, there is General Revelation whereby God reveals Himself, His Person and Presence, through His WORKS. Creation is an illustration of General Revelation:

Psalm 19:1

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Romans 1:20

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

The second area of revelation is Special Revelation, which is the activity of God, who reveals Himself through His WORDS. This second sphere was necessary for General Revelation is not sufficient to communicate to us God’s Person, plan, or purpose. It could reveal His existence and provide some knowledge of His greatness and Sovereign power, but it could not tell us why He created the world. We will need to hear directly from Him. He must speak. He must give us His Word. This is the subject of Special Revelation.

THE DEMAND FOR SPECIAL REVELATION

It is critical to understand the need for Special Revelation. Let me illustrate why we need God to speak. The most significant moment in human history occurred when Jesus Christ was hanging on the cross. On the hillside of Golgotha, a hill outside the city limits of Jerusalem, a very large group assembled. These spectators all watched our Lord being brought to the crest of the hill and there nailed to a wooden cross and hung. Although everyone is watching the same event, we find a variety of explanations about what was happening.

A Victim Of Injustice

Some looked at the cross and said, "What a tragedy! An innocent man being put to death for crimes He did not commit." Two convicted criminals were crucified with Christ that day. One of the men was making fun of our Lord, and the other reprimanded him saying:

Luke 23:40, 41

" . . . Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done NOTHING WRONG."

This man expressed what many have said about Christ's death, "He was a victim of the jealousy and hatred of the religious leaders." This was the view held by Pontius Pilate. He said Christ was innocent:

Luke 23:2-4

And they [religious leaders of Israel] accuse Him, saying, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King. "And Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And He answered him and said, "{It is as} you say. "And Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, "I FIND NO GUILT IN THIS MAN."

A Mad Man

Some viewed our Lord as a deluded fanatic! They believed that He got what He deserved. It was the result of His insanity. They thought He was mad because He thinks He is the Son of God.

Matthew 27:41-43

In the same way, the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking [Him], and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself, if He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we shall believe in Him. He trusts in God, let Him deliver Him now, if He takes pleasure in Him; for He said, "I am the Son of God."

John 10:20

Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?"

A False Prophet

Still, others remembered the prophecies of Jesus. They thought He was a false prophet, and they mocked Him.

Matthew 27:39-40

39) And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads

40) and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

The Son Of God

The Roman centurion who carried out the sentence of crucifying our Lord Jesus Christ was convinced that day by what he heard and saw that Christ was the Son of God:

Mark 15:39

When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

Now we have a variety of interpretations for this one act. Which view is correct? They can't all be right. They could all be wrong, but they all can't be right. So until God speaks, we really have no certainty as to which interpretation is true. It is essential to have the WORK of Christ on the cross to be followed by the WORD of God on the cross. It took the interpretation of heaven to give us the truth about the crucifixion.

Let me illustrate this in another way. It is a Sunday afternoon, and you and the family go for a drive. As you are passing your neighbor's house, you see him standing out front jumping up and down. This is a ridiculous scene, but someone in the car says, "He must have been stung by a bee." Another responds, "No, I think he is jumping for joy." Again, another replies, "No, his wife threw him out, and he is jumping mad." Now the point I am making is that until you walk up to that jumping man and he opens his heart to you and communicates why he is jumping, you don't have the foggiest idea.

God Has Spoken!

What happens when all the eyewitnesses are gone? Of course, those who heard the eyewitnesses testimony would pass on the truth to others. The weakness of this method is obvious. The original message would become corrupted. Not intentionally, but because of human fallibility. We are not perfect, nor do we remember things we heard exactly as heard and let's be honest we like to put our own spin on it. The oral method of passing on the truth was not a sufficient means to protect the truth from corruption. If this were the case in the period of the Old Testament, so it would be during the New Testament period. God solved this problem in the Old Testament period by inspiring the prophets to write down His Word. Now God is doing the same in the New Testament period but through the Apostles.

THE PROGRESS OF SPECIAL REVELATION

The fact that God has been speaking to man is not new; in fact, it began with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as they communed together in the cool of the evening. However, it wasn’t until Moses when God began to have His Words written down. Moses gave us the first five books of the Old Testament. Others were added as time went on “as men spoke from God moved by the Holy Spirit," 2 Peter 1:21. God’s purpose was for us to have His Word in writing, and in the time of our Lord’s earthly ministry, there existed an Old Testament Canon, a collection of 39 Books recognized to be the Word of God. They were authoritative and binding on all, so they were given a special designation “Scripture.”

The noun GRAPHE, which comes from the verb used in verse 4, "we are writing," is found 49 times in the Greek New Testament and is exclusively translated Scripture. This special word referred to a definite body of writing called the Word of God and given to us under the superintending influence of the Holy Spirit. We now have 66 books in the completed Canon of Scripture, divinely authorized, divinely supervised, and divinely preserved. Jesus himself told them they would be involved in the ministry of recall so that His words would be remembered. He said that the Spirit of Truth would come, referring to the Holy Spirit, and bring to their remembrance those things He said and did so that we might have an inspired record.

The Apostle Peter, when writing his Second Epistle, called attention to Paul's writings in which he called them "Scripture":

2 Peter 3:16

as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

John concluded his gospel with these words:

John 21:25

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

When John sits down at his desk and picks up his pen, what he writes down is the Word of God. He's not writing a novel, a short story, a personal letter to a friend or friends, or a book of poetry. He is writing the unique and inspired word of God, inerrant, infallible, and eternal.

STRIVING TOWARD THE GOAL

The final thought of this prologue is for us to focus on the joy that is mentioned in our text, "in order that our joy [writers of Scripture] may be completed."

John's Joy In Finishing The Mission

This Revelation was entrusted to the Apostles who have given to us the only trustworthy record that pertains to spiritual life and godliness or as customarily stated, "all matters pertaining to faith and practice." John is conscious of this. He recognized the high honor and the awesome responsibility of writing what was to be Scripture. Like all mature believers, John demonstrates that doing the will of God is a matter of joy.

Application

Joy is a wonderful biblical word and is explained in detail in the Scripture. The noun CHARA is found 59 times in the Greek New Testament, and its corresponding verb CHAIRO is repeated another 74 times. When these verses are examined, joy is defined differently than how it is understood in our culture.

Being a Christian is joyful! It should not be rare among those who professed to be Christians. Sadly this word is very misunderstood. It is equated with the emotional stimulation that comes from a pleasurable experience or the fulfillment of some wish. As long as we think of joy described by the world instead of the Word of God, we will only long for it, but never truly possess it. In fact, the Word of God tells us that this is to be the normal state of mind of all Christians. The idea that a Christian is to be a somber and serious all the time misrepresents what the Scripture says.

Joy is the inner mental attitude of happiness expressed in a positive and cheerful manner. Biblical joy or happiness is a way of thinking formed from truth in the soul. It results in the stability of life, an attitude of contentment, a sense of appreciation to God, freedom from fear, anxiety, and out of control anger. These are the concepts that explain this word in the Scripture.

Three facts about joy taught in Scripture.

First, only believers can have this joy. This is because is it produced in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Since the Holy Spirit does not indwell the unsaved, we can say with absolute certainty and confidence that whatever happiness they express is not biblical joy. So you can know joy only if you are born again.

Secondly, if you, as a believer, want to have this joy, you must stay connected to the source.

John 15:11

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

This joy is not automatic. His Word has been inscripturated for us to know, to trust in, and to obey or otherwise His joy in us will not be our daily experience, John 17:13,14; Psalm 119:2; Proverbs 3:13.

When Paul is explaining to the Philippians how to rejoice, he tells them they must focus their thinking on the Lord, "rejoice in the Lord." This is the secret of perpetuating joy. One of the reasons why we cannot truly rejoice is because our focus is on people, on our problems, or our circumstances. Paul's command is for us to focus on the Lord. David understood this a thousand years earlier:

Psalm 16:8,9

8) I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9) Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely.

David fixed his mind on God, not just Sunday morning, "continually." He practiced biblical thinking. Whenever he faced some trial or difficulty, these are joy-stealers, he would turn his mind to the Person of God, and remind himself of God's presence "because He is at my right hand." So when he was fearful, he recalled the promises of God and the truth of His powerful word caused His heart to rejoice. These are joy-builders.

Christians cannot rejoice even for a moment because their minds are not focused on the proper things. They fill their mind with false thinking, with speculations, with superstitious things, with imaginations, with a dishonorable things, with unwholesome things, with unprofitable things, with foolish things, with flaws and other people, with impure things, with evil thoughts, with critical things, with unfair and unjust things, with disappointments, discouragements about their failures and inadequacies, their insufficiencies, imperfection, and no wonder they are unhappy and fearful. They dwell on and fret and brood about their trials, their hardships, their unpleasant situations around them. If you fill your mind with those things, it is impossible to rejoice and think like the Lord.

Thirdly, follow Paul's Maxim. Not think positive thoughts, but think biblical thoughts. To be a truly happy person, you must practice the presence of God by disciplining yourself to see all of life and every circumstance from the divine perspective, from a God-centered point of view.

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

We must never forget that the Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit is changing us by changing our minds.

Ephesians 4:23

and that you be renewed by the Spirit (who is working) in your mind, Expanded translation

The Bible is filled with this Maxim.

Psalm 5:11

But let all who take refuge in You rejoice, Let them ever sing for joy; because [divine viewpoint] You will spread Your protection over them [a divine promise], Let them who love Your name be joyful in You [in your Person]. See also Psalm 13:5; 9:14;

The truly happy man is a believer who meditates on the Word of God. Remember, this is the reverse of meditation as it is used in the culture where you are to empty your mind and get rid of bad thoughts to arrive at peace, happiness, and harmony. The is satanic meditation. God's way of meditation is just the opposite. We are to fill our minds with the truth of God's Word.

Psalm 1:2

Happy is the person whose delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law [the Word of God] he meditates [joy-builder] day and night. See also Psalm 19: 8; Jeremiah 15:16

Biblical thinking must be practiced to perpetuate this joy in your Christian life. You have to replace every pessimistic thought with biblical thought. You turn your mind to think about His Person, His plan, His promises, His provision, and His power. As you memorize God's Word, meditate upon it daily, you will gradually have a contented, easygoing, positive, and cheerful manner about you and when trouble comes your joy will be unshakable!

This kind of joy is rare, indeed for it doesn't depend on circumstances. For instance, there would come a time when John would come to the attention of the Roman Emperor Domitian. John is a small fish in a big world. It would be like the Secret Service coming to your door and saying to you, "your walk with Christ has come to our attention." What are the odds of that happening? Domitian banished John to the Isle of Patmos. A Prison! Bad circumstances! However, on that island in 99 A.D., the One sitting in Heaven stood up! He came to John, and through his face-to-face teaching, the last book of the Bible was written in dramatic circumstances. The cursing of imprisonment and deprivations was turned into the greatest of all blessings. John was allowed to look through the door of Heaven into the future, and he received the divine outline of what was to come. At one point, John was so emotional, so overtaken by what he was experiencing, that he fainted and had to be revived, Revelation 1:17.

The will of God may be hard at times as it leads us through difficulties, but this joy, the abiding joy of Christ, remains no matter what the situation. These truths were tested by our Lord Jesus Christ as He hung on the cross. The Holy Spirit, through divine revelation, told us, through the writer of Hebrews, what was in His heart. In spite of the horrible circumstances He faced hanging on the cross, JOY was in His heart:

Hebrews 12:2

"... for the JOY set before Him, He endured the cross...".