What is Christian Joy?

For the past few weeks at Fellowship Reformed Church in Mt Pleasant, MI, we’ve been working through a sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit. At our Sunday evening church service, guest speaker Eric Berg preached from Galatians 5 and John 16, concerning the second fruit of the Spirit – namely, the fruit of Christian joy. Eric is a pastoral intern at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, MI.

John 16:20-24 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

In Eric’s sermon on joy, he provided a definition of joy. Then, Eric explained how Christian joy, produced by the Spirit, isn’t dependent on our physical circumstances, but on Christ. (In this way, Christian joy is good and superior to earthly joy). And at the end, Eric gave a few comments regarding how we grow in joy.