A Letter of Joy

The Christian life is to be filled with joy that comes from living in the Grace and Peace of God. Too often our focus is on our circumstances rather than our Savior and like Peter we sink into the distressing waves of our trials. Philippians 1:1-2

The book of Philippians is a letter filled with joy. Happiness and joy are not the same things. You are happy when things happen to go your way. Happy even happens to sound like happenstance. C. S. Lewis said that happiness is not hard to achieve. For him a bottle of port would do it. Many people try to find happiness in alcohol, sex, drugs, or other escapes. These may give happiness, excitement or at least they make you forget your pain for a while. But often they increase your problems and suffering rather than help it. 

Paul wrote this letter from prison. His situation was not pleasant and happy. But rather than focus on his present pain, he looked to the riches that were his in Christ. Those who do not know Jesus will not know joy. Even we who know Jesus lose this joy because we take our eyes off of the Lord and turn to our painful situations. But joy that comes from knowing Jesus is deep. Nothing can take it away. It is joy unspeakable and full of glory. It is the kind of joy that shines even through dungeon walls. Do you know that joy? Do you know Paul's Jesus? 

This book is a letter written to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi. When you see the word saint in the Bible, it is talking about those who believe in Christ. Often we hear the word and think of someone who is very, very holy and is not living in the common world with the rest of us. But the holiness of a believer comes from the righteousness of Christ. Saints are those who are set apart to God by the Lord Jesus. When Paul writes to the saints in Philippi, he is not writing to the best of the church or the holiest of the church. He is writing all of the church. He is writing to us who believe, too. 

The letter begins with this greeting: Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. When we gather for worship, I pronounce this blessing on us because it is God who calls us together. Grace and peace were part of the blessing that Aaron was to pronounce on the people (a blessing we often use at the close of the service as a benediction. 

The Apostle uses the word grace in a unique way. Grace is a rich word that speaks of the blessings we have in Christ. There is an acrostic of the word that explains it: God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Grace is where God gives us that which we did not deserve-forgiveness, joy, peace and eternal life. God did this because Jesus had purchased it for us. God has given us his favor, not because we deserved it, or earned it, but because he loved us. 

The second word in this opening greeting is Peace. Paul is certainly looking back to the Hebrew word Shalom. There are a few Hebrew words which we all know: Amen, Hallelujah (which means praise ye the Lord), and the word Shalom, which means peace. God's people used this word as a greeting when they met and a blessing when they parted. We need the peace of God if we want to have real joy. We also need peace with God if we are to have real joy. Peace is not just the absence of conflict. It is wholeness, completeness. It is rest in the arms of God. We need peace with God because our sinfulness wars with God's holiness. That is what our Savior Jesus offers: peace with God and the peace of God There is an important order here. Grace comes before Peace. You cannot have peace without grace. First we respond to the calling of the Holy Spirit. First we reach out to the Savior who loved us and gave himself for us. First we are justified by faith in Christ. First our sins are taken away by our Savior. Then we have peace. Like that bumper sticker that plays with these words says-Know Jesus, Know peace; No Jesus, No peace. 

But when we are joined to Christ by faith, we're given a new heart and joy that transcends our circumstance. This is why Paul writes in Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God. This is how it is in all ages, from Adam to Noah, to Abraham to David to Paul to us. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, this is your story as well. Did you seek God before his Spirit called in your heart? You did not. When we find God, it is because God came to us first with grace. Perhaps God is coming to you in this moment. If so, you must respond to his grace. God will give you peace and joy and love. He will give you access to his presence and the living hope of life now and beyond the grave.