Doctrine of Joy
2010 – John 15:11
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.” (
The Greek is transliterated as - TAUTA
LELALEKA HUMIN HINA HE CHARA HE EME EN HUMIN HE KAI HE CHARA HUMON PLEROTHE.
In verses 9 and 10
our Lord makes an issue out of love, AGAPE, a mental attitude love which is an
internal love that indicates the condition of your soul verses an external love
like PHILEO that is based on outward attractiveness. Then He pauses briefly to
speak of the benefits of having His love in verse 11, which is Joy in your
soul. Then He will go back to finishing His discussion on Love.
As we noted above, AGAPE is a mental attitude love strictly
in the soul. Therefore, it is a specialised love in contrast to PHILEO and its
non PHILOS. PHILOS is a general love. It includes what is in the soul and what is
on the outside as well. But here we have AGAPE and then we have CHARA which too
is a condition of the soul, that which is functioning on the inside.
Remember that Love
goes back to “the abiding life” in verse 7, where the abiding life is found in
the believer who is Occupied with the Person and Word of Jesus Christ, which
means making Bible Doctrine the number priority within your soul.
Therefore, the
picture is set for us:
1) Having the Word
in your soul, vs. 7,
2) Means you will
have the AGAPE love of God in your soul, vs. 9-10,
3) That means you
will also have the Joy of Jesus Christ, +H inside your soul.
So you see it all
goes back to Bible Doctrine resident within your soul. Based on the condition
of your soul you will express the love of God, and as a result have the Joy or
+H of God.
So we begin with “these things I have
spoken to you”.
TAUTA - is a Near Demonstrative Adjective used as a Pronoun in the Accusative,
Neuter, Plural of HOUTOS that means “this”. In the Plural it is “these” regarding the doctrines Jesus
has taught the disciples up to this point in the Upper Room Discourse. So we
will say, “these doctrines”.
LELALEKA - is a Verb in the Perfect, Active, Indicative, First Person,
Singular of LALEO that means “to talk or say”. The Perfect Tense is for completed past action. The Active Voice, Jesus is who has taught
them numerous doctrines. The Indicative
Mood is the fact of reality that Jesus has taught them verbally these
doctrines. So we will say, “I have
spoken (taught verbally).”
HUMIN - is the Second Person, Plural,
Pronoun of SU in the Dative case, that means “to you all” referring to the disciples.
So we have, “These doctrines I have
spoken (taught verbally) to you all.”
Then we have, “so that My joy may be in
you.”
HINA – is a
conjunction noting purpose, so we say “in
order that.” The purpose for learning Bible Doctrine in the past is to have
God’s happiness (+H) in their souls now and into the future.
HE - is the article in the Nominative, Feminine, Singular of HO for “the.”
CHARA - is in the Nominative, Feminine, Singular that “joy, gladness, happiness” and can be used to identify either the cause or
object of joy. It means that having
Bible Doctrine in the soul has the benefit of Sharing the Happiness of God (+H)
now and into the future.
HE - is again the article in the Nominative, Feminine, Singular of HO for “the”.
EME – is a Possessive Adjective in the Subject Nominative, Feminine, First
Person, Singular of EMOS that means “My
or Mine”. Here Jesus is referring to Himself and the Happiness that He has
which can be ours when we too learn His Word.
EN – is the Dative of Sphere Preposition
for “in the sphere of”.
HUMIN - is once again the Second Person,
Plural, Pronoun of SU in the Dative case, that means “you all” referring to the disciples who Jesus desired to receive
+H. Jesus
Christ is God. As God He always had +H, there never was a time when
He didn’t have it; as man Jesus Christ has +H from His supergrace
life. He wants this +H to go to His eleven believing disciples and
by extension to all Church Age believers.
HE - is from the Verb EIMI in the Present, Active, Subjunctive, Third
Person, Singular that means “to be, is, are, etc.” The Customary Present Tense tells us that the believer who has Bible
Doctrine resident within their soul keeps on having the Happiness of God in
their soul too. The Active Voice says
the believer produces the action of having +H. The Subjunctive Mood is for potential based on the believer’s
volitional responsibility. So we will say, “Might keep on being”.
So we have “in order that My joy (+H) might keep on being in the sphere of you all.”
Finally we have, “and that your joy
may be made full”
KAI – is the Coordinating Conjunction, “and, even or also.”
HE - is the Article “the” in the Nominative,
Feminine, Singular.
CHARA - is once again the Noun in the Nominative, Feminine, Singular that means “joy” or +H, Sharing the Happiness of
God.
HUMON - is a Pronoun in the Genitive, Second Person, Plural of SU
that means “you”. In the Possessive Genitive it is referring to the disciples
joy, so we say, “of you or your”.
PLEROTHE - is a Verb in the Aorist, Passive, Subjunctive, Third
Person, Singular of PLEROO that means, “To
make full, fill up, or to complete.”
The Ingressive Aorist stresses the entrance into a state of being filled
with the Happiness of God. It is stative that means the believer with Bible
Doctrine resident within their souls receive +H and they can go even further by
being filled up with +H. They are made full with the Happiness of God. The
Passive Voice says the positive believer receives the action of the verb. The
Subjunctive Mood is again for potential based on the volitional responsibility
of the believer. So we will say “might
be made full”.
So we have, “and
your joy (+H) might be made full.”
John
This verse tells us there are two stages of Joy that the believer can
have from Bible Doctrine,
1) Basic Joy or +H which is the purpose of
learning and having Bible Doctrine in your soul. When you have doctrine cycling
through your soul you have the happiness of God
2) Full Joy +H which saturation with the joy of
God, the purpose of consistently applying Bible Doctrine in spiritual maturity
where you are consistently residing in the Joy of God.
As Jesus states later in
“My Joy … Your Joy” by Oswald
Chambers. “These
things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may
be full” (John
What was the joy that Jesus had? Joy should not be
confused with happiness. In fact, it is almost
an insult to Jesus Christ to use the word happiness
in connection with Him. The joy of Jesus was His absolute self-surrender and
self-sacrifice to His Father—the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to
do—“… who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross …” (Hebrews
12:2). “I delight to do Your will, O my God …” (Psalm 40:8). Jesus prayed that
our joy might continue fulfilling itself until it becomes the same joy as His.
Have I allowed Jesus Christ to introduce His joy to me?
Living a full and overflowing life does not rest in
bodily health, in circumstances, nor even in seeing God’s work succeed, but in
the perfect understanding of God, and in the same fellowship and oneness with
Him that Jesus Himself enjoyed. But the first thing that will hinder this joy
is the subtle irritability caused by giving too much thought to our
circumstances. Jesus said, “… the cares of this world, … choke the word, and it
becomes unfruitful” (Mark
Have the right relationship with God, finding your joy
there, and out of you “will flow rivers of living water” (John
A. The concept of joy is
taken from the corrected translation of
1. There is encouragement from being in union
with Christ.
2. There is comfort from virtue love because
you have entered the door of hope on God’s agenda into the unique spiritual
life.
3. There is fellowship with the Holy Spirit per
4. Being merciful and compassionate is a part
of joy or happiness.
5. Bringing your joy to completion is thinking
on the other side of the door of hope; the integrity envelope of personal love
for God the Father and impersonal love for all mankind.
6. Your one objective is maximum glorification
of God.
B. Definition.
1. Etymology:
a. The Hebrew noun SIMCHAH means joy or
gladness and is synonymous with the Greek word CHARA.
The Hebrew word for “sing for joy” is RANAN a primary root verb that means, “To give a ringing cry, cries of joy,
joyfully sing.”)
Also
the Hebrew noun RINNAH means a ringing cry: joy, joyful shout(ing) or joyful
singing.
b. CHARA comes from the Greek noun CHAIRO which is a primary verb that
means, “to rejoice, or be glad.” Therefore, the noun CHARA means, “joy,
gladness, or happiness.”
c. Joseph Thayer defines the New Testament usage of CHARA as: joy,
gladness, (the joy received from you, the cause or occasion of joy, or of
persons who are one’s joy).
d. The Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament, Kittel, Vol IX, page 369, notes that the “eschatological
significance of joy is connected with hope.” Therefore it is part of your
confident expectation of what God has awaiting for you,
2. Joy is a system of thinking doctrine and is accompanied by enthusiasm
for that doctrine. Joy is thinking not emoting (exaggerated emotions).
3. Joy is good thinking resulting in good emotional response to that
thinking. Joy is doctrine circulating in the seven compartments in the stream
of consciousness. Then as you go through the gate of hope on God’s agenda it
eventuates in sharing the happiness of God.
4. This joy has a response which includes animation in the soul,
enthusiasm, and exultation. Exultation is a liveliness of the spiritual
victories that will come to you and with these victories the proper and true
Biblical elation as a response to doctrine, as the use of doctrine in
perception, metabolization, and application.
5. Joy must be defined as cognition. Joy is a system of thinking related
to Bible doctrine. From this cognition we have a response. The emotion is not the
joy but the response to it.
6. Joy is inner liveliness caused by response to metabolized Bible
doctrine in the soul’s stream of consciousness. Joy is perception and
metabolization of Bible doctrine. Joy is animated thinking.
7. Joy is the reality of the spiritual life in the thinking of your
soul. Joy is related to Christian fellowship in
8. Joy begins in spiritual childhood with the deployment of the basic
Problem Solving Devices as a result of perception of basic Bible doctrine. When
the believer has confident expectation (hope) in God’s plan and purpose for his
life and continues his momentum in the application of Divine integrity, he
attains the objective of joy, which is synonymous with “Sharing the Happiness
of God.” So joy begins in spiritual childhood but is enhanced and reaches its
operational function as you move from orientation to the Word of God to
confident expectation in the Plan of God into Divine integrity – Spiritual
Maturity status.
9. Joy is both Sharing the Happiness of God (+H) and the invigorating
response and lively excitement related to both the pleasure and exultation of
possessing both an eternal and temporal relationship with God. Sharing the
Happiness of God is joy brought to completion.
10. Joy is also the application of virtue and values in Occupation with
Christ and rapport with God.
C. Suffering for Blessing and
Joy.
Mat
Mat
In the age of technology, one of the ways the
Christian is insulted and persecuted is the constant bombardment of
anti-Biblical view point. When the believer is called to endure persecution it
does not mean suffer physical harm with your mouth shut, but to have the mental
fortitude so that the persecution does not negatively influence your thinking
with the result that you give up your faith and lose the Joy of Jesus Christ
that is resident within your soul. As verse 11 states “when people insult you
and persecute you” that is both physical and mental abuse. Outside of the
“Happy are those who have been persecuted for the sake
of righteousness” means maintaining and continuing with cognitive invincibility
in the face of anti-Christical attacks that also come from our airwaves, the
nightly news, the internet, radio, newspapers, etc.
If you focus too much on the messages the media is
feeding you, you will succumb to Cosmic Viewpoint and fail in receiving the Joy
of Jesus Christ.
1. The Greek word used here for “consider” is
HEGEOMAI (Aorist, Middle Deponent, Imperative), which has two main meanings.
The first is “to lead” as in having authority, and the second is “to suppose”
which means to think, to consider, to regard. Both are important here as the
believer is to have authority over their soul through the thinking /
application of Bible Doctrine.
2. Thinking, considering, and regarding is the
liveliness of Bible doctrine in the stream of consciousness, the stream of
consciousness being operational. Therefore HEGEOMAI provides us with three
explanations of joy.
a. To Think means the reasoning of the
conscious mind, the capability of reasoning, remembering, decision making, and
application. Therefore joy means to employ the mind rationally and objectively
in evaluation and application of Bible doctrine (Divine Viewpoint). The mood of
the Greek word HEGEOMAI is Imperative, which mandates the function of joy.
b. To Consider means to think
carefully in making decisions. Joy is the process of thinking, and careful
thinking in making decisions. Joy is making a decision based on thinking in
terms of Divine Viewpoint.
c. To Regard means to concentrate, to
value, to honor, to revere; therefore to
think in terms of high esteem, to evaluate the facts is joy.
3. Joy is thinking, considering, and regarding. This is an Imperative Mood, in which God makes
a direct positive demand on the volition of the believer involved in Suffering
for Blessing.
4. These verses
apply only to the adult stage of the spiritual life. You are commanded to face
Providential Preventative Suffering, Momentum Testing or Suffering for Blessing
with joy; a system of thought based on cognitive self-confidence and the
integrity envelope. This is thinking in terms of Bible Doctrine that does not use
prayer as a Problem Solving Device. Instead it uses Bible Doctrine resident
within your soul to stand firm (cognitive invincibility) against the attacks of
anti-Biblical thinking that results in you having the Joy of Jesus Christ.
Communion
1. The maximum Problem Solving Device for our
Lord Jesus Christ during the First Advent was Joy / Sharing the Happiness of
God, which is a system of thinking. This system of thinking has been given to
us during the Church Age.
2. Joy / Sharing the Happiness of God and
Occupation with Christ are two sides of the same coin as we have seen in
3. Our Lord’s exhibited joy was the result of
maximum metabolized Bible doctrine circulating in His stream of consciousness
as a Problem Solving Device as He endured the bearing of our sins on the Cross.
4. One of the rewards Jesus
received for enduring the Cross was having joy in the knowledge that He made
possible reconciliation for the entire human race and that some would receive
that reconciliation.
5. Christ underwent all the
misery and shame of the Cross that he might purchase for us everlasting life,
and joy, and glory.
D. Joy and Emotions:
1. Emotion has no strength. Emotion is totally
self-centered. For example, guilt is all
emotion and is full of sin. It has no strength. Shame is a normal function of
the soul, which is why it occurs at the judgment seat of Christ in resurrection
body (1
2. How you feel is never the issue in the
spiritual life.
a. When a person is motivated to perform works
by how they feel and their emotions, they produce dead works (wood, hay and
straw,
b. When a person is motivated to perform works
by Bible Doctrine circulating in their souls, they produce Divine good works.
3. Lewis
Sperry Chafer stated in His Systematic Theology, “It is clear, that the
immaterial part of man originates not as a creation, but as a transmission.”
Emotions were designed by God. In planning the creation of mankind, God said,
“Let us make mankind in our shadow-image according to our likeness,”
a.
In the Garden of Eden, perfect mankind functioned under four shadow-image principles
(self-consciousness - I am, self-perception - I think, volitional options - I
ought, and self-determination - I will) resulting in good emotion. Good emotion
was added by God as an appreciator of the things in the soul.
b. Emotion is what is
experienced as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of
consciousness. Emotion is part of the essence of the soul. The soul resides in
the brain.
c. Emotion has two
functions in life as a part of the soul; a normal and an abnormal function. The
emotions of the soul are designed to respond to what is in the mentality of the
soul.
d. As a result of perception,
metabolization, and application of Bible doctrine circulating in the stream of
consciousness through the filling of the Holy Spirit, the believer responds in
appreciation to God. That is good emotion. Good emotion came in the Garden of
Eden before bad emotion, which came after the fall of man.
e. Bad emotion began at the
original sin and has continued throughout human history. Bad emotion was very
much in evidence in the original sin of man. Bad emotion came in the form of
tremendous guilt after the original sin. Bad emotion continued when Adam was
afraid of the Lord, when He came looking for Adam,
4. Emotion is a result of cognition. Emotion is
not a part of the spiritual life. It is the result of the spiritual life where
in animation we express what is in our soul. We are not spiritual because we
feel spiritual. The spiritual life is the cognition and function of the
spiritual mechanics revealed in the Word of God, and it produces the purpose of
the spiritual life; to reflect the integrity of God.
5. As a system of response and feeling, emotion
does not contain the following.
a. Emotion does not contain
thought.
b. Emotion does not contain
the ability to reason.
c. Emotion does not contain
common sense.
d. Emotion does not contain
vocabulary as a tool for mental function.
e. Emotion has no doctrinal
content.
6. Etymology of Emotions. The New
Testament uses several Greek words for emotion.
a. KOILIA is identified with
the solar plexus, a part of the central nervous system. It is often translated
“stomach, inner most or appetite” in scripture.
Its Hebrew equivalents are MEEH, BETEN and QUEB. It originally meant
some kind of hollow. Hypocrates, a physician, used this word for both the
stomach and womb, but he did not correctly identify it as the solar plexus,
which is often confused with the stomach.
b. SPLAGCHNON represents the
parasympathetic and sympathetic effects of emotion. It is the word for
“intestines, heart, liver, or lungs”, often translated “bowels, guts or
entrails” in the
c. The noun NEPHROS is
translated “minds” in
d. While certain portions of
the anatomy double for parts of the soul in the Bible, it is not difficult to
distinguish the essence of the soul from the physiological anatomy of the body.
For instance the Greek word KARDIA means heart and always refers to the area of
thought in the soul. English words used in the Bible to describe the emotions
include: bowels, belly, reins, etc.
7. The heart contains all thought and
standards. The emotion, KOILIA, contains nothing, is empty, or hollow. Emotion
is something empty and waiting to respond. Emotion contains no doctrine, no
thought, no common sense, and no ability to reason. If emotion controls the
soul you can not think or apply Bible doctrine to life.
8. By definition, the emotions are the
appreciator of the soul. By function, the emotions respond to the right lobe.
The emotion is strictly a responder. It contains feeling. It is like an empty
bag lined with sensitivity. It is sensitive to music, art, drama, the opposite
sex, etc.
9. Emotion is not designed to assume
authority over the soul, but is designed to be dominated by the KARDIA (right
lobe of your soul).
10. Emotion has no ability to love. Thus,
emotional revolt produces homosexuals and lesbians.
11. Capacity for life is related to
the right lobe (KARDIA – heart of your soul), which is thought, not the
emotions. You can enjoy life only by running your emotions in response to your
thoughts.
12. The emotions of worry, anxiety,
and guilt all come from fear; they are the manifestation of fear. Fear is lack
of thinking under pressure. Fear is the believer’s failure to apply doctrine to
the problems of life, of suffering, of disaster, and of failure. Hatred, anger,
violence, and murder also come from fear. Scriptures related to fear as an
illustration of sin include,
13. Joy is far greater than emotion. It is
sharing the happiness of God, a happiness that does not depend on
circumstances.
E. Emotion stimulates
happiness.
1. Verse 15 says that happiness is in the right
lobe and in verse 16 the emotions respond as he becomes aware of what is in his
right lobe. This is analogous to a Pastor who is receives happiness and is able
to expresses the happiness in his soul as joy from the knowledge that one of
his students (MATHETES) is advancing and having impact in the Plan of God.
a.
Our good emotions respond to the happiness in our soul just as a right woman
responds in happiness and joy when here right man expresses joy to her.
2. The Frame of Reference in your
Heart, (the right lobe of your soul),
provides information for the
3.
In addition, your conscience, which contains your norms and standards,
also turns on your emotions. Therefore, in the spiritual life, your priesthood
is stimulated to function when your emotion is turned on by your norms and
standards that are based on the Word of God. Emotional response to your
conscience causes you to have good emotions of pride knowing you are fulfilling
the Plan of God for your life,
4.
The viewpoint in the right lobe provides stimulus or response from the
emotions, as when you hear someone else speak Divine viewpoint. This stimulates
a joyful response to your own viewpoint from Bible doctrine.
F. Joy is based on
having God’s Word in your soul with the Filling of God the Holy Spirit.
1. Joy is thinking God's happiness in contrast
to emotion or stimulated feelings often confused as a status of human
happiness. Joy is a system of thinking based on God’s Word in your soul which
elicits the response of good emotion.
2. The spiritual life runs on divine
power, never how you feel. Even good emotion will not get you back into
fellowship.
3.
4. Joy and peace must be related to thinking
because your fellowship is with invisible God. When you love someone you cannot
see, you have a relationship with the invisible person through thinking,
thinking, thinking.
5. The purpose of true Christian fellowship
with God (the communication of Bible doctrine) is the completion of your joy,
6. The unbeliever cannot have joy, only the
believer, because they do not receive the communication of God’s Word,
7. Joy based on Sharing the Happiness of God is
the peak of emotional response in life. But even good emotional response is not
the criterion for the spiritual life. You are never saved because you feel
saved. You are never spiritual because you feel spiritual.
a.
A carnal believer cannot have a legitimate emotion related to the spiritual
life. When you are out of fellowship, your emotion is not an issue. The issue
is name your sins to God in the privacy of your priesthood.
8. Joy is perfect happiness which produces good
emotion as an appreciator of that happiness.
Emotional revolt of the soul is bad emotion,
9. Good emotions like joy always come from
metabolized Bible doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness.
Therefore, joy is the function of Sharing the Happiness of God at a point of
maximum metabolized doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness, so
that the emotions have something to appreciate that is good.
10. To have “the Joy of Jesus Christ”
we must be imitators of the Lord and someone like Paul by use of the three
spiritual skills. We do not imitate personality characteristics, because then
you get into role model arrogance, and you have bad emotion. Instead we imitate
the power they had within their souls from Bible Doctrine and the filling of
the Holy Spirit, 1 Thes 1:6.
1
Thes 1:6, “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the
word in much adversity associated with the joy of the Holy Spirit.”
11. Circumstances are not the issue in
Sharing the perfect Happiness of God,
12. Maximum Bible doctrine circulating
in the stream of consciousness elicits the ultimate in good emotion,
G. The
Biography of Joy.
1. The infancy of joy is cognitive happiness
related to the persistent function of the two power options (the filling of the
Holy Spirit and metabolized Bible Doctrine in the stream of consciousness), the
development and deployment of the basic Problem Solving Devices (Rebound,
Filling of the Holy Spirit, Doctrinal Orientation, Faith Rest), and the inner
soul thinking that produces a motivation and an animation to continue learning
God’s Word. When you first begin to learn doctrine, there is enthusiasm. When
you first begin to understand some basic doctrines, there is exultation; there
is a liveliness in your soul. That means that Bible doctrine has produced a
spiritual animation, and this spiritual animation is the beginning of loving
God.
2. The adulthood of joy is entering the door of
hope (confident expectation) on God’s agenda through the deployment of the
advanced Problem Solving Devices, (Personal Sense of Destiny, Personal Love for
God, Sharing the Happiness of God, Occupation with Christ), fulfilling stages
two and three of the adult spiritual life (Spiritual Autonomy and Spiritual
Maturity). This is tantamount to the definition of “joy” as Sharing the
Happiness of God.
3. Joy is not an emotion, but a system of
Biblical cognition, (strength from God’s Power System -
4. Joy is a system of cognition of Bible
doctrine. It is an integral part of the spiritual life. It is a system of
thinking in terms of metabolized Bible doctrine in the soul. It is the capacity
for loving God. It is cognitive awareness of the spiritual life as you walk
through and beyond the door of hope.
5. The Joy of Jesus Christ is truly understood
in relationship to the doctrine of Divine Love. While joy is a part of God’s
agenda for entering the door of hope, it reaches its peak and completion in
Sharing the Happiness of God.
H. The Difference between
Joy and Pleasure.
1. Both joy and love are thinking functions of
the spiritual life in contrast to pleasure. Joy and love are thinking. Joy and
love are associated with virtue righteousness and are in the soul (John
2. We must distinguish between joy and
pleasure. Joy is a system of thinking with happiness related to love for God,
while pleasure is a system of emotion.
3. There are some traps associated with
pleasure.
4. Pleasure is a state of feeling pleased,
happy, delight, or satisfaction. It is a satisfaction derived from what is to
one’s liking, a frivolous amusement or enjoyment which is not related to the
Biblical word joy,
5. The
6. Joy is the inner soul thinking that does not
depend on circumstances, environment or pleasure. There is nothing wrong with
most pleasures if you are in your spiritual life. But pleasure can become a
very definite destruction to your spiritual life.
7. Joy is thinking Bible doctrine. The result
is peace, harmony, tranquillity, rapport with God. Compare with 1 Thes 1:6;
1 Thes 1:6, “Having received
the Word of God under much pressure with the joy (from the source) of the Holy Spirit.”
Principles of 1 Thes 1:6:
1) This joy under pressure is in contrast to pleasure.
2) Regardless of the situation you can have the Joy of Jesus Christ in
your life,
Principles of
1)
2) When
3) As a result, you rejoice to the maximum, “you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible”.
4) “Having been made glorious”
is the execution of the spiritual life that results in joy.
I. Authority
Orientation and Joy
1. Your authority orientation towards your
Pastor/Teacher gives him great joy. It frees him from having to address various
problems or situations that distract him from his main job – to study and
teach,
a. You
“remember” Pastors by attending Bible class, by praying for them, by
understanding that they have an abnormal life and supporting them financially,
b. The
issue of a Pastor’s way of life is their Bible doctrine not their way of life.
Are they faithful in studying and teaching the word?
a. We
must, according to our power, give to the necessities of the body of Christ
especially towards the needs of our Pastor/Teachers.
b. The Pastor is totally
dependent on the grace of God and the grace of the local assembly.
c. We are commanded to give
graciously in all aspects especially in providing for our Pastor,
d. God accepts these
offerings with pleasure, and will accept and bless the offerers through Christ.
“Obey” is
from the Greek word PEITHO in the Present, Middle, Imperative with the Dative
Case of HEGEOMIA that means “leader.”
This means to abide by the teaching of your right
Pastor Teacher and his delegated authority.
“Submit” is
also an Imperative Mood in the Present Tense and Active Voice of HUPEIKO which
is an old Greek compound that means, “to yield under, to give up or to give way to authority.” Ultimately
it means, “to submit to authority.” It is used here only in N.T.
This means to humble yourself under the authority of
your Pastor/Teacher. This is primarily wrapped up under his teaching authority
which means you show up to class when he is teaching and in objectivity you
learn from him.
So we have the dual command to obey and submit that
brings together two systems of authority in the Royal Family: the right Pastor,
plus the function of your own free will in positive volition toward Bible
doctrine.
Principle:
Your obedience and submission to your Pastor/Teacher has a direct correlation
to your obedience and submission to God.
“Keep watch
over your soul”, is the Greek verb AGRUPNEO; from AGREUO that means to catch, take by hunting and HUPNOS
that means “sleep”. So AGRUPNEO
literally means, “to be sleepless or wakeful”, but comes to mean “to be alert,
keep on the alert, or to keep watch”.
Whether you believe it or not, the Pastor is a
protector of your soul under the direct authority of God. He protects your soul
by teaching pertinent doctrines from God’s Word as lead by God the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ is the ultimate Shepherd and Guardian of
your soul,
He is the capital “S” shepherd and “G” guardian while
the Pastor/Teacher under the delegated authority of God is the lower case “s”
and “g”.
Jesus Christ’s guardianship comes from His Word as
taught by the Pastor/Teacher through the enabling power of God the Holy Spirit.
“Not with
grief” is the Greek verb STENAZO from STENO that means, “to moan, sigh, or groan.” So STENAZO means
“to groan (within oneself)”. BDAG defines its usage here as, “to express
oneself involuntarily in the face of an undesirable circumstance, to sigh or
groan.”
This is in contrast to the Pastor having joy. If the
congregation is not submitting to his authority by; not showing up to class,
not obeying his teachings, not applying it in life, not supporting him fully
financially, or honoring his administrative authority within the Church, there
will be grief in his soul, just as the Spirit is grieved,
“This would be unprofitable
for you”, is the Adjective ALUSITELES that means “unprofitable or of no
advantage or help.”
The Pastor’s job is to study diligently so that you
can learn the Word of God and apply it within your life. If your Pastor has any
grief at all he is hindered in performing his job which will negatively affect
your soul and your spiritual life. At best you won’t be as fruitful as you
could have been. At worst you will fall into reversionism and have misery of
your own with loss of reward.
Heb 13:17,
“Let them do this with Joy, (CHARA)”
Principles:
a.
Pastors do not rule over you in the sense of telling you what to do, but in the
sense of teaching you what God expects from you and how to execute His Plan.
(As the PT walks as an example for you
b. You
submit to the Pastor’s authority by listening to their communication of Bible
doctrine.
c. Your duty to your Pastor/Teachers
is to obey and submit to them, so far as what they are teaching is agreeable to
the mind and will of God, made known in His Word. Compare with
d. The
pastor’s authority is established on the basis of the teaching of Bible doctrine.
The issue is not the man’s personality but the message. However, He does have
responsibility to be a righteous man with a good reputation within and outside
the church,
e.
Since the Pastor’s authority is Bible teaching, his ministry does not violate
the privacy of the individual priesthood. Therefore, the Pastor fulfills his
responsibility under the mandates of
R.B. Thieme Jr. translated it as, “For because of this
(communication of Bible doctrine), we work hard to the point of exhaustion, and
we hang in there tough because we have confidence in the living God who is the
savior of all men.”
f. The believer should
never think that he is too wise, too good, or too great, to learn Bible
doctrine from their Pastor. Regardless of a believer’s spiritual growth he must
continually search the Scriptures. So far as the Pastor teaches according to
God’s Word, the congregation ought to receive his instructions as the Word of
God, which works in those that believe.
g. It is in the interest of
the hearers that the account their Pastor gives of them may be with joy, and
not with grief.
1 Thes 2:19‑20, “For who is our hope or joy or
crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at
His coming? (At the judgment seat of Christ, those who have attained spiritual
maturity are the crown of glory for the pastor.) 20For you are our
glory and joy.”
h. Faithful Pastor will
deliver their souls, but the ruin of a fruitless and faithless people will be
upon their own heads, they can only blame themselves.
i. The more earnestly the
congregation prays for their Pastor, the more benefit they may expect from
their ministry.
j. A good conscience has
respect for all of God’s commands and all our duty, including this one (Heb
k. The equipping /
perfecting of the saints in every good work (Eph 4:2), is the great thing
desired by the positive Pastor/Teacher, as well as the desire of the Pastor to
be fitted for the employment and happiness of heaven. He wants to be used by
God.
l. There is no good thing
in us except that which is made by the work of God. The delegation of authority
from God to the Pastor, who is abiding in Christ for His sake and by His
Spirit, is the means by which God’s good is worked in us.
m. God’s good in the
positive believer is what brings joy to the Pastor/Teacher.
2. We build capacity for joy
through Authority Orientation. Remember that Joy is inner liveliness caused
by response to metabolized Bible doctrine in the soul’s stream of
consciousness. Joy is the reality of the spiritual life in the thinking of your
soul. It is animated thinking as a result of God’s Word in your Soul. So our
final points regarding “Authority Orientation and Joy” have to do with building
capacity within your soul for joy by applying God’s Word to life’s situations
where there is authority. When you apply God’s Word in life, your soul is freed
from sin and the garbage of Satan’s Cosmic System that hinders happiness, and
therefore you build capacity within your soul for the Joy of Jesus Christ,
3. Authority Orientation towards governing authorities
frees the soul so that the joy of God can come in,
a. “to
be subject to” is the Greek verb HUPOTASSO and is in the Imperative Mood which
is a command in Romans and Peter. In
4. Workers who submit to their bosses have capacity
for joy,
5. Wives who submit to the authority of their husbands
have capacity for joy. The husband has
authority over the wife. The husband’s authority over his wife provides great
happiness in category two love. This stabilizes category two love,
6. Children who submit to the authority of their
Parents have capacity for joy,
7. Rejection of authority carries
responsibility, and results in a life of misery, unhappiness, disaster, and no
human or Spiritual Self-Esteem,
J. Giving is
related to joy,
K. Prayer
should be conducted in the “joy of Jesus Christ”,
L. The Word
of God in your soul shared with others brings joy,