What is Christmas Joy?
Philippians 3:1-8a
Let’s turn to Luke 2:8-11. If you need a Bible, please raise your hand, and we will bring one to you. Luke 2 is on page 857 in the Bibles we are passing out.
The night Jesus was born, the angels told the shepherds that the birth of Jesus brought good news of great joy. To see that, read Luke 2:8-11 –
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.
10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
So the birth of Jesus brings good news of great joy which can be experienced by all the people of the earth, and every single one of us in this room.
But what is this joy? To answer this let’s turn to Philippians 3. Philippians 3 is on page 981 in the Bibles we passed out. What is Christmas joy? Paul tells us in verse 1 –
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
In verse 1 Paul calls us to rejoice in the Lord. So what does it mean to rejoice in the Lord?
The Greek word “rejoice” means to feel pleasure and delight in something. For example, this same Greek word is used in Luke 15:5 to describe how a man feels when he finds his lost sheep. Imagine that you had lost a sheep, which would be a massive loss. So how would you feel when you found your one lost sheep? You would feel pleasure and delight. So this Greek word “rejoice” means to feel pleasure and delight in something.
Which means that when Paul commands us to rejoice in the Lord, he is commanding us feel pleasure and delight in the Lord.
One of the biggest questions facing every human being is – where will we find pleasure and delight? God created us with hearts that long for pleasure and delight. But the question is where will we find pleasure and delight?
And the answer is – in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is a real being whom you can know and worship and love and obey. He is the second person of the Trinity -- fully God. He has existed from eternity past with no beginning. He is all-powerful, so that through him everything was created. He has complete authority over everything that happens in the universe.
And he loves us so much that he laid aside the powers and privileges he had as God, and became a man so he could be be punished for our sins in our place so we can be completely forgiven. Then he rose from the dead, showing that he had broken the power of sin, and death, and the devil. That’s who Jesus Christ is. He is so majestic, so powerful, so loving, so glorious – that when we know him and worship him and love him, we will have times when we are so filled pleasure and delight that we don’t need anything else.
Some of you may doubt that. So let me give you an illustration from the life of Hudson Taylor, who was one of the first missionaries to inland China. I’ve used this illustration before, but I want to use it again, because it helps us understand how much joy we can have in the Lord.
While he was in China, laboring to advance the gospel with his wife of 12½ years, she became sick and died. Here is what Hudson Taylor wrote in a letter to those who were praying for him –
“Only Jesus knows what her absence is to me. Twelve and a half years of such unbroken spiritual fellowship, united labor, mutual satisfaction and love, fall to the lot of very few … but were [the loss] less, I should know less of His power and sustaining love.”
No language can express what Jesus has been and is to me. Never does He leave me; constantly does He cheer me with His love. He who once wept at the grave of Lazarus often now weeps in and with me …
“Often I find myself wondering whether it is possible for her, who is taken, to have more joy in His presence than He has given me…
“At times He does [allow] me to realize all that was, but is not now …
And then He who will soon come and wipe away every tear comes and takes all bitterness from them and fills my heart with deep, true, unutterable gladness.” (From Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Mission: The Growth of a Work of God, Vol 2, pp.208ff.)
That’s who Jesus Christ is. He is a real, personal being who, when we know him through prayer and worship and the word, can give us that much joy.
So rejoicing in the Lord means to seek my pleasure and delight in beholding Christ, worshiping Christ, fellowshiping with Christ, loving Christ. That’s the point of verse 1.
But when we keep reading, we see Paul start to talk about circumcision. Why does Paul start talking about circumcision? Some commentators say that in verse 1 Paul is talking about rejoicing in the Lord, and then in verse two he moves to an entirely different topic and start discussing circumcision.
But when you read these verses it doesn’t sound like Paul is moving to a brand new topic. At the end of verse 1 he says that rejoicing in the Lord will help them stay safe. And what they will stay safe from is people who are persuading them to get circumcised. To see this, read verses 1-3 –
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh --
Here’s some background. Circumcision was the Old Testament sign that someone was part of God’s people. It was an outward sign of what God did when he saved you. Before we were saved it’s like we had sin covering our hearts so we would not worship God or glory in Christ. But when God saves us he cuts away that sin, so we worship God and glory in Christ.
So the true meaning of circumcision is not the cutting off of flesh from our bodies, but the cutting off of sin from our hearts. But with the coming of Christ, physical circumcision was no longer the mark of being part of God’s people.
But it seems that some Jewish evangelists, who were not trusting Christ, had come into Philippi and were urging everyone to seek their salvation and joy in the status of being circumcised.
So this would have meant taking their hearts off of Jesus Christ as their joy and salvation, and looking to circumcision as their joy and salvation. So the reason Paul starts talking about circumcision is because that’s what his readers were being tempted to seek their joy in besides Christ.
And why is that so dangerous? The answer is in verse 3 –
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh --
In this verse Paul is talking about those who are the true circumcision -- those who have been saved. It’s not that they’ve experienced physical circumcision, but that they have experienced spiritual circumcision.
So as a result, they worship by the Spirit of God – which means they have times where, by the work of the Holy Spirit, they adore and love and delight in Jesus Christ.
Not only that, they glory in Christ Jesus – which means that their highest joy and boast and celebration is in Christ Jesus.
And as a result of that, they put no confidence in the flesh, which means they don’t seek their joy, they don’t seek their salvation, in anything other than Jesus Christ.
That does not mean saved people don’t experience joy in anything else. It means we don’t seek our joy in anything else. God has given us good gifts which will bring us joy – like sunsets, and jalapenos, and and music. But there is a difference between experiencing joy in something, and seeking joy in something.
To seek your joy in something means to seek to have your heart-needs met in something. It means to seek your heart satisfaction in something. And if you seek your heart satisfaction in food, for example, and seek to fill your empty heart by eating a bag of chocolate chip cookies, will your empty heart be filled? Not at all. Not only that, you will have made those chocolate chip cookies a functional Savior, an idol, a God.
And that’s what Paul’s readers were being tempted to do with circumcision. They were being tempted to seek their joy and salvation in the status of being circumcised.
Can you see why that is so dangerous? It’s because according to verse three, saved people seek their joy and salvation in Christ alone – not in circumcision, not in chocolate chip cookies -- in Christ alone.
So what’s at stake here is whether they are saved or not. If they have been saved, then they will seek their joy and salvation in Christ alone, not in circumcision. And if we had been saved, then we will seek our joy and salvation in Christ alone, not in chocolate chip cookies, or money, or fame, or anything else.
So the stakes are high. So how does Paul persuade them to keep seeking their joy and salvation in the Lord? Look at what he says in verses 3-8 –
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh--
4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
These Jewish evangelists were trying to persuade Paul’s readers that their joy and salvation would be found in taking on Jewish distinctives like being circumcised. But Paul has far more Jewish distinctives than any of those Jewish evangelists. So he lists all of the Jewish distinctives that he has –
Circumcised on the eighth day -- exactly as the Old Testament law commanded.
Of the people of Israel – born as a Jew.
Of the tribe of Benjamin – the tribe in whose land Jerusalem itself is founded.
A Hebrew of Hebrews – which might have meant that he was born of Hebrew parents, or that he was brought up to speak the Hebrew language.
As to the law, a Pharisee – the group who in addition to obeying all the Old Testament commands had created hundreds more.
As to zeal, a persecutor of the church – Paul was well known in Jewish circles as one who are arrested Christians.
As to righteousness under the law, blameless – when it comes to the Pharisees’ understanding of the law, which focused only on outer actions, and not on a heart for God, Paul was blameless.
So Paul has more Jewish distinctives than any of those Jewish evangelists. And what does he say about them? Look at verses 7 and 8 –
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Paul says, pile up all the things this world counts as gain. Go ahead, whether it’s Jewish distinctives, or fame, or money, or status – pile them all up. And then over here is Jesus Christ. The joy of knowing Jesus Christ is such gain, that all of that is loss in comparison. Knowing Jesus Christ as Savior, Friend, Guide, Comfort, Strength, Pleasure, Beauty – knowing Jesus Christ is such a gain that everything else is loss in comparison.
So what does this mean for us? The angel said to the shepherds that they bring good news of great joy which could be for all people. And that great joy is found in Jesus Christ. Because Jesus came into the world 2000 years ago, we can be forgiven for our sins, and reconciled to God, so we can have the heart-filling joy of knowing him.
So let me give you one take-away. Take time every day where you put everything else aside in order to nurture your joy in Christ. Pray for the work of the Holy Spirit. And then open God’s word and feast your soul.
When you do, God will give you times where he pours his love into your heart, he shows you his glory, he satisfies your heart thirsts with the living water of his Spirit. And you will be living the purpose of Christmas.