-This, the 12th of 16 mentions of joy in this short letter, the 3rd of 5 imperatives to rejoice, so yes Paul is indeed repeating himself. Definitely on a joy soapbox. And truth be told, the entire New Testament and Jesus Himself are on a joy soapbox. Joy is the mark of those who truly follow Christ, even and especially when things go wrong. Our joy is not like anything the world has or can experience. They need good circumstances or substances in order to just be happy, but the joy of the one who has Jesus and knows He died for them, who knows the grace of God and who in God’s eyes has done everything right, who is assured of eternal life and of the everlasting love of their heavenly Father for them, who is free from the weight of guilt and shame - this joy is other-worldly, it is constant and enduring, it is overflowing and full of glorious hope. Esp. because Sunday’s on the way! Look at John 15.11, John 16.22, Galatians 5.22, Acts 5.41, Acts 13.52, 2Corinthians 1.24, 2Corinthians 6.10, 2Corinthians 7.4, 2Corinthians 8.2, 1Thessalonians 5.16, James 1.2, 1Peter 1.6-8, 1Peter 4.13, Psalm 118.24, Psalm 98.4, Psalm 95.1, Psalm 96 11-12, Psalm 89.11, Psalm 84.2, Psalm 43.4, Psalm 30.5, Psalm 16.11. Remember - God is a party waiting to happen! In fact, He’s not even waiting - there is no describing the joy in heaven, in the presence of God and in God Himself (cf Luke 15.32, Luke 15.10, Matthew 25.21, Zephaniah 3.17).
-Not only because Epaphroditus had now come home to them in good health, but for the reasons already mentioned in Philippians 2.14-18, and for any and every other reason, Paul tells them again to be rejoicing. We have already seen that Paul is full of joy and that despite unpleasant and uncomfortable circumstances (remember, he is in chains under house arrest). He has joy simply because of Jesus (Philippians 1.23), he has joy also because Jesus is being made known as a result of his circumstances (Philippians 1.18), and he has more joy because these Philippian believers are following Jesus and making Him known (Philippians 1.4, Philippians 2.2, Philippians 2.17, Philippians 4.1). He has stated that his goal for them is joy (Philippians 1.25). We have seen that joy in not only a pervasive theme of this letter, it is an overriding characteristic of the Christian life. Only love gets a higher billing. So the question is, what am I allowing to deprive me of inexpressible and glorious joy these days?
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