My Joy Fulfilled In Them

For the second time in a few verses the Lord speaks of His imminent departure from this world and anticipates returning to His Father. Our Saviour’s readiness, and we may say happiness, to leave the world is moderated by the needs of His friends whom He will leave behind. In this precious intercessory prayer the Lord Jesus seeks additional ‘hands on’ involvement from the Father for the disciples’ help and protection. By these requests He informs the disciples, and His church, of the Father’s active and ongoing care in the lives of His people.

Things spoke of

The things the Lord had spoken of in the world are the things mentioned in this prayer: His finished work, the nature of eternal life and the full gospel revelation He had committed to these men. In again speaking audibly of these matters the Lord’s goal is the joy and comfort of those soon-to-be-bereft disciples who will be saddened by His departure. As we might expect, even the Saviour’s personal communion with His Father is calculated for the good of His beloved people.

The joy of the Lord

The joy with which the disciples are to be filled is the Lord’s own joy, aptly called ‘the joy of the Lord’. Christ’s covenant duties filled the Saviour with delight. The prospect of coming into the world to recover His lost sheep had long gladdened the heart of the Good Shepherd. From everlasting Christ took great joy and pleasure in the prospect of uniting Himself to His people and making them holy in Him. In experiencing this union the church will share the joy of the Lord!

Joy in believing

There is joy in believing. Paul speaks of ‘joy and peace in believing’. Peter, speaking of the Lord Jesus, tells the church, ‘Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory’. One of the fruit of the Spirit is joy in a believer’s life and there is ‘joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts’ to be shared by the Lord’s people who ‘love the truth and peace’ as it is personified in Jesus.

Joy in eternal life

The gospel of God with its gracious doctrines of divine mercy is also a source of joy to the church. Salvation is full and free, rich and plentiful. God has left nothing undone in bringing spiritual life to the spiritually needy. He has satisfied every requirement and fulfilled every promise for His elect. Our inheritance of glory awaits and nothing shall hinder our accession. ‘Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.’ 

Joy in hardship

Because Christ has given us Himself, His word and His joy, our hope and desires have changed. We are no longer of this world as Christ is not of this world. We are spiritual creatures with holy desires. This puts us at odds with the world. The god of this world and his followers hate Christ and Christ’s church. Just as the Jews hated Jesus and His disciples so Christ’s people are constantly opposed. The truth we believe, the Saviour we serve, the God we worship is reviled by this world.

In this world

Nevertheless, Jesus does not ask that we be taken out of the world. There is work yet to be done in the service of His kingdom. We must preach the gospel, pray for its success, support its growth and defend its interests. The Lord’s prayer to His Father is that we be kept safe from ‘the evil’ while we go about this business. Accordingly, we shall be kept, preserved until our work is done and then carried into glory.

Kept from ‘the evil’

What is ‘the evil’ from which we must be kept? It is the evil of sin which opposes our holy God and His ways. It is the evil of Satan from whose harm we shall be protected. It is the evil of our own fleshy nature which remains with us until we are taken from the world. Being thus kept does not mean we shall be free from indwelling sin, or from acting sinfully, or from temptation, but we shall be free from the rule and dominion of sin in our lives. We shall be kept from being devoured by it and free from condemnation for it, in the sight of God. 

Our present help

Christ praying in this way shows that evil is both powerful and pernicious. Sin is a continuing threat to the child of God and, being unable to keep ourselves, it is an evil from which we must be kept. The Lord God must keep us and does keep us at Christ’s request. In no sense has Christ removed Himself from our care, yet for His disciples’ sake, and for their joy, He draws upon His Father’s help to encourage, comfort and fuel their confidence in the days that lie ahead. 

Amen.