"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.'" (Luke 2:10 NIV)

"Remain in me...remain in my love...obey my commands...that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." (John 15:9-13 NIV)

Jesus said that he wanted His personal joy to be in us. He also said that He wanted our joy to be complete.

Without an experiential union with Christ our joys are incomplete. They are the joys won by our personal, individual experiences. But the Bible tells us of a greater joy that has been won for us as a community. It is the joy that Jesus received from having redeemed, reconciled, and restored our humanity to the source of all joy - God Himself.

When Jesus ascended in his resurrection body to His position of honor and glorification at the right hand of the Father, He did so as a representative of a new humanity composed of all those who would believe on Him, both Jew and Gentile. He had offered His perfect life, (which had been tested by every temptation yet was found without sin) and shed His untainted blood to satisfy the impeccable standards of God's holy law. Having finished the work of redemption on mankind's behalf, He was now to win for us the reward of the Father's promised inheritance. God officially pronounces Him both Lord and Christ. He is decreed the perfect Savior, the anointed One, the King of Kings who will reconcile all things to the Father. All who believe are seen by God as being positioned 'in Christ'. In Him they have all the credentials that Jesus has merited on their behalf. The finished work of redemption is sealed with the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

In His earthly ministry, when in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus said: "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified (John 7:38-39 NIV).

The eternal God, the Maker of our humanity, has chosen to become human and ever be so that we might be fully integrated into God's choice purposes as His eternal companion, His bride.

In the ascension, Jesus receives for us the anointing - oil of joy (Hebrews 1:9). A joy that distinguishes this new humanity. The anointing flows down from the head upon the rest of the body (Psalm 133). The church is the body of Christ, the anointed one (Ephesians 1:22,23). We can appropriate through the Holy Spirit a joy that transcends all others. A joy that sustains, endures and outlives all sorrows (Psalm 30:5). Nothing comes close to it. A joy that is everlasting. And a joy that no one can take away (John 16:22). A complete joy that is the result of our being made complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10).

The church is to be distinguished as a community of incomparable joy, united under the headship of Christ, filled with His Spirit, on the grounds of redemption provided through our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ:

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore." (Psalm 133 NIV).

The early church was filled with the Holy Spirit and joy (Acts 13:52). Our joys are incomplete without involvement in the ongoing process of the edification of the body of Christ, the church. The gospel is an invitation for you to experience this joy both personally and corporately. God wants all believers to be fully filled and flooded with an inexpressible and glorious joy (1Peter 1:8). He also wants us to experience the 'oil of joy', the 'anointing of joy' (Psalm 45:7; Hebrews 1:9) that is experienced when we corporately submit to Christ's headship in the community of His church and draw from Him as our total resource.

May the joy of Jesus be with you fully this Christmas.