[Darris McNeely] I was recently on a tour in Turkey, Footsteps of Paul. Along with my wife and I were a number of other theologians, professors at various colleges and seminaries across the world. One of them got into a conversation with me as we were talking about our beliefs, our faith, and he said, "What is the best expression of your belief, your core teaching that defines your church, your body of belief?" I had just a few seconds to respond. And I said, "The very fact that we can take on the divine nature of God and become a part of the family of God through a resurrection, and share the glory of God." That's what I told him. It kind of stopped him in his tracks, made him think for a moment as we were walking into a building. But isn't that the core of what life is all about? Isn't that the core about what the purpose of life is as God has designed it? It is.

And it is when we understand that very purpose of life that we can take on the very nature of God, and have a relationship with Him, and in time through a resurrection, enter into the glory of God through a resurrection with our lives changed to a spirit being. The very purpose of our life is what can give us joy. Talking about the fruit of God's Holy Spirit defined in Galatians 5:22, one of them as being that of joy.

I've said before that joy is not necessarily happiness. We're happy when things are going well. But joy is when things don't go well. And Joy has to be anchored in a firm relationship with the very nature of God and His purpose for us, and what God is doing with the very purpose of our life. When we have that kind of understanding, then we can have joy. I think it's illustrated in Hebrews 12:1 and 2, where it's talking about what Jesus Christ did in His death, in His sacrifice. And it says there in Hebrews 12:1 and 2, it says that, "With joy, He endured the cross. With joy, He endured the cross," suffering and enduring what He did for our sake.

How is it that Christ endured that suffering and that death with joy, if it's not the very fact that He knew the end result of that, that through the resurrection that was a part of that plan, and that purpose, that His then path as a human being, His perfect life, His death and suffering, His resurrection, would open up for mankind the opportunity to share in that glory and in that life. Christ knew the end result of His suffering and death. And He saw it with a perfect vision, because He, as the word had worked it out with the other being of the God family, the one who becomes the father, from eternity. And that purpose was set and anchored in stone. It is a core doctrine.

I like to use the term when I'm teaching this in class, that that teaching is our franchise doctrine. It is the single most important doctrine to hang all of our faith and practice upon the purpose of our lives to become part of the family of God, that we can share that glory of God in His divine family. And from that flows everything else in life, and from that flows a spiritual joy, the very joy that Christ Himself had when he endured the cross.

Think about that in regard to the fruit of joy in our life. God's joy is in sharing His nature and in His glory. And our joy is understanding that through the sacrifice of Christ, and His active working in our own life through that Spirit that He gives upon repentance and baptism, we can then have that connection to that purpose, and it defines everything about us from that particular point on.

We turn from a false hope, we turn from a false knowledge, from false things, and we begin to embrace the fullness of the worship of God when we experience joy as a fruit of God's Spirit. And when we do that, that understanding can bring joy in the morning to us throughout the difficulties of our life, the trials that we might have, but it shapes our whole being, our framework, and our viewpoint about people, God, and life itself. Joy is an important fruit of the Spirit.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.