Joy and peace! Any sensible person would readily admit his desire for a life filled with joy. Yet, few people understand the prerequisites for regularly living that way. Previous studies mentioned several of joy’s accompanying virtues, but today’s passage provides one of joy's unifying properties. According to our passage, peace accompanies joy. Proverbs 12:20 also expresses this same relationship: “Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.” Those who seek peace will often find joy in this life because peace and joy are entwined. Isaiah 55:12 restates this truth: “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace.” It is important to note that men will not “go out with joy” unless they are first “led forth with peace.” Peace and joy are always inseparable. Those who have the peace of God after they are at peace with God through salvation will experience "joy unspeakable" (1 Peter 1:8).
Christians are supposed to strive to be Christlike. For this reason, today's lesson will involve searching the scriptures to learn about the nature of God. One constant theme concerning the Lord’s nature is that He endures. The Bible not only proclaims that the LORD will personally endure for ever (Psalm 9:7; Psalm 102:12), but the scripture declares forty-two times that His mercy “endureth for ever.” God’s enduring mercy means that man does not always receive the bad that he deserves. The Bible also proclaims that many other things directly associated with God will endure. These include God’s “goodness” (Psalm 52:1), “name” (Psalm 135:13), “truth” (Psalm 100:5), “glory” (Psalm 104:31), “righteousness” (Psalm 111:3), “dominion” (Psalm 145:13), and “word” (1 Peter 1:25). In other words, the God of the Bible and all things directly associated with Him will endure for ever.
The Bible likens a mature Christian to one who exercises. Exercise involves work for it to be most profitable. Many people start exercising with exuberance and zeal, yet quit when the workout begins to get difficult. This too unfortunately applies to those who start out wanting to live a godly life. Too many Christians quit simply because spiritual growth takes a lot of hard work and effort. Today’s passage contrasts the difference between a babe in Christ and a believer enjoying the meat of God’s word. The babe enjoys the milk of God’s word (the basic truths) but the milk limits the extent of his growth; whereas, the mature Christian wants to grow stronger through learning the truths that babes cannot yet handle. The strong Christian exercises his senses enabling him to discern between good and evil. He works hard. He does not quit though times get tough. He keeps reading his Bible. He keeps praying. He keeps obeying the Lord. When he stumbles, he simply picks himself back up, brushes himself off, and keeps moving forward, onward, and upward. So get up and go!
The scripture plainly declares that God was compassionate prior tothe coming of Christ. Hiscoming to earth in a body of flesh simply confirmed that He is a compassionate Saviour. The coming of Christ, in the likeness of sinful flesh, enabled God the Son to experience the temptations and struggles of mankind (Romans 8:3, Hebrews 5:8). His compassion on earth reveals that He suffered with man, but more importantly, He suffered for man. He took the sins of the world upon Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24), and gave man His own righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). One of the greatest demonstrationsof His compassion is the fact that God Himself loved us enough to be housed in a body of flesh (Hebrews 10:5).
