Length: 7 minutes

This may sound overly simplistic, but it’s quite a revelation. We talk about what God provided through Jesus — life and immortality, righteousness and rest from our works. But do you know why God wanted to provide these things to you? Do you know what His motivation was? Here it is:

1 Timothy 6:17 (KJV) …God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy…

As simple as it may sound, God’s only motive in sharing everything that He has with you, through Jesus, was just to make you happy. I’m not speaking about the happiness that the world can feel (a fleeting, inferior happiness) that is based on worldly family, a roof over your head, our own achievements, etc. Those are all physical things that are not reliable and therefore not something we should take our joy from. I’m talking about the inheritance we have through Jesus.

Jesus has shared everything He has with us. His purity, despite anything we do wrong, His health, youth, resurrection, immortality, His emotions, wisdom, and power (which also results in physical wealth – Deuteronomy 8:18), His exemption from all the problems in this world, and His authority to give life to everything around us. All the while, He provided these things through His work, giving us rest from ours.

This is everything we could ever need or want. Pleasures forevermore. The fix to every problem. We have an amazing inheritance. And 1 Timothy 6:17 says He gave us these things simply for our enjoyment. God shared all of these things with you to simply make you happy. 

There is not some grand theological reason. There is not some bigger plan. It simply pleased God, in this marriage with you, to share everything He has with you. He loved you before you were His and wanted you to enjoy everything with Him.

His Joy

The Father and Jesus have enjoyed this inheritance forever, but it was the Father’s will for this inheritance to be given to you, so that you could enjoy everything He and Jesus enjoy.

Look at something Jesus prayed in John 17. He prayed that all of us would be one with Him and the Father in everything they have.

John 17:11-22 (NKJV) … keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.
Verse 22) …they also may be one in Us… And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:

You can see that this “oneness” isn’t referring to unity amongst the church or something of that nature. He’s praying that we would be one in all the glory that they have — essentially, that we would all have the same things — that we would all share the same inheritance, the same glory.

In this same chapter, when Jesus referred to sharing all His inheritance with us, He called it as “sharing His joy with us.” That His joy would be full in us as well.

John 17:13 (NKJV) …and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

When the Bible refers to the Father’s or Jesus’ inheritance, it refers to it as something that brings joy. Sometimes it just straight up calls it “joy” (Mat. 25:21). And that’s why Jesus was speaking about sharing this inheritance with us. He wanted us to know, so that His joy could be full in us also! In other words, He wanted us to enjoy the same things that that He enjoys.

The inheritance and the glory that the Father and Jesus have shared before the world ever began is a very happy thing. It’s called pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). The Father and Jesus have always shared “this joy” but they were not content. As we just read, the Father wanted this joy to be full in you as well. The Father was not content until He reconciled you to Himself, so that you could share this joy as well. He wanted you to experience the same happiness that He experiences.

Keeping all of this in mind, look at what John wrote.

1 John 1:3-4 (NKJV) … and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

That word “fellowship” means “partnership, sharing”. And John says that we have this sharing with the Father and with the Son now. Hmm, sounds like being one with them, right? Sounds like having everything that they have, right? And just like Jesus said that He wanted to make us one in everything He had, so that His joy could be full in us, so John says was writing to let them know that we have a sharing with the Father and the Son, and this should make our joy full!

And more so, Jesus describes His position with the Father, after His resurrection, as “fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.”

Psalms 16:11 (NKJV) You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

But isn’t it wonderful? The Bible says that Jesus has extended to us, all of the pleasures He’s experiencing, by His Holy Spirit!

Psalms 36:7-8 (NKJV) …the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river [the Holy Spirit] of Your pleasures.

Notice, it says that we get to drink of the river of His pleasures! The same thing that He enjoys, we get to enjoy as well now. 

Psalms 46:4 (NKJV) There is a river [the Spirit] whose streams shall make glad the city of God…

All of this further confirms God’s motivation. Why did the Father want us to have everything that He and Jesus share? To make our joy full, giving us richly all things for our enjoyment. In other words, He did it so that you would be happy.

Conditional Joy

How many times have you heard that your joy should be unconditional? That you should be happy no matter what happens? They say, “Even if you lose, just be happy anyway.“ They say, “Even if your life is hard right now, just be happy despite what’s going on.” Well, I’m here to tell you that this is not the right way to rejoice at all. 

The Lord wants your joy to be CONDITIONAL on whether you win, on how much you have, and on how good your circumstances are. That’s biblical, godly, new covenant joy. We just don’t realize that we’ve already won over every problem in this world. We already have every good thing through Jesus. Therefore, we can have conditional joy. We can condition our joy on our true circumstances, because we have everything with Jesus!

Why do we need to rejoice despite something? God richly blessed us with every spiritual blessing so that we could enjoy! Jesus gave us everything that He has, so our joy can be full. That doesn’t sound like being happy despite something. That sounds like being happy because of something. That’s conditional joy. 

The problem is, we only look at our physical circumstances. If we don’t have money in the bank, we feel we are low on resources. If we’re not feeling well, we assume we’re not healed. If we lose at our job, or even at a game, we assume we’re not more than conquerors over every problem in this world (1 John 5:4, Galatians 1:4). Because we only look at our physical circumstances, we actually think that a Christian can be doing poorly. So we feel we have to rejoice despite the mess we’re in. But if you zoom out and look at a Christian, you’d realize that they have every solution to every physical problem living inside of them. They have all riches living in them (which also results in physical riches on the outside – Deuteronomy 8:18, Proverbs 10:22, 2 Corinthians 9:8). They have everything that Jesus has. No more, no less.

So you’re never poor. You’re never even low on resources for physical wealth, because God has given you the power to get wealth. You always have healing. You always have redemption from the trouble in this world. You’re a joint heir with Jesus. And if so, how can we say that we’re supposed to be happy despite something? That’s like someone bowling a 300 and saying that they are rejoicing despite how the game went.

If we have everything that Jesus has, it seems that our joy should be full because of something – because we are one with Him in everything He has! How much more do we want? The Father, who has everything, has shared His riches with us. And no, those are not just spiritual riches that have no relevance to physical problems. These things manifest out of you to fix every single physical problem and provide every single physical resource you could ever need. Continue with us in our other teachings for more on this.

I’m not saying that all of this is manifesting fully through you right now, but that’s why the Holy Spirit teaches us the truth, so that these things can be made effectual in our lives (Philemon 1:6). This will happen, if we will start learning what we have. But as long as the church still thinks they’re rejoicing despite something, we don’t even have a foggy idea of who we are.

Our joy should always be conditioned on how well-off we are. That’s why Jesus said He would share His glory with us first, so that we could then have full joy. That’s why Paul said that God blessed us richly first, so that we could then enjoy it. That’s joy conditioned on what you have. God believes in conditional joy, in joy that has a basis. If someone is truly poor and without recourse (as all people are without Jesus), they shouldn’t be happy about that. It just so happens, we’re always as well-off as Jesus is, no matter what it looks like on the outside right now. Therefore, it is correct and sensible for a believer to always be rejoicing. Not despite their circumstances, but because of their true circumstances, in Christ!

Despite what you may think, your circumstances have never been better, as a believer. Stop looking on the outside and start looking at your whole self, including what you have on the inside. You do that by learning the gospel. You’ll see that you have the solution on the inside, to every problem on the outside. You’ll quickly realize that no one has more reason to be happy than you do. Literally, no one has more reason. Jesus Himself does not have more reason to be happy, because you have everything He has, through the cross. And if you will learn about what you have, it will all come out of your belly and transform your problems (John 7:38). That’s a promise.

Romans 12:2 (NKJV) …be transformed [have your outside changed] by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove [give evidence of] what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God [which is already in you, Philemon 1:6].