Entering into the Joy of the Lord, Our Bridegroom

“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’"

— Matthew 25:6

"His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

— Matthew 25:23

By putting these two verses together, we arrive at the topic at hand—entering into the joy of the Lord, our Bridegroom. Our Lord Jesus is the Bridegroom, and as it says in Matthew 25:6, we live in expectation of His return for His bride, the Church. At the beginning of the Lord Jesus’ ministry, John the Baptist testified, “‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled” (John 3:28–29). John the Baptist knew that the Lord Jesus is the Bridegroom, who came to give His life to redeem and purify His bride (Titus 2:13–14). With that knowledge, his heart greatly rejoiced!

Our Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus, wants to bring us into His joy. As shown in Matthew 25:23 where it says “well done, good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your lord”, this will happen in its fullness when the Lord Jesus returns. However, the Lord extends this invitation to us now as well. In John 15:11, the Lord Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” He has spoken to us and given us His Word so that His joy may remain in our hearts, and that our joy may be full!

If we want to live a full and victorious life in Christ, in this age so full of distractions and sin, it is necessary for us to enter into and remain in the joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord truly is a mighty force that will strengthen us through life’s circumstances. In Nehemiah 8:10 it says that “the joy of the Lord is your strength”. This is true, brothers and sisters. The joy of the Lord is our strength! 

What Is His Joy?

In order to enter into the joy of the Lord, we first need to look at His heart to understand what delights Him, what pleases Him, and what brings Him joy. What is the joy of the Lord?

The Lord's joy is wrapped up in His great purpose, which has been unfolding since the beginning of time. This purpose involves imparting His very own life and nature to us, created beings, and in that process, forming us into an acceptable counterpart for Himself.

The Bible begins and ends with a marriage. It starts with the marriage between Adam and Eve, which itself typifies the marriage between Christ and the Church, and ends with the marriage supper of the Lamb—the marriage between Christ and the Church, where the bride is made ready to be joined to the Lord Jesus. Marriage is the ultimate picture of the union between two parties. In the Bible, we see the great desire of God to be one with His people.

"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

— Revelation 19:7

The joy of the Lord is His people—His bride. In Hebrews 12:2, it says that it was for this joy that He endured the cross. He went through death on the cross, knowing that through His sacrifice, He was opening a way of redemption and salvation for mankind. Through His death, He knew He was forming a bride for Himself—a holy people set apart for Him. It was this deep-rooted joy that led Him through torment beyond our comprehension. The joy of the Lord is at its very heart is a selfless, self-sacrificial love for mankind, whom He is forming into His church, His bride.

A brother named T. Austin-Sparks once said, "The joy of the Lord is having a people, be it ever so small, so despised, so weak, nevertheless, whose heart is set upon that which is according to His heart."

If we want to enter into His joy, we must know what His joy is. Oh Lord, may You open Your heart to us. Lord, reveal Your perfect and holy will to us!

Our Need for Transformation

Entering into His joy is only possible through the inward transformation of our hearts. Humanity, in its fallen nature, is selfish. The Lord, on the other hand, is the opposite—His love for mankind is self-sacrificing, demonstrated in His death on the cross on our behalf. Apart from the transforming work of Christ our hearts are selfishly oriented toward ourselves, and we won’t be able to see the joy that comes from the salvation of the lost. We will have no pleasure in being brought low, so that Christ may be lifted up. This is why our selfish nature must be stripped away, if we are to enter into the joy of the Lord. There is a crucial work that the Lord must do in our hearts—a work of transformation in our inner being. The Lord shows us the cross, with a call to die to ourselves, and through this process, He performs a work of transformation in us.

We see this wonderful transformation in the Song of Songs. This book is widely known among those who study the Bible to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and the Church. Initially, the Shulamite, who represents the Church, is primarily concerned with what she is getting out of her relationship with Solomon. In Song of Songs 2:16 it says, “My beloved is mine, and I am his.” She is primarily concerned with her feelings and her benefit—"My beloved is mine." After some time and through various trials that brought her closer to Solomon, her words changed to, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine” (Song of Songs 6:3). Now, "my beloved is mine" comes second to "I am His." She is less concerned with what she is getting and more focused on giving herself to Solomon. But there is still some concern for herself. Finally, her words change to, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me” (Song of Songs 7:10). She is no longer concerned with herself or what she is receiving, but is insead entirely focused on the Lord and His desires. The Lord takes every true Christian through a process of transformation, leading us out of our selfish, self-centered ways. And in its place He imparts to us a new nature, one after His own heart.

We also see this reality in the life of the elder son who remained in his father’s house, in the parable of the prodigal son. In this parable, the younger son said to his father that he wanted his share of the inheritance now. What the younger son was really saying was that all his father was good to him for was his inheritance, and that it was taking too long for him to pass away, so he wanted it now. This younger son took his share of the inheritance and squandered it utterly, losing everything. He found himself without any possessions, hungering, and eating food intended for animals. The younger son remembered that even the servants in his father’s house had an abundance, and so he decided to return to his father and ask to be accepted back as a servant.

While all of this was going on, the father held hope in his heart that one day his son would return home. He would look in the distance, hoping that one day he would see his son on the horizon. When the son finally returned, the father saw him from far off and ran to embrace him. He put a robe on him, a ring on his finger, and sandals on his feet. He had his servants slaughter the fatted calf, for it was cause to celebrate.

"But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.”

— Luke 15:22–24

There was great joy in the father’s heart, but the elder son who remained in the house was unable to enter into his father’s joy. He had no pleasure that his brother, who was lost, had returned home. When the father recognized him to be missing from the celebration, he went to him and pleaded with him. The son was bitter in his heart. The son complained that the father had never given him a goat so that he could be merry with his friends. But the father responded, “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found” (Luke 15:31–32).

It seems as though this elder son didn’t really care for the things that were in his fathers heart. Surely the elder son would have seen the pain that the departure of the younger son had caused him. The elder son was living alongside his father for the entirety of the time when his younger brother was living waywardly. It seems as though the elder son would have known his father’s burden, but it just meant nothing to him—he was instead so focused on himself. What a great loss here, that this elder son, who was living in his father’s household, didn’t really know the heart of the father. He was a stranger to the burdens in his father’s heart.

Do we know our Father? We, who are members of our heavenly Father’s household, do we have such a sense of the burdens that are in His heart? If we were in the position of that elder brother, would we be found rejoicing when our younger brother returned home, after committing such a great offense? If we don’t truly know the heart of our Lord, we cannot enter into His joy. We will be like the elder son who was bitter, when everyone else was merry and rejoicing.

Oh, may the Lord lead us forth from ourselves. May the Lord take from us every vestige of our selfish nature. May He utterly transform our hearts and give us such a burden for what is in His heart. Our Lord longs for His bride. His love for His bride is entirely selfless and sacrificial. He longs for His bride, the Church, to be presented to Him without spot or blemish (Ephesians 5:27). He longs for the multitudes of the lost to be brought back into His fold (Luke 13:34).

The joy of our Lord is full—it is precious— it is enduring. Oh, may we know the heart of our Father and enter into this joy. What a blessed life it will be, kept by Him, strengthened by Him, and rejoicing in Him through any circumstance of this life! We’ll be empowered to say, like Paul, 'as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things' (2 Corinthians 6:10).