THE FOOLISH GALATIANS

The personality of the Apostle Paul, as an apostle and minister, is very special. His epistles hold a special place among the books of the New Testament. The Apostle Paul’s initiation was really special, as he wasn’t chosen by people, like Matthew, but directly by the Lord. Upon converting, Paul didn’t learn the basics of the new teaching from the Apostles in Jerusalem, but went to Arabia, where he was specially mentored by the Lord Himself in the Gospel and God’s grace particularly manifested itself in Paul’s work and ministry as the Apostle of the Gentiles. Our discussion today is also very special and based on the two Epistles of the Apostle Paul.



The time of the Apostle Paul’s ministry was a special time when the church was being established and the act of preaching the Gospel was very difficult. The books of the New Testament had not yet been collected and put into one book and the Lord’s teachings were passed on by word of mouth and letters. All those who believed in Christ were Jews, whose long-standing traditions were so powerful, they couldn’t even think of preaching the Gospel to pagans. In order to do so they would have to live among pagans, eat and drink with them, which was strictly forbidden for Jewish people. The Apostle Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost was aimed at Jews (Acts 2:36-39). They understood Christ’s instruction to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation as preaching to Jews, who were scattered all over the globe. They still had a lot to learn, for the foundation of a grandiose structure called the Church was being laid. Its basis was new, not the righteousness of the law that had kept Israel under guard for one and a half thousand years, but the freedom of faith in the substitutionary atonement of Christ the Savior. Accepting this basis stood an insurmountable obstacle for every Jew, because the Law of Moses was an absolute authority for them. When the Apostle Peter was in Joppa and messengers from the centurion from Caesarea came to him, Peter would never have gone to pagans unless God had given him a vision. Even after the vision, knowing how strong this alienation was, Peter took six witnesses from converted Jews with him, for he knew for sure that he would have to explain to his Jewish brothers why he communicated with pagans, even though it was perceived negatively by every Jew.

In the Book of the Acts of Apostles we can see how implacably zealous faithful Jews were in terms of purity of their faith, the holy of holies of which was the Jerusalem temple, and that they were ready to kill the Apostle Paul only because, as it seemed to them, he brought the Greek Trophimus the Ephesian into the temple with him. (Acts 21:28) When the commander Lysias, who rescued Paul from the hands of Jews, allowed him to speak to the crowd, all the Jewish people listened to his justification in deep silence. Paul was talking about his zeal in serving God, that he was thoroughly trained in the law of their ancestors at the feet of Gamaliel, that he had also persecuted and arrested the followers of the new teaching, about the sign from heaven when on the way to Damascus Christ appeared to him in the radiance of a bright light, about the miraculous healing of his blindness etc. Everybody was silently listening to him. But as soon as he said that God was sending him to preach to the pagans, the mob exploded into rage. They raised their voices, making an incredible noise, and shouted: “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” (Acts 22:22)

In the Acts of the Apostles (Chapter 11) we find evidence that the Jews who were converted to Christianity also shunned the Gentiles. Scattered by persecution in Jerusalem, following Stephen’s death, they travelled through many countries, but preached the Gospel only to the Jews that lived there. The established traditions forbade the Jews from communicating with pagans, and all converted Jews, including the Apostles, strictly abode by this rule. That’s why when Peter came back from Caesarea to Jerusalem, he had to explain to the church and Apostles, how he happened to go to uncircumcised people and even had a meal with them.

This problem was “the Great Wall of China” for the preaching of the Gospel, and God provided for its solution with the help of the gift of speaking in tongues. When the circumcised believers saw that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on Gentiles, they were astonished by this phenomenon. (Acts 10) The manifestation of the gift of speaking in tongues became a sign for the believing Jews, testifying that the person who received this gift was baptized by the Holy Spirit. Having heard from Peter that God gave the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles, the same as to them, the Jews calmed down and believed that God gave salvation to pagans as well, for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit did not depend on the desire of the preacher. It was a complete surprise to the Jews, as they were sure that the Lord came to deliver Israel, as it was promised to them through the prophecy (Acts 2:39) and therefore, the gift of the Holy Spirit could be poured out only on a believing Jew. If God hadn’t provided for such a sign, the converted Jews would have never and under no pretext communicated with pagans, which would be an insuperable barrier for evangelism. That’s why the Apostle Paul writes: “Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers.” (1Corinthians 14:22) Thus, for the Jews who couldn’t believe that God was giving salvation to pagans, tongues were a critically important sign.

The Apostle Paul, describing the structure of churches in pagan cities, writes that they had a completely different situation. Not all believers received the gift of speaking in tongues. And it was okay. The Apostle Paul, who spoke in tongues more than any of his contemporaries, and whose work in the field of evangelism was unthinkable without it, says: “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues…” (1Corinthians 14:5) In chapter twelve he explains in detail the work of the Holy Spirit in church: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (it’s an important principle of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit). To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines.” (1Corinthians 12: 4-11). But some people are still trying to convince us that only speaking in tongues symbolizes a truly reborn person. Many times I heard people say that if I don’t speak in tongues, I’m a Christian in the embryonic stage. As can be seen from the Scriptures above, such statements are far from being true.

Another principle of the manifestation of the Spirit is “Let all things be done unto edifying.” (1Corinthians 14:26) On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was first poured out on the Apostles, they received the gift of speaking in tongues. All foreigners appearing in Jerusalem understood them, for they heard them speak about the great works of God in their native tongue. As a result, three thousand people were baptized (Acts Chapter 2). Thus, if somebody claims they have the Holy Spirit because they can speak in tongues, you can determine if it is true, applying the following principles: The Spirit is given to everyone for the common good. Let all things be done unto edifying. Similar things were said by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount: “By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:16) Therefore, speaking about the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit, we should first of all look at the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians Chapter 5), the fruit of this fulfillment. All the manifestations of the Spirit should be beneficial and edifying. If it’s not the case, be careful communicating with such a person, and think repeatedly and with prayer before following this person’s advice, even if they speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues doesn’t always testify that this is a man of God, the same as the absence of this gift doesn’t indicate spiritual inferiority.

My brother told me how a few years ago two men from different churches, speaking in tongues, started to argue about some controversial issue in his bodyshop. At first, in raised voices, each of them was trying to prove himself right, and as the discussion was getting more and more heated, they ended up shouting and insulting each other, letting the argument come to the verge of becoming physical. But what particularly struck my brother was that in the midst of the conflict they suddenly started shouting at each other in tongues. He was shocked by what he saw. Later he said: if the Holy Spirit speaks in tongues through a person, how can the Holy Spirit argue with Himself, if you assume that they spoke in tongues because they both were filled with the Holy Spirit? The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, mercy, gentleness, forbearance. But what they had there was a disagreement, quarrel, anger, rage, shouting, slander, etc. Can the Holy Spirit give rise to any of these things? I don’t think so.

The Apostle John writes a very important warning to all churches: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1John 4:1) It is important to always give God priority in everything. Do so any time you are not sure if there is the will of God in something, and you will never make a mistake. If somebody tells you that for salvation it is imperative to speak in tongues, remember, that it is said by people, and never demand the gift of speaking in tongues, but pray: “Lord, if you want me to receive the ability to speak in tongues, Your will be done, and if Your will is not in this, I decisively reject everything that is not from You.” When I don’t know if there’s God’s will in something, I pray, saying something like this: “My God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Blessed be His name! Lord, I do not know if it is from You or not. Therefore, I accept only what is pleasing to You, Lord, and everything that is not from You, I reject ... "

               In the first Epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul devoted three chapters to explaining the structure of relationships in the church of Christ. In chapter 12 Paul enumerates various gifts of the Spirit, aptly comparing them to our body parts. Apparently, Corinthians had questions related to the fact that not all the converted received the testimony of baptism by the Spirit in the form of speaking in tongues. Paul writes that they shouldn’t be confused, because one and the same Spirit doesn’t necessarily always manifest Himself in the same way, but somebody gets a gift of faith, somebody a gift of wisdom, somebody a gift of knowledge, somebody a gift of healing, somebody a miraculous power, somebody a gift of prophecy, somebody a gift of speaking in tongues, somebody a gift of the interpretation of tongues, etc. At the end of this chapter he reasons with the “linguists” of the Corinthian Church, who assert that if people don’t speak in tongues, they are not full-fledged Christians, and asks them: “Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?” (1Corinthians 12: 29-30) In the Corinthian church, the ratio of people who could speak in tongues was about one in ten, and apparently, it confused believers.

               In the last verse, Paul says that the gifts he spoke about are equal, but they are only steps towards perfection, and he urges the church not to stop at what has already been achieved and strive further to the most excellent way: “Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.” (1Corinthians 12:31)

               Thus, verse 31 is the introduction to chapter 13 of the first Epistle to the Corinthians, known as “the love chapter”, in which Paul explains the most excellent way to the Corinthian church and shows believers the top, to which all children of God must strive. If you have the gift of faith, the gift of prophecy, the gift of wisdom, or any other of the gifts listed by the Apostle Paul, including the gift of speaking in tongues, don’t be proud and don’t think that you have achieved perfection, for without love they are nothing. So don’t despise those who don’t speak in tongues, but let our aspirations, zeal, and prayers be for the achievement of a more perfect gift, which is the gift of love, for the achievement of the most excellent way.

               This Gospel fact leads us to the following conclusion: When speaking in tongues ceased to be a crucial testimony for the Jews that God had opened the doors of salvation to the Gentiles and grafted them through the Holy Spirit back to the natural olive tree, then the Holy Spirit began to build the Church of Christ, as the spiritual body of our Lord, distributing the gifts of the Spirit as He determined, endowing each Christian with the gift that best suited him, in order to bring all believers to one goal – the achieving of love. Apparently, some Corinthians continued to think that all the converted were necessarily supposed to speak in tongues, so Paul thoroughly and patiently explained to them the details of church structure: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?” (1Corinthians 12:27-30)

         Unfortunately, we can come across the same issue in our time as well. To this day, there are “modern Corinthians” who assert that faith must always be accompanied by speaking in tongues. Otherwise, they say, you cannot be saved. From the above mentioned extracts, we can see that this is not true, because the gifts of the Spirit are given to everyone, and the Holy Spirit distributes them as He determines.

               This problem is not as harmless as it may seem at first glance. From the example of the Galatians, whom the Apostle Paul called foolish, we can see the unfortunate consequences brought about by breaking the Lord’s commandments. The Galatians’ problem was that during the Apostle Paul’s absence, sneaky false brothers persuaded the church that if they didn’t get circumcised, they wouldn’t be saved. Upon finding out about this, Paul writes them the most severe out of all his letters. He calls them “foolish Galatians” and tells them the terrible truth: “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” (Galatians 5:4) So, we can see that those who leave the platform of salvation based on Jesus Christ, fall away from grace, they are left without Christ and salvation.

Scripture directly tells people: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Another extract says: “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1Corinthians 3:11) It’s only the Blood of Jesus Christ that washes away our sins and makes us justified and pure before God’s eyes: “…and giving joyful thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the Kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His Blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:12-20)

That is why when a member of the Baptist church, or any other church that doesn’t have the tradition of compulsory speaking in tongues, is told that they don’t have salvation , because they don’t speak in tongues – it contradicts the Scripture. But it’s one thing if such conversations ended with words; there were cases when hesitant souls were confused by it and, having left their churches, went to others, to receive the gift of speaking in tongues. And here they get into serious trouble. People, who accepted the Lord as their personal Savior, made a covenant with Him, believed in His atoning sacrifice, believed that the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, believed that there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved and there is no other foundation for salvation other than the one already laid, and after that they start to think that the sacrifice of Christ and His shed Blood without speaking in tongues are not enough for salvation – these souls fall away from God’s grace. Those who turn away from Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for the sake of speaking in tongues disparage the saving Blood of the Lord and are left without Christ.

Today, I want to speak to our brothers and sisters from churches speaking in tongues. Asserting that there is no salvation without the gift of speaking in tongues, you lure confused souls from other churches into perdition, for such people are left without Christ and fall away from grace. As Galatians were tricked into believing that there is no salvation without circumcision, you persuade modern weak souls that there is no salvation without the gift of speaking in tongues. Dear friends, don’t ruin the souls of those who have accepted the Lord as their personal Savior. Salvation doesn’t depend on talking in an incomprehensible language, but on the Lord Who saves. Doesn’t the Blood of Jesus Christ have the power to save without the gift of speaking in tongues? Of course, it does. “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious Blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world…” (1Peter 1:18-20)

I want to make it clear: I have no intention of instilling a sense of alienation to churches speaking in tongues. No one appointed me as your judge. God is your judge. If somebody from the world came to your church and believed, and was taught all the truths that you affirm, God will judge them accordingly, for every person will give an account of the life they lived to God. If your children turned to God and believed from the beginning that you need to have the gift of speaking in tongues as a sign of salvation, God will judge them as they were taught from the beginning. But when you claim that without the gift of being able to speak in tongues, there is no salvation for those who saw that the Lord is good in other churches, who believed in the power of the shed Blood of Jesus Christ and entered into a covenant with Him – you make them fall away from God’s grace and leave them without Christ. The Lord will exact from you for these souls. Indeed, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Paul writes this to the Corinthians for a good reason: “Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.”And in one more extract: “You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.” (1Corinthians 7: 20-24)

Asserting that if people don’t speak in incomprehensible languages, it means that they have no part in Christ, is the same as if an eye would tell an arm: “You don’t belong to the body, because you are not an eye.” It’s absurd! Orthodox Christianity, which brought the Bible to us, has existed in Russia for more than a thousand years, and even longer in Greece and other countries. What shall we say? They all perished for not speaking in tongues? Or that there are no saved among millions of Catholics, Baptists, Mennonites, and other Christian denominations who do not speak in tongues in their churches? And what follows? Billions of Christians went to hell, even though they believed in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, in His shed Blood, believed that there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; just because they were not taught in their churches that apart from faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, they also need to receive the gift of speaking in tongues, without which His sacrifice, allegedly, has no power. Are all of them on the road to perdition? It seems to me that many teachers from churches that speak in tongues go too far in this. I would like to remind them of the wise advice the Apostle Paul gave: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12) It’s not the spirit of the Gospel. The Lord is telling you today: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. <…> Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.” (Romans 14:4-13)

The Apostle John left an instructive example of following the Lord. Once, after His Resurrection, Christ said to Peter: Follow Me. Peter got up and followed Him, but turning around, he saw that John was also walking behind them, Peter jealously asked, “Lord, what about him?”Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me.” (John 21:19-23) This Scripture clearly tells us: it’s not our business to show believers from other churches and denominations how they should follow the Lord, but to follow ourselves the path on which the Lord has called and put us. We have no right to condemn or judge anyone; judgment is the prerogative of the Lord, while our right is to exhort, remembering that the purpose of exhortation is love from the bottom of your heart.

People tend to set parameters according to their own interpretation, and then think that everything outside these parameters is bad. Unfortunately, it can be applied to the understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit. I wish all Christians to remember the most important principle of the work of the Holy Spirit, which is written in the Epistle to the Corinthian Church: “…just as He determines.” (1Corinthians 12:4-11) From the examples given in the Scripture, we can see that the Holy Spirit manifests Himself differently in different situations. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus Christ and on the eunuch in the wilderness immediately after their baptism. Believers from Samaria received the Holy Spirit after prayer and the placing on of hands. (Acts Chapter 8) He descended on the centurion Cornelius and those, who gathered to listen to the Apostle Peter, during the sermon. There was no baptism, or prayer with the laying on of hands. (Acts Chapter 10) Therefore, we should not set our own parameters for understanding the work of the Holy Spirit, for He does not act as we want, but as He determines. In some churches the Holy Spirit can be manifested in the form of speaking in tongues, while in other churches in the form of other gifts of the Spirit, that shouldn’t be belittled by those, who have the gift of speaking in tongues, for the Holy Spirit acts as He determines.

It’s alarming that speaking in incomprehensible and different kinds of languages became, as they say, “the only pebble on the beach” for certain churches. Why is there no church where everyone without exception has the gift of healing, or the whole church that has miraculous powers, or where everyone can move mountains with their faith, etc.? These are also gifts of the Spirit. Unfortunately, there are no such churches. However, speaking in tongues is a completely different story, as many as you want, one hundred percent of the church successfully speak in tongues. Even in the Corinthian church, that was instructed and watched over by the Apostle Paul himself, the percentage of people speaking in tongues was about one in ten. It turns out that modern pastors from churches that speak in tongues have outdone the Apostle Paul himself, since one hundred percent of their parishioners speak in tongues. Something strange is going on here. And that is to say nothing of many of the Apostle Paul’s instructions that are ignored in such churches. For example, not to speak in an incomprehensible language, if there is no interpreter, or the instruction to speak an incomprehensible language only one at a time, and it should be immediately interpreted by another person, etc. Try visiting a service at a church that speaks in tongues, and you will see how thousands of people, in full voice, begin to pray in tongues, which creates such a noise and cacophony that it makes you feel uncomfortable. Apparently, something similar took place in the Corinthian church as well, so Paul devotes a whole chapter to explaining to them the order of the ministry (1Corinthians Chapter 14), that they had to maintain: “So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?” (1Corinthians 14:23)

The image of the New Testament churches is shown in the story about the Ethiopian eunuch, as the preimage of the Holy Spirit's work on a global scale. Let's pay attention to the conditions of being filled with the Holy Spirit, which were established by the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost: “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) Under this condition the eunuch has been filled with the Holy Spirit, as well as millions of other Christians to this day: repentance, baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and as a result, receiving of the Holy Spirit. When the Apostle Philip explained the truth of Scripture to the eunuch, he became inflamed with faith and desired to be baptized immediately. When Philip baptized him, the Holy Spirit descended on the eunuch and he went on his way rejoicing. No mention was made of speaking in tongues. (Acts Chapter 8) Some brothers from churches speaking in tongues try to gloss over this fact, saying that the Holy Spirit didn’t descend on the eunuch, but just visited him. But it simply can’t be that God, having sent the Apostle to meet the eunuch, left the matter unfinished.

Today, on the day of their baptism, the Holy Spirit gives millions of Christians rebirth from above with a testimony of great joy in their hearts. The Holy Spirit descended on our Lord on the day of His baptism. Remember your baptism, that amazing unearthly joy that filled your heart, remember the joy that fills the hearts of all believers at every thought about God, salvation and eternal life. You can’t confuse the joy of the Holy Spirit’s presence and of being born again with any other kind of joy, for the Holy Spirit gives it and warms it up throughout our entire life in Christ. This joy surprised those who met Christians in prisons, persecutions, in exile, on amphitheatre arenas and gallows. Those who used to have this joy and lost it, feel this loss very well, for all the pleasures in the world can’t compensate for it. Any earthly joy seems to be a surrogate of joy when compared to the joy of being born again and nobody can steal this kind of joy, for it is not from this world.

Joy is a ray of light from the Kingdom of Heaven in the hearts of the redeemed children of God, and you won’t buy it in a pharmacy, or in a supermarket. No other place can give you such joy. This is the joy of the Kingdom of God descending from above in the Holy Spirit: “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…” (Romans 14:17)

Thus, if souls receive the Kingdom of Heaven through righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, how can you say that such souls won’t be saved, due to not speaking in tongues, if the Kingdom of Heaven is already in their hearts?

In the famous “love chapter” (1Corinthians chapter 13), where Paul calls love “the most excellent way”, he writes about the qualities of love and begins the chapter saying that if a person speaks in the tongues of men or of angels, but doesn’t have love, it is only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. Here he lists the gift of prophecy, the gift of knowledge, the gift of faith, the gift of sacrifice and says: without love, they are nothing. He speaks of joy as a faithful companion of love and reveals the spiritual law: when love meets a manifestation of truth, it fills with joy, and when it meets a lie, it doesn’t delight. A lot of what people aspire to today will cease and stop existing in the future, including tongues, but love never fails. This is not surprising, for God is love, and joy is the fruit of love in the Holy Spirit. Therefore, those who are zealous in bringing joy to people are fellow workers in God, following the most excellent way.

Wherever the Holy Spirit does His work, there is always joy, which, like His faithful companion, fills the hearts of people. “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:52)

“You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” (1Thessalonians 1:6)

The Apostle Paul writes about all-conquering joy as a means of fighting. The world doesn’t understand how Christians can rejoice in the midst of sorrows, trials, poverty, and no difficulties and deprivations of life can cloud their joy. This is a great testimony: “In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” (2 Corinthians 8:2)

Joy in the Lord is a sure sign of the Holy Spirit’s presence. King David was deeply distressed when the Holy Spirit departed from him after the fall. How did David realize that the Spirit had left him? Maybe he stopped speaking in incomprehensible languages? No. He saw that the joy of salvation had departed from him. He felt this loss, and remembering the joy he used to have, he cried and prayed to the Lord in repentance, begging to return the lost joy of the connection he had with the Holy Spirit. “Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing Spirit, to sustain me.” (Psalms 51:11-12)

In the Parable of the Talents Christ describes the Kingdom of Heaven and calls it the joy that has no end. Like the blanket of air covers the earth, the Kingdom of Heaven is wrapped in joy. Christ says that walking into the Kingdom of Heaven is walking into happiness. “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25).

Perfect joy is the joy that comes down from heaven. Christ speaks of joy as of something special and calls it “the full measure of My joy”. “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of My joy within them.” (John 17:13)

“I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) The Apostle John well remembered this instruction of the Lord said at their last meeting and later reminds of this complete joy in his Epistle. “We write this to make our joy complete.” (1John 1:4)

       The prophets of the Old Testament write about the coming everlasting joy. “…and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.” (Isaiah 35:10)

Thus, joy is the calling card of the Holy Spirit and every Christian. That’s why the Apostle Paul writes to us: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Phillipians 4:4)

               Peter and a multitude of Scriptures echo him, calling us to rejoice in the Lord, because joy is the faithful helper of the Holy Spirit on our difficult path to eternity. Joy in the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of the Kingdom of Heaven in the hearts of believers. “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1Peter 1:8-9)

Dear friends, live in joy. Let your joy in the Holy Spirit be known to all people. Serve joy to people, share it with everyone you can, be zealous in bringing joy to people close to you and everyone around. Let your letters, phone conversations, programs, words of love and encouragement be a reason for joy that will lead people to the gratitude to God. Be a ray of light from the Kingdom of Heaven for all the people, with whom the Providence of God grants you a chance to meet in life. Even if sometimes you feel like crying, because somebody didn’t understand you, or offended, or disregarded, even through tears, overcoming your pain, against all odds, try to do good to people. Ask God for the strength to become a minister of joy in the Holy Spirit, pouring it out like the fragrance of Christ to all people.

I want to end our conversation with these wonderful words of the Apostle Jude: “To Him Who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy—  to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”