Fellowship is the result of experiencing the grace of God, and joy is the fruit of that fellowship: "And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete [perfect passive participle of pleroo, to make full or to fill]" (I John 1:4 NASB). The perfect tense means that having been filled with gladness John and his comrades would continue in that state of fullness. True joy comes from Biblical doctrine understood and practiced. When doctrine enters the mind, it affects the heart-the emotional nature of the child of God. The individual is moved by what he has heard and understood. Following this the Christian's will is reached, and his willingness to do God's will produces joy.

Joy is the fruit of the Spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Gal. 5:22, 23 NASB). These nine graces are separated into three divisions: (1) Love (bestowed by the Holy Spirit), joy (love exulting), and peace (love reposing) are internal. (2) Patience (love on trial), kindness (love overflowing), and goodness (love in action) are external manifestations of love. (3) Faithfulness (love on the battlefield), gentleness (love at school), and self-control (love under control) are directed toward the Lord. When objective standards are transmuted by grace into subjective experiences, the law approves of that conduct and gives no threat: "against such things there is no law" (Gal. 5:23).

The joy that Christ gives differs from the fullness of joy. The Christian's joy is dependent on Christ. Christ said, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full" (John 15:11 NASB). The joy that Christ gives can never be interrupted by any circumstance in life: "Though the fig tree should not blossom, And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail, And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold, And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The LORD GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds' feet, And makes me walk on my high places" (Hab. 3:17-19 NASB). Peace and joy that Christ gives are the fruits of justification and cannot be altered. Christ's joy is perpetual because He is immutable. The stream of joy can never run dry because the fountain of Christ's joy is infinite. On the other hand, the saint's joy may be affected because it is conditional. Full and overflowing joy results from studying and applying oneself to the written revelation of God. Although the gift of joy cannot be interrupted in the sense of being removed from a born-again person, his joy may be interrupted by his sins. This is related to fellowship. Therefore, the joy of fellowship may increase with increasing knowledge, obedience, and fruitfulness. However, it may decrease by the individual becoming lax in study, disobedient to the known will of God, and unfruitful.

The Christian enjoying his fellowship with the Lord will press on in his Christian life. The entrance into fellowship is not the stopping place, but the starting gate of the Christian race. Christianity has the "onward spirit." Progress is not made without discipline, struggle, failure, disappointment, and spiritual warfare. Following the death of Moses, the Lord instructed Joshua to go on: "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel" (Josh. 1:2 NASB).

Joshua led the children of Israel onward to cross the Jordan River, which was a major crisis of faith. Their being brought out of Egypt was one thing, but the disobedient nation burying their self-born aims and desires in Jordan was another. "Jordan" means death, but this death was for the Israelites instead of the lamb's death on their behalf at the Passover. If Israel had not been disobedient and wandered for many years in the wilderness, that nation would have had no Jordan experience. Although Jordan was a great attainment of faith in the life of Israel, it was not recorded in Hebrews 11 because Israel's obedience to what God told her would have made crossing the Jordan River unnecessary. As the second generation Jews learned seemingly nothing from the first generation, Christians learn little or nothing from those before them.

Israel's wilderness journey had come to an end, and the time had arrived for them to possess their possessions. God wants His people to enter Canaan with their affections on things above (Col. 3:1-4). This necessitates self-judgment of all things that displease Him. Self-judgment reveals that neither God's love for His own nor the prospect of Canaan has governed their lives as much as they desire. The way that God cleared for Israel to enter Canaan from Horeb in eleven days was clouded nearly forty years by Israel's unbelief and disobedience. With proper growth and development by Christians, the distance between Romans 5:5 and Romans 8 is short, but they travel so slowly. Like the Israelites, the long delay in possessing their possessions has been occasioned entirely on their side.

The writer of Hebrews appealed to his readers to go on to Christian maturity: "THEREFORE leaving [aorist active participle of aphiemi, which means they who had left] the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on [present middle subjunctive of phero, which means to proceed or make progress] to maturity [accusative of teleiotes, which means completeness or maturity of knowledge or practice], not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God" (Heb. 6:1 NASB). The two things alluded to in the statement "let us press on to maturity" are progress and maturity. Having reproved his readers in chapter 5:11-14, the apostle went on to prescribe the remedy for their lack of growth and experience. Maturity can be experienced in time. Perfection will be experienced in eternity.

Leaving the first elements of the teaching about Christ is not a departure from the soundness of the faith once delivered to the saints. It is leaving the first miles of the Christian journey and pressing forward to complete the journey. It is proceeding from the foundation in order to erect the building. Progress in Divine knowledge and experience is distinct from changeableness in doctrine. Pressing on to maturity is the remedy for lack of knowledge and experience. Many things are connected with Christ and His truth that are not communicated at conversion. They must be progressively acquired throughout the Christian's pilgrimage. Great truths always come one by one.

Paul expressed his desire to go forward in the Christian race: "Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching [present middle participle of epekteino, which means to reach out toward, or strain for] forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:12-14 NASB). The possibility of failure to attain a particular goal should cause Christians to zealously pursue their course. The Christian race is one in which the child of God desires to know all he can learn about Jesus Christ in relation to time and eternity.

The present is not the principle state of Christians; therefore, the present should never be viewed separate from the future. The promise of the future is not the religious counterpart of secular fortune telling. God's promise to His people does not offer a secret to satisfy curiosity, but a message that penetrates to the heart of their existence. It compels them to look to the One who is their life: "When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory" (Col. 3:4 NASB). Saints are numbered among the citizens of heaven: "For our citizenship [politeuma, the commonwealth of heaven] is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself" (Phil. 3:20, 21 NASB).

The citizenship of heaven differs from the present citizenship on earth and from Adam's citizenship in the Garden of Eden before the fall. Although children of God are living in the world, they are citizens of heaven. They have responsibilities here, but their treasures are in heaven. Whatever incompatibility there may be between simultaneous residence on earth and citizenship in heaven, Christians are admonished to put it out of the way. As strangers they have no permanent dwelling here. However, as pilgrims they have a permanent home there: "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation" (I Pet. 2:11, 12 NASB). The enjoyments of this world are uncertain and unsatisfying, but enjoyment in heavenly citizenship is certain and satisfying.

Christians eagerly await the coming of Jesus Christ: "…we eagerly wait [present middle indicative of apekdechomai, which means to wait with eager expectation of receiving the One who is coming] for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:20 NASB). (See Rom. 8:19, 23, 25; I Cor. 1:7; Heb. 9:28.) The attention of those eagerly expecting the One who is coming will be withdrawn from inferior objects: "according to my earnest expectation [apokaradokia, a persistent expectation] and hope, that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death" (Phil. 1:20 NASB).

The Christian race will be completed: "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is" (I John 3:2 NASB). God's people have a prospective glory that will not fail: "who will transform [future active indicative of metaschematidzo, which means to fashion, change the figure of, or transform] the body of our humble state [tapeinosis, low estate, or humiliation] into conformity with [summorphos, of like form or conformed] the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself" (Phil. 3:21 NASB). The subject that will be changed is the body. The body that has been humiliated by the presence of indwelling sin will be changed into one of like form to that of Christ's. The comparison does not regard Christ's body during the days of its flesh and bones. The transformation will be from a wasting material to a permanent substance -from a corruptible to an incorruptible substance.

The climax of Christian experience is the completion and consummation of Christ's humiliation and exaltation. Therefore, every child of God should be as eager and expectant of that day as the Captain of his salvation: "THEREFORE, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:1, 2 NASB).