I see a series of situations that produce joy or rejoicing according to Paul in the first part of the 5th chapter of Romans: He
begins with:
2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
So, first he introduced how we can have joy when we look to our future with God.
And then continues the theme of joy with:
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Problems & Trials = endurance = strong character = hope of salvation (because of the Holy Spirit filling our hearts with his love) = JOY!
What stands out to me is how problems and trials are not separate from God's love, they are actually part of the equation of SHOWING us how much God loves us. Second, then, we can rejoice in our current trials.
11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
And then, third, we can rejoice in what God has done for us in the past.
I think Paul has covered every tense here... and of course they all work together. Our joy in what Jesus did to makes us reconciled with God helps us to have joy in our trials because we know that they are helping us joyfully look to the future where they will produce glory...
Goodness Paul. I think I get the point!
2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
So, first he introduced how we can have joy when we look to our future with God.
And then continues the theme of joy with:
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Problems & Trials = endurance = strong character = hope of salvation (because of the Holy Spirit filling our hearts with his love) = JOY!
What stands out to me is how problems and trials are not separate from God's love, they are actually part of the equation of SHOWING us how much God loves us. Second, then, we can rejoice in our current trials.
11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
And then, third, we can rejoice in what God has done for us in the past.
I think Paul has covered every tense here... and of course they all work together. Our joy in what Jesus did to makes us reconciled with God helps us to have joy in our trials because we know that they are helping us joyfully look to the future where they will produce glory...
Goodness Paul. I think I get the point!
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