{"id":1069,"date":"2010-05-10T16:46:14","date_gmt":"2010-05-10T16:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html"},"modified":"2010-05-10T16:46:14","modified_gmt":"2010-05-10T16:46:14","slug":"joy-the-elixer-of-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html","title":{"rendered":"Joy: The Elixer of Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta name=\"ProgId\" content=\"Word.Document\"><meta name=\"Generator\" content=\"Microsoft Word 11\"><meta name=\"Originator\" content=\"Microsoft Word 11\"><link rel=\"File-List\" href=\"file:\/\/\/C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CBENWIT%7E1.ASB%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml\"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags\" name=\"place\"><\/o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags\" name=\"City\"><\/o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument>  <w:View>Normal<\/w:View>  <w:Zoom>0<\/w:Zoom>  <w:PunctuationKerning\/>  <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas\/>  <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false<\/w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>  <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false<\/w:IgnoreMixedContent>  <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false<\/w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>  <w:Compatibility>   <w:BreakWrappedTables\/>   <w:SnapToGridInCell\/>   <w:WrapTextWithPunct\/>   <w:UseAsianBreakRules\/>   <w:DontGrowAutofit\/>  <\/w:Compatibility>  <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4<\/w:BrowserLevel> <\/w:WordDocument><\/xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState=\"false\" LatentStyleCount=\"156\"> <\/w:LatentStyles><\/xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid=\"clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D\" id=\"ieooui\"><\/object>\n\n<style>st1\\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }<\/style>\n\n<![endif]--><\/p>\n<style><!-- \/* Style Definitions *\/ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal\t{mso-style-parent:\"\";\tmargin:0in;\tmargin-bottom:.0001pt;\tmso-pagination:widow-orphan;\tfont-size:12.0pt;\tfont-family:\"Times New Roman\";\tmso-fareast-font-family:\"Times New Roman\";}p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText\t{mso-style-noshow:yes;\tmargin:0in;\tmargin-bottom:.0001pt;\tmso-pagination:widow-orphan;\tfont-size:10.0pt;\tfont-family:\"Times New Roman\";\tmso-fareast-font-family:\"Times New Roman\";}span.MsoFootnoteReference\t{mso-style-noshow:yes;\tvertical-align:super;} \/* Page Definitions *\/ @page\t{mso-footnote-separator:url(\"file:\/\/\/C:\/DOCUME~1\/BENWIT~1.ASB\/LOCALS~1\/Temp\/msohtml1\/01\/clip_header.htm\") fs;\tmso-footnote-continuation-separator:url(\"file:\/\/\/C:\/DOCUME~1\/BENWIT~1.ASB\/LOCALS~1\/Temp\/msohtml1\/01\/clip_header.htm\") fcs;\tmso-endnote-separator:url(\"file:\/\/\/C:\/DOCUME~1\/BENWIT~1.ASB\/LOCALS~1\/Temp\/msohtml1\/01\/clip_header.htm\") es;\tmso-endnote-continuation-separator:url(\"file:\/\/\/C:\/DOCUME~1\/BENWIT~1.ASB\/LOCALS~1\/Temp\/msohtml1\/01\/clip_header.htm\") ecs;}@page Section1\t{size:8.5in 11.0in;\tmargin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;\tmso-header-margin:.5in;\tmso-footer-margin:.5in;\tmso-paper-source:0;}div.Section1\t{page:Section1;}--><\/style>\n<p><!--[if gte mso 10]>\n\n<style> \/* Style Definitions *\/ table.MsoNormalTable\t{mso-style-name:\"Table Normal\";\tmso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;\tmso-tstyle-colband-size:0;\tmso-style-noshow:yes;\tmso-style-parent:\"\";\tmso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;\tmso-para-margin:0in;\tmso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;\tmso-pagination:widow-orphan;\tfont-size:10.0pt;\tfont-family:\"Times New Roman\";\tmso-ansi-language:#0400;\tmso-fareast-language:#0400;\tmso-bidi-language:#0400;}<\/style>\n\n<![endif]--><\/p>\n<form mt:asset-id=\"12895\" class=\"mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image\" style=\"display: inline;\" contenteditable=\"false\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/rainbow.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"rainbow.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/137\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/04\/rainbow-thumb-400x300-12895.jpg\" class=\"mt-image-none\" style=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/form>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">(The following is a brief excerpt from my forthcoming Philippians commentary. &#8216;Enjoy!&#8217;)<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">JOY&#8211; THE ELIXIR OF FAITH, THEEFFERVESCENCE OF HOPE<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\"><o:p>&nbsp;<\/o:p><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>Scholarshave often pondered the semantic range of the words <b style=\"\">chara <\/b>and <b style=\"\">chairein <\/b>andthere have been a variety of opinions about the meaning of these words.<a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[1]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a> <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>Clearlythey are important in this discourse where they occur more (some 16 times) thanin any other Pauline letter, even the much longer ones.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>There is clearly some paradox about this&#8217;joy&#8217;.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>On the one hand external eventscan affect it. <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>Paul speaks about how ifthe Philippians continued to stand firm and make progress in the faith thatthis would be a source of joy for Paul (4.11).<span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>These converts were capable of enhancing Paul&#8217;s joy, or as 2.2 wouldhave it&#8211;perfecting or making complete Paul&#8217;s joy. <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>At the same time Paul has joy in spite of someof his circumstances, such as his suffering or house arrest. <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in;\">The more one studies these wordsthe clearer it becomes Paul is not talking about mere happiness which certainlycan be taken away by suffering, in particular extreme suffering.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>One clue to unlocking this paradox is thatPaul says &#8216;joy&#8217; is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5.22), and indeed Paulplaces it only after love as one of the fruit of the Spirit.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>But if it is the fruit of the internalworking of the Spirit in the believer, then it is not something &#8216;the world&#8217; cangive a person, nor can the &#8216;world&#8217; take it away. <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>It is not dependent on positive externalcircumstances and it may exist in spite of negative ones, but at the same time,some positive external circumstances can enhance it, and some negative ones puta damper on rejoicing&#8211;such as the loss of a loved one.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>One is called by Paul to rejoice in the Lord,not in one&#8217;s circumstances in any case (cf. Phil. 3.1; 4.4,10), and here hesimply follows the psalmist.<a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[2]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span><span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>G. Hawthorneoffers this insight: &#8220;for Paul, joy is more than a mood, or an emotion. Joy isan understanding of existence that encompasses both elation and depression, thatcan accept with creative submission events which bring delight or dismaybecause joy allows one to see beyond any particular event to the sovereign Lordwho stands above all events and ultimately has control over them.&#8221;<a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[3]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a> <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>While joy may be more than an emotion orfeeling, it certainly involves the feelings, feelings of elation aboutsomething or someone. <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>I do not thinkthat when Paul refers to joy he merely means quiet acceptance of God&#8217;s will,however hard that may be. <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>For example, Icannot imagine Paul &#8216;rejoicing&#8217; over the recent earthquake disaster in Haitiand all the carnage and wreckage and loss of life it entailed, but I canimagine Paul saying that God can bring something good out of that disaster,something to rejoice in, in spite of all the suffering, sorrow, disease, anddeath.<a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[4]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>2 Cor. 8.2 shows in any case that joy in themidst of affliction is a characteristic of the Macedonian churches (cf. 1Thess. 1.6-7; 5.16-18; Acts 16.34). <span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><b style=\"\">Chairein <\/b>and its cognates appear somesixteen times in Philippians (as a noun (&#8216;joy&#8217;)<span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>here and at 1.25; 2.2,29;4.1 and as a verb (including the compound <b style=\"\">sunchairein<\/b>)<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">At 1.18;2.17,18,28;3.1;4.4,10 (multiple times in one versein four of these examples). This makes the absence of this language all themore notable throughout Phil. 3, a fact best explained by the focus and contentof Phil. 3.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>It is true that <b style=\"\">chara <\/b>is linked etymologically with <b style=\"\">charis<\/b>, so from a rhetorical point ofview there is some playing on the similar sounding words grace and joy inPaul&#8217;s letters. <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>In fact in classicalGreek it is the Greek word for &#8216;rejoice&#8217; or &#8216;be merry&#8217; <b style=\"\">chairein <\/b>which becomes the word for greeting in the later papyrusletters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>In Greekliterature and in the Greco-Roman world there is a long history to the use ofand even study of the meaning of this semantic field. So for example inAristotle &#8216;joy&#8217; is the subject of philosophical reflection (<u>Nic. Ethics <\/u>2.5,1105b19ff.), and closer to the Pauline usage we find this language used to refer tothe joy produced by a religious experience in a mystery cult, or the joyprompted by the appearance of a savior figure, a wunderkind who would rule theworld for the better (see Vergil&#8217;s <u>Ecl.<\/u> 4.48-52).<a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[5]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>There areof course plenty of examples of references to mundane joy in the OT (<b style=\"\">samah\/simha <\/b>for the verb and noun), forexample the rejoicing over food and drink (Ps. 104.14-15, or a wedding (Jer.25.10), but there is also joy expressed to God for divine deliverance (Exod.18.9; Ps. 33.1,21) and the gift of Torah (Neh. 8.10,12; Ps. 119.14), but themore one studies the post-exilic OT literature, the more joy is projected intothe future as something that is part of the eschatological hope (Is.35.10;51.11;65.17-19;Zech. 2.10;8.19; Joel 2.21), in fact joy is said tocharacterize the age of redemption (Is. 123-6;25.9;26.19;29.19;35.1-10;41.16;49.13; 51.3,11;52.8;55.12;61.7), and it isthese<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>references from the latterprophets that are most important in the study of Paul because he believes theeschatological Spirit has now come filling the hearts of believers with manythings, including eschatological joy over their salvation. <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>It is perhaps of some importance that at <st1:place w:st=\"on\">Qumran<\/st1:place> during this period as well there is a stress oneverlasting and eschatological joy. <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>Notefor example 1QM 4.14 where joy is written on the banner or flag of God&#8217;svictorious army (cf. 4Q171; 4Q177; 1QS 4.7). <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>Believers participate in the joy of heavenlyworship (4Q403) or it is said that only God truly produces joy in his people ((1Q34). <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>In the teaching of Jesus as welljoy is associated with eschatological redemption, or better said with God&#8217;sfinal approval of the believer&#8217;s behavior which produces a joy in the Masterwhich can be shared by his child (Mt. 25.21-23).<a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref6\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[6]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"border-width: medium medium 1pt; border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-indent: 0.5in; border: medium none; padding: 0in;\">Thevocabulary of joy appears some 50 times in the undisputed Paulines, making it acharacteristic of the Pauline letters.<span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>If we are to ask about the objective source of this joy it is surelyChrist, with the subjective means of joy being produced in the believer beingthe work of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit&#8217;s fruit in a Christian life.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>This brings us to Phil. 4.4-5 where, in anecho of a psalm,<a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref7\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[7]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a> thespatial nearness of God should prompt rejoicing.<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>The reason then that the world can neithergive nor take away this joy is because it is a joy generated by the livingpresence of the Lord in the believer&#8217;s life, and &#8216;greater is he who is in us,than anything in the world&#8217;. <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>At the sametime the Lord is the object of Christian joy as well as its source, and as Bockmuehlsuggests there may be a hint in this discourse of believers sharing in Christ&#8217;sjoy by imitating Paul and Christ.<a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftn8\" name=\"_ftnref8\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[8]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a> Paulthen in Phil. 1.4 is talking about making petitions with eschatological hopeand confidence and excitement, knowing what God can do. That this is in hismind is shown clearly in Phil. 1.6. <span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>Joyis so characteristic of Paul&#8217;s vision of the Christian life that one can say &#8220;ajoyless Christian makes no more sense than a waterless ocean.&#8221;<a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftn9\" name=\"_ftnref9\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[9]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear=\"all\" \/><\/p>\n<hr align=\"left\" width=\"33%\" size=\"1\"><!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<div style=\"\" id=\"ftn1\">\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\"><a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[1]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a> See especiallyW.G. Morrice, <u>Joy in the New Testament, <\/u><span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985) and O. Michel,&#8221;Freude&#8221; in<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>the <u>Reallexikon furAntike und Christentum, <\/u><span style=\"\">&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span>(ed. T.Klausner et al. Stuttgart: Hiersmann, 1950ff.<span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>this particular volume 1972),<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span>pp.348-418 and H.Conzelmann, &#8220;<b style=\"\">chara<\/b>&#8220;<span style=\"\">&nbsp; <\/span><u>TDNT Vol. 9 <\/u>, pp. 359-76.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"\" id=\"ftn2\">\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\"><a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[2]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a> On whichsee pp. below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"\" id=\"ftn3\">\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\"><a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[3]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a>Hawthorne, <u>Philippians, <\/u><span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>p. 18.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"\" id=\"ftn4\">\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\"><a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[4]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a> And hereis where it becomes evident that how we read Paul&#8217;s understanding of joy isdependent on whether we take a more Calvinistic approach to the matter, as does<st1:city w:st=\"on\"><st1:place w:st=\"on\">Hawthorne<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, orsome other theological approach, as I would. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"\" id=\"ftn5\">\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\"><a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[5]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a> For muchof this I am following Reumann&#8217;s discussion in <u>Philippians, <\/u>pp. 104-06.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"\" id=\"ftn6\">\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\"><a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[6]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a> See thediscussion in Bocmuehl, <u>Philippians, <\/u>p. 59.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"\" id=\"ftn7\">\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\"><a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftnref7\" name=\"_ftn7\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[7]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a> On whichsee pp. below. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"\" id=\"ftn8\">\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\"><a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftnref8\" name=\"_ftn8\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[8]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a>Bockmuehl, <u>Philippians, <\/u><span style=\"\">&nbsp;<\/span>p. 60.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"\" id=\"ftn9\">\n<p class=\"MsoFootnoteText\"><a style=\"\" href=\"#_ftnref9\" name=\"_ftn9\" title=\"\"><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"\"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class=\"MsoFootnoteReference\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\">[9]<\/span><\/span><!--[endif]--><\/span><\/span><\/a>Flemming, <u>Philippians, <\/u>p.52.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(The following is a brief excerpt from my forthcoming Philippians commentary. &#8216;Enjoy!&#8217;) JOY&#8211; THE ELIXIR OF FAITH, THEEFFERVESCENCE OF HOPE &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scholarshave often pondered the semantic range of the words chara and chairein andthere have been a variety of opinions about the meaning of these words.[1] &nbsp;&nbsp;Clearlythey are important in this discourse where they&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Joy: The Elixer of Faith - The Bible and Culture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Joy: The Elixer of Faith - The Bible and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(The following is a brief excerpt from my forthcoming Philippians commentary. &#8216;Enjoy!&#8217;) JOY&#8211; THE ELIXIR OF FAITH, THEEFFERVESCENCE OF HOPE &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scholarshave often pondered the semantic range of the words chara and chairein andthere have been a variety of opinions about the meaning of these words.[1] &nbsp;&nbsp;Clearlythey are important in this discourse where they&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bible and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-05-10T16:46:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/files\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/04\/rainbow-thumb-400x300-12895.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ben Witherington\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Joy: The Elixer of Faith - The Bible and Culture","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Joy: The Elixer of Faith - The Bible and Culture","og_description":"(The following is a brief excerpt from my forthcoming Philippians commentary. &#8216;Enjoy!&#8217;) JOY&#8211; THE ELIXIR OF FAITH, THEEFFERVESCENCE OF HOPE &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scholarshave often pondered the semantic range of the words chara and chairein andthere have been a variety of opinions about the meaning of these words.[1] &nbsp;&nbsp;Clearlythey are important in this discourse where they&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html","og_site_name":"The Bible and Culture","article_published_time":"2010-05-10T16:46:14+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/files\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/04\/rainbow-thumb-400x300-12895.jpg"}],"author":"Ben Witherington","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html","name":"Joy: The Elixer of Faith - The Bible and Culture","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/files\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/04\/rainbow-thumb-400x300-12895.jpg","datePublished":"2010-05-10T16:46:14+00:00","dateModified":"2010-05-10T16:46:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/d1fd6c7893819eabc624db38ecfd8426"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/files\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/04\/rainbow-thumb-400x300-12895.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/files\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/04\/rainbow-thumb-400x300-12895.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/05\/joy-the-elixer-of-faith.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Joy: The Elixer of Faith"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/","name":"The Bible and Culture","description":"All Things Biblical and Christian","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/d1fd6c7893819eabc624db38ecfd8426","name":"Ben Witherington","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/75e\/75ec11e1916a2008bc4cc638a0a0de2fx96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/75e\/75ec11e1916a2008bc4cc638a0a0de2fx96.jpg","caption":"Ben Witherington"},"description":"Bible scholar Ben Witherington is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. A graduate of UNC, Chapel Hill, he went on to receive the M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. Witherington has also taught at Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell. A popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia. He has also led tours to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Witherington has written over thirty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications, and is a frequent contributor to the Beliefnet website. Along with many interviews on radio networks across the country, Witherington has been seen on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Discovery Channel, A&amp;E, and the PAX Network.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/author\/bwitherington"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}