A Theology of Joy

This is actually a reformatted version of a dissertation written by a PCA pastor that covers broadly the written works of Edwards and many of the sermons available. At the conclusion of the book he adds a collection of his writings regarding portions of Edwards’ life and viewpoints. It is a well-presented view of Edwards’ works in my opinion.

Everhard highlights Edwards’ view on joy as found in Scripture and shown liberally throughout much of Jonathan Edwards’ sermons and writings. Edwards’ views on describing the Holy Spirit at times are quite jarring to my traditional descriptive sensibilities, but I found Everhard’s explanation and description compelling and improving my belief that Edwards is correct that I should view the relationship in a greater degree of joy than I had previously held.

Jonathan Edwards, known for his “fire and brimstone” sermons, also wrote extensively about joy. This study explores Edwards’s theology of joy, drawing from his sermons, treatises, and personal writings, to understand his perspective on joy and its significance for contemporary Christian life. The study also examines the biblical understanding of joy and its application for pastors and believers alike.

Key Lessons

1. God is the Happiest Being in the Universe

The foundational lesson of the book is that God is not a stoic, distant, or perpetually angry judge. Instead, He is infinitely and eternally happy. You cannot have a joyful Christian life if you worship a miserable God. The Trinity acts as a closed loop of perfect delight, with the Father rejoicing in the Son, and the Son rejoicing in the Father. God did not create the world because He was lonely or needed friends. He created the world to let His internal happiness spill over onto us.

2. The Holy Spirit is a Person, Not Just a Power

Everhard deeply explores Edwards’s view that the Holy Spirit is the personal embodiment of the love between the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the Vinculum Amoris (the Bond of Love). He is the personification of God’s joy. When Christians pray for joy, they are actually praying for more of the Holy Spirit. Joy is not merely a chemical emotion; it is the presence of the Third Person of the Trinity in your soul.

3. Salvation is Stepping Into the Trinity’s Love

Salvation is often taught as a legal transaction (a judge declaring you innocent). Everhard argues that for Edwards, it is much more intimate: it is experiential. To be saved is to be united to Christ. When you are united to Christ, you get to step into the flow of love that has existed forever. You get to love the Son with the Father’s love (the Spirit), and you get to love the Father with the Son’s love. The Christian life is participating in the inner life of God. We are not just subjects in a kingdom; we are adopted into the family circle of the Godhead.

4. True Virtue is Loving What God Loves

This lesson redefines ethics. Instead of viewing holiness as merely following the rules, Everhard presents it as ordered affections. Sin is loving the wrong things (or loving good things too much). Holiness is having the same taste or relish for beauty that God has. You become like what you behold. If you find your ultimate happiness in God, obedience becomes a delight rather than a duty.

5. Heaven is an Eternal Increase of Discovery

The book challenges the static view of heaven, the image of sitting on a cloud forever. Because God is infinite, finite creatures can never fully comprehend Him. Therefore, heaven will be an eternal progression of discovering more of God’s glory. Joy will increase forever. Every moment in eternity will bring a fresh discovery of God’s beauty, resulting in a fresh wave of joy, forever and ever.

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The Shift in Perspective

Traditional View	Everhard / Edwards View
God is a Judge / King.	God is a Fountain of Happiness.
The Spirit is a power / force.	The Spirit is the Person of Joy.
Salvation is legal pardon.	Salvation is Trinitarian participation.
Holiness is duty / willpower.	Holiness is delight / attraction.
Heaven is a final destination.	Heaven is an eternal ascent.

Key Quotes

“In analyzing what Edwards says about the Holy Trinity in An Essay, I think it is important to keep a few things in mind. First, there is no complete model that is sufficient in every way to describe the Trinity. Mortal men should not expect to understand the Divine Being of God with finite minds.”

“Thus we might say that salvation is planned by God, carried out by Christ in the gospel, and communicated through the Holy Spirit. This results in a God-centered reorientation of life in which the saint loves and enjoys God above all things.”

“Perhaps the most important things that Edwards has taught me in my research on his theology of joy can be reduced to two simple truths. First, I must guard jealously the joy that I have as a pastor, and as a redeemed sinner in the Lord Jesus Christ. … Secondly, as a pastor, I must prepare my people for death by relentlessly showing them the temporality of this world (as beautiful as it is) and causing them to set their gaze forward, on the eternal joys that are to come in eternity.”