The Greek word for Joy is chara which literally means the joy you give another or a thing or person which brings you joy. The bible talks about both God being our joy as well as us, his people, bringing Him joy.
Where does our joy come from? What is the source/cause of our rejoicing?
1 Peter 1:3-9
Joy, like love, involves a choice. We can choose how we react to any situation. And therefore it is only those who are free in Christ who can truly choose to experience joy.
Like love, joy is also misunderstood in our culture. We understand love as a feeling when it is often a choice. How do we understand joy? Joy is not the same thing as happiness.
1 Thessalonians 5:16
True joy is not an independent emotion. It is often mentioned with:
Hope, elpis in Greek, which comes from a word that means to anticipate (usually with pleasure) and itself means an expectation of either good (our hope) or evil (all the lost have to hope for).
( And with peace, which is our next lesson in the study.)
The other common thread in these joy passages is suffering. It goes back to Joy being a choice. How do we find joy in suffering? Why is it important to know what true joy is then?
1 Peter 1:3
What do you think "living hope" refers to? What does hope have to do with joy? "A dead hope has no possiblity of coming true." [Don't ask where I got this quote, I didn't record the source - oops.] Only living hope could lead to joy!
Psalms 126
In life our joy leans either on past things God has done or the promise (hope) of what he will do. What has God done for you?
Habakukkuk 3:1,2 & 17-19 Put this into modern terms - make it apply to your life. What does this teach us about joy?
- That Joy is a choice!
- That Joy is not controlled by circumstances
- God is the source of our Joy
- God sustains us because we choose Joy
This joy comes with growth and cultivation of our relationship with Jesus.

Read more about what the Bible says about Joy
- Psalm 51:12-13
- Luke 10:20
- Nehemiah 8:8-10
- James 1:2-4
- Philippians 2:17-18

Joy in the Psalms:
- Psalm 1
- Psalm 9
- Psalm 16
- Psalm 20
- Psalm 30:4-6
- Psalm 46
- Psalm 66
- Psalm 98
- Psalm 100

Hope and Joy are closely linked; read about Hope:
- Hebrews 6:18-20
- 1 Peter 5:10
- Psalm 21:34
- Psalm 33:18-22
- Psalm 34:18
- Acts 2:25-26

Read About It: Hebrews 10:35-12:3
Hebrews – The Royal Book
The Book of Hebrews has no record of who wrote it. It was written to Jewish Christians who would have been academic thinkers and had a good understanding of the Scriptures (Old Testament at this time). The author is confronting them on their lack of maturity and the fact that they seem to be wavering under persecution and looking back to Judaism. The author’s major focus is the priesthood and royalty of Christ.
This passage is often used to teach how to "have faith" and is known as the Chapter of Faith, but the author wasn't writing to new Christians just learning about faith but rather to long time Christians whose joy of salvation had worn off. In chapter 10 he actually tells his audience that what they need now is perseverence. This is a lesson on faith for those who should be (or are) maturing in their walk.
Being Faithful
What do you understand Faith to be?
What problems do you struggle with with faith?
Faithfulness - Greek – pistis – conviction, belief in truth, faithfulness, reality
Hebrew – aman – firm, permanent, steadiness, trust, faithfulness
The Greek term makes a reference to the believers faith in the reality of God and his promises. The Hebrew on the other hand refers to God’s believability, to how faithful, or firm and dependable God is. The Hebrew word for “Faithfulness” is what we place our (Greek word) “Faithfulness” in!
Why do we struggle with faith? Have you ever noticed that faith often goes in waves?
Look at Galatians 3:1-4 for an example. Paul says they started out their walk right but now they have become fools - because they tried to take control of their faith.
The answer is in what we put our faith in. Is your faith in what God does or in who God is? Read Daniel 3:16-18, those boys had their faith in who God was no matter what happened, they knew God had a faithful character and that he always had their best interest at heart.
Thank God, that he is where our faith comes from. Mark 9:24, Hebrews 12:2a
“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 - NLT
The Lives of Faith in Hebrews 11
Why do you think they used examples from people's lives to teach this? (Remember he's not just teaching faith but perseverence in faith)
Here are the references to the specific events of faith, and if none is given the life, of the Heroes of Faith.
Abel – Genesis 4:1-16
Enoch – Genesis 5:18-24
Look back to last week’s lesson, read Ephesians 5:8-10 again. How do we please God?
Abraham & Sarah – Genesis 11:31, 12-23
Unlike most of the other examples, almost Abrahams entire life was an example of faithfulness – although Hebrews does point out several specific events to look for: leaving his homeland, having Isaac, and offering Isaac as a sacrifice.
Isaac – Genesis 26
Jacob – Genesis 48
Joseph – Genesis 50:22-26
Moses’ Parents – Exodus 2:1-10
Moses – Exodus 2:11-25, Exodus 12:1-30
Israel – Exodus 14:15-31, Joshua 5:13-6:27
Notice that the nation of Israel isn’t commended for their faithfulness in any of the books between early Exodus all the way to Joshua – it was this lack of faith that condemned them to wander in the desert for 40 years.
Rahab – Joshua 2
Gideon – Judges 6-8
Barak – Judges 4-5
Samson – Judges 13-16
Jephthah – Judges 11-12
David – 1 Samuel 16 on, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1-2:12, 1 Chronicles 11 - 29
Samuel – 1 & 2 Samuel

Read About It: 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:7, 1 John 4:7-12
Biblical scholars believe that the term "Fruit of the Spirit" is singular rather than plural. They propose that it's possible that Love is the only fruit of the Spirit and the other eight (joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control) are merely facets of this love; each is merely one way love makes itself known. It's fascinating to watch how interlinked and dependant all of these gifts are, especially when it comes to their relationship with LOVE.
Both of these readings are only parts of a larger passage.
1 Corinthians
Parallel Passage: Romans 12
Begin at 12:1 through 14:40 to read more about Spiritual Gifts. Read all the way to 13:13 to read more about Love.
The teaching on love is right in between two chapters on the Spritual Gifts. This is not an accident!
1 John
Read from 4:7 through 4:21 for John’s full teaching on Love.
Love
The Greek has three different words for our one term – Love. It is important to know which term is being translated into “love”.
Eros – “longing and desire” – Romantic or sexual love
Philos – “friend” or “the love one has towards a friend” – brotherly or friendship love
Agape – Divine love – based on response not feeling
The Characteristics of Love
Patient – makrothumia – “a person who is able to avenge himself yet refrains from doing so.”
Kind – chresteuomai – to show oneself “useful”
Not Envy – zeloo – “to be zealous”
Not Boast – perpereuomai – “braggart”
Not Proud – phusioo – “blowing, to inflate”
Not Rude – aschemoneo – “to behave in an ugly, indecent, unseemly or unbecoming manner”
Protects – stego – “to cover over in silence” (not to expose the faults of others)
Trust – pisteuo – having faith in someone
Hopes – elpizo – “to expect with desire”
Perseveres – hupomeno – “to remain under”
Never Fails – ekipipto – “to be without effect, to be in vain” (remember the “never”)
Not Self-seeking – zeteo - to seek (literally and figuratively), specifically to worship
Not Easily Angered – paroxuno – to make sharp, irritate, provoke, spur on
No Record of Wrongs – logizomai – to take an inventory, to take into account
- kakos – of a bad nature, mode of thinking feeling acting
Delights in Truth (Not Evil) – sugchairo – to take part in another’s joy
(This chart created with info from Beth Moore's Living Beyond Yourself)
How easy is it to truly love others?
Whose love is being described here?
Agape – is a divine capacity to love. Only God can Agape!
- is more a response than a feeling
- is fueled by the needs of others
- is expressed through me when I surrender to the Holy Spirit
What standard of love is set for the believers?
In what way are believers able to complete God's love?
Love is a gift we get from God for the purpose of giving to others.

I'm teaching a Bible Study from Faith Alive Christian Resources an the Fruit of the Spirit. I'm also doing the Beth Moore study Living Beyond Yourself and reading Naked Fruit by Elisa Morgan. I'm using these in addition to my normal resources to plan my lessons and create handouts. My plan is to post all my lessons and notes in the blog for you to use. The first lesson is on freedom...
Read About It: Ephesians 5:13-26, John 15:1-8 (these verses are the assigned ones in the Faith Alive study. I may not touch on them in the notes because I'm not always led the same way they went, but I wanted you to have them)
Lesson #1 – The Fruit of Freedom
What does “Free” mean?
Freedom is the right (and ability) to choose.
Want to read more on what the Bible has to say about our freedom? Try these verses:
- All of the book of Galatians (note 5:1)
- John 8:31-36 (means “actually or really free”)
- Acts 13:38-39 (the word “right” is sometimes used instead of “free”)
- 2 Corinthians 3:16-23 (Veil prevents freedom)
On the use of our freedom (our choices):
- 1 Corinthians 6:12
- 1 Corinthians 10:23-24
- 1 Peter 2:16-17
What did our freedom cost?
What is the source of our freedom?
As believers, we are called, above all else, to be free. Freedom is what enables us to grow, to change, to become like God.
What does it mean to be free? What have we been set free from?
Galatians was written by Paul as a correction for the Gentile church in Galatia who were adopting Jewish law and customs (namely circumcision).
Read Romans 6-8 many of Paul’s teachings in Galatians 5 are mirrored or expanded on in the Romans passage.

Fruit
What does "fruit" have to do with freedom?
What quality(ies) describe the Fruit of the Spirit?
The term fruit in the Bible is used to denote produce (production) or action.
The Fruit of the Spirit is the “dispositions or habits which the Spirit produces in those in whom he dwells and works”.
Other Biblical references to Fruit in our lives:
- Matthew 3:8
- Matthew 7:16
- Matthew 12:33
- John 4:36
- John 15:8
- Psalm 1:3
- Psalm 92:14
- Hosea 14:8 (you may want to read the surrounding passages to better understand the listed verse)
The concepts of “fruit” and of “works” are connected in the Bible.
Read about the Fig Tree the Jesus cursed, Matt 21:19-20, and the parable of the fig tree, Luke 13:6-9. Fruit only grows on healthy, mature plants. The Fruit of the Spirit comes out through a healthy inner life (or relationship) with God.
Is there any area in which your life is less fruitful than it should be?