Recently during one of our mid-week praise & prayer services, our pastor read from 1 John 1. In verse 4, John says, “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” He’s writing about Christ, he’s talking about God Himself, to fulfill His joy! He already has joy in Christ; and he’s fulfilling his joy in Christ by talking about Him and all He did during His ministry on earth. John says, “We’ve seen it. We have reason to praise Jesus Christ. Now we’re telling you about Him for two reasons: 1) so you can join us in praising Him and 2) because it fulfills our joy in Him.”
What does that mean, “ . . .so that our joy may be complete”? John Piper quotes C. S. Lewis in his book Desiring God. I think this quote may help answer the question.
But the most obvious fact about praise—whether of God or anything—strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise . . . The world rings with praise—lovers for their mistresses, readers for their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game . . .
My whole, more general difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value.
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. (emphasis mine)
John was declaring everything he had seen Jesus do not because he had a duty to do so but because it completed his own joy in Christ! As 21st-century followers of Christ, can we say we have that much joy in Christ? Do we have so much joy in Christ that it spontaneously overflows into praise so that others will join us in fellowship with Him and so that our joy in Him will be complete? I believe John has put into one sentence the very essence of the gospel. It is good news.
Lord, restore to me the joy of your salvation. (Psalm 51)