In the King James Version, Jesus says in John 15:11, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” The phrase means that Jesus intends His disciples to share in His own joy-a complete, enduring joy that comes from loving fellowship with Him, obedience to God, and confidence in the Father’s care.
“That your joy may be full” does not mean that Christians will never experience sorrow, suffering, temptation, or grief. In this present life, joy and sorrow can exist at the same time. The phrase points to a joy rooted in Christ that remains present through adversity, outweighs competing emotions, overflows in love and worship, and will be perfected in the age to come.
The Meaning of “That Your Joy May Be Full” in John 15:11
To conclude His metaphor of the vine and the branches (John 15:1-10), Jesus says to His disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (verse 11).
There is a connection between love, obedience, and joy in John 15. Leading up to Jesus’ statement that “your joy may be full” are these words: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love” (John 15:9-10).
Obedience should be a loving, heartfelt response to God’s will-a response that is marked by joy. The point is that obedience stems from love and is the source of true joy.
Jesus does not withhold joy from us; rather, He shares His joy in proportion to our participation in His obedience. By surrendering our wills to God’s will, we can know the fullness of joy.
“Full” Joy Means Complete Joy
That your joy may be full expresses a complete kind of joy-the utmost measure of joy. The disciples would soon know the most replete experience of joy or as much joy as was possible (see Luke 24:51-52).
The Greek word for “joy” (chara) in John 16:24 usually expresses an emotion of “sorrow-turned-into-joy.” The joy that follows great sorrow is a heightened feeling of gladness because of the extreme contrast of emotions.
It is the joy of the caring shepherd who finds his one lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7), the joy of the woman who finds her lost coin (Luke 15:8-10), and the joy of the father whose lost son returns home (Luke 15:11-32).
The disciples would weep over Christ’s death and be distraught for a little while. But after the resurrection, “Your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy” (John 16:20, NLT), explained Jesus, because “I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy” (John 16:22, NLT).
Jesus compared the kind of joy they would experience to that of “a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world” (John 16:21, (NLT).
The Context of John 15:11
John 15:11 appears in Jesus’ teaching about the vine and the branches. Jesus had told His disciples to remain in Him, just as branches remain connected to a vine. He then connected remaining in His love with keeping His commands.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love” (John 15:9-10).
Thus, the immediate context presents joy as the result of abiding in Christ, remaining in His love, and walking in loving obedience. Obedience is not a joyless duty or mundane task. To the contrary, it is the means through which the joy of the Lord becomes our own joy.
Jesus Is the Pattern of Joyful Obedience
To grasp the significance of John 15:11, we must set our eyes on Jesus, who is the embodiment of joyful, loving obedience. In the face of fierce opposition, Jesus found joy in fulfilling the will of His Father: “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work’” (John 4:34).
We witness the pinnacle of joyful obedience in the Garden of Gethsemane. Facing the impending agony of the cross, Jesus surrendered His will to the Father: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).
This act of willful obedience resulted in His triumph-and ours, through faith in Him-over Satan, sin, and death (1 Corinthians 15:54). The joy that followed His resurrection eclipsed the unimaginable pain of the cross (Hebrews 12:2).
Just as Jesus found great joy in obeying the will of His Father, Christians will also have the same joy in obedience: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).
Fullness of Joy in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, there is a connection between obedience and joy. The Old Testament prophets foresaw a time when joy would permeate the lives of God’s people in remarkable ways.
For instance, the prophet Isaiah spoke of a day when God would wipe away tears and offer a feast of rich blessings to His obedient children (Isaiah 25:6-9). On that day, “everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 35:10; see also Isaiah 61:10).
The prophet Zephaniah also prophesied about a restoration of joy to the faithful remnant of Israel (Zephaniah 3:14-17). Even in the face of adversity, Israel will witness the triumphant entry of a joyous king (Zechariah 9:9; cf. John 12:15).
These prophecies reveal a divine promise that obedience to God will result in unparalleled joy.
Fullness of Joy Does Not Mean the Absence of Sorrow
Fullness of joy in the age to come means so much joy that all competing, contrary emotions will be gone. In this life, where our own sin and misery and other people’s sin and misery compete to make us sad, we do not have fullness of joy in the sense of having so much joy that joy has no competitors.
Jesus was a man of sorrows in this life (Isaiah 53:3), not just joy, even though he had the deepest joy of anyone in the universe. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6:10, we are “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” It’s right there, side by side.
They are contemporaneous. They are simultaneous. In Romans 12:15, he says, “Weep with those who weep.” And in Romans 9:2, he describes his own heart of pain about his lost Jewish kinsmen, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart” - unceasing anguish.
But I thought, Paul, you were supposed to rejoice always and again I say rejoice (see Philippians 4:4). So, clearly fullness of joy in this life does not include so much joy or such joy that all competing emotions are excluded. We rejoice and we weep even simultaneously.
In the resurrection this won’t be the case anymore. Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Fullness of joy in the age to come means so much joy that all competing, contrary emotions will be gone.
Three Ways Christians Experience Fullness of Joy Now
The question then becomes, Is there a sense in which we can speak of fullness of joy in God now in this fallen world of sin and suffering? And let me suggest three meanings that I think are not nonsense.
Joy That Outweighs Affliction and Overflows in Love
We can be said to have fullness of joy in God if our joy in God is so full that it outweighs all other competing emotions and overflows in love to others.
And here is where I am getting that: “In a severe test of affliction, their [the Macedonians’s] abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part” (2 Corinthians 8:2).
In other words, the joy in God - not in freedom from affliction, not in freedom from poverty - their joy in God was so full, it outweighed affliction. It outweighed poverty. And it overflowed in generosity.
That is a real fullness, even if there was pain and sorrow along the way. We have fullness of joy in God when it outweighs all other competing emotions and overflows in love to others.
Joy That Has Found Its Final Satisfaction in Christ
We can be said to have fullness of joy in God if our joy in God is so full that we know we have arrived at the end of our quest for satisfaction. In other words, there may be ups and downs in our level of satisfaction owing to sin or pain, but we never need to be in doubt that Christ is the end of our search.
We will never leave this fountain to find a more satisfying one. Here is fullness. He is fullness.
So, Paul says, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things” (Philippians 3:8).
And Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35), which I take to mean: I am the end of your quest for perfect and full satisfaction.
Don’t turn to another. Stay here. You will in due time never thirst again. You have tasted this fullness, and it will surely, surely come and remain.
Our joy in God is only full when we know we have arrived at the end of our quest for satisfaction.
Joy That Overflows in Worship and Song
Finally, we can be said to have fullness of joy in God if our joy in God is so full that it rises to the heights of overflowing gladness in song or other forms of exuberance.
And I say that, because Paul talks about it that way in Ephesians 5:18-19 where he says, “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.”
What is that? That is an experience of the Holy Spirit’s work that so fills us with himself - his fruit of joy and hope and peace - that we burst out in song.
And many of us have tasted this, especially in corporate worship where the Spirit comes and the hearts of people are lifted to a level of joyful fullness that they cannot keep to themselves.
So, that is a description of the fullness of joy as well as the fullness of the Holy Spirit: singing and making melody to the Lord.
We have full joy when it rises to the heights of overflowing gladness in song or other forms of exuberance.
JOYFUL MEDLEY SONGS WITH LYRICS - #joyfulsongs #medleysongs #Christianmusic #praiseandworship
Fullness of Joy and the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit brings the fullness of joy to believers, giving them an inner sense of well-being, good fortune, peace, and happiness that is not dependent on external circumstances (see 2 Corinthians 7:4; Philippians 2:17; Colossians 1:24).
This is the same “great joy” promised by the angels at the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:10). This joy comes to all who experience a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ (Psalm 13:5; Romans 14:17; Philippians 4:4; 1 Peter 1:8-9).
Joy is the fruit of a Spirit-filled life (Galatians 5:22). Even when persecution and troubles come, those who “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), are “led by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18), “live by the Spirit,” and “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25) can “rejoice and be glad” for their reward in heaven will be great (Matthew 5:12).
Fullness of Joy Through Prayer in John 16:23-24
In John 16:16-24, as Jesus speaks to His disciples about leaving them and going to the Father, they are confused, fearful, and filled with questions. Recognizing their desperate need for encouragement, Jesus teaches them about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to believers after Christ returned to heaven (see John 16:1-22).
The Holy Spirit would be their Counselor and the One to fill them with a divine supply of power and joy (Acts 13:52; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; Romans 14:17; 15:13).
Before Christ’s death, the disciples could speak directly to Jesus and ask Him questions. After His resurrection and ascension, they would pray to the Father in His name, through the Holy Spirit: “In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:23-24, ESV).
With these words, Jesus presented the great promise and privilege of spending time with the Father in prayer.
Jesus taught the disciples to ask and receive from the Father “that [their] joy may be full.” He wanted them to understand that they were complete and lacked nothing in the security of the Father’s grip.
They had already been given the best Gift ever-the Son-and the Father would continue to give good gifts: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).
Joy That Survives Trials
Hence, joy is not a fleeting emotion but an enduring quality that overpowers the clenches of adversity.
Like Paul, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation” (Romans 5:3-4, NLT).
Peter witnessed believers enduring trials and fiery tests of faith, but because their trust in God remained strong, they could “rejoice with a glorious inexpressible joy” (1 Peter 1:6-8, NLT).
James urged, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4, ESV).
Jesus continues to comfort us during times of trouble, reminding us of the joy we can experience if we keep our eyes on Him, “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2, ESV).
The Future Perfection of Joy
Here is the encouragement: The day is coming when Christ will finally work in us the capacities to enjoy Christ - not just of ourselves, but of the Father himself enjoying Christ.
And I get that from John 17:26 where Jesus prays “that the love with which you [Father] have loved me may be in them” - so, the love of the Father for the Son would be in them - “and I in them.”
Now, that will be the climax of fullness when we delight in Jesus the Son with the very delight that the Father has in Jesus. And we will love and delight in the Father with the very love and delight that Jesus has in the Father.
And all of our brokenness and all of our inability will be over, and “fullness” will be the right word for the eternal experience.
Fullness of joy in the age to come means so much joy that all competing, contrary emotions will be gone. Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”