(upbeat music) The Ask Pastor John podcast inbox now gets about 60 emails every day. So you can imagine we are grateful for questions that come in that are sharp and brief and to the point, like this one from podcast listener, Lisa, who asks this, "Pastor John, what is the difference between peace and joy?" I love this question because it is so simple and so profound.

It's the kind of question or the kind of thinking that is so neglected. And I mean by me, as well as others. We use words, don't we? We use words often without pausing to give the slightest thought to the precise, deep meaning that they have and how they relate to other similar words.

So thank you for the question. I'm going to assume that what I'm trying to answer here is the difference between Christian peace and Christian joy, okay? The kind talked about in the Bible, not just any kind of peace or any kind of joy. So let's start with one clear difference.

Of course, there are ambiguities and there are overlaps. We'll get to that, but this clear difference. Peace can be a subjective feeling in the heart or an objective state of affairs between two formerly hostile parties. Joy, on the other hand, only refers to a subjective feeling in the heart.

There is no such thing as an objective joy outside of the experience of joy in the heart. So for example, Jesus talks about two armies coming against each other and one sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. That is the objective state of affairs of our armies not killing each other.

Those armies still may hate each other, but I've only got 10,000 people, he's got 20,000. I want peace. I don't want anybody killing each other here. So it has an objective state of affairs. Or Jesus saying in Luke 12, 51, "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth?

No, I tell you, but rather division." In other words, the objective peace in a home may be broken up by some who believe and some who don't. Or most importantly are Paul's words in Ephesians 2.14, "For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of two, so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility." So before there's any subjective feeling of peace in our hearts as Christians, God establishes an objective peace in history through the work of Christ by removing the hostility between us and him through the blood of Jesus.

His wrath is satisfied, our guilt is covered, and because of that objective peace that he has wrought through Christ, we now can be overflowing with sweet, deep, inner peace on the basis of it. But the New Testament never talks about joy that way. To be sure, inner, sweet, subjective feelings of joy are based on objective realities of God's work in Christ.

But that work does not create an objective thing outside of us called joy. It creates peace, and that's one of the differences between joy and peace. But now, let me shift gears, 'cause my guess is she really wants to know what's the difference between the two subjective experiences of joy and peace.

How do they relate to each other? So first, let's be really sure that we see from the Bible that both peace and joy are indeed inner, subjective, happy experiences. Romans 15, 13, "May the God of hope fill you "with all joy and peace in believing." So you're the one who's filled with peace.

You're the one who's filled with joy. Or Galatians 5, 22, "But the fruit of the Spirit "is love, joy, peace, patience," and so on. So the fruit that the Spirit produces in the heart of the believer includes joy and peace. Now, what's the difference in those two inner, subjective experiences based on external, glorious redemption in Christ?

And here's the way I would put it. Christian peace, that subjective feeling of peace rooted in the objective peace of God through Christ, that peace is a good feeling in the heart, not just the body, when the heart is not tormented by anxiety and fear and conflict. So here's the key passage.

Philippians 4, verse six, "Do not be anxious about anything, "but by prayer and supplication, "let your requests be made known to God, "and the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds." So peace happens when anxieties are removed. Peace is the condition of the heart when anxiety and fear and conflict are not troubling the heart.

And of course, this feeling is a good one. One could say a joyful one. So here's the ambiguity, right? Here's the interlocking, here's the interplay. I was talking about at the beginning when I said there is some ambiguity in the way they relate. Joy, however, is a much larger word because the good feeling of joy that comes into the heart doesn't just come from the absence of worry or conflict.

It comes from other things too, like 3 John 4, "I have no greater joy than to hear "that my children are walking in the truth." Or James 1, 2, "Count it all joy "when you meet various trials." Or Romans 5, 2, "We rejoice in the hope "of the glory of God." So joy is a good feeling in the heart that's based on a much wider range of good things than peace is.

But they are so interwoven that there could be no true heart experience of Christian joy without the heart experience of Christian peace. And there could be no true heart experience of Christian peace without that being a heart experience of Christian joy. So they're, best I can do is to say they're like interlocking circles and the joy circle is much bigger than the peace circle, but never disconnected.

So I say with Paul, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing. - Wonderful, outstanding survey. Thank you, Pastor John. Well, the weekend is upon us now. A good time to formulate that sharp and concise question that you've been wanting to send in to Pastor John.

And it's a good time to catch up on past episodes, all of which you can do through our free mobile apps and through our web home at DesiringGod.org/web. Forward slash ask Pastor John. Pastor John returns with us again on Monday to talk about another very common Christian cliche. I love those episodes.

I'm your host Tony Ranke. We'll see you on Monday. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)