Divine pleasure within us

Does God find pleasure in you? When He looks at you, does He smile?

The short answer is: if you are in Christ, then the answer is yes. But why this is so, on what grounds, requires a more detailed explanation.

We can divide God's pleasure in the redeemed into three categories: (1) pleasure in election, (2) pleasure in redemption, and (3) pleasure in holiness.

1. Satisfaction in choice

God has expressed His pleasure in His children in election. Unconditionally and freely, without any hint of injustice or dishonesty, God chooses to show His pleasure in certain human souls, and this pleasure is an expression of the joy of the Triune God (Luke 10:21).

God joyfully chooses children for redemption and adoption into His family (Rom. 9:10–18; Eph. 1:3–6).

This foreseen pleasure for us in election is unconditional and does not depend on anything we may have.

2. Satisfaction in Redemption

God delights in the redemption of His elect in Christ (Luke 15:7). This pleasure depends on the perfect work of Christ and the application of His work to the elect through faith, at a specific time and place. Even our saving faith brings pleasure to God (Heb. 11:6). When His children are freed from the legal demands of righteousness and become eternally justified through their union with Christ, God sings a song of joy over them (Zephaniah 3:14–17).

Think of the joy of the angels in heaven over the redemption of even one sinner. And think of the overflowing feast that the father gave for his prodigal son. Likewise, when the elect are redeemed, God’s heart is filled with eternal joy for you and for you (Luke 15:11–24).

3. Satisfaction in holy obedience

God rejoices in the sincere obedience of His children.

One of the most mysterious and profound realities in the universe is that the Father’s pleasure in Jesus increased after the incarnation as Jesus grew older (Luke 2:52). Think about this: because of His obedience to the Father’s will, the Son is in the pleasure of His Father (John 10:18, 12:49; 14:31; 15:10). This is a biblical truth that impresses me.

But it is no mystery to us that we follow Jesus’ example in our obedience. And because of our obedience, we abide in God’s love, and God rejoices in our holy lives (John 14:21–24).

In true obedience, we experience the steadfast love of Christ and the increasing joy of God (John 15:9–11).

For example, humility is extremely attractive to God. A humble heart attracts His attention. A broken, humble heart draws God close to us and brings Him pleasure (James 4:8–10; Isa. 57:15, 66:2; Ps. 34:18).

Sin works in the opposite direction. Pleasure is the opposite of sorrow, and as a loving Father, God is genuinely grieved by our sin (Eph. 4:30; Heb. 12:3–11). Disobedience is contrary to His eternal redemptive purposes for us. In a very real sense, by our disobedience we are claiming that sin is more attractive than God. How can that not hurt Him?

The Father, who chose and redeemed His children, is sincerely grieved by our sin and sincerely pleased with our holiness.

Single Design

So, how are these three pleasures related?

The key is to understand God’s pleasure in us not as three separate joys, but as three degrees of the same pleasure. In other words, all three components are connected in one plan. God’s pleasure in 1 (election) leads to His pleasure in 2 (redemption), which leads to His pleasure in 3 (obedience).

At each stage, God’s pleasure in us is like a fire that grows, becoming larger, stronger, and hotter over time, creating the moment when we will emerge in moral brightness and perfect Christlike perfection (1 John 3:2).

In other words, «sanctification, which culminates in our glorification, is the goal toward which we strive, given our predestination» (Richard Gaffin). We are chosen and redeemed to become shining creatures who rightly reflect God’s glory in the fullness of our being. This consummation of God’s election and redemption in glorification is reflected in grand narratives such as Ephesians 1:3–10 and Romans 8:29–30.

God's pleasure in His children, which is strong and constant on the basis of election, unwaveringly secure in the application of redemption, grows in connection with our true holiness and conformity to His will—one day reaching a perfection that will bring Him even greater pleasure!

Surprisingly!

Everyone who is in Christ can look at this plan of God and marvel at it.

In the beginning God created people to glorify His glory. He created me. I rejected Him and chose sin, which led to my ruin and despair. But, unknowingly, He had His special love for me for eternity. Through His beautiful obedience, Christ came into the world to live, die, and redeem me, to justify me, to give me the Spirit, and to create something beautiful out of the mess that I am, something completely obedient, completely radiant in holiness, completely happy in holy union with God. All my sins and disobedience now pain Him. Yet He rejoices in all my efforts against sin and my efforts to obey, and He is lovingly training me until the day when I will reflect the glory of My Savior in all my motives, thoughts, words, and actions, to His great pleasure. This is what God created me to be!

We need this today. As Kevin DeYoung says, «One of the primary motivations for obedience is to please God.».

Or, as John Piper says, "God delights in our obedience when it is the fruit of our delight in Him. Our obedience is God's delight when it proves that God is our treasure.".