Joy in Christ’s Coming and Certain Return
By: Pastor Bailey Miller
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” -Titus 2:11–13
Joy is often treated as something that is easily disrupted by circumstances, suffering, or uncertainty about the future— something fragile. Yet all throughout scripture, joy is presented as something far sturdier and anchored not in what we feel, but in what God has done and promises to do. Few passages capture this duty of joy better than Titus 2:11–13, where the Christian life is framed between two glorious realities: Christ has come, and Christ will come again. For the believer, joy lives in that space between two appearings as well as in our very being.
The Grace That Has Appeared
Paul begins with a declaration that changes everything and quite literally reorients reality: “For the grace of God has appeared.” Grace is not introduced here as an abstract idea or a vague sentiment, nor is it presented as an ethereal proposition. As stated, Grace has appeared. It has stepped into history. It has taken on flesh. In other words, grace is not so much the sole event of something happening, but is embodied in who has come.
Such an advent is the wonder of Christ’s first coming. In Jesus, God’s saving grace was no longer merely promised or forthcoming. It was revealed. The incarnation was not simply God visiting humanity; it was God rescuing humanity. The Son of God entered our broken world through the vine of his atypes, prophecies foretold, and Father’s divine plan— the living water, the guiding light, the promised Messiah. Not only did He arrive as promised, but he would go on to live the life we could not live and die the death we deserved. His resurrection confirmed that salvation was accomplished in God’s sovereignty, not merely offered, and saw to it that the extended grace of God would be effectual in its divine rescue of His children.
And this grace, Paul says, is “bringing salvation for all people.” That does not mean all people are automatically saved, but that salvation in Christ is not restricted by ethnicity, background, or covenants already fulfilled. Rather, as scripture promises of such a splendid salvation, there is now neither Jew nor Greek. Grace reaches farther than we expect, deeper than we imagine, and wider than we deserve– to the whole world to be exact.
Eternal joy begins here: not in our effort, but in God’s divine decree. Not in our worthiness, but in His mercy. When we lose sight of the eternal reward set before us, it is often because we’ve subtly shifted our focus to the circumstances of the day rather than the Christ who is coming again.
Grace That Trains Us
But Paul doesn’t stop with God’s saving work of grace and redemption. He goes on to say that this grace is “training us.” Grace is not passive. It doesn’t merely forgive; it transforms. If we are raised to new life in Christ, we now have a life to live.
Grace trains us “to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions” and “to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” These prescriptions are vital for understanding Christian joy as not just something afforded to us by God’s love, but something we grow in through our shown love for God in keeping His commandments. Joy is not found in indulging every desire or delighting in the whims of the day, but in being conformed to the image of the source of our joy itself– Christ.
This training happens “in the present age.” In other words, joy is not postponed until heaven. While our ultimate hope lies in eternity, grace is actively at work now as it lifts our eyes to the hills—forming us, steadying us, and teaching us how to live faithfully before the face of God.
For the church, this means joy and holiness are not competitors. They are necessary companions. The more we submit to the gracious training of God, the deeper and more resilient our joy becomes.
Waiting with Joyful Expectation
Paul then lifts our eyes forward: “waiting for our blessed hope.” Christians are indeed a people of good works, but are nonetheless a waiting people. Such waiting does not mean christians are wembling or wandering. We wait with expectation because what we are waiting for is certain.
Our “blessed hope” is “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Just as surely as Christ came once in humility, He will come again in glory. Just as he came to establish His kingdom, He will come again to crown it. The first coming assures us that the second is not wishful thinking or in question. History is moving toward the finish line of eternity in which the gates of hell won’t prevail against the church and all chosen children will be risen with the Son. The baby who once filled a manger will come back as a sky-splitting King.
This promised return changes how we understand joy. Joy is not the absence of pain; it is the presence of hope. Even in suffering and uncertainty, we know how the story ends. Christ will return. Sin will be finally defeated. Death will be destroyed. Every tear will be wiped away that was once kept by God. This is why Paul calls it a blessed hope. It is not merely future-oriented optimism– it is a joy-producing certainty rooted in the character and promises of God.
Living Between the Two Comings
As the church established today, we live and worship in this sacred space between Christ’s first coming and His promised return. We look back with gratitude and forward with anticipation. In that tension, we learn what true joy looks like. As we remember that Christ has come, we rejoice in salvation already secured. As we remember that Christ will come again, we rejoice in a future already promised.
Wherever you may find yourself in this Christmas season, remember this truth: Grace has appeared, and glory will appear again. Our joy rests not in our circumstances, but in our Savior who came for us and will come again.
Until that day, we wait with joy for the coming of our King whose name is Jesus Christ.