1 Peter 1:8 KJV
[8] “whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:”
The word “unspeakable” only occurs here and speaks of a profound and overwhelming joy that we cannot express in words. It is a joy that overflows the believer’s heart and life. It is a joy that is full of glory. The Christian life is a life that you must experience. We can try to express to sinners why we love Him so much, but they will never understand until they experience the joy of salvation.
Peter reminds us that this joy comes from a heart of faith and love. We have not seen Christ face to face, heard His audible voice, or felt the physical touch of the Savior, yet we love Him. The world cannot comprehend how we could love anyone this much without ever seeing them or hearing their voice. The answer is simply “yet believing”.
Faith is what allows the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts. Once His Spirit lives within us, it produces fruit. In Galatians chapter five, the first two fruits of the nine fruits listed are love and joy. They are in this order for a reason. How could an individual have joy without love? That is impossible because love produces joy, and joy gives us peace. What a blessing to know the love of God and have unspeakable joy in our souls.
Peter had seen Christ and knew well what it was like to hear His voice. He experienced the unspeakable joy of knowing Jesus both while He was here and after He ascended back to Heaven. His faith was made strong by the converts who never saw Jesus but had the same joy of knowing Christ as he did. Through the years, many saints have blessed our hearts with the unspeakable joy that flowed from them. My spirit has been refreshed in church services when God’s children get so blessed that they shout for joy. Many times, no words could express the working of the Spirit within our hearts. Sometimes, it comes through a song or a sermon, but suddenly, our hearts are overwhelmed by His goodness, and before we know it, we burst out with a shout of joy unspeakable and full of glory! Other times, this joy runs like a river through our souls, and we shed tears that no words could ever express about how wonderful it is to know Jesus!