We Christians should be a rejoicing people because we always have the enjoyment of the Lord. If we enjoy the Lord in His riches, we will not only be joyful inwardly, but we will be rejoicing outwardly. Even in times of trouble we should and can rejoice in hope. We are not people who are without God and without Christ, having no hope (Eph. 2:12). We have God and we have Christ. So, regardless of the situation, we have hope and we can rejoice in hope.
We Christians must also be able to endure tribulation. We must be an enduring people. By rejoicing in hope we can endure any kind of tribulation. Chapter 5:3 says that we can exult in tribulation. We not only endure, but also exult in tribulation. In order to endure tribulation we need to be persevering in prayer. We need to pray persistently. This will not only enable us to endure tribulation, but also to remain in the enjoyment of the Lord, in His presence and in His will.
In addition to all this, as God's holy people, we must abhor and conquer the evil things and cleave to the good things. We Christians, who are separated unto God, must maintain the highest standard of behavior, a standard above that of moral and ethical people.
