Jesus is the only hope of joy for everyone.

On the one hand, this means that any road to God that does not submit everything to the risen Christ is a road that will rob you of your joy, both now and in eternity. There is only one Mediator between God and mankind: the man, Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus is the only hope that anyone has to be happy.

But it also means that Jesus is the only Lord who can offer joy for everyone. Only a universal Lord can offer a universal salvation. This means that there is not a person on the planet that cannot be happy, because Jesus offered himself “for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

Jesus is the only hope for everyone — and this is the best news for people who want to be happy.

Look at the Book is John Piper’s effort to help teach people to read the Bible for themselves. It’s an ongoing series of 8–12 minute videos in which the camera is on the text, not the teacher.

As part of this initiative, Desiring God has partnered with local churches for regional events focused on particular passages of Scripture. This is Part 11 in a series on Ephesians called “Seeing and Savoring the Splendor of God’s Sovereign Grace.”