"[...] Rejoice always! There is a level of joy that does not come in response to something nor an instruction and that is when we rejoice because of the understanding of the atonement..."
Apostle Paul speaks of a joy that is related to a knowledge: the understanding of the reason WHY Christ died; not just knowing the fruits and benefits of His death. In the incarnation, God the Son took the soul and body of the man Jesus Christ and by so doing He took on our soul and anything that may want to diminish the quality of our lives. At the cross, He took on everything that was wrong with Man.
The EXPERIENCE of the atonement is related to the exchange of Christ taking upon Himself our souls and bodies, and transferring to us His own soul and body. He became one with us. He removed our illusion of separation with God. Our perfection is now totally dependent on our UNION with the perfect One - This was the reason for the atonement and we are to identify with Christ's death. Reflecting and meditating upon this knowledge gives us a sufficient reason to walk in joy.
The atonement is a whole school of life and that is why Paul says REJOICE always because of the understanding of what has happened in the one man Christ which lead to our union with God so we experience the perfect one in this life. The life of Christ is experienced in our soul from His spirit and this requires our recognition. We are saved by His life continually and we rejoice in Him.
In this episode, Dr. Annie Smith reminds us of our unbreakable, immutable union with Christ. This is done through the atonement, which goes far beyond the forgiveness of sins; it is a question of our complete reconstitution in Him.