Let us turn again to God's Word
in that portion that we were considering this morning in the
Gospel according to St. John chapter 16 and verse 33. The word with which the Lord Jesus
concludes these discourses which are often spoken of as his valedictory
discourses, his last sermon in John 16 verse 33 these things
I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace in the
world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome
the world what a remarkable contrast we have In these two sentences
that make up the text, he says, in me, peace, in the world, tribulation. And this morning we were concerned
primarily with what he said in the opening part of this particular
verse. and considered something of God's
purpose and Christ's preaching. The content of that preaching,
the aim, the intent also of that preaching. I remarked that preaching
is not an end in itself, that there is a purpose. And the Lord
makes that quite clear. in the statement that we have
here at the beginning of this verse. These things I have spoken
unto you, he says, that, and I remarked that the words that
we have here at the beginning of this second clause, that,
is a significant word of the sentence introducing this purposive
clause Literally, in order that these things I have spoken unto
you, He says, in order that ye might have peace. Here is the
end of the preaching. It is that whereby the Lord intends
that peace should come into the hearts of His people. His word
is not to return to Him void. Remember the words that we made
reference to this morning there, in that 55th chapter of Isaiah,
where Christ says at verse 10, As the rain cometh down, and
the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the
earth, and maketh it bring forth, and bade that it may give seed
to the sower, and bread to the eater. Here is the figure, God
sends the rain in its seasons and sends it for a purpose that
the crops might grow, that there might be that provision of food
for man and what is the point of this particular
figure? Well, verse 11, so shall my word
be that goeth forth out of my mouth, it shall not return unto
me void but he shall accomplish that which I please, and he shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent him. God's Word never
returns to him void, but accomplishes that end to which he has ordained
it, be it to some, alas, the savour of death unto death, but
all, when that Word comes to others, the savour of life unto
life. and what life here you see, in
order that you might have peace. The peace of God ruling in the
heart. And how does this come about?
It comes through faith, of course. Faith cometh by hearing, says
the apostle, and hearing by the Word of God. And it is by faith
that we come to enjoy that peace of God. that we said this morning
was procured by the Lord Jesus Christ, procured by him in his
person and in his work. And so he preaches peace. This is what Paul tells the church
there at Ephesus concerning the ministry of the Lord Jesus, how
he came and preached peace. to you which were afar off, and
to them that were nigh." Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 7. There
is that great mystery of the gospel, of course, the calling
of the Gentiles, the preaching of peace to them that were afar
off, but also that same message to those favored in the Old Testament,
those that were near. It is the same message to Jew
and to Gentile, the preaching of peace. And how it is Christ,
you see, who comes in the preaching. He never went at any time to
that city of Ephesus. It was there in Asia Minor, but
Christ's ministry was confined to what we would call Palestine. He was sent to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel, and yet Paul can say to that church of
the Ephesians, ye have not so learned Christ, if so ye have
heard him, and been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus."
How were they taught? They were taught by Christ, yes,
but it was by the Spirit of Christ. that Spirit of Christ in the
ministry of the Apostles, that Spirit of Christ that is still
being exercised today in the faithful preaching of the Word
of God. Oh, we need that blessed ministry
of God the Holy Ghost again. Those words that we have in the
20th chapter here, where the Lord Jesus speaks of the of the
Holy Ghost. That really is the great theme,
of course, in the Valedictory Discourses in chapters 14 and
15 and 16. He speaks of the coming of the
Holy Ghost, the Comforter. And then in chapter 20, remember the passage that we
read from verse 21, then said Jesus to the Magi, this is Christ
risen from the dead appearing to his disciples. Then said Jesus
to them again, Please be unto you. As my Father hath sent me,
even so send I you. And when he had said this, he
breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them. Whosoever
sins you retain, they are retained. By the ministry of the Gospel,
the preaching of the Word of God, under that gracious unction
of the Spirit, sins will be either remitted or sins will be retained. The Gospel will come either as
the saver of death or it will come as the saver of life. But it is the Spirit It is the
Spirit who makes that Word of God an effectual Word. And so, the great intent of the
Lord's ministry here, as He executes His prophetic office, the greatest
preacher that the world has ever known. And what does He say? In the words of the text, these
things I have spoken unto you, that in order that in me ye might
have peace." Let us now turn to consider the very last sentence
that we have in these discourses. He continues, "...in the world
ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome
the world." Tribulation. What do we mean by tribulation?
Well, the particular word that we have here is from a verb that
means to press, to oppress, to distress. We have the idea of
someone enclosed, shut in. Distress. And that's the portion of God's
people in this world. What we have is a prophetic declaration,
is it not? It's a sure word. It's the word
of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. In the world, he says, ye shall
have tribulation. There's no question about it.
This is not the word of a man, this is the word of God, the
one who speaks of himself declaring the ends from the beginning and
from ancient times, things that have not yet been, saying, my
counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. This is God who speaks, God's
manifest in the flesh, God's eternal Son. that one who is
truly omniscient. Look at what we see further concerning
him in what is declared in the chapter. He says in verse 4,
these things have I told you that when the time shall come
ye may remember that I told you of them. He is speaking of things
that were to come. And when the things came to pass,
they would remember that He was the One who had told them these
things. They say in verse 30, Now are
we sure that thou knowest all things? Why does He know all
things? Because He is God, and as God,
He is the One who is omniscient. He knows the end from the beginning.
Remember the testimony? of that woman of Samaria when
Christ spoke to her there at the well at Sychar. She goes
back into the city, and what does she say? To the men of the
city, come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did. He's not this, the Christ. Why is it that Christ can do
this, can tell the woman of all things? Because he is never anything
less than God. Again, at the beginning of this
Gospel, with regards to the experience of Nathanael, at the end of the
first chapter, and there in verse 47 following, we read, Jesus
saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an
Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. Nathanael saith unto
him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto
him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the
fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and said unto
him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of
Israel. This is why the Lord is able
to declare those things that shall be. He can speak the prophetic
words. He is, of course, the fulfillment
of the office of the Prophet in the Old Testament. And what
is the mark of the Prophets? Well, primarily, of course, they
are not men who foretell the future. They are men who are
forth-tellers. They tell forth the Word of God.
They declare the Word of God. But here is the mark of the true
Prophet, as we see in Deuteronomy, they are able to foretell, and
when they speak of things that are to be, and when those things
come to pass, the people know that that is the mark of a true
prophet. And the Lord Jesus is able therefore to speak of those
things that shall yet come to pass. In the world ye shall have
tribulation. Are not all the promises of God
in him? Yea, and Amen. But not only all
the promises, but all his words. He speaks in terms of shells
and of wills. He is God, I say. Look at the
language that we have here. In verse 28 he says, I came forth
from the Father and I'm coming to the world again, I leave the
world and go to the Father. That's a very striking expression
that he uses in reference to himself at the beginning of that
28th verse. I came forth from, literally,
I came forth out of the Father. He is alluding to his eternal
generation. He is that one who is eternally
begotten of the Father. When there were no depths, was
I brought forth, he says. When there were no fountains
abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before
the hills, was I brought forth. He speaks that language, of course,
as the wisdom of God there in Proverbs chapter 8. And we read
of him as going forth of being from of old, from everlasting. This is the one who is speaking.
I came forth from, I came forth out of the Father and coming
to the world. He is God's eternal Son, here
upon the earth, speaking the words of God. And so speaking
those words with all the authority of God. I say that what we have
here, with regards to tribulation, we see the certainty of it. Why? Because we have the prophetic
declaration of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in the world. Ye shall have tribulation. But also, the amazing thing is,
of course, that this is not simply the word of God, this is God
incarnate. Although he were a son, yet learned the obedience by
the things that he suffered. This is also, we might say, an
experimental declaration. This is something that is true
in Christ's own experience. He can speak of tribulation.
Why? Because he has known tribulation.
He has been in the world. And what has been His experience
whilst in this world? How they hated Him. How they hated Him. He reminds
them of that. In chapter 15 and verse 25 He
says, This cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that
is written in their law, they hated me without a cause. Now where is it written in their
law? The word law there is to be understood
in a very general sense. It's not just the Lord of Moses.
The word law sometimes of course is a reference to the Word of
God. Remember how in Psalm 119 various
synonyms are used in reference to Scripture. law, testimony,
statutes, judgments. Law can be used in a very general
sense, and there, in that 25th verse of chapter 15, Christ is
referring to the Psalms. And there are at least three
Psalms where we have that statement. Psalm 35 and verse 19, and Psalm
69 and verse 4, and then Psalm 109 and verses 2 and 3. A threefold court, not quickly
broken. They hated me without a cause,
he said. Oh, what troubles and tribulations
the Lord Jesus Christ experienced as a man here upon the earth.
We see their hatred, do we not? And how is it manifested? We
see it both in words, And also in this, what spiteful words,
what bitter words. What do they say to him here
in chapter 8 and verse 48? Thou art a Samaritan and hast
a death. There was no love between the
Jews and the Samaritans, nothing but bitter hatred. How cruel then, that the Jews
spoke thus of him. You see, he came unto his own,
and his own received him not. He was a Jew. He was of that
royal tribe. He is the lion of the tribe of
Judah. He is of the royal house of David.
And yet, they say thou art a Samaritan. That's a half-breed really. Thou
art a Samaritan, and hast a devil." And then again, in chapter 10
and verse 20, they repeat it really. He has a devil, they
say, and he's mad. They accuse him of being a madman.
All the bitter experiences that the Lord Jesus Christ had to
endure, the contradiction of sin, the wicked words, the blasphemous
words that they speak against him, who is the eternal Son of
God, the only Saviour of sinners. Their hatred is seen so often
in their words, but more than that, we see their hatred also
in their actions, in their deeds. How they would on occasions have
killed Him, they would have stoned Him. That awful death of stoning In chapter 8, how Christ here
declares His deity. The end of chapter 8, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast
at him. And Jesus hid himself and went
out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed
by. They could not raise a finger
against him. His hour was not yet come. But
you see they were minded to kill him, to execute him as a blasphemer,
when he said, I am. And then again in chapter 10
and verse 31. What has he done this time? The
previous verse, I and my father are one. Then the Jews took up
stones again to stone him. They would have killed him. But they could not kill him.
No man was able to take his life from him. He had power to lay
his life down and he had power to take his life again. He would
make the great sacrifice for sins only at the appointed hour. Oh how these words you see are
not just prophetic words. Christ is speaking out of his
own soul's experience. He knew this. He knew what tribulation
was. In the world ye shall have tribulation
and so this must be true also surely in the experience of his
people as Christ was persecuted so also
those who are his will have the same experience as he was so
are his disciples in this world and he says it there in verse
20 of chapter 15 the servant is not greater than his Lord
if they have persecuted me they will also persecute you it cannot
be escaped those who are his will know the same experiences
as Christ himself had to endure And doesn't Paul say the same
there in that portion that we read in Acts 14? We must through
much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Paul is simply
re-echoing the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the world you
shall have tribulation, says Christ. And so Paul under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, asserts the same truth. We must,
through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God. And
again we see how the poor knew it. Why, there in that chapter,
Acts 14, had they not taken him at Lystra and stoned him, and
left him for dead? What they would have done to
Christ, stoning him, they sought also to do with his apostle. Paul, like the Lord, then, is
speaking a word there out of his soul's experience. We must,
through much tribulation. Now, that is true, is it not,
at the beginning of the believer's experience. How do we enter into
the kingdom of God at the beginning. What is the way into the kingdom
of God? We enter in through much tribulation
in a certain sense. Straight is the gate, and narrow
is the way, and few there be that find it. There is to be that diligent
seeking, searching after God. When God takes the elect in hand,
does He not teach them the truth concerning themselves? Does He
not show His people their sinfulness, their utter impotence, their
total depravity? Moses says, Thou turnest man
to destruction. Is not that tribulation when
God brings us to that place where we find ourselves to be nothing
at all? and we can do nothing to help
ourselves, nothing to save ourselves, thou turnest man to destruction
and sayest, return ye children of men. Oh, there is that work
to be wrought, there is that conviction of sin, there is that
ministry, the lawful use of the holy law of God. As the apostle says, writing to the Galatians, chapter
3 and verse 23, before faith came, we were kept under the
law, he says, shut up, unto the faith which should afterwards
be revealed. Shut up, I said, this word, tribulation
has that idea of being enclosed, shut in, oppressed. And this
is the way we enter in, you see. brought to the end of ourselves. This is how entrance is gained
into the kingdom of God, through much tribulation. And what is true at the beginning
is true afterwards, because that life that the Christian lives
is a life of conflict, is it not? He enters in at a straight
gate, And of course, the word straight there simply means narrow,
confined. And once he's entered in through
that gate, he must walk in a narrow way. In a sense, he's shot in
on every hand. But this is the way that leads
to life. There is the conflict, there's the good fight of faith.
What does the Apostle remind the Philippians with regards
to their faith? and from whence they obtained
that faith. And what came along with that
faith, that saving faith that they had as the gift of God,
He says at the end of the opening chapter there in Philippians,
unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe
on Him, but also to suffer for His sake. It's all on behalf
of Christ what is given. The faith is given, but also
the sufferings. In the world, ye shall have tribulation. Friends, these things cannot
be avoided. Paul reminds these churches,
these early Christian believers, whatever church they be in, they're
all going to know the same sort of experiences. Writing then
to the church of Thessalonica, in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, And verse 4 he says, Verily,
and mark the words, we see it so often in the Gospel of John
concerning the ministry of Christ, the verily and sometimes the
double verily, and here is Paul, Verily, and do you know the meaning
of the word truly? Literally it's the word Amen.
So be it. When we were with you We told
you before that we should suffer tribulation, even as He came
to pass, and ye know." There's no avoiding it, you see.
Verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should
suffer tribulation, even as He came to pass, and ye know. To Timothy he says, Yea, all
that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Turn anywhere in the New Testament
Scriptures and we find these truths on the right hand and
on the left hand. This is the way, this is the
experience of the people of God. Romans 8.36, as it is written,
For thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted
as sheep for the slaughter. Of course, the very name, witness,
and we're all to be witnesses to the Lord Jesus Christ if we
profess His name. But the word witness as we have
it in the New Testament is really the word martyr. Our English
word martyr comes from that Greek word that is so many times translated
as witness. All believers are martyrs. Not
in a literal sense. Or there have been those who
have sealed their testimony with their blood. But all must be
martyrs in a spiritual sense. It cannot be avoided, you see.
As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long.
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. And yet these
experiences, this tribulation, these troubles, these trials,
these things that come into the lives of the people of God. Oh,
are they not profitable to believers? Are they not to be those chastenings
and those correctings? Remember what the Lord has said
previously here in His discourse. Every branch in me, He says in
chapter 15, every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he, that
is the father, the husbandman, taketh away, and every branch
that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more
fruits. And that purging experience,
that chastening experience, why it's the mark of sonship, is
it not? Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening,
God dealeth with you as with sons. What son is he whom the
Father chasteneth not in the world? In this world God will
deal with us in strange ways at times, preparing us for a
better world. In the world ye shall have tribulation,
but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. What
do these experiences do then? What's the effect of them? Why
the believer is cast upon Christ, the one who is the overcomer. And so, can there not be confidence
in the midst of all this tribulation? Look at the language of the Lord,
having spoken of the certainty of the tribulation, He says,
Be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. The word literally means, be
confident. And in fact that's how the same
word is rendered in 2 Corinthians 5 and verses 4 and 8. The very same word as we have
here, as good cheer is there, rendered by the word confident. Be confident, why? Because I
have overcome the world. Now, how has Christ overcome
the world? Well, are we not to have confidence
in Christ's sacrifice? Oh, that's where we must put
our trust, friends. That's where we must put our
trust. How has Christ overcome the world? How has Christ overcome
sin? How has Christ overcome Satan,
the prince of this world? By that sacrifice. Look at what
he says. In chapter 12, verse 31, now
is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this
world be cast out and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will
draw all men unto me. This he said signifying what
death he should die. He overcomes, he overcomes, how? By that death of the cross. This is how we overcome. When
we look to Him and we look to Him in His deepest humiliation,
we look to Him as He is crucified through weakness. Paul then writing
to the Galatians again there in the very first chapter of
the epistle speaks of Christ who gave Himself for our sins
that He might deliver us from this present evil world. according
to the will of God and our Father, be of good cheer, be confident,
I have overcome the world." How? He gave Himself for our sins
that He might deliver us from these present evil worlds. And so what does Paul say God
for the people? that I should glory save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified
unto me and I unto the world." Here is where the believer finds
his comfort as he puts his trust in Christ, Christ the crucified
one. And by that cruel death of the
cross, of course, He has vanquished every foe. Or death, where is
thy sting? Or grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin. The strength of sin is the law,
says Paul. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be those then who value
that cross of the Lord Jesus Christ who gloried in that cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ and are we not presently to come
together around that table that we might there remember that
it was on that night in which he was betrayed that he took
bread and gave thanks and broke it
said this is my body which is broken for you Likewise, the cup after supper.
This cup, he says, is the New Testament in my blood. He speaks
of his death, his body broken, his blood shed. That's what we
have to remember. This is the place where we find deliverance
from this wicked world. or by His death the Lord Jesus
Christ has delivered His people from all the damning power of
sin, has He not? And by the gift of the Holy Spirit
He has delivered them from all the governing power of sin. Because remember the general
context here. What has Christ been speaking of throughout these
discourses? What is the one great theme that
runs through chapters 14, 15, and 16? It is the promise of
the Holy Ghost. These things have I spoken unto
you. And He has spoken so much of
the coming of Him who is the Comforter. And it is the Blessed
Comforter, is it not, who makes real that ministry of the Lord
Jesus Christ as the overcomer. Remember what said previously
in the chapter, verse 7, he says, nevertheless I tell you the truth,
it is expedient for you that I go away For if I go not away,
the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will
send him unto you. And when he is come, he will
reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
Here is that ministry of the Spirit then, as a convincing
Spirit, of sin, because they believe not on me, of righteousness,
because I go to my Father and you see me no more, of judgment,
because the Prince of this world is Judge. But then not only does
he come as that one who is to convince of sin, to reprove the
world, but he comes also as that one who is the revealer of Christ. That's the remarkable thing,
is it not? The Holy Spirit, who is equal,
to the Father equal to the Son the Holy Spirit who is God and
yet his ministry so self-effacing now be it when he the Spirit
of truth is come he will guide you into all truth for he shall
not speak of himself he doesn't speak of himself but whatsoever
he shall hear that shall he speak and he will show you things to
come he shall glorify me says Christ for He shall take of mine
and shall show it unto you." This is all in the outworking
of the eternal covenant. Father, Son and Holy Spirit of
course in terms of the Godhead they are one and they are undivided
and they are equally God's. But in the covenant why God the
Son willingly becomes the servant of the Father? Behold my servant,
He says, whom I uphold by me there, in whom my soul delighteth."
And when God sends forth His Son, and He's made of a woman,
and He's made under the law, He comes not to do His own will,
He comes to do the will of Him who has sent Him. He is pleased
to serve the will of the Father. And likewise in the outworking
of that covenant, the Holy Spirit is pleased to come and not speak
of Himself, but to speak the things of Christ. and to reveal
the things of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, how we need that
Blessed Spirit! If any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of His. We need faith, and from whence
does faith come? Oh, does he not come by that
gracious work of the Spirit? Faith of the operation of God,
we read in Colossians 2.12. the blessed spirits the communicator
of faith and as we have that faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ the overcomer so we overcome John says you
are of God little children and have overcome them because greater
is he that is in you than he that is in the world Who is it
that comes and dwells in the hearts of believers? Is it not
Him who is the Spirit and the Spirit of Christ? Who comes to
reveal the things of Christ? Oh friends, we need that gracious
ministry, God the Holy Ghost. And here is our comfort, we can
ask God to give us His Spirit. How much more, says Christ, how
much more? shall your Heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to them that ask." God is willing to give,
even to give the Holy Ghost, and it's for us to come and to
ask, and that the Spirit might take of the things of Christ,
the words of Christ, the preaching of the Savior, and write His
truth upon our heart to make a gracious application. in all
of our souls, these things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye
might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation,
but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. Amen. Let us join together in a singing
of hymn number 305, and the tune is Lester 171. The souls that
would to Jesus press must fix this firm and sure, that tribulation,
more or less, they must and shall endure. Hymn number 305.