in that portion of Holy Scripture
that we read, John chapter 16 and the last verse, verse 33. These things have I 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
It's with these words that we have the conclusion of these
valedictory discourses recorded in chapters 14, 15, and 16. Christ, as it were, concluding
his prophetic ministry, that great preacher come from God. And then, of course, in chapter
17, we see him more particularly engaged in
his office as the great high priest as he intercedes the great
high priestly prayer of Christ recorded in the 17th chapter
and then in the following chapters again Christ in his priestly
office as the one who comes to make the great sacrifice for
sins And so, here in a sense, we have the conclusion of Christ's
earthly prophetic ministry. That's not to say that subsequently
after his resurrection, he's still ministering, of course,
and then after his ascension on high, that ministry is continued
through the apostles. But what remarkable words are
these that we find in these three chapters. And here, as Christ
comes to the end of these discourses, see how He speaks, first of all,
of peace, and then of tribulation. These things have I 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." A very striking contrast then in the two sentences
that make up the text. First of all, there is that peace
that is in Christ, and then secondly, there is that tribulation that
is in the world. The Lord has much to say with
regards to this blessed legacy of peace. It's not the first
time He's spoken of such, back in chapter 14. Does He not also speak there
concerning peace? Verse 27, peace I leave with
you, my peace I give unto you. not as the world giveth give
I unto you let not your heart be troubled neither let it be
afraid or the legacy of Christ to his disciples is that they
might have peace and how necessary when we consider the situation
in which they find themselves the territory that they're occupying
they're in the enemy's territory, are they not? They are in the
world. And in the world there is nothing for them but trouble
and tribulation, difficulties, trials, conflicts. And we are told, are we not,
that the world lies in wickedness. This is where they are. And so,
how they stand in need that the Lord himself should come time
and again to minister his gracious peace to them, to enable them
that they might overcome all of these various troubles. In the context here, We see that
Christ himself, whilst in this world, has been very mindful
of the faithful care and keeping of God. He says in verse 32,
Behold, the hour cometh, yea, he is now come, that ye shall
be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone.
And yet I am not alone. because the Father is with me."
Or Christus, in the hour of his great trouble, is conscious then
of the gracious presence, the sustaining, the upholding of
his God. What does God say concerning
this servant? Back in Isaiah 42, Behold My
servant, He says, whom I uphold Now the Father is there to uphold
him as he undertakes all this great work of redemption. And now Christ is so very much
aware, so conscious of that. Not only those words in the 42nd
of Isaiah, but look at other words that we find, for example,
in chapter 50 of Isaiah. And there at verse 7 he says,
The Lord God will help me. Therefore shall I not be confounded? Therefore have I set my face
like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is
near that justifies me. Who will contend with me? Let
us stand together. Who is mine adversary? Let him
come near to me. Behold, the Lord God will help
me. Who is he that shall condemn
me? Now, clearly these words in Isaiah
50 are speaking of Christ, and they're speaking of his sufferings.
We have that word in verse 7, I have set my face like a flint. And remember how it's recorded
in the Gospel that when his time was come, he set his face to
go to Jerusalem. He knew full well those sins
that would befall him in the city. He knew that he must make
that great sacrifice for sins. He knew that the multitudes would
demand his crucifixion. He knew that the disciples would
all forsake him and flee from him. He knew that he must go
to the cross that God got him. And yet he sets his face. And
though in all of this you see here, in the words of prophecy,
he is so much aware of the gracious keeping of his God. For the Lord
God will help me, he says, therefore have I set my face like a flint. Behold, the Lord God will help
me. Who is the that shall condemn
them. The Lord Jesus is that one then
who in this world was very conscious of the gracious keeping of his
God. And is he not the covenant head
of his people? Again we have it there in the
book of Isaiah, I give thee for a covenant of the people. and as their covenant head what
is true in him must also be true in them and so as he is kept
in this world now he is not alone in this world so too also with
regards to all those who know him who are trusting in him And
so here in the words that I read as our text this morning, these
things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation. Be of good cheer, I have overcome
the world. What I want to do this morning
is simply to center your attention, concentrate your thoughts around
the first sentence that we find in this 33rd verse and then the
Lord willing We'll go on this evening to consider the second
verse. As I said, this 33rd verse, according
to our punctuation as we find it in the Authorized Version,
consists of these two sentences. First of all, then, these opening
words, These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might
have peace. First of all, as we come to consider
the text here, Here we see the gracious purpose of God, the
gracious purpose of the Lord Jesus. Look at these words. He
says, that in me ye might have, ye might have peace. Now, looking at the words, we
might imagine that there is some sort of doubt here. Does it say,
might? And isn't that, in a sense, suggesting
to us, on a superficial level, that there is doubt here? Well, if we read it in that sense,
we are misunderstanding exactly what is being said, because really
the grammatical construction of the word indicates nothing
of doubt, but rather it suggests to us a certainty and a sureness. It's not a mite or a mabel, but
there is a certainty with regards to this peace of which the Lord
Jesus is speaking of. There is that great purpose that
centers in God himself, is he not? Is he not the one who is
the author of peace? In Philippians, Paul speaks of
in there, chapter 4 and verse 7, he says, the peace of God
that passeth all understanding. The peace of God. And that's
indicative of possession, it's a genitive of possession. It's
that peace that belongs unto God. Again, Paul to the Hebrews
in chapter 13 can say, now the God of peace that bore it again
from the dead, our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant. And there we see clearly
that this peace of God, this peace that belongs to God, is
bound up, it's rooted in the covenant of grace. And what is
that covenant of grace? It is an inter-trinitarian covenant. It is that that God has purposed
in himself the three persons in the Godhead, Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost. We know that when God created
man upon the earth, there was a council in the Triniton, as
we have it recorded there at the end of Genesis chapter 1.
Our God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness.
There is a consultation between the persons. All of them, Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, are involved, of course, in the great work
of creation. By the Word of the Lord were
the heavens made. All in the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things
were made by Him. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. By the word of the Lord, that
is the Lord Jesus, that is the second person in the Godhead,
that is God the Son, He is the Creator. And not only God the Son, but
God the Holy Spirit. All the host of them were made,
it says in the 33rd Psalm, by the breath of His mouth. By the
word of the Lord were the heavens made, all the host of them by
the breath of his mouth. What is the breath of his mouth?
It is the Spirit. The very word that is used there
and rendered as breath is many times in the Old Testament rendered
as Spirit. It is the Spirit of God who is
there in creation together with God the Father and God the Son. And so not surprisingly, when
he comes to man who stands at the very apex of all those great
works, there is that consultation. Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness. And so it should not surprise
us that when he comes to the salvation of that man who is
fallen, that man who is the transgressor, that man who lies dead in trespasses
and in sins. Oh, when it comes to the salvation
of sinners, we have to recognize there is also a counsel between
the persons in the Godhead. And isn't that indicated? There
in Zechariah chapter 6 and verse 13 we read of the counsel of
Christ. The council of peace shall be between them both. For there is a council of peace
between God the Father and God the Son. And in that council
of peace, the eternal Son of God, who is equal to the Father,
willingly agrees to become God's servant, God's first in hands,
to be the one who will come to be the saviour of sinners. I say that this peace of which
the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking, it is the peace of God, it is
the peace that belongs to God, that comes from God, it is that
peace that is rooted and grounded in the covenant of grace. And
we do well to remember that, because when God is pleased to
take His people in hand, all that people that He gave to the
Son in the eternal covenant, all when He takes His people
in hand, does He not initially make them sad? Isn't that the
experience of conversion? To be brought in some measure
under a sense of our sinnership, to feel what we are, to be convinced
of our sins, that ministry of the Holy Ghost that is spoken
of in the former part of this chapter. Remember how Christ
speaks of the ministry of the Comforter as He calls Him. When
He has come He will reprove. There in verse 8 it says in the
margin, convince. When He has come He will convince
the world of sin. and of righteousness and of judgment. He makes the sinner sad and yet
he comes, does the Holy Ghost, to comfort sinners, ultimately
to bring peace to the sinner's soul. God says of all to the
children of Israel, I know the thoughts that I sing towards
you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected
end. All God's purpose, you see, is
to make the sinner sad that he might be brought to the end of
himself. He turns man to destruction, and then he says, return your
children with me. He causes them to see that all
their salvation, all their peace is found only in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Here is the great purpose of
God then. And what is that purpose? He
will bring peace to his people. These things have I spoken unto
you, says Christ, that in me ye might have peace." There is
a sureness here. And why is this peace so sure,
so certain? Because of the One who has procured
it. Look at the language, look at
the words that are spoken. spoken by the Lord Jesus and
recorded here on the page of Holy Scripture under the gracious
inspiration of the Holy Ghost, because John, the Apostle, is
writing here, of course, by inspiration. And what does it say? In me ye
might have peace. In me. Oh, it's in the person. of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again,
we have it back in the Old Testament, the prophecy of Micah in Micah
chapter 5 and verse 5, and this man shall be the peace. Who is the man that he's being
spoken of? It is God's Son, is it not? It
is God's Son, who is the child born. Again, remember the language,
the familiar word of Isaiah 9 verse 6. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given. All the language you see, the
child is born, the son is not born. Why that child that was
born to the Virgin Mary, That holy thing that was conceived
of the Holy Ghost in her womb, that was the human nature, the
human body, the human soul. But the Son was not born, He
is the Eternal Son, the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father. This
is the mystery, the great mystery of the Incarnation. Unto us a
Child is born, unto us a Son is given. And the government
shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace." Oh, he is the Prince of Peace, this man. And so what do we read at the
time of his coming into this world? Remember the experience
of those shepherds watching over their flocks by night there in
the fields about Bethlehem? and they see a great company
of angels glorifying God, and what is their song? Glory to
God in the highest and on earth peace. On earth peace, goodwill
toward men. At that time, of course, in great
measure there was peace on earth. There was a political peace,
certainly there in the Middle East, so different to the situation
today. Oh yes, there were conflicts,
doubtless there were. Many troubles, but there was
the great Pax Romana, the Peace of Rome. It was a wonderful political
peace throughout the empire when the Lord Jesus Christ was born. And yet that is a message of
the angels, peace on earth. It's not political peace. that
he comes to procure, it's a spiritual peace. This is the man, you see, who
is so suited to bring this peace. Why? Because of his person. He is God-man. He is that one
who comes between God and men. Men who are in a state of alienation
from God. men who are born dead in trespasses
and in sins, men whose hearts are at enmity with God. He is
that one who is the mediator. Remember the language of Job. Back in Job chapter 9 and verse
33 it says, Neither is there any days, man betwixt us, that
may lay his hand upon each of us. Always it is what the sinner
fails to need. One to stand between him and
God. The dies man. The man who is
appointed to stand in that particular die. The mediator who comes between
God and men. And this is the Lord Jesus. Because
he is God and he is man. Being in the form of God he thought
it not robbery to be equal with God. but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men. Being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. For the person you see, this
person, he is so suited, because he is God, and yet he is also
man, real man. and he stands between God and
man he comes from the highest heavens and what does he do?
he comes where his people are he becomes bone of their bone
and flesh of their flesh and he comes to redeem them so it's
not only peace in his person it's also peace by that work
that he has accomplished in me He says you might have peace.
It's in his person, but it's also in his work. The language again of John, writing
now in his first epistle, what does he say concerning this one?
Haradvocate, he calls it. Haradvocate with the Father,
and He is the propitiation for our sin. Not for us only, but
also for the sins of the whole world. He's writing, of course,
as a Jew. And he is simply declaring that
Christ's sacrifice is not just for sinners of the Jews, it's
also for sinners of the Gentiles. Again, he says later in chapter
4 and verse 10 of that first epistle, here in his love, not
that we love God, but that he loved us. and sent his son to
be the propitiation for our sins. Now some object and say, why
such a word? Why does that word have to be
used? It is a technical word, true,
it's a theological word. But it's a biblical word, and
it's an important word. The Lord Jesus, you see, is that
one, John says, who is the propitiation. What is propitiation? Well, we
need to distinguish two things, in a sense. We need to distinguish
expiation and propitiation. You don't find the word propitiation
in the modern versions, because what the word propitiation indicates
is the effect of sin in relation to God. Expiation, which is more
acceptable in the modern versions, speaks of the effect that sin
has upon us as the sinners. Sin makes us guilty. Guilt attaches
to our transgressions and our disobedience. We deserve to be
punished. And when we speak of the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ as an expiatory sacrifice, it means
he is bearing the punishment that was really the desert of
his people. They were the guilty ones. He
was the innocent one, and here he is suffering the innocent
for the guilty, the just for the unjust. But when we have
this word propitiation, it relates to God how God of course is angry
with the wicked every time and it speaks of that God affect
you see how God's justice is satisfied God's wrath is satisfied
as the punishment is meted out upon the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ and that's why it's so offensive to many because it
speaks of a God who is angry and wrathful. But that is God,
is it not? He cannot put away iniquity.
He must punish sins. Because He is holy, righteous,
just, as well as being good and gracious and loving. And the
Lord Jesus, I say, is that One who has come to make peace. the great propitiatory sacrifice. He brings peace between men and
God. He reconciles the sinner to God. And so look at the language that
we find when Paul writes in Colossians chapter 1 and he's speaking of
course so clearly of the The dying of
the Lord Jesus, he says in verse 20, having made peace through
the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto
himself. By him I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometime
alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to
present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight."
All those who were in that condition, that state of enmity and alienation,
reconciled to God, at peace with God. This peace, it is only in
the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no peace in ourselves,
no peace in any duties that we might perform, no peace in any
graces that we might possess. There's nothing in ourselves.
All this peace is in the Lord Jesus Christ. These things have
I spoken unto you, He says, that in me, that in me ye might have
peace. Well, having considered something
of the peace of which the Lord Jesus is speaking, and the great
purpose of God in this, and how the Lord Jesus Christ is that
One who has come in the fullness of the time, and He has procured
this peace. He has brought peace between
holy gods and guilty sinners. But let us, in the second place
this morning, just say something with regards to Christ's preaching. He comes to preach peace, does
he not? That's what we're told in Ephesians
chapter 2 and verse 17. He came and preached peace to
you which were afar off and to them that were nigh. Now, literally
there, of course, he's writing to a Gentile church. The Ephesian church is principally
made up of sinners of the Gentiles. converted to Christ. They were
the ones who were afar off. And the Jews, of course, the
favored people of the Old Testament were the ones who were nigh.
He came, says Paul, and preached peace to you that were afar off,
you of the Gentiles, and to them that were nigh. It's interesting
because the Lord Jesus Christ did not go to the Gentiles. He says quite plainly during
the course of his earthly ministry that he was sent to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. How then does he come and preach
peace to Gentiles? Well, it is by and through the
ministry of the apostles, of course. And that is also made
quite clear by what Paul goes on to say later in that epistle
when he says in verse 20 of chapter 4, you have not so learned Christ
if so be you have heard him and been taught by him as the truth
is in Jesus. How did they hear him? How were
they taught by him if he never went to the Gentiles? It was
by and through the preaching of the Gentiles. It's the office
of the ministry, really, that is being spoken of. Oh, the Lord
Jesus comes yet, you see, when His Word is opened and when His
Word is faithfully proclaimed, when the Gospel is preached,
it is Christ who speaks. You have not so learned Christ
if you have heard Him and been taught by Him. Are we those who
have heard Him? That's the mark of His sheep.
They know His voice, they follow Him. He gives them eternal life,
they shall never perish. Who are we? Those who know that
voice, those who are taught by Him. They shall be all taught
of God, it seems. But what does Christ do? You
see, when He comes in the Gospel, it is the Gospel of peace. And
what does He say here in the text? These things have I spoken
unto you. He's speaking of his discourses
in the previous chapters, chapters 14 and 15 and 16, more than that
he's speaking of the whole course of his earthly ministry. All
that he has spoken in the course of those three years of his earthly
preaching. These things have I spoken unto
you that ye might have peace. Now, just consider briefly something
of the content of this particular sermon that we have in these
previous chapters. In the course of that preaching,
Christ has spoken to them quite plainly of the troubles that
they're going to have in the world. They're going to know
something of persecutions. Again, at the beginning of the
chapter, these things Have I spoken unto you, same language you say,
these things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the
synagogues. Yea, the time cometh that whosoever
killeth you will think that he doeth God's service, and these
things will they do unto you because they have not known the
Father nor knoweth. They're going to know persecution
not just from the world, They're going to know it from those who
profess to be religious. Those who profess to be the people
of God, the Jews. And it is ever the same throughout
the generations. Concerning the believer from
sinner and from saint, he meets with many a blow. How true it
is. Even those who profess the name
of Christ can be the most cruel persecutors. And I'm not just
thinking of the persecutions of the Church of Rome. We know
that. We know that. Rome was more cruel
in its persecution of believers. That's papal Rome. It was ever
more cruel than pagan Rome. Oh, there was great persecution
in the days of the apostles and the early church fathers. But
what persecutions came later at the time of the Reformation?
when pagan Rome was no more, but there was papal Rome, persecuted. That's the truth, is it not?
But there is persecution, you know, sometimes amongst those
who even profess to be evangelical in their belief. They say that they are true believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ, And yet they have nothing more than
an empty profession, and there they despise those who have a
real religion. Strange course that the Christian
has to tread. But there is persecution, and
the Lord speaks of it in the course of his preaching, in the
world, in the church. And yet, what does he say here?
He also speaks of that blessed union and communion with himself
in Mary. In me there is peace. He says
so much of course in chapter 15 with regards to the blessings
of that union. I am the true vine and my father
is the husbandman, he says. Abide in me. and I in you as
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in
the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me. I am the vine,
ye are the branches, he that abideth in me, and I in him the
same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing."
Well, what are the persecutions that the Christian believer has
to endure? compared with the blessings that
he knows by that living union with Christ and that real communion
that he can enjoy with the Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of
all his troubles to know the Lord, this is what Christ himself
experienced of course as he says at the end of this 32nd verse,
I am not alone even when all forsaken I am not alone because
the Father is with me, yes he speaks of of persecution, but
he also speaks of the blessings of that union and that communion
with God. And ultimately, in these discourses,
he speaks of a place prepared. How does he begin? Those great
words, of course, so familiar. We've heard them many times,
doubtless, at the funerals of the godly believers, let not
your heart be troubled, Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. But where I am, there ye may
be also. or the content of that gracious
ministry. Yes, he's faithful, he warns
of persecution, but he speaks of union, he speaks of communion,
and ultimately the great blessing of that eternal communion that
the believer will have in the place prepared in heaven. But not only the content of the
Lord's preaching here, but we see something of the intent of
it. What is the intention here? You
see, preaching is not an end in itself. Preaching is not an
end in itself. There is a purpose in view, and
we see it in what is said. These things have I spoken unto
you, and here is a significant word, that, And it's a strong word, introducing
a purposive clause, it means, in order that. These things have
I spoken unto you, in order that ye might have peace. There is always a purpose. There
is always an end in view where there is the faithful ministry
of God's Word. Look at what's written back in
Isaiah 55, and verse 10. It says, 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. The necessity,
you see, of the rain in order for the growing of the crops,
there's an end in view, this is why God sends the rain, it
comes down and the snow, and waters the earth, in order that
it brings forth fruit. And it says, 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 it. There's an ending view. There's
a purpose in the preaching. And what is the purpose? Well,
we know that the great purpose, of course, is faith. Faith cometh
by healing, you see. and hearing by the Word of God.
What is the point and purpose of us coming together, as we
do in this fashion, week after week after week after week, if
there's nothing? No fruit, no fruit. It is what
we desire, that we might be those who, as we hear the Word of God,
by that gracious ministry of the Spirit, the watering of the
seed of the Word, there is faith, faith in God. But not only faith,
but also peace. Peace cometh by hearing, just
as faith cometh by hearing. And this is what we have here,
of course. These things have I spoken unto you, that in me
ye might have peace. How do we come to know that peace
with God? Only by faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And friends, how we need, oh
how we need, that gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit Himself. In
chapter 20, see how the Lord speaks here of the
ministry of the apostles. There in chapter 20 at verse
21, He speaks of peace, does he not? Jesus said to them again, Peace
be unto you. As my Father hath sent me, even
so I send you. And when he had said this, he
breathed on them and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosoever sins ye remit, they
are remitted unto them. Whosoever sins ye retain, they
are retained. Now Rome, the Church of Rome
might pervert the Scriptures here and say that this is authority
for the office of the confessional. That the laity are to go to the
priest and they are to confess to the priest their sins. And
the priest has power to remit or to retain sins. This is one
of the passages that they appeal to. for the office of the Confession,
whereby they keep the people in bondage to the Church. And
it has nothing to do with the Confession. It has to do with
the ministry of the Word, does it not? This is what the Lord
is doing, He is sending forth His apostles. And He is sending
them forth with the same message that He proclaimed, this message
of peace, He breathed on them and said, receive you the Holy
Ghost. How they need the Holy Ghost,
that the Word that they proclaim, the Gospel of Peace that they
preach, that it might be watered by the Spirits and be made effectual
in the souls of those who are hearing the Word. All there is
a purpose, you see, in the preaching, that the sinner
might be brought to know to experience that blessed salvation that peace
with God that the believer might know salvation and know safety
these things have I 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 oh it's that peace of God The peace of God which
passes understanding, says Paul, shall keep your heart and minds
through Christ Jesus. That's the peace, you see, that
we need to keep us in this wicked, sinful world. Again, the language
of Isaiah the prophet, he says in chapter 26 and verse 3, they
shall keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on God. because He trusteth in them."
Oh God's grant that we might be those who are staid, staid
on the Lord Jesus Christ, His person, His work, that we might
be those who are trusting in Him, that we might know the blessing
that comes through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, that
we might be blessed with that faith that centers In the Lord
Jesus, the one who speaks here in our text today, these things
have I spoken unto you, that ye might have peace. In the world
ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome
the world." Well, the Lord willing, we'll consider that second sentence
in the evening hour. God bless to us His Word.