The Gospel of John ~ Chapter 16 ~ Part 6
Verses 29-33
Concluding Summary of Chapter 16
The Upper Room /
Gethsemane Discourse,
Part 38

Chapter 16 Outline:

• Vs. 1-6, The Importance of Preparedness. Persecution Foretold.
• Vs. 7-15, Further Instructions Regarding the Holy Spirit. The Promise of the Holy Spirit, and His Office.
• Vs. 16-18, Christ’s Death, Resurrection and Ascension Reemphasized.
• Vs. 19-22, The Happiness of God as a Result of Jesus’ Resurrection.
• Vs. 23-28, Summary on the Power Available to Us Through Prayer. Encouragement to Prayer. Pt. 37
• Vs. 29-33, Final Words of Encouragement. Christ’s Discoveries of Himself. Pt. 38

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We now turn to the final portion of the Upper Room and Garden of Gethsemane Discourse in John 16:29-33, where our Lord gives the disciples a last prophecy and word of encouragement.

John 16:29, “His disciples said, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech.”

The Greek Reads:
“Λέγουσιν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ Ἴδε νῦν ἐν παρρησίᾳ λαλεῖς, καὶ παροιμίαν οὐδεμίαν λέγεις.”

Transliterated it Reads:
“OI MATHETAI AUTOU, IDE NUN EN PARRESIA LALEIS KAI PAROIMIAN OUDEMIAN LEGEIS.”

We begin with “His disciples said.”

“Said” is LEGOUSIN which is the verb LEGO – λέγω (leg'-o) in the Present, Active, Indicative, Third Person, Plural.

The Third Person Plural in relation to the writer John as he refers to the disciples of our Lord.

“Disciples” is the article HOI (HO - the) in the Nominative, Masculine, Plural, plus the noun MATHETAI which is MATHETES – μαθητής (math-ay-tes') in the Nominative, Masculine, Plural.  It means, “disciple or pupil.”

“His” is the Pronoun AUTOS - αὐτός (ow-tos') [AUTOU] in Genitive, Masculine, Third Person, Singular that means, “of Him or His.”

Then we have, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly.”

“Lo” is IDE which is a “Sentence” Particle which acts as an intention getter or intensifier like, “Look! See! Listen! here is; here are, etc.”

“Now” is the Adverb NUN.

“You are speaking plainly” is the Dative Preposition EN, “in,” plus the Noun PARRESIA in the Dative Feminine, Singular that means, “openness, frankly, freedom of speech, confidence, etc.”

“Speaking” is the Present, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Singular of LALEO that means, “to say, speak, etc.”

Finally, we have, “and are not using a figure of speech.”

KAI is the Conjunction meaning “and.”

“Figure of speech” is PAROIMIAN is the Accusative, Feminine, Singular of PAROIMIA – παροιμία (par-oy-mee'-ah) that means, “A parable, figure of speech, proverb, etc.” as we had in Verse 25.

“Are not” is OUDEMIAN the Cardinal Adjective, of OUDEIS - οὐδείς (oo-dice') in the Accusative, Feminine, Singular that means, “no one, nothing, not at all, etc.”

“Using” is actually the verb LEGEIS which is the verb LEGO in the Present, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Singular that means, “to say, speak, tell, etc.”

The Second Person Singular is from the disciple’s perspective referring to Jesus.” So, we can add the Pronoun “you” for understanding.

So, it should read, “You are not at all speaking in parable.”

The Lord seems to speak as He had before, yet the disciples seem to understand better than they had (Verses 16-19), or they are just sucking up to Him and playing off of His statement in Verse 25. He uses the same words “plainly” and “no proverb” which He used in Verse 25.

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Then in John 16:30 we have, “Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.”

Greek:
“νῦν οἴδαμεν ὅτι οἶδας πάντα καὶ οὐ χρείαν ἔχεις ἵνα τίς σε ἐρωτᾷ· ἐν τούτῳ πιστεύομεν ὅτι ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἐξῆλθες.”

Transliterated:
“NUN ODIAMEN HOTI OIDAS PANTA KAI OU CHREIAN ECHEIS HINA TIS SE EROTA; EN TOUTO PISTEUOMEN HOTI APO THEOU EXELTHES.”

Here we actually have an insult to the Lord where they say, “Now we know that You know all things.”

What they actually said, “OIDA, OIDA” twice together: “Now we know that you know.” This is followed by the Pronominal Adjective PANTA in the Accusative, Neuter, Plural that means, “everything, all things, etc.”

Jesus Christ has been teaching them for three years and they have just decided that He knows what He is talking about. They had failed to understand the plain words of Jesus about going to the Father before this (John 16:5), but Jesus read their thoughts (John 16:19-20) and this fact seemed to open their minds to grasp His idea.

Sometimes we think that we know. Rarely do we know that we know. But here the disciples did not know that they did not know. They thought they knew, yet they did not. They would all forsake Him before the night was over. He had revealed to them the thoughts of their hearts (Verse 19), which was convincing proof of His knowledge.

For the first time, they seemed impressed with His knowledge, even though on numerous occasions He had manifested divine knowledge (John 1:48).

It took another miracle for them to believe, 1 Cor 1:22.

Then they say, “and have no need for anyone to question You.”

This again may have been said to placate the Lord as He told them in Verse 23, “In that day you will not question (EROTAI) me.”

“Question” in both Verse 23 & 30 is the Verb EROTAO. In Verse 30, it is in the Present, Active, Subjunctive, Third Person, Singular. Remember, it means, “to ask” that is, to ask face to face or interrogate.

In the Subjunctive Mood it should read, “should ask,” as in “there should not be a need to ask You since we can ask the Father.”

And finally, we have, “by this we believe that you came from God.”

That is, “from the ultimate source (APO) of God (THEOU),”

In essences, “we believe it now!”

By revealing to them what was on their mind, they came to belief. It took another miracle. 

Because of His perfect knowledge, they believed. God is all-knowing and Jesus revealed the attribute; therefore, they believed that He “came from God.”

What they realized, however, was sufficient to build toward the complete revelation of His person and work that would soon come.

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Now notice that “they weren’t going to ask any more questions,” so Jesus answers a question for them in Verse 32. But before we get there let’s look at Verse 31.

John 16:31, “Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?””

Greek:
“ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς Ἰησοῦς Ἄρτι πιστεύετε;”

Transliterated:
“APEKRITHE AUTOIS IESOUS, ARTI PISTEUETE.”

“Answered” is the verb APOKRINOMAI in the Aorist, Passive Deponent, Indicative, Third Person Singular.

The Aorist Tense tells us Jesus understands these disciples and their questions.

The Passive Deponent is an Active use: Jesus is the One who knows them all too well and is answering the questions that they have in mind.

IESOUS identifies the person of the Christ. In His deity, He knows what they are thinking. As a wise person, He also understands their concerns, fear, and anxiety. And in His humanity, He answers their statement somewhat sarcastically.

“Do you now (ARTI) believe (PISTEUO)?”

PISTEUO is in the Present, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Plural

So, we can hear our Lord saying somewhat sarcastically, “Do you NOW believe? REALLY!!!”

They are too self-confident here as their despair at Christ’s arrest and death will show.

“The disciples supposed that their knowledge was complete. Jesus did not stop to correct their half-knowledge. The Lord reserved that ministry for the Spirit. Jesus did point out that their confidence in Him was shallow. His question cautioned them about their immature assurance. His tone perhaps expressed a touch of disappointment and a bit of warning. The text reveals how much was lacking in their knowledge of Him and commitment to Him.” (Complete Biblical Library Commentary)

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The next answer to the questions they were thinking comes in Verse 32 where our Lord is saying, “Well, isn’t that great; now you are going to fall flat on your face!” He warns them of their coming failure.

John 16:32, “Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.”

Greek:
“ἰδοὺ ἔρχεται ὥρα καὶ ἐλήλυθεν ἵνα σκορπισθῆτε ἕκαστος εἰς τὰ ἴδια κἀμὲ   μόνον ἀφῆτε· καὶ οὐκ εἰμὶ μόνος, ὅτι ὁ Πατὴρ μετ’ ἐμοῦ ἐστιν.”

Transliterations:  

“IDOU ERCHETAI HORA KAI ELELUTHEN HINA SKORPISTHETE HEKASTOS EIS TA IDIA KAME MONON APHETE; KAI OUK EIMI MONOS, HOTI HO PATER MET EMOU ESTIN.”

Behold, an hour is coming.”

“Behold” is IDOU similar to Verse 29 (Lo – IDE), “Look! See! Listen! “There, or here is, or comes, etc.”

“An hour” - HORA, “a time or period, an hour.” This is that short period of time.

“Is coming” is the Verb ERCHOMAI in the Present, Passive Deponent, Indicative, Third Person, Singular.

The Futuristic Present Tense is a Dramatic Present emphasizing immediacy.

“And has already come” is ELELUTHEN which is the Verb ERCHOMAI once again, but this time in the Perfect, Active, Indicative, Third Person, Singular.

The Perfect Tense is for complete past action. In other words, it is here; it is on us. What was here or on them was the work of Satan in the body of Judas Iscariot to arrest Jesus and bring Him to the six trials, culminating in the crucifixion. At that time, the disciples would be scattered. All of this was part of the Predesigned Plan of God from eternity past. Completed Past Action.

“For you to be scattered.”

The Greek begins with HINA “that,” which introduces a result clause.

“You to be scattered” is the Greek Verb SKORPIZO, in the Aorist, Passive, Subjunctive, Second Person, Plural. It means, “to scatter or disperse,” and means to be defeated and dispersed.

The Aorist Tense: A point of time; the crisis; the crucifixion.

The Passive Voice: They have received dispersal; they have already been defeated. They have said they believed, yet have scar tissue on their souls and there is not enough time in 24-hours to get enough teaching to get rid of the scar tissue. You do not get rid of scar tissue over night; sometimes it takes years of daily Bible study. They are less than two hours from the crisis and in two hours they will be scattered in defeat, running in cowardice.

“Scattered” is descriptive of sheep left without a shepherd, John 10:11-12. The same Greek word is used in John 10:12. (See also the analogy in Zech 13:7).

Zech 13:7, “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the man, My Associate,” declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; and I will turn My hand against the little ones.”

Then our Lord gives the dramatic details, “each to his own home, and to leave Me alone.”

“Each” HEKASTOS is literally, “each one of you.”

“To his own home,” is the article TA (HO - the) plus the Pronominal Adjective IDIOS in the Accusative, Neuter, Plural that means, “home, possessions, property.”

In other words, “to his own little line of retreat.” They all have their line of retreat, and they are all going to run in all directions. And when they all run, who is going to stay behind? God the Father, as we will see below.

“Each to his own” is fulfilled in this very Gospel, John 20:10.

“And to leave Me alone.”

The word “leave” is the Verb APHIEMI in the Aorist, Active, Subjunctive, Second Person, Plural, and means, “to leave, leave behind, forsake, desert.”

The Aorist Tense views the entire action of deserting the Lord by the disciples, each individually.

The Subjunctive Mood is for probability. They will desert Him. Jesus was deserted by all the disciples at His arrest and trials, and at the Cross, with the exception of John. That is why we have the Subjunctive Mood of “you will leave Me alone.”

“Alone” is the Adjective MONOS in the Accusative, Masculine, Singular.

As a man Jesus had the need of sympathy in the hour of trial as any man would. Surely, He felt deeply the pain of being forsaken by those He loved. But He says, “and yet…….”

“And yet I am not alone.”

“And yet” is a clear case of KAI in the Adversative sense, not just “and.”

“I am” is the Verb EIMI - “is, to be” in the Present, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular. In the Present, it is Linear Aktionsart, “I am never alone.”

“Not alone” is the negative OUK (not), plus MONOS (alone) once again. Why?

“Because the Father is with Me.”

“Because” is HOTI the reason Jesus is not alone.

HO PATER, “the Father.”

MET EMOU, “with” plus the pronoun EGO, “Me,” in the Genitive, First Person, Singular.

ESTIN is the Verb EIMI - εἰμί (i-mee') once again, but this time in the Present, Active, Indicative, Third Person, Singular that means, “is” but should be, “keeps on being.”

“Because the Father keeps on being with me.”

Although the Father would be with Him throughout the human ordeal, even the Father would finally forsake Jesus on the Cross as Jesus is paying the penalty for our sins. Yet, the Word of God, the Father, would be resident in His soul which sustained Him even in that most crucial three hours.

This was also a statement in view of what He said in Verse 25, “I will tell you of the Father.” Here is the doctrine that “God does not leave or forsake you.” Deut 31:6, 8; Josh 1:5; Psa 37:28; Heb 13:5.

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We now turn to the last verse in this Upper Room and Gethsemane Discourse.

John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

With this verse, Jesus closes His wonderful discourses. He had spoken to encourage the disciples in their hour of sorrow and to comfort them by His promise of the Spirit and His own presence in the near future. In the distant future, they were also promised a place with Him. Peace here sums up His message of comfort.

The Greek reads:
“ταῦτα λελάληκα ὑμῖν ἵνα ἐν ἐμοὶ εἰρήνην ἔχητε.  ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ θλῖψιν ἔχετε· ἀλλὰ θαρσεῖτε, ἐγὼ νενίκηκα τὸν.”

Transliterated it reads:
“TAUTA LELALEKA HUMIN HINA EN EMOI EIRENEN ECHETE. EN TO KOSMO THLIPSIN ECHETE, ALLA THARSEITE, EGO NENIKEKA TON KOSMON.”

“These things” is TAUTA, the Demonstrative, Pronominal, Adjective, HOUTOS - οὗτος (hoo'-tos) in the Accusative, Neuter, Plural. Our Lord has used this word throughout the discourses to emphasize what He had just spoken about. Here it encompasses the entire discourse (Upper Room and Gethsemane).

“I have spoken” is LELALEKA which is the verb LALEO – λαλέω (lal-eh'-o) in the Perfect, Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular that means, “to speak, talk, say; preach, proclaim; tell, etc.”

The Extensive Perfect Tense is for completed past action from which a present state emerges. Jesus Christ has taught them Bible Doctrine for the purpose of providing inner peace and contentment (+H) if they learn and apply it.

The Active Voice: Jesus is the One who taught these doctrines.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality that Jesus has taught them fantastic principles that have a benefit to His disciples.

He is also saying, “I give you this final warning as another proof that I know all things, and to the end that you may look to Me alone for peace and happiness.”

“To you” is the Pronoun SU “you” in the Dative of Advantage Case, Second Person, Plural. It is advantageous for disciples to learn the mind of Christ. We translate this, “to you all.”

“So that” is the Subordinating Conjunction of Purpose HINA. The purpose for teaching Bible Doctrine is for the achievement of an Edification Complex of the Soul (ECS), which results in a Relaxed Mental Attitude (RMA), “peace.”

“In Me” is EN EMOI which is the Dative Preposition EN - “in,” plus the Pronoun EGO - “I or Me,” in the Dative, First Person, Singular. Jesus Christ is the Word of God so by having His mind, Bible Doctrine resident in your soul, you have Christ’s thinking in you, which means you will have peace. Remember they did not have the indwelling of Christ at this time, so the context is “His Word,” which should be in them. That is what gives them “peace.”

Therefore, this does not refer at this moment to union with Christ because that did not exist at this time.

But yet, they are going to see something. They are going to see how Jesus goes to the Cross and stays there. He does so on the basis of the fact that He has Bible doctrine resident in His soul. He has an Edification Complex of the Soul (ECS), and He fulfils the Father’s plan for His life. He has it; He uses it; He goes to the Cross, and they will receive great encouragement from this, because they will know that Jesus Christ stayed on the Cross and all sins were judged, because He was sustained by the Word of God.

They will know after His resurrection what fools they had been, and they will take encouragement from the fact that even though Jesus was deserted by them, while they were being defeated, He was being victorious.

“You may have peace” is EIRENEN the Noun EIRENE - εἰρήνη (i-ray'-nay) in the Accusative, Feminine, Singular that means, “peace, harmony, security, safety, prosperity, etc.” It is often used in invocations and greetings; and can mean, “order,” (the opposite of disorder). SHALOM is the Hebrew equivalent to EIRENE.

With this is ECHETE which is the Verb ECHO in the Present, Active, Subjunctive, Second Person, Plural that means, “to have or to hold,” that is, “possession of something or to own.”

The Customary Present Tense is for action that regularly occurs, keep on having peace. When you have built an ECS and have Bible Doctrine in your soul, you will possess the inner peace, happiness, and contentment of our Lord, (+H), the Happiness of God, Problem Solving Device #10.

The Active Voice: The disciple who receives and applies Jesus’ teaching will have this kind of peace.

The Subjunctive Mood linked with HINA above indicates the purpose of our Lord’s teaching Bible Doctrine. It is the intent of our Lord that His disciples have His peace in them. It is also for volitional responsibility of the disciple of Jesus Christ, and the probability that they will have this peace if they apply God’s Word to their life. It is the desire of Jesus Christ for His disciples to have this peace.

We translate this, “You all may have peace.”

Our Lord is saying, “that you may keep on having peace in Me even when I am put to death; you will have peace which is found nowhere except in Me, John 14:27, via Bible Doctrine resident within your soul.”

Two aspects of peace are the absence of all confusion, disorder, and conflict, and a beautiful harmonious relationship with Jesus Christ.

Then we have the second sentence of this verse, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

“In the world” is EN TO KOSMO.

EN is once again the Dative Preposition that means, “in.”

TO KOSMO is the Article HO “the,” plus the Noun KOSMOS in the Dative, Masculine, Singular that means, “the world or world order,” and stands for Satan’s Cosmic System. In Satan’s world system, there is stress, disaster, heartache, pain, problems, sorrow etc. That’s truly what the world offers you. But in Christ, there is inner and everlasting peace.

“You have tribulation,” is THLIPSIN ECHETE.

THLIPSIN is the Noun THLIPSIS - θλῖψις (thlip'-sis) in the Accusative, Feminine, Singular that means, “trouble, distress, hard circumstances, suffering, affliction, etc.” It is from the Verb THLIBO – θλίβω (thlee'-bo) that means, “to press or afflict.” So, “pressure and affliction” from the world is in view.

ECHETE is the Verb ECHO - ἔχω (ekh'-o) once again that means, “to have or hold, or possess.” This time it is in the Present, Active, Indicative, Second Person, Plural.

The Customary Present Tense is for action that regularly occurs. Because we reside in Satan’s Cosmic System, we will have adversity in life. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are enemies of Satan and are living behind enemy lines. Therefore, we will have hardship and difficulties in this life as a result. Recall John 15:18-19.

The Active Voice: The disciples will have difficult times in Satan’s world, as we all do too.

The Indicative Mood is for the reality of the situation. It’s not probable or potential, it is dogmatic; you will have hard times in Satan’s Cosmic System. You will have the opposite of peace if you do not build your ECS with Bible Doctrine.

Jesus faithfully alerted His disciples to the fact that the world has no harmony or unity with believers. The world will cause “tribulation” or “distress” for those who are not in agreement with them. See again John 15:18-21.

“But take courage” is the Superordinating Conjunction of Contrast, ALLA, that means, “but, rather, or on the contrary.” Here is something in contrast to the difficulties of living in Satan’s world.

THARSEITE, is the Verb THARSEO - θαρσέω (thar-seh'-o) in the Present, Active, Imperative, Second Person, Plural that means, “to be of good courage, to have confidence, etc.”

It is only in the Imperative Mood as a command from our Lord. In other words, He is commanding the disciples to, “stop feeling sorry for themselves” by saying, “Take courage! Cheer up! etc.” Why should they stop feeling sorry for themselves? Because Jesus Christ has won the strategic victory of the Angelic Conflict, as noted in the last phrase.

The Customary Present Tense: “Keep on having confidence, be courageous.”

He is saying in effect, “You said you had confidence in Me; you don’t have enough confidence now to get out of the scar tissue on your soul, but keep on having confidence and you will eventually lose scar tissue and get an ECS. Even though you have failed, grace is going to take up the slack for you. Why? Because I am going to win the battle for you.

He is telling them, “Do not be despondent on account of what I have said: The world will not be able to overcome you, no matter how it may try you.

Mat 9:2, “And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.””

Mat 9:22, “But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.”

“I have overcome the world”- EGO NENIKEKA TON KOSMON.

EGO is a Pronoun in the Subject Nominative Case, First Person, Singular that means, “I or Me.” Jesus Christ is referring to Himself as the Victor over Satan’s Cosmic System.

NENIKEKA is the Verb NIKAO – νικάω (nik-ah'-o) in the Perfect. Active, Indicative, First Person, Singular that means, “to conquer or prevail.” Its root word is the noun NIKE – νίκη (nee'-kay) that means, “victory.”

The Perfect Tense is interesting here. It is a Proleptic or Futuristic Perfect. It refers to a state resulting from an antecedent action that is future from the time of speaking. Jesus Christ has literally not yet gone to the Cross, yet He is already stating His victory! Why? Because it is a certain thing. In eternity past, the plan of God the Father has been for Christ to go to the Cross, pay the penalty for all sins, and thereby defeat sin, Satan and his cosmic system. God’s plan is full proof. There is absolutely no chance that the victory would not be won by Christ. Therefore, it is already a reality.

TON KOSMON is the Article for “the,” plus KOSMOS – κόσμος (kos'-mos) in the Direct Object Accusative, Masculine, Singular. Satan’s Cosmic System is the object that Jesus has defeated once and for all time.

Kenneth Wuest translates this, “I have come off victorious over the world with a permanent victory.”

This majestic proclamation of victory over Satan’s Cosmic System may be compared with TETELESTAI, “it is finished” in John 19:30, as Christ died once and for all time for the sins of the entire world, and with Paul’s HUPERNIKOMEN, “we are more than conquerors” in Rom 8:37, speaking of believers who have been given that victory in Christ.

That is grace; that is the work of God; that is what Jesus Christ did at the Cross, and that is the answer to your life right now. Jesus Christ has furnished us with the means of overcoming all our enemies, and of triumphing in all our temptations.

He was about to be arrested and crucified, yet He gives peace and encouragement to His followers! He promises them His victory.

He is saying, “My apparent weakness will be My victory; My humiliation will be My glory; and the victory which the world, the devil, and My adversaries in general appear to gain over Me will be their own lasting defeat and My eternal triumph. Therefore, fear not!”

1 John 5:4, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

Rev 12:11, “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”

The Greek word for Peace is EIRENE which literally or figuratively means, “a state of concord, peace or harmony” and by implication, “welfare or a state of well-being, including security and prosperity.”

The Hebrew equivalent is SHALOM which also means, “peace and welfare.”

This is where the saying from First Officer Spok of Star Trek came from; “live long and prosper.” In essence, he was saying “SHALOM.”

Joseph Thayer says it is used in the New Testament for:

1. A state of national tranquility.
2. Peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord.
3. Security, safety, prosperity.
4. The way that leads to peace (salvation).
5. The tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God, and being content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.
6. The blessed state of believers after death.

As believers, we have two main categories of Peace: Positional and Experiential.

Positionally, the believer is at Peace with God. That is, we have a direct relationship with Him. There is nothing dividing us or keeping us apart. The peace between God and the believer was achieved by the complete work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, where He broke down the barrier between God and man by paying the penalty for our sins.

Even though Jesus died for the sin of the unbeliever, 1 John 2:2, …

1 John 2:2, “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

… because they have not accepted His saving work on their behalf “believed in Him,” the barrier remains between them and God, and there is no peace.

But for the believer there is peace.

Rom 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”

Eph 2:12-18, “Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, ¹⁵by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances (that which told of what sin was), so that in Himself He might make the two (Jew and Gentile) into one new man, thus establishing peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the Cross, by it having put to death the enmity. ¹⁷And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; ¹⁸for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.” (Brackets mine.)

Therefore, the “Way of Peace” is always relationship with the integrity of God. The relationship is established through adjustment to the justice of God under three categories.

• Salvation adjustment to the justice of God by faith in Christ; thereby, freeing God to give us His perfect righteousness, which permits Him to declare us justified.

• Rebound adjustment to the justice of God by acknowledgment of our personal sins to God the Father, (1 John 1:9), which permits God to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is strictly a post salvation adjustment to the justice of God for the believer only. The unbeliever must first believe on Jesus Christ for salvation.

• Maturity adjustment to the justice of God by the daily metabolization and application of Bible doctrine, which results in spiritual growth to the point of spiritual maturity and blessing from the justice of God.

Therefore, at the moment of our salvation, we are positionally at Peace with God, point #1, and from there we need to continue to exploit our relationship with God so that we can experience His peace on a daily basis, points #’s 2 and 3, experiential adjustment.

Experientially, we have the peace of Jesus Christ by having His Word resident within our souls and by being filled with the Holy Spirit, (as result of rebounding), John 14:25-27; Rom 8:6; 14:17; Phil 4:9.

John 14:25, “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. ²⁶“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. ²⁷“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

Rom 8:6, “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”

Rom 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Phil 4:9, “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

To have His peace experientially also means we must consistently apply faith in our prayers (like 1 John 1:9 and 1 John 5:14-15), and faith in His Word that is resident within our soul, compare John 16:23, 33.

In Paul’s opening salutations (greetings), Grace and Peace always occur in that order; witnessing to the truth that peace cannot be experienced apart from the prior experience of God’s grace in your life. For example:

1. He gives the unbeliever grace to understand the gospel message, (Common Grace).
2. He gave you grace at the moment you believed in Christ to save you eternally, (Efficacious Grace).
3. He gives you grace each time you confess your sins to cleanse you from all unrighteousness and fills you with the Spirit once again.
4. He gives you grace through His Spirit to teach you His Word, (GAP – Grace Apparatus for Perception).
5. He gives you grace by His Spirit to apply His Word to life’s situations.
6. He gives you grace by hearing your prayers.
7. He gives you grace by answering your prayers, (Grace Pipeline).
8. He gives you grace by providing your daily needs, (Logistical Grace blessings).

As a result of the applications above, (only 2-8), you experience the peace of God in your life. (#1 requires your belief before peace can be realized.)

There are times in your lives when your peace is based simply on your own ignorance, (“ignorance is bliss” they say). But when we are awakened to the realities of life, true inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus Himself.

When our Lord speaks peace, He creates peace, because the words that He speaks are always “spirit and they are life,” John 6:63. Therefore, by learning and apply His Word in faith, you will experience His peace.

1 Cor 14:33, “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”

Rom 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing (Faith Rest), so that you will abound in hope (confidence) by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Peace is also a part of our Divine Good production, the Fruit of the Spirit.

Gal 5:22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

When you are walking in the peace of God, you are producing Divine good (compare John 14:27 with 15:1-9) which has an everlasting reward, (gold, silver, and precious gems, 1 Cor 3:12-14.

This includes your prayer life which enters you into His peace experientially, not only by rebounding but by turning all your needs, cares, and worries over to the Father and faith resting that He hears and answers those prayer, Phil 4:6; 1 John 5:14-15.

Phil 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

That is Faith Resting in God.

Therefore, relationship with the integrity of God, (His righteousness and justice), first means salvation, then fellowship with God, and finally blessing from God as mature believers. All of this adds up to the Greek word EIRENE, which means true blessing and true security.

There can only be one true security in life. It is not through relationship with anyone else in the world or by the possession of the accouterments of happiness. It is relationship with the integrity of God.

Neither the individual nor the nation has any real security apart from the integrity of God.

EIRENE also means prosperity. Individual prosperity is also related to the integrity of God. Your happiness and blessing has nothing to do with any human relationship or situation in life which you associate with happiness. The integrity of God is the only basis for security, prosperity, blessing, or happiness.

National prosperity is related to the integrity of God through a large pivot of mature believers. Individual prosperity is based on cracking the maturity barrier.

Therefore, through adjustment to the justice of God in the mentality of your soul, in all its categories, you will have His peace within your soul and will walk in that peace.

Heb 12:14, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

2 Peter 3:14, “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Summary & Conclusion of The Gospel of John Chapter 16

Chapter 16 begins in Verse 1 with our Lord reminding the disciples that Bible Doctrine, “these things I have spoken to you,” is intended for our edification so that we ourselves do not slip back into reversionism, “kept from stumbling” in the face of persecutions.

In Verse 2, our Lord gives further detail on the type of persecutions they can expect, “being kick out of the church.”

In addition, He expands on what He said in John 15:21-24. The religious types (Pharisees in this case), would persecute the disciple of Christ thinking that they are doing God’s work.

Verse 3 repeats John 15:21b, but uses a different Greek word. In 15:21 The Perfect, Active, Indicative of OIDA was used. In 16:3, the Aorist, Active, Indicative of GINOSKO is used.

OIDA in the Perfect Tense indicates “objective and possessed knowledge,” which they did not have in relation to His incarnation, ministry, and mission in comparison to Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah. If they had witnessed Jesus objectively, they would have realized He was fulfilling Old Testament prophecies and was the Messiah; but they did not. They viewed Him subjectively and rejected Him.

In John 16:3, GINOSKO refers to experiential knowledge, suggesting the knowledge of personal faith. It refers to that knowledge which comes from continued intake and application of God’s Word in faith. Therefore, their interactions with Jesus alone should have been enough for them to realize He was the Messiah.

So, we see that these persecutors had neither objective nor experiential knowledge of God or Jesus Christ, because they were ignorant on two fronts, objectively and experientially.

In Verse 4, we have the principle that Bible Doctrine is taught with the intended result of recall and application. When Jesus was with them, He was acting as their “external” human spirit by telling them what to do in each situation. But once Christ leaves, He will no longer be functioning personally in that way, and they will need to recall and apply doctrine themselves, from their own souls.

In Verse 5-6, we see that the disciples were visibly showing their distress due to their realization of Christ’s departure. Instead of rejoicing over the fact that God’s Plan is being fulfilled, they were feeling sorry for themselves. They were having Emotional Revolt of the Soul, which leads to Sin Nature control of the soul, rather than having a Relaxed Mental Attitude.

In Verse 7, Jesus begins a mini discourse on the ministry of God the Holy Spirit that runs through Verse 15.

He reminds them of what He taught in the Upper Room, John 14:16-17, 26, as well as just seconds ago in the Gethsemane Discourse of John 15:26, so that their sorrow could be turned into joy.

He tells them that the power of the enabling ministry of God the Holy Spirit indwelling and filling the believer is a tremendous advantage during this intensified stage of the Angelic Conflict.

This is now the fourth time our Lord spoke of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room and Garden of Gethsemane.

He first mentions Him in John 14:16-17, where Jesus will ask the Father to the send the “Helper,” the “Spirit of Truth,” who will indwell every believer of the Church Age.

Then in John14:26, the Helper is defined as our “teacher” of God’s Word, the Grace Apparatus for Perception (GAP), who will “bring to our remembrance” all the Bible Doctrine we have learned.

Then in John 15:26, the Helper’s ministry of Common Grace is defined. That is, it is His responsibility to make the gospel understandable to all. Likewise, through the filling of the Spirit, we are empowered to deliver the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now, we have the fourth mention of the Spirit, which summarizes and expands on what Jesus had previously taught them.

• Vs. 7, “I will send Him to you,” which is to their and our advantage; the permanent indwelling of the Spirit.

• Vs. 8-11, The convicting ministry of the Spirit to the unbeliever, which is part of His Common Grace ministry.

• Vs. 13-15, His teaching and guiding ministry to the believer, which ultimately glorifies Christ.

Beginning in Verse 8 and running through Verse 11, Jesus tells us of the three-fold ministry of God the Holy Spirit towards the unbeliever during the Church Age, “to convict the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment.”

In Verse 9, we have the “Man-ward” side of the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry to the world of unbelievers represented in “sin;” the sin of unbelief which is the unpardonable sin and the sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. The sin of unbelief is a sin of willful, persistent unbelief and final rejection of Jesus Christ, Mark 3:28-29; Luke 12:10. It is the only sin that Jesus could not pay for at the Cross.

In Verse 10, we have the “Christ-ward” side of the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry to the world of unbelievers represented in “righteousness,” the opposite of sin, which is the righteousness found in the person and saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Righteous One, Acts 3:14; 7:52; 22:14; Rom 5:19; 1 John 3:7; Rev 16:5.

Therefore, the Spirit convicts the world of the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, and that He is the only and perfect sacrifice for our sins because of His perfect righteousness. Man realizes his unrighteousness as the Holy Spirit reveals Christ’s righteousness.

“Because I go the Father…” also tells us of the vindication Jesus received from the Father in the face of His earthly accusers by accepting Him into heaven and seating Him at His right hand, Acts 2:33-35; 5:31-32; Eph 1:20-23; Heb 1:3; 12:2; etc.

In Verse 11, we have the “Satan-ward” side of the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry to the world of unbelievers represented in “judgment;” the judgment of sins in the Person of Jesus Christ which defeated and condemned Satan once and for all time. He convicts the world that due to their sins, they are voluntarily choosing to receive Satan’s judgment, which was from eternity past.

The Perfect, Passive, Indicative, of KRINO, “to judge,” indicates a completed past action and emphasizes the results that continue into the present. Satan was judged in the past, before man existed on the earth. Therefore, he was judged in eternity past and remains under that judgment today. The sentence is to be carried out at the end of the Millennial Reign and just before the Great White Throne Judgment Seat of our Lord, according to Rev 20:10.

In these verses, we have a condensed and striking view of the work of the Holy Spirit. 

Operating according to what Christ has accomplished, the Spirit convicts men concerning their sin of unbelief in Christ, concerning the righteousness that is found in Christ alone, and concerning the judgment over Satan accomplished by Christ on the Cross.

In Verse 12, our Lord abruptly ends the doctrine of the Spirit’s ministry, recognizing that they did not have the capacity to understand much more at this time. We too must have this type of discernment when evangelizing or witnessing.

Then in Verses 13-15, Jesus returns to the Spirit’s ministry related to the believer during the Church Age. Here is an expansion of John 14:26 and the doctrine of the Grace Apparatus for Perception once again.

“He will not speak on His own initiative but whatever He hears He will speak.” This tells us that we must take in God’s Word in order for the Spirit to use that Word within our souls. It’s like having a car, you must put gas in it for the engine to burn it and run.

In Verse 14, the Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ by taking His “thinking” (the mind of Christ), and teaches it to us.

In Verse 15, we see the unity of the Trinity once again and note that the “mind of Christ” is the “mind of the Father” too.

Then beginning in Verse 16 and running through Verse 19, our Lord begins a little banter with the disciples regarding His impending departure that He first noted in the Upper Room in John 13:33, “I am with you a little while longer.” Here He adds the fact of His resurrection, “a little while you will see Me.”

In Verses 17 through Verse 19, we see the disciples deliberating over this three-factor conundrum. The three factors include: 1) His death, “you will not behold Me,” 2) His resurrection, “you will see Me,” and 3) His Ascension and Session, “because I go to the Father.”

Then beginning in Verse 20 and running through Verse 24 our Lord addresses their concerns with fact and a parable analogy.

In Verse 20, we see the difference between the disciple’s reaction and the world’s reaction to Jesus’ death upon the Cross.

The disciples would weep and lament, and the world would rejoice, which is a complete reversal of what the true emotional response should have been by both parties.

Jesus then gives the disciple’s encouragement telling them that their Emotional Revolt of the Soul of sorrow will be turned into true and righteous emotional response of the soul, joy, the +H of God. This would occur when they receive the Holy Spirit and have complete understanding of what Jesus accomplished.

In Verse 21, Jesus uses the analogy of the woman who is in labor to explain how their sorrow would be turned into joy.

In Verse 22, He then indicates that they will have more than just inner happiness. In fact, they would have the outwardly expressed joy of rejoicing upon seeing Him post resurrection.

Notice that this rejoicing comes from the “heart,” the right lobe of your soul where you store, retain, and apply Bible Doctrine. Therefore, when they receive the Spirit and understand the Doctrines of the Cross, Resurrection, Ascension, and Session, then they will rejoice, as a result of the Doctrine in their souls.

Then in Verses 23-24 and 26-27, our Lord turns back to the Doctrine of Prayer once again. Here He points out that they will not be able to, nor have need of asking Jesus their questions, because they can ask the Father directly. He reiterates the protocols of prayer: 1) Pray to the Father only, 2) Pray in the name of Jesus Christ, 3) Your prayers will be answered, the confidence factor.

At the end of Verse 24, we see that our joy (+H – inner happiness) is the result of following God’s protocol for prayer.

In Verse 25, we have a pause in the discussion on prayer, where our Lord tells them that He will not speak in parables any longer and will instead tell them straight up. The reason He will be able to do so is because of the indwelling and teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

In Verse 26, He gets back to prayer and indicates our priesthood by saying, we do not need to go through Him for our prayers to be heard. We can pray directly to God the Father.

In Verse 27, we are told why we can go directly to the Father in prayer and why our prayers are answered, “For the Father Himself keeps on loving you.”

Interestingly, Jesus uses the other Greek word for love here, PHILEO (used only 26 times in the New Testament). This is the first time He uses PHILEO regarding the believer in these Discourses. He used it to describe the relationship between the world and the unbeliever in John 15:19.

PHILEO is a rapport love or relationship type of love. AGAPE love is impersonal and unconditional and is not based on whether the other party loves you back or not, but PHILEO does.

AGAPE love is based on the subject “the one who is doing the loving,” where PHILEO love is based on the object, “the one who is being loved.”

Therefore, in this verse, God the Father has love for you, because you have expressed love to Him. Our love for the Father is shown to us in a two-fold answer at the end of Verse 27, 1) “you have loved Jesus,” and 2) “you believed that Jesus came forth from the Father.”

“You have loved Jesus.” In this passage, this too is PHILEO love, which goes back to what our Lord said in the Upper Room in John 14:15, “If you love (AGAPE) Me you will keep my commandments.”

In John 14:15, He used AGAPE love. We demonstrate our AGAPE love for Jesus by keeping His Word resident within our souls. When we AGAPE love Jesus in this way, that love is also directed to the Father as PHILEO love in response to what He has done for us. When we AGAPE love Jesus, we PHILEO love the Father, and He in return PHILEO loves us. When we have PHILEO love for the Father, we are also expressing PHILEO love towards Jesus Christ, because we are responding to His Word.

“You believed that Jesus came forth from the Father.” This is our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. Jesus came to fulfill the Will and Plan of the Father for the salvation of the entire world, and we believed it; the Perfect, Active, Indicative of PISTEUO.

Therefore, because of our faith for salvation and keeping the Word of God resident with our souls, God the Father is able to PHILEO love us and answer our prayers.

Then in Verse 28, Jesus reiterates several Doctrines in regard to our AGAPE and PHILEO love for Christ and the Father. It includes various aspects of His Incarnation:

• Emphasizing His Deity, “I came forth form the Father.”
• Emphasizing His Humanity in Hypostatic Union, “have come into the world.”
• Emphasizing His Cross (death), Resurrection, and Ascension, “I am leaving the world.”
• His Session, “going to the Father.”

Four is the number of material indicating the complete work of the Person of Jesus Christ.

“One of the grand subjects in this chapter and Chapter 15 is the mediation of Christ. But it is little understood by most Christians. Christ having made an atonement for the sin of the world has ascended to the right hand of the Father, and there He appears in the presence of God for us. In approaching the throne of grace, we keep Jesus as our sacrificial victim, continually in view: Our prayers should be directed through him to the Father; and, under the conviction that his passion and death have purchased every possible blessing for us, we should, with humble confidence, ask the blessings we need; and as in him, the Father is ever well pleased, we should most confidently expect the blessings He has purchased. We may consider also, that his appearance before the throne, in his sacrificial character, constitutes the great principle of mediation or intercession. He has taken our nature into heaven; in that he appears before the throne: This, without a voice, speaks loudly for the sinful race of Adam, for whom it was assumed, and on whose account it was sacrificed. On these grounds, every penitent and every believing soul may ask and receive, and their joy be complete. By the sacrifice of Christ, we approach God; through the mediation of Christ, God comes down to man.”

Then in Verses 29-30, we see the hypocrisy of the disciples once again as they parrot back to Jesus various points which He just made, thinking they will impress Him.

This is brought out in our Lord’s response in Verses 31-32, “do you now believe?” and “you will be scattered like sheep each to his own home and leave Me alone.”

At the end of Verse 32, our Lord gives us a great example of faith by saying, “I am not alone because the Father is with Me.” This is the principle that, “God will not leave you nor forsake you,” 1 Kings 8:57; Heb 13:5.

Then in Verse 33, our Lord wraps up the Gethsemane Discourse by reiterating what He said towards the conclusion of the Upper Room Discourse in John 14:27, “in Me you have peace,” that is EIRENE which is inner peace, contentment, happiness, and prosperity.

“These things I have spoken to you,” tells us once again that Bible doctrine resident within your soul is designed to give you the peace of God.

With this He contrasts what the world (Satan’s Cosmic System) has to offer, “tribulation,” that is heart ache, pain, and various types of distress. God does not want you to have those things.

So, Jesus wraps up the Discourses with the greatest encouragement of all, “I have overcome (NIKAO) the world.”

This is the strategic victory of the Angelic Conflict that our Lord Jesus Christ won at the Cross, which was demonstrated through His Resurrection, Ascension, and Session. It is viewed as a dogmatic fact of reality which has been so since before the foundation of the world. Jesus Christ has defeated sin and Satan and that victory is given to everyone who believes in Him. Therefore, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we should take courage in the light of His victory and walk victoriously each and every day.