Peace in Christ / John 16:28-33
Good morning, please open your Bibles to John 16.
I think all of us this morning can agree that we could use a little more peace in our lives.
We all feel the daily influence of a restless world – a world that has little peace. Amid this turmoil, we all long for a peace of mind that can look at tomorrow with a sense of security instead of angst. I think we all long for a conscience that is truly at peace. No sleepless nights haunted by our failures or regrets.
And if we're honest, we’d all agree that we’d benefit just as desperately from peace in our inner world - peace in our emotions. We want a quieted heart instead of feeling unsettled and tossed about by our own passions: persistent anger at others, the heavy chains of bitterness, the poison of jealousy, an ever-present thread of unforgiveness that keeps us at unrest.
The fact is, life in this world is a life where finding peace is difficult. Whether it be because of the state of society around us, or the state of our heart within us (or the state of our hearts in response to the state of the world around us).
So, we chase after this kind of peace everywhere. We look for it in rearranged circumstances - hoping a new job, a better season, or a fresh start will finally bring peace. We look for it in the promise of financial security, believing that a thicker cushion in the bank account can buy us peace. We search for it in new relationships, hoping someone else can finally fill the peaceless void.
Sadly, because real peace can be elusive in this world, we sometimes settle – not for a peaceful soul, but a pacified soul. We turn to recreation, constant entertainment, or digital escapism to drown out the noise in our heads. And for many of us, the search grows even darker. Instead of pursuing genuine peace in our inner being, we learn to just cope with the turmoil through substances like drugs or alcohol - turning to things that merely numb our souls, rather than bringing real peace to them.
Well, in our passage this morning we’re going to find a rock-solid promise of real peace, and we will learn how we can live within it. Let’s read John 16:28-33 where we find Jesus giving his final words to his disciples in the Upper Room, just hours before his crucifixion. He says:
John 16:28-33 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” 29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
One of the nice things about Jesus’ teaching the Upper Room is that he often tells his disciples exactly why he said the things that he did.
In John 15 he says that he’s taught them to abide in him, so that their joy may be full.
At the beginning of John 16, he says that he’s taught them about coming persecution, and that they will be mistreated for his sake, so that when it comes, they will not fall away.
And here in our passage, he says that’s taught them the things at hand so that they might have peace.
Jesus is about to leave them. That absence will hurt. But he has already made provision so that, even without his bodily presence, they can have peace, joy, and the strength to keep going.
His departure is not their only trouble however. After Jesus rises to the Father, the disciples will find that the world will treat them, just like it treated him. Jesus warned earlier:
John 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
They will live with the ordinary pressures of a fallen world - work, family, weakness, fear, disappointment - and they will also carry the added weight of belonging to Jesus in a world that is hostile toward him – and any who identify with him.
THE IN-BETWEEN
This is the tension of the in-between. That is, life between Jesus first coming and his second coming. That’s where you and I live too. Jesus has come, he has lived a perfect life, gave himself in a sacrificial death, has risen again, and has ascended to the Father – and has promised his future return. We’re living right there. Having been saved by Christ, loving him, belonging to him, but waiting.
Meanwhile, we live life in this world. A world still deeply affected by sin and its fruit. We live in this world as saved men and women, but still grappling with the remnants of sin within us.
We know that Jesus has defeated sin and death, and has secured a brand-new creation, but we are still living where sin is real, death still threatens, and creation groans in pain. This is the in-between.
But, here’s the good news. The promises that Jesus gives in the Upper Room are given so that his disciples (us included) can thrive in this life. What we learn is that although he has departed, and promises a later return, he has not left his people without the resources to live and thrive in this world. In fact, he’s made provision so that we can live abundant lives of peace and joy, in the midst of a hostile world, as we await his return.
So, in our passage, Jesus promises peace to you and I. Peace while we face the regular pressures of this life, and even the extreme suffering that it sometimes brings. With that, let’s examine our passage and see what is the nature of this peace, and how we can live in it.
PEACE IS FOUND IN A PERSON
Notice first of all that when Jesus speaks to us about how we can have peace in this life, he doesn’t give us a strategy, or a 5-step plan. Instead, look at what he says in verse 28:
John 16:28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
Here Jesus basically gives us a thumbnail of his entire ministry. He came from the Father, he came into the world, now he’s leaving the world and going back to the Father. These are essential truths to believe – that Jesus was with the Father in the beginning, that he was sent by him, that he became flesh in the incarnation, that he accomplished all that he came to do, and that he ascended once again to be with the Father (cf. Php 2:5-11). But, why would Jesus give this biographical sketch if his purpose in these words is that we might have peace (v33)?
They key is found in verse 33. Let’s read it:
John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Did you catch it? Jesus says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.” Here we find that to have real peace, we don’t follow a process, or a program, but real peace is found in a person. So, how does this work?
IN ME
Well, throughout Jesus’ Upper Room discourse, he has used this sort of “in me” language. “Abide in me, and I in you” (John 15:4). “You in me, and I in you” (John 14:20). He is the vine; we are the branches. He says that, apart from him we can do nothing.
So, what does it mean to be “in Jesus,” and how do we get “in Jesus?”
To be "in Jesus" means to be spiritually, relationally, and legally united to Him by grace through faith. It means to be placed into His very life the way a branch is permanently grafted into a vine. This is a work of God. We don’t place ourselves “in Christ.” Instead, God unites us to Jesus when we believe in him by faith.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 1:30 And because of him [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
Every genuine follower of Jesus is “in him.” That is, we’ve been spiritually united to Jesus, and legally declared as beneficiaries of all that he deserves. So, Paul could write to the Ephesians in Ephesians 2:
Ephesians 2:4-6 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
So, on a spiritual level we are with and in Christ. He’s been raised from the dead, so its as if we are raised from the dead. He is at the Father’s right-hand in a place of honour, and so we are with him in that same place of honour. He’s the beloved son, and in him we are treated as sons and daughters. He has access to the Father, and so we have access to the Father. All the benefits he secured through his obedient life and death on the cross are now ours.
So, Paul could write:
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
In our passage in John 6, Jesus is telling us about something else we have when we are united to him. He says that “in him” we have peace. Because we’ve been united to him, we can experience real peace in the midst of a world that brings turmoil. This is why he begins this section by talking about himself. He’s showing his disciples why being united to him brings peace.
So, let’s consider what Jesus says about himself in verse 28 and think about how these things bring peace to us, who are united to him.
1. He is from the Father
John 16:28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
As already mentioned, this is essential belief for anyone who would have a relationship with God. You must believe that he sent his Son. You must believe that Jesus came from the Father.
1 John 4:14-15 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
For the disciples in the Upper Room, the fact that Jesus “came from the Father,” was a special reminder. He was about to die and be buried. They needed the confidence that when everything around them looked like defeat, and when others used that apparent defeat to claim that Jesus was a liar, that Jesus was indeed everything he claimed to be.
His earthly ministry and his death were divinely orchestrated. He was the Father’s beloved Son, authorized to accomplish the Father’s plan for the salvation of the world. He did not speak a word or work a miracle on independent authority. “I do nothing on my own… I speak just as the Father taught me” (John 8:28; cf. 5:19; 12:49–50; 14:10). If he came from the Father, then his words are the Father’s words, his work is the Father’s work, and his promises carry the Father’s authority.
SQUARELY IN GOD’S WILL WHEN IN JESUS
That is why this truth becomes peace for those who are in him. Everything Jesus accomplished for you comes directly from the Father. Every promise Jesus made to his followers carries divine authority. You can be confident that in following Jesus, you are doing exactly what God wants you to do.
It’s the Father who has already testified that eternal life is only in his Son (1 John 5:10–12). It’s the Father who says we must honor his Son just as we honor him (John 5:22–23). Paul tells us in Philippians 2, that is the Father who is glorified when we confess his Son as our Lord (Phil. 2:11).
A PRACTICAL PEACE
So, for us as followers of Jesus Christ, when life becomes difficult, we can have an amazing confidence. We can be assured that, even in the midst of turmoil, we are squarely within our creator’s will for us. If you are a follower of Jesus this morning, you have embraced the one whom the Father sent. By God’s grace, you have done exactly what your creator would have you do.
This is a rock-solid assurance in the midst of so much other uncertainty. We can sometimes feel a lack of peace when it comes to our parenting, to our standing as employees, or to our performance as a spouse. We can have all sorts of doubts and insecurities in so many areas of life, but if we are followers of Jesus, we can have an unshakeable confident at the most important point of life. We can be confident that we are right with God, accepted by him, in relationship with him, having embraced his Son, just as he commands. This should bring real peace to your soul – even if the world is swirling around you.
Next, look what else Jesus offers a ground for our peace:
2. He has come into the World
John 16:28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
God the Father, sympathetic to our human suffering, did not remain at a distance. Instead, he sent his Son, and the Son gladly came into this world. John began his gospel this way:
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The One who was with God, and was God, became like us, so that he might bring us to God. That is not a small detail. It is the heart of the gospel:
“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14).
He came into the world in order to be subject to our infirmities, including death. He came so that he could overcome our enemies on our behalf (sin, death, and Satan). He became a man, to defeat the enemies of man, to bring salvation to all who would believe in him.
John makes this confession a test of genuine faith:
“every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1 John 4:2).
You cannot have the peace of verse 33 while holding a distant Christ. The peace is located in the One who actually entered into this turbulent world. Consider how Jesus’ becoming flesh subdued the enemies of peace:
THE INCARNATION BRINGS PEACE
Through the incarnation, Jesus did in our flesh what we could never do.
Born of a woman, born under the law, he fulfilled the law on our behalf - not only its letter, but its heart – so that the condemnation of the law could be turned away from everyone who believes in him. (Gal. 4:4–5; Rom. 8:3–4).
Then, having fulfilled the law through his perfect life, he suffered as if he were a sinner anyway. Why? He did it in our place. He bore our condemnation, becoming a curse for us (Gal. 3:13).
He atoned for sin by offering the body he had taken: “he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24).
In that same death he turned away the wrath of God, making propitiation for the sins of the people (Heb. 2:17; 1 John 4:10).
And because he partook of flesh and blood, he could enter death itself and destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb. 2:14).
Now, because he entered the world, and defeated all the enemies of man, he’s made peace possible. We can have peace with God, peace with one another, peace in our souls, peace in our emotions, peace in our minds because has subdued the things that trouble us.
Are you troubled by your persistent sin? Do you feel unworthy, or unacceptable? Be at peace. Jesus has fulfilled the law on your behalf, and turned away its condemnation. Your sins are all forgiven, and Satan’s accusations hold no sway.
Do you find yourself in relational turmoil? Are you at odds with a spouse, a child, a friend, or a brother or sister in the church? Be at peace. Jesus himself is our peace. He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility and made one new people in his body. In him you can forgive as you have been forgiven and live at peace with one another.
Are your tormented by emotional upheaval? Fear, anger, jealousy, insecurity, or unforgiveness? Be at peace. His sovereign hand ensures there’s meaning and purpose behind everything that you experience. Calm your heart and trust that everything is in his capable hands.
Jesus became like us, so that he could defeat and subdue the enemies that rob us of peace. Through him, the raging turmoil that threatens to keep us in constant upheaval is calmed.
PEACE IN OUR HIGH PRIEST
We can have this assurance, not just because he defeated the enemies of our souls, but because through his incarnation, he became our faithful high priest. Listen to the writer of Hebrews:
Hebrews 2:17-18 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
The writer of Hebrews continues in chapter 4:
Hebrews 4:14-16 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Jesus has not sent peace into the world from a safe distance. He occupied the same place of pressure you and I occupy. He knew hunger, weariness, sorrow, betrayal, and the crush of a hostile world. He was tempted by Satan. He was abandoned by friends. He was not spared the human condition.
He didn’t participate in the human condition (save sin), because he needed to learn anything about our suffering. He did it so that we could have the confidence that he can sympathize with our weaknesses. We have access to one who understands exactly what we are experiencing in this world - because he experienced it too.
This is important to remember when we suffer, but also when we sin. He knows we are weak, and our weakness does not alienate us from him. Instead, he’s sympathetic to our weakness. So, the writer of Hebrews says – when you need help in times of need. When the waves of life are crashing down on you. When your circumstances are out of control, and swirling around you like a whirlwind, you can come with confidence to God in prayer and pour your heart out to his sympathetic ears.
A PRACTICAL PEACE
So when your body will not cooperate, he is not a stranger to infirmity. When your family life is strained, he is not a stranger to relational disappointments. When you are tempted and tired of being tempted, you have a High Priest who can sympathize and help. When your conscience accuses you, remember why he took flesh: so that anyone “in him” might not ever again face condemnation.
We have peace in the midst of turmoil because the one that we are united to came from God, and came into the world, and lastly, because:
3. He has returned to the Father
John 16:28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
The third statement looks, at first, like it should actually rob us of peace. At least, that’s how the disciples often heard it. On the contrary, Jesus’ departure to the Father does not disrupt our peace, it secures it. How so?
A PEACE SECURED
Going to the Father is the public proof that Jesus’ divine mission is complete. He does not ascend with the work still in process. Instead, he ascends to the Father and sits down as the victor.
Hebrews 1:3 “After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Hebrews 10:12 “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.”
Peace begins here: you are not in a Savior who is still trying to get the job done. The One you are in has gone to the Father having finished it. The world may still swirl around you. Your conscience may still try to condemn you. But, nothing can undo what Jesus has accomplished once-and-for-all and forever.
HE HAS NOT LEFT US WITHOUT HELP
This is related to another way that Jesus’ return to the Father supplies us with peace. We learned many months ago in a previous sermon that Jesus’ victorious return to the Father would result in his sending the Holy Spirit to be with us.
“It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7).
When we think about having peace in this life, it is not merely an intellectual exercise – “think about who Jesus is and what he’s done and you’ll have peace.” It is that, but it is more than that. Upon his return to the Father, he provided the Holy Spirit for all who would believe in him. And, do you know what one of things the Spirit is working to produce in your life is?
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…
The Spirt is the active agent, the actual means that God uses to bring his peace into our lives. How does he do it? The Spirit communicates all that belongs to Jesus, to us:
John 16:14-15 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
He brings Christ’s promises to remembrance:
John 14:26 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 have said to you.
and he continually reminds us that we have been lovingly accepted by our Heavenly Father:
Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
So, Jesus’ return to the Father secures our peace, because it resulted in the sending of the Spirit to dwell within everyone who believes in Jesus. That is why he could say, “I will not leave you as orphans” (John 14:18). His presence, his promises, his power, and his peace are all ours through the Spirit.
HE’S ALWAYS PRAYING FOR US
How else does Jesus’ return to the Father provide peace for us? Well, we’re told that although Jesus finished his work of redemption, and has sat down, enthroned at the right-hand of God, he’s still working on our behalf. Not to secure our salvation, but to sustain it:
Hebrews 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Romans 8:34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
This is a wonderful assurance when we face the greatest difficulties of this life.
When you’ve been caring for an aging parent, but are starting to feel like you’ve got nothing left to give. When your marriage is on the rocks, and your tempted to bail. When you fall back into that sin that continually haunts you. When you are mistreated by a world that is hostile to Jesus. When you experience loss and are overcome with grief. This is a wonderful, peace-giving promise. Jesus is always praying for those that belong to him.
He told Peter,
“I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:32).
He said that to a man who was about to deny him. He says no less to those who are in him. So the peace is not that the difficulty will be gone by morning. The peace is that Jesus is praying that your faith would not fail through it. You may have no parent left to intercede, and few friends who know what to ask. You still have a living High Priest at the Father’s right hand. He is able to save to the uttermost. He died to make you his, and he lives to keep you his.
How else does Jesus’ return to the Father secure our peace?
HE IS ENTHRONED
Look in our passage at verse 33. Jesus says:
John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Jesus has overcome the world. When he says “world,” he is describing the hostile world system. A society that is hostile to God, and what belongs to God. A culture which rejects God’s law, God’s design, and God’s rule. It’s a system that desecrates what God has made holy, distorts what God has designed, denies what God has clearly revealed, and ultimately defies all that he has commanded. It’s a culture that thinks it has dethroned God and taken the throne for themselves.
This is the world that torments us. However, Jesus has overcome it. Listen to Paul to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 1:20-22 [God] raised [Jesus] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
This is so helpful for us because when difficulties come in this life we often feel as if other people are occupying the throne. We feel like others are in control of our lives. A supervisor can decide whether you keep your job. A parent can make your life miserable by using their position to hurt instead of love. A government, a court, a culture, can make you feel small and managed. The world looks like it is being run from somewhere other than heaven, and with those thoughts, goes your peace.
But listen to how God answers such a culture in Psalm 2:
Psalm 2:1-6 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
Jesus is on the throne. Philippians 2 says:
Philippians 2:9-10 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Although it may not always feel like it, the fact is, Jesus is securely on the throne. Yes, human history is permitted to continue for a time in rebellion, but he promises final vindication for us, and judgment for those who have tried to usurp his rule.
Jesus came from the Father, into the world, accomplished all he was sent to do, and has returned to the Father. The One who went to the Father is head over the very world that is pressing in on you. Nothing in your life sits outside that dominion. That does not make the difficulty light but it reminds us that it does mean it is not sovereign. The sovereign one is on the throne, and he has already overcome the world that tries to dominate you.
One more way that Jesus’ returning to the Father secures our peace?
HIS GOING GUARANTEES HIS COMING
The same Jesus who went will come again. He said earlier in this Upper Room discourse:
“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself” (John 14:3).
This is a wonderful peace-giving assurance. The fact is, although God has given us the means to maintain peace and joy in this life, that doesn’t mean the absence of suffering. However, no matter what we face in this life, our fears and disappointments are always tempered by the fact that the suffering of this life can never compare to the glory that awaits. We can have peace in the midst of turmoil, because we have a wonderful assurance that this life is not the end of the story.
When Christ returns:
We will receive glorified bodies, like his glorious body - no longer subject to weakness, decay, or death (Phil. 3:20–21; 1 Cor. 15:51–54).
We will be reunited with him forever. He will take us to himself, and we will be with the Lord (John 14:3; 1 Thess. 4:16–17).
We will see him as he is, and we will be made like him (1 John 3:2).
Every tear will be wiped away. Death, mourning, crying, and pain will be no more (Rev. 21:3–4).
We will enter the new heavens and the new earth, where righteousness dwells, and we will receive the inheritance kept for us (2 Pet. 3:13; 1 Pet. 1:3–5).
Our faith will be publicly vindicated. What looked like foolishness in this world will be shown to have been wisdom. The world that pressed the church will not have the last word.
Wrongs will be judged. Those who refused him will not slip away into silence. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10–11).
He will repay affliction to those who afflicted his people, and grant relief to those who were afflicted, “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven” (2 Thess. 1:6–10). Justice will be done - not our private revenge, but the righteous judgment of the King.
The secret things will be brought to light. What was done in the dark against his people, and what was suffered unseen, will be answered by the One who sees (1 Cor. 4:5; Luke 8:17).
The tribulation of this age will be over. The in-between will end. The going will have given way to the coming, and peace will no longer be held by faith in the midst of pressure. But will be our eternal reality.
A PRACTICAL PEACE
So, when the weight of this world presses down on you, you do not have to look to the future with dread. You can rest in the absolute certainty that your Savior has gone ahead to prepare a place for you, and his departure guarantees his return.
When your heart feels heavy with the trials of this life, remember that these present sufferings are temporary. You can have genuine peace today because you know the story does not end in a grave or a broken world. The One who ascended to the Father is coming back to make all things new.
Look past the temporary: Remind yourself that whatever tribulation you face right now cannot compare to the glory and joy that awaits you when Christ returns.
Rest in his promise: Let the assurance of his second coming steady your anxious thoughts, knowing that every tear will eventually be wiped away and pain will be no more.
Stand firm in hope: Because your faith will be publicly vindicated and justice will be done by the King, you can walk through today's uncertainty with quiet confidence and unbreakable peace.
CONTINUING IN OUR TEXT: ABIDE IN HIM
Now, having explored how Jesus’ statements about his coming and his going undergird our peace, I want to say something about our responsibility in all of this. We’ve seen that God has promised peace for everyone who is “in Jesus.” That is, everyone who has been spiritually united to Jesus upon believing in him as Saviour and Lord. But, I want to touch on something else Jesus has taught in this same Upper Room discourse. Listen again for the “in me” language:
John 15:4-6 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Although every believer can be said to be “in Christ,” here Jesus actually commands that we “abide in him.” This is not a command to “stay saved.” That’s an impossibility in our own power. This is Jesus teaching us how we can live and experience all the blessings we already have due to our union with him.
To be “in Jesus” is to be united to him by faith. So that, by God’s grace, what is true of him becomes ours. But here’s a definition of what it means to “abide in Jesus:”
To abide in Jesus is to embrace Christ alone as the source of ongoing spiritual life. It’s to rest in, and rely upon him for all of our spiritual needs. It’s to recognize our humble dependence upon him, and what he accomplished on the cross, for all spiritual blessings. It is to live with a continual, humble, persevering dependence upon him for all spiritual blessings.
We are in Christ, and so we should abide in Christ. We should live there. Arrange your life so that Jesus is at its center. Read his word so you can learn more about him and what he’s done for you. Pray to him with love, and thanksgiving, and humble dependence. Love his church and lean into the community that he’s provided for you. In all things, live for and love Jesus.
In this way the Holy Spirit will communicate to your heart who Jesus is, and what you have in him, and he’ll bring peace to your heart, even when the world is raging around you.
PEACE IN FAILURE
Now, ending this way might seem like a downer. Like, we’ve explored the blessings we have in Christ and how he’s supplied peace for us and now I’ve made it sound like it all depends upon our ‘abiding in him.’ Well, as we close, let’s return to our passage for some comfort.
Look at the disciples response to Jesus:
John 16:29-30 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 32 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.
Jesus had previously been speaking in parables, but now the disciples feel he’s been more direct. In response they give a full-throated confession. They say they believe he came from God, and that he knows all things. This sounds great on the surface but Jesus responds in verse 32 casting doubt on their sincerity. Why would he do this? Because he knows in just a few hours, they will all abandon him. He’ll be arrested, they will be frightened and they will leave him alone.
That doesn’t really sound like abiding in Jesus, does it?
It would appear that his disciples were overcome by fear, worry, and intimidation. It would appear that they succumbed to the pressures of the world, the moment they were tested. But, Jesus follows his prophecy of their desertion with wonderful words of assurance:
John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Even when our faith falters and we stumble under the pressures of a hostile world, our security does not rest on the perfection of our abiding, but on the finished work of the One who has already conquered the world.
CONCLUSION
We began this morning by talking about what we all desire: peace of mind, a quiet conscience, a heart that is at rest. The world does not give that peace. It gives tribulation. Nevertheless, peace is ours – and its locate din a person:
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.”(33)
Peace is not a quieter set of circumstances. It is a Person. God places us in that Person when we come to his Son in faith. In him we are raised, seated, accepted, and kept. What is his becomes ours.
That is why he started with himself.
He came from the Father - so his words, his work, and his promises carry the Father’s authority. You did not make a mistake by trusting him. Your standing with God does not rest on how well you parented, worked, or held yourself together this week. It rests on the Son the Father sent.
He has come into the world - so he is not a distant Christ. He took our flesh, fulfilled the law, bore our condemnation, turned away wrath, and destroyed the power of death and the devil. He can sympathize with weakness and still help. You are not facing this life as an orphan.
He has gone to the Father - so the work is finished, the throne is occupied, the Spirit has been given, the High Priest is praying, and the going guarantees the coming. The world that presses you is real. It is not sovereign. This life is the in-between. It is not the end of the story.
Then he commands what he has already given: abide. Live in the One you are already in. Stay near his Word, his people, his throne of grace. That is how the Spirit takes what belongs to Jesus and brings it home to a troubled heart. Abiding does not attach the branch. It keeps the branch from living as if it were still on its own.
And if you have already scattered this week - if verse 32 sounds more like your story than verse 30 - hear the last word again. He told failing men they would leave him, and he still said he wanted them to have peace. “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
The world’s victories are not final. Your faltering is not final. The Overcomer has gone to the Father, and you are in him.
