Trials and Triumphs Through the Triumphant Christ

By S. Lewis Johnson, Jr. [1]

An Exposition of John 16:25–33

Introduction

Trials and troubles — who is without them? The trials of the young are notorious. Teenagers in that happy time of life have them with their problems with their friends, the opposite sex, and their parents and siblings. And when college comes, the problems are still there, only more serious seemingly. And when the careers are in the launching stages, they are weighty. Sad to say, they never stop, for the aging find their problems mounting with time. The daily round can become monotonous. The memory fades, especially as it touches the events and experiences of last week. The events of fifty years ago have become remarkably clear and terribly boring to our friends. The eyes and the ears fail. What has Adam done for us!

Even the tots and little children have problems, that is, if one believes the comic pages. Poor Marvin, he has his problems, although they are strangely like the problems of adults. And Trixie, and Nancy, and Arthur, and even the animals, such as Snoopy, Fred Basset, and yes, the Snake, they all have problems. What would life be like without them?

Of course, we do live in an amazing age, and some think that compensates to some extent for the problems. We have breakfast in New York, lunch in Los Angeles, dinner in Hong Kong, and baggage in England.

Memory is a problem with all ages, it seems. “Doctor, I have a terrible problem. I cannot remember a thing,” complained a concerned lady to her doctor. “How long have you had the problem?” asked the doctor. “What problem?” she replied.

The apostles faced trials of a fiercer sort, our Lord said. As He was telling them that He must leave them He announced to them that they faced the hostility of the world. In fact, the hostility that they faced was the same that He had been experiencing, and we know that that led to His death by the shameful death of crucifixion (cf. John 15:19; 16:2; 17:14). In order to aid them in their work of testifying to the world concerning Him and His salvation, He promised them that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would come and take up His residence in them forever (cf. 14:16–17; 15:26–27; 16:5–11). In the light of this He had urged them to stop being troubled over the future (14:1, 27). The remedy for their time of trial in the age that was to come after His death lay in the peace that He would give them.

That peace, He said, had two aspects. In the first place, it was a peace that He would give them (cf. 14:27), a peace that rested in the final analysis on the expiatory sacrifice that He would make at Calvary, providing for them the foundation of their justification (cf. Rom. 5:1). But, secondly, coming with the peace given by Him was the peace of the experience of His presence in the Spirit (cf. 14:27; 16:33). That peace He would leave with them. In the world they should expect trials and troubles, but in Him they would have peace. The fact that He had overcome the world in His life and ministry gave Him sound reason to exhort them to “be of good cheer” (cf. 16:33; Phil. 4:6–7).

His final instruction to them in the discourse in the upper room has to do with these things. He informs them that they will in the future be firmly attached to the Father, knowing the significance of His ministry of incarnation, suffering, and return to the Father. But trials and troubles will not be left behind. They may expect to have them. They shall be perplexed and disturbed by the events that shall soon come to pass, so shocked that they shall leave Him alone (cf. 16:32). They may find encouragement in the fact that in Him they may find the peace that overcomes the world.

There are three cycles of thought in His final words of instruction to them.

Proverbs and Plainness

The Coming of Unmediated Speech (John 16:25-26).

These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:

The familiar “These things have I spoken” occurs again at the beginning of the section, and it usually indicates a change of thought. He has been speaking to them in terse sententious and somewhat dark sayings. [2] From His new position, however, at the right hand of the Father, He will teach them concerning the Father. No longer will He speak in the enigmatical and figurative speech, such as He has just been doing, but He will bring them word [3] in plainer speech. The teaching will come through the Spirit (cf. vv. 14–15). One thinks immediately of His teaching ministry to them on the Emmaus Road on the day of His resurrection, when “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (cf. Luke 24:27; cf. v. 45; John 20:17).

One might ask at this point, “Has this work of teaching stopped?” No, and I do not think it will. “It is reasonable,” Swete affirms, “to expect that as the world grows older the teaching of the Spirit of Christ will grow both fuller and clearer.” [4] It is important for us to remember, as was claimed in the exposition of the earlier part of the chapter, that the Holy Spirit is still able to teach truth that is new to us. It is, therefore, important that we keep our hearts open to Him and His work.

It is sometimes said that it is wrong for us to have creeds. But the word creed comes from the Latin verb credo, which means to believe. Our word believe comes from an Old English word, but it is synonymous with credo. Thus, it is foolish to say that we ought not to have a creed. We might as well say that we ought to have faith without faith, or believe without beliefs. It cannot be done. Even our unbelief is a creed, as is our belief that we ought not to have a statement of belief.

Kuyper once said, quite correctly to my mind, that there was nothing wrong with making creeds. The wrong lies in the ceasing of the making of them, for the illuminating work of the Spirit is a work that continues throughout the age.

The final clause of verse twenty-five, “I shall shew you plainly of the Father,” speaks of His continuing ministry of teaching by the Spirit in the future, as we have said. But is this not a strange teacher? He will die in about twenty-four hours, and He knows it, and yet He calmly asserts that He will continue as the believers’ teacher! And yet He will not start teaching a new system of truth, or a new person. It is still the Father who is the object of His instruction, a Father who in His glory is inexhaustibly fresh (cf. 1:18; 14:9).

The Lord’s statement in verse twenty-six has sometimes been misunderstood. He does not mean that He will cease to pray for His own (cf. 14:16; 17:9, 20). He means that He will not have to act as mediator and plead to the Father that He care for them as in the days of His flesh. The disciples will ask in His name, that is, will plead His person and work in their supplication. And, of course, there is no denial of His continuing priestly intercession in heaven for them following the cross. Their approach to the Father is always on the basis of His priestly work for them, a perpetually valid work of intercession.

To ask in the name of the Son means success, for, as Calvin says, “This is a remarkable passage, by which we are taught that we have the heart of God as soon as we place before Him the name of His Son.” [5]

Its Explanation (John 16:27).

For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

The reason that Christ does not have to beseech the Father to care for us is that the Father Himself loves us. The word rendered “loveth” here is surprising, since one might expect to find the stronger ἀγαπάω (agapaō). The latter word, however, has already been emphasized in statements about the Father’s love (cf. 3:16). This word, φιλέω (fileō), meaning the love of affection, naturally follows the exercise of the other.

Our Lord says that He does not intercede for them, for the Father has affection for them and does not need to be persuaded to be gracious. And He loves them because they have loved (again φιλέω [fileō]) Him and have come to believe in His divine mission. In other words, love for Christ and regard for His work evokes love from the Father. Morris mentions an important stricture here, “This does not, of course, mean that their love merits the Father’s love, or that He loves only because of their prior love. Rather they owe their love to Christ to a prior divine work in them, and this proceeds from God’s love. As Augustine says, ‘He would not have wrought in us something He could love, were it not that He loved ourselves before He wrought it.’” [6]

Incidentally, this verse does make the point that there is a special love that the Father has for the elect alone.

Return and Response

The Resume of His Ministry (John 16:28).

I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.

In these verses there is a concise statement of the central, normative ministry of Christ. He speaks of His heavenly origin, for otherwise He could not be our Savior, and His statement concludes with a mention of His heavenly destination, for otherwise there would be no convincing witness to the seal of the Father upon His earthly accomplishment.

The words of verse twenty-eight are great words, and august facts stand behind them. The four verbs single out the details of the ministry. And if we were to eliminate the first and the third and fourth of them, then there would be no gospel for the saving of lost souls. His incarnation, His life, His death and resurrection, and His ascension seem to be particularly in view. And all of the words are looked at as voluntary.

Westcott’s view is that the text refers to His mission, the nativity, the passion, and the ascension, a view not too different from that just expressed. [7]

It is a magnificent text, and it is not surprising that Morris refers to it as expressing “the great movement of salvation.” [8] And Barrett calls it “a complete summary, in John’s manner, of the Christian faith.” [9] The theocentric Christology of our Lord and His apostle is plain, and His unique and exclusive view of the source of divine salvation as lying in His person and work is as clear as a bell. We cannot escape the “uncomfortable ‘onlys’” of evangelical language, as so many heterodox theologians would like to do. [10]

The Response of His Men (John 16:29-30).

His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.

The apostles seem to think that their difficulty is cleared up, for they reply, “Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb” (v. 29). The doubt of verse eighteen appears dispelled. Only the Day of Pentecost, however, will really clear their spiritual minds.

Previously they had thought that He needed to have His thoughts and ideas purified by their interrogation, but now they express full confidence in Him. “Now,” they say, “are we sure that thou knowest all things” (cf. v. 30). They express their confidence in Him, although they do not contend that they understand all that He says. But they know that there is no need for them to help Him clarify His thoughts by asking Him questions. They know that He knows, because He has known and answered the inward questionings of their hearts. And, further, this has given them assurance of His divine origin and mission. “By this we believe that thou camest forth from God,” they conclude. [11]

The disciples, like many of us in similar situations, are probably bluffing a bit. Later events will prove that they did not have as much knowledge of matters as they seem to claim. Commenting on this, Don Carson writes:

Some people bluff their way through life. Several years ago on Canadian television an interviewer asked several people on the streets of downtown Winnipeg what they thought of the political performance of D’Arcy McGee as a cabinet minister. The interviewer neglected to mention that McGee died in the last century (April 7, 1868); so the passersby not unnaturally thought they were being asked about the performance of a current political figure. But only a few admitted they did not have a clue who McGee was. Most replied with answers like these: “Oh, he’s alright, I guess — for a liberal”; or, “Terrible, just terrible. But he’s not as bad as _________”; or, better yet, “I saw him the other night on television; but I haven’t really decided about him yet.” [12]

Many of us would plead guilty to a similar kind of bluffing, and that is not good.

Trial and Triumph

The Trial (John 16:31-32).

Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, 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.

Their faith is limited, but His triumph is not, and in these last few verses of chapter sixteen the Lord discusses the coming trial of faith of the disciples and His coming triumph on the cross.

Quite a bit of discussion has raged over the proper force of our Lord’s words in verse thirty-one, rendered in the Authorized Version by “Do ye now believe?” Some take the words as a statement, saying that 17:8 supports this. [13] The constructions are somewhat different. The NIV, however, does render it, “You believe at last!” That reminds one of Westcott’s suggestion that it is “half question, half exclamation,” a suggestion very difficult to understand. [14] The following verse is more favorable to taking the words as a question, and the mass of editors and translators take it that way. “Do you now believe?” He asks (cf. NEB). In a few hours they will leave Him, and He will remind them of that now.

The trial that awaits their weak faith is intimated in verse thirty-two. As He bears the penalty of their sins, they will flee in fear and dismay (cf. Mark 14:50). And while He cries, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me” (cf. Matt. 27:46), it becomes apparent that He is truly alone under the judgment of the broken law (cf. Isa. 63:3, 5). C. H. Dodd said, “It is part of the character and genius of the Church that its foundation members were discredited men; it owed its existence not to their faith, courage, or virtue, but to what Christ had done with them; and this they could never forget.” [15] There is much truth in that and, of course, the fact of it only serves to give further glory to the power of God and of Christ, that could use such men to do mighty exploits for the faith.

Of course, we must not pass by without pointing out that, while in one sense the Father deserted the Son, in another He did not. As the Son became the sin offering the Father did separate Himself from the Son as the one made sin for us, and as the one who was bearing away the curse. This separation occurred in the realm of the human nature of our Lord. In the sphere of the divine personalities and the divine essence, there could be no separation. And even when the Son in His human nature was bearing the curse, He still prays, “My God, My God.” It is almost as if He believed that the divine presence remained, although for a time the sun was behind the clouds. [16]

The last clause represents the constant and abiding faith of God the Son in His incarnate ministry, “the Father is with me.” The word “alone” refers to the human level of His life.

The Triumph (John 16:33).

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

In verse thirty-three He turns to the triumph, and the seventh occurrence of the words, “These things have I spoken,” indicates that the discourse is now to be summed up. In a sense the final verse is the summation of the discourse. In 14:1 and 14:27 He had opened with the command that they stop letting their heart be troubled. Their trouble had been heart trouble! The intervening verses have constituted His remedy, and it is now summed up by the word “peace.” The peace of expiation and genuine Christian experience is the cure for all heartaches. It is to be gained, not by flying from trouble, but by facing it. [17]

There are two contrasts here. The first is seen in the phrases “in the world” and “in me.” They represent the two coming spheres of life for the disciples. In fact, the use of the word ἔχετε (echete) (AV, “ye shall have”), although it may be taken as a futuristic present, is probably to be taken as a true present, referring to their present experiences as involving tribulation. The world infallibly means tribulation but, in spite of their failure (cf. v. 32) they are in Him and that means peace.

The second contrast is that between “tribulation” and “peace.” Their heart trouble shall find relief in Him. They will still have trouble, but there is peace in it (cf. Rom. 8:37–39).

In the final two clauses Jesus urges them to rejoice, a word that occurred often in His dealings with them (cf. Matt. 9:2, 22; Mark 6:50; cf. Acts 5:41; 23:11). They have reason to rejoice, because “I” have overcome the world. Overcome is one of John’s great words, although it only occurs here in the gospel. [18]

We might have expected Him to say, “you” have, or shall, overcome the world. He, however, reminds them that they have victory only in His mediatorial person and work.

The tense of the verb, “I have overcome,” a perfect, lays stress on the abiding character of the victory. How foolish of us to fear a fallen foe! (cf. 12:31; 16:11). When Constantine saw the sign of the cross in the sky with its words hoc vince, he little realized what it really meant. In fact, it has taken about twenty centuries to reach a deep appreciation of all that He did in His sufferings.

Peace is the effect of the cross, the peace that enables a believer to surmount trials and tragedies and triumph. Two artists agreed to paint pictures which would portray their respective conceptions of peace. The first painted a calm little pond, surrounded by woods and open plain. There was no sign of life in the picture, not even the indication that a breath of air was stirring. That was his idea of peace. The other artist painted the scene of a windswept landscape, with a raging torrent in the foreground. A tree hung over the river bank and on a slender bough, just above its leaping rapids, sat two birds — singing! This latter picture represents true peace; the other depicts not peace but stagnation. [19]

Conclusion

Oh! the quiet majesty of the Lord in the face of the seeming crash of His world about Him in His death. His faith, however, is one that cannot be beaten (Heb. 12:2), and it has meant for us the doom of sin (cf. 1 John 5:19) and the ultimate defeat of evil, the liberation of life from worry, fear, and self-contempt, and comfort in sorrow (cf. Rev. 19:6). And it is all a foreview of the ultimate victory of the future, when through Christ we shall overcome forevermore.

Notes

1. Bible teacher Lewis Johnson has been associated for many years with Believer’s Chapel in Dallas, Texas. He is Professor Emeritus of New Testament Exegesis at Dallas Theological Seminary and also served as Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. This is the thirteenth in a series of expositions on The Upper Room Discourse.
2. Henry Barclay Swete, The Last Discourse and Prayer of our Lord: A Study of St. John XIV-XVII (London: Macmillan and Co., 1914), 142; Leon Morris, The Gospel according to John, NICNT (rev. ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 629.
3. The verb ἀπαγγέλλω (apangellō) means to bring word from a person or place.
4. Swete, The Last Discourse and Prayer of our Lord, 145.
5. John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries: The Gospel according to St John 11–21 and the First Epistle of John, eds. David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance, trans. T. H. L. Parker (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959), 130.
6. Morris, The Gospel according to John, 630.
7. B. F. Westcott, The Gospel according to St. John, reprint ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964 [1881]), 235.
8. Morris, The Gospel according to John, 630.
9. C. K. Barrett, The Gospel according to St. John, 2d ed., (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1978), 496.
10. The tendency of modern theology is to reject the unique claims of Christianity that Jesus Christ is the only Savior. And some, like Professor John Hick, have sought to find refuge in contending that the language of the incarnation in the Bible is “mythic,” hoping to make Jesus a unique Savior, but not an exclusive one. In this way the “uncomfortable ‘onlys”’ may be denied, such as taking Jesus as the only Savior, the only final norm for life, etc. It cannot be done. Cf. Paul F. Knitter, “Theocentric Christology,” Theology Today, XV (July 1983): 130-34.
11. Two different prepositions are used with the verb ἐξέρχομαι (exerchomai), meaning to come out (cf. vv. 27, 28, 30). One is the preposition παρά (para), used in verse 27, meaning essentially by the side of. A recognition of the Son’s pre-existence and communion with the Father before the incarnation seems intended. That is also the preposition used in verse 28, although some manuscripts have ἐκ (ek) before “the Father,” a word essentially meaning out from. If it were genuine, it would refer to that which is internal and essential perhaps (cf. Westcott, The Gospel according to St. John, 136). The preposition, however, may have arisen by assimilation to the verbs, which are built upon it (cf. Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament [New York: United Bible Societies, 1971], 248–49). The third preposition, used with the same verb in verse 30, is ἀπό (apo), which contains the fundamental idea of separation (cf. 3:2: Nicodemus recognized as much), the simple idea of separation involved in His mission from heaven being in view. But, it is dangerous to make much over these differences, since in Hellenistic times such distinctions were no longer as rigid as they were in earlier literature.
12. D. A. Carson, The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus: An Exposition of John 14–17 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), 166.
13. R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1942), 1109.
14. Westcott, The Gospel according to St. John, 236.
15. C. H. Dodd, The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1968), 416 n. 1.
16. Swete, The Last Discourse and Prayer of our Lord, 152.
17. Swete, The Last Discourse and Prayer of our Lord, 152.
18. νικάω (nikaō) is found only here in John’s Gospel, but it is found six times in 1 John and seventeen times in Revelation. In the Apocalypse it is also used of our Lord’s victory, as here.
19. From one of the written works of Mrs. Cowman.