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While you're turning there, I'll 
just say that after the service, I usually pray when we have a 
fellowship meal, I will just close the service and then all 
the young people can go upstairs. We've asked Benjamin Hall to 
ask God's blessing upon the food. So when the service is conducted, 
young people can head upstairs. Well, John 14, our focus this 
morning will be on the latter part of the chapter, but I do 
want to read beginning in verse 15. If you love me, keep my commandments 
and I will pray the father and he will give you another helper 
that he may abide with you forever. The spirit of truth whom the 
world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows 
him, but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in 
you. I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you. A little 
while longer and the world will see me no more, but you will 
see me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will 
know that I am in my father, and you in me, and I in you. 
He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves 
me. And he who loves me will be loved by my father, and I 
will love him and manifest myself to him. Judas, not Iscariot, 
said to him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself 
to us and not to the world? Jesus answered and said to him, 
if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love 
him. And we will come to him and make our home with him. He 
who does not love me does not keep my words. And the word which 
you hear is not mine, but the father's who sent me. These things 
I have spoken to you while being present with you. 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 things 
that I said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace 
I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give 
to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 
You have heard me say to you, I am going away and coming back 
to you. If you love me, you would rejoice because I said, I am 
going to the Father, for my Father is greater than I. And now I 
have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, 
you may believe. I will no longer talk much with 
you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing 
in me. But that the world may know that 
I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, so 
I do. Arise, let us go from here. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in Heaven, we thank you for this wonderful day. We know that the 
Lord's Day has been set apart by you for corporate worship, 
for edification, for fellowship, and we just praise you for these 
good gifts. We ask that you would be glorified now as we consider 
Holy Scripture, that as we'd focus on Father, Son, and Spirit, 
we would be edified and strengthened and built up in our most holy 
faith. And God, do forgive us for all sin and transgression 
and unrighteousness. You call us to live in a manner 
that is worthy of our calling in the gospel, yet we find that 
remaining corruption, we find that good we wish to do, we don't 
do, and the evil that we don't want to do, we find ourselves 
doing. We invoke the blessing, the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
thanking you that He is the advocate with the Father and that He is 
enthroned at the right hand for sinners like us. And for any 
and all who have not come to the Lord, that do not know the 
joy of forgiveness, we pray that today would be the day of salvation, 
that you'd open their eyes and hearts to see their own sin and 
to see Christ and all of his offices to save as a prophet, 
a priest, and a king. And may you draw them effectually 
by the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. And may he 
indeed guide us now and bring to remembrance all things that 
our blessed Savior has spoken. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, as we have seen on numerous 
occasions as we work our way through the Upper Room discourse, 
that our Lord Jesus, as He is encouraging and fitting His disciples 
for the task at hand, is reminding them of their great God. In fact, 
what He is speaking a lot concerning is the nature of the triune God, 
and this particular section is no exception. And so, as we come 
to the conclusion of chapter 14, I think there's two particular 
points that we need to consider. First, the gifts given by Christ 
in verses 25 to 27, and then secondly, the departure of Christ 
in verses 28 to 31. His departure being that he's 
speaking about it and what will occur when he does depart from 
them. But by virtue of the fact that 
we have tried to slow down a bit to shine some light upon Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit, we'll just take up that first section, the 
gifts given by Christ in verses 25 to 27. And as we consider 
this, there's two things specifically. First, the present encouragement 
in verse 25, and then secondly, the future provision in verses 
26 and 27. Notice specifically the present 
encouragement in verse 25. These things I have spoken to 
you, the things concerning God, the things concerning the Father, 
the Son, the Holy Spirit, the things that we have surveyed 
up until this particular point. Things like chapter 14, verses 
10 and 11. Jesus says, do you not believe 
that I am in the Father and the Father in me? Verse 11, believe 
me that I am in the Father and the Father in me. Remember, we're 
in Christ by way of grace and adoption. Jesus is in the Father 
and the Father is in Jesus by way of mutual indwelling, or 
that term perichoresis. So Jesus' relation to the Father 
is not altogether like ours. He is, by virtue of nature, unified 
with the Father in the way that we are not. And so he conveys 
that. And as well, he introduces the 
Holy Spirit. As I mentioned, When we looked 
at chapter 14, verse 16, the spirit has been mentioned in 
John's gospel up until this point, but we see, as it were, more 
exposure, more revelation, more of a light shining upon him in 
his ministry. And so as the world is collapsing 
around or about to collapse around these disciples, Jesus teaches 
them concerning the triune God. So when we look at his statement 
here in verse 25, these things I have spoken to you while being 
present with you. The emphasis is upon his earthly 
ministry. We know from John 1, verse 1, 
in the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the 
word was God. And then 114, the word became 
flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the 
glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace 
and truth. So during that earthly ministry, 
Jesus taught. During that earthly ministry, 
Jesus engaged in signs and wonders. During that earthly ministry, 
Jesus engaged in a whole host of ministry. And so he has said 
to them, while I am with you, I have spoken these things to 
you. And then based on what he's about to say, he's speaking of 
the future in terms of the provision for the people of God. He promises 
to come to his people in verse 18, I will not leave you orphans. 
I will come to you. The Lord fulfills that promise 
by the sending of the Holy Spirit. According to verse 26, the Lord 
fulfills that promise by leaving and giving his peace. So presently 
in the upper room, Jesus speaks these things to them to fit them, 
to encourage them. to ready them. Remember, they're 
going to go from this place after the ascension of Christ, and 
they are going to go into the then-known world, preaching the 
gospel of the Lord Jesus, and they're going to face all kinds 
of opposition and persecution and hardship and woe. They're 
going to face it later from the Roman Empire, but initially it's 
going to be the unbelieving Jews, those who had rejected Jesus 
as the Messiah, those who had resisted the glory of God as 
revealed in the face and in the person of our blessed Redeemer. They would oppose the church, 
they would oppose the apostles, they would imprison them, they 
would beat them, they would ultimately execute them. So when we look 
at this upper room discourse and we hear Jesus in this passage 
say, don't let your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid, 
Jesus understands the human condition. Jesus knows what he's asking 
of these men. Jesus knows what these men are 
facing. And so when Jesus comes to encourage 
them, it is with divine disclosure. It is with a revelation more 
fully of who God is in himself. And that brings brethren, is 
what we need to investigate now in terms of the future provision 
in verses 26 and 27. If you're taking notes, there's 
two gifts that our blessed Savior gives. First, the gift of the 
Spirit in verse 26, and then secondly, the gift of peace in 
verse 27. Let's look first at the gift 
of the Spirit in verse 26. He promises this. So verse 25, 
these things I have spoken to you while being present with 
you, 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 things that I said to you." Notice that the Lord 
Jesus is confident that the Father is going to answer his prayer. 
Remember, previously in the section that I read, specifically at 
verse 16, "...and I will pray the Father, and He will give 
you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever." As man, 
Jesus prayed. As God, He was prayed unto. And 
here, specifically, He requests or invokes the help of the Holy 
Spirit for the people of God in His absence. so that they 
are not left as orphans, so that He may indeed come to them, so 
that He may indeed dwell with them or abide in them forever. 
It is through the ministry of the Holy Spirit that we know 
the nearness of God Most High as our good. And with reference 
to the spirit, notice again in verse 26, but the helper, the 
Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name. Look back 
at verse 16. He will give you another helper. 
He's called that in our verse in verse 26. And then he goes 
on to say in verse 17, the spirit of truth. Now the word helper, 
oftentimes we refer to him as the paraclete, which is basically 
a transliteration of the Greek word, because it's a bit of a 
difficult word to fully encompass in one basic sentence. A famous 
or popular dictionary of the Greek language defines paraclete 
this way, one who appears in another's behalf, mediator, intercessor, 
helper. The language is applied to the 
Lord Jesus in 1 John chapter 2. We have an advocate, a paraclete, 
a helper with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. Van 
Maastricht says that a paraclete is one who takes up the cause 
for another and indeed for his benefit. So again, look at what 
Jesus is saying to the saints, to the disciples, to the apostles. 
These things I have spoken to you while being present with 
you. He's already announced His departure. He's already told 
them it would be bloody. He's already told them that He 
would be resurrected. They know, they understand that 
the time is short in terms of the hour has come. But He says 
that that's not going to change the dynamic here. That's not 
going to leave you as orphans. It's not going to leave you untethered. 
It's not going to leave you alone. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, 
whom the Father will send in my name. And that causes us to 
reflect on what we call the procession of the Spirit. Notice, the Father 
sends the Spirit in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And 
this teaches us wonderful truths about our God. Again, brethren, 
this isn't Jesus sort of haphazardly hoping the church figures it 
out. This is Jesus intentionally, as it were, peeling back the 
veil and causing us to be able to peer inside and see something 
true of the living God. In other words, when we see the 
temporal missions or the historical application of redemption, when 
we see in the fullness of the time God sends forth His Son, 
born of a woman, born under the law, we learn something about 
the relation between the Father and the Son. The Father sends 
the Son. Well, in Galatians 4, we learn 
that the Spirit is sent by the Father as well. We call those 
temporal missions, things that happen in time, things that happen 
in history, things that happen concretely. We can see Jesus 
in the Incarnation. We can see the Spirit or the 
effect of the Spirit in the Day of Pentecost. So those temporal 
missions that we see very vividly displayed in Scripture, again, 
help us to peek behind the veil to see something true of God 
in Himself. In other words, the temporal missions reveal something 
of what we call eternal processions. The father is unbegotten, the 
son is begotten by the father, and the spirit proceeds from 
the father and the son. So these temporal missions provide 
for us a bit of a scope to look behind and to see what is true 
of God as God. Doesn't exhaustively tell us, 
doesn't teach us everything, but the ad extra operation of 
God in creation shines the light to some degree on what we call 
ad intra, the relation of God in himself. And that's what Jesus 
is doing here. That's what Jesus is highlighting 
here. So notice the temporal mission. We see him say, but 
the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in 
my name. Look at 1526. But when the Helper 
comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of 
truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me. There's 
two movements in verse 26, and when we talk about movement with 
reference to the persons of the Trinity, it's not local motion. It's not like the Father moves 
from one space to another, or the Son moves from one space 
to another according to His divine essence, or that the Spirit moves 
from one place to another. God is omnipresent. God is immense. This kind of language of movement 
is for us. It's accommodation so that our puny brains can get 
it wrapped around. But notice in verse 26, when 
the Helper comes, "...whom I shall send to you from the Father." 
This happens on the Day of Pentecost according to Acts 2.33. Again, 
for anybody who questions or doubts, the Spirit is present 
in the Old Testament. When David is repentant of his 
sin, he pens Psalm 71, he says, take not thine Holy Spirit from 
me. The Spirit of God is present in the Old Testament. But in 
the New Testament, the New Covenant, with the coming of the Lord Jesus 
and the coming of the third person, the Spirit of God, we see more 
revelation. We see more glory. We see more 
majesty displayed. And then notice, the day of Pentecost, 
but then he says, the Spirit is of truth who proceeds from 
the Father. As Sanders points out, that's 
the only place in the entirety of the New Testament where this 
particular verb is utilized, proceeds. Now, in and of itself, 
that's not anything to write home about, but When we're considering 
the triune God and the fact that Jesus is, who was it? I don't 
know from the reading yesterday. One of the old brothers said 
that Jesus was the greatest of theologians or something to that 
effect. When the greatest of theologians uses a particular 
verb that isn't used anywhere else, we should probably listen 
to what he has to say. So you've got Pentecost, but 
you also have Pentecost, the temporal mission, revealing something 
true in terms of God at intra, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
So when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the 
Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he 
will testify of me. Look at 16.7, just to see more 
of this. Nevertheless, I tell you the 
truth. 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 depart, 
I will send him to you." And then over in John 20, specifically 
at verse 22, well, 21, So Jesus said to them again, peace to 
you, as the Father has sent me, I also send you. And when he 
had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive 
the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, 
they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, 
they are retained. So when it comes to this encouragement 
that our Lord Jesus gives to the disciples in the upper room, 
as I said, it is theological in nature. I'm in center. Go to the culture, find out what 
makes them tick. Go to the culture, find out what 
kinds of weird food they eat. Go to the culture and figure 
out the exchange rate in terms of their monetary system. Go 
to the culture and be hip just like the culture. That's not 
how Jesus prepares his disciples to take the gospel into foreign 
cultures. He prepares them with theology. 
He prepares them with who God is. He prepares them with the 
encouragement that this God will not leave them on their own when 
they venture wholly into these unknown regions to proclaim Christ 
and Him crucified to polytheistic regions that despise the thought 
of a one God. as well to unbelieving Jews who 
despise the thought that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. They loathe that, brethren. It's 
not a little intramural debate between our religion and their 
religion. I think Christians have that 
in their, well, we just get around a few things. They despise Jesus. They reject Jesus. They loathe 
and abhor Jesus. The idea of Jesus is offensive. And so these disciples preaching 
Jesus are going to go to synagogues where they hate Jesus. What do 
you think gets them there? Knowing the culture or knowing 
their God? Brethren, the church needs more, 
not less, more theology. Not less, not more practical 
helps on how to be a better you. The church ain't Joel Osteen, 
brethren. The church is Jesus Christ. And when we look at what we have 
in this upper room, he is instructing the people of God, the disciples 
that are gonna go out in his name with the theology of the 
Trinity. It is most excellent. So the 
Holy Spirit is sent by the Father through the Son. The Holy Spirit, 
notice in 1526, is sent by the Father. He says, in my name. 
Notice, as Gill says, that is, at his request, through his mediation 
and intercession, in his room instead, acting the same part, 
bearing the same name of an advocate or comforter, and for the glory 
and honor of his name, which act of sending does not suppose 
any local motion, which cannot agree with an infinite and immense 
spirit, nor inferiority in him to the other two persons. since 
he who is sent by Christ and in his name is also the sender 
of Christ. But it denotes the joint consent and agreement of 
the father, son, and spirit in this affair. He will send him 
in my name. Look back at John 5, specifically 
at verse 43, and see the name in whom Jesus came. John 5, 43, 
I have come in my father's name and you do not receive me. If 
another comes in his own name, him you will receive. Again, 
with the triunity of God in this divine and infinite being, there 
are three subsistences, the Father, the Word, or Son, and the Holy 
Spirit, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence 
undivided. What distinguishes the persons? 
The Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten by the Father, 
and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. So the 
second London divines, basically imitating the Westminster and 
the Savoy, who basically imitated Chalcedon and Nicaea, didn't 
just make these things up. Wow, let's just confuse the people 
of God with this whole talk of Trinity. No, they're accurately 
expounding what we find in passages like John 14 concerning the relations 
between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Helper, 
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name. This, as 
I said, this temporal mission reflects something of the eternal 
procession. How would we describe the Spirit? 
He comes from the Father, through the Son. So He's from. Sanders 
makes the point. Behind the sending of the Spirit 
into salvation history stands the eternal procession of the 
Holy Spirit within the life of God. Again, brethren, as we've 
gone through this, trying to go slow. Don't want to confuse 
anybody. There's no tests or quizzes today. You're not going 
to have to try to vie for a star because you got all the answers 
right. It's trying to introduce to you some stuff that the church 
has utilized to help navigate the doctrine of the Trinity so 
that we don't end up in some sort of contradiction or in some 
sort of a heresy or in some sort of a twisted mind because we 
can't comprehend it. We can comprehend propositional 
revelation. We can comprehend it with the 
help of the church that has gone before us, that has provided 
to us unique strategies and tactics, hermeneutical methods and principles, 
such that we aren't confounded, or that we aren't twisted, or 
that we aren't confused, or worse, that we aren't heretics being 
exiled from Chilliwack off to some island somewhere because 
we're the new Judases. Not that that's gonna happen, 
but watch yourselves. Just kidding. Sanders says, behind 
the sending of the Spirit into salvation, history stands the 
eternal procession of the Holy Spirit within the life of God. 
In fact, the salvation historical fromness depends on the eternal 
internal fromness and manifests it for us. On the basis of the 
Spirit sending, we can recognize that even within the life of 
God, the third person is eternally from the Father. The fact that 
the Father sends the Spirit in temporal mission reflects something 
of eternal procession, that the Spirit proceeds from the Father. 
We would argue as well from the Son, but the specific emphasis 
here is that Jesus is conveying this blessed reality. This is, 
to basically say, what the Nicene Creed captures. I believe in 
the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from 
the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together 
is worshiped and glorified." Then it goes on to say, "...who 
spake by the prophets." So we have the Holy Spirit speaking 
by the prophets in the Old Covenant, We have the Holy Spirit coming 
upon the Lord Jesus in terms of promise and prophecy in Isaiah 
chapter 11. The full disclosure or the revelation 
comes in the temporal missions of the Son and the Spirit. The 
incarnation of Pentecost opens the veil so that we can behold 
our God in a way that we hadn't been able to prior to this. It's 
blessed, it's beautiful. And this is what Jesus uses to 
encourage the people of God. So notice the promise of the 
Spirit in verse 26, the first part of the verse, but the helper, 
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name. Now notice 
the purpose for the gift. We'll see that here. I mean, 
the section, these three small verses or two verses are beautifully 
structurally similar. I'm gonna give you a gift and 
there's a reason for the gift. Right? When you give your child 
or your spouse a gift, there's not usually a reason. Okay, I 
gave you this, now get in there and clean your room. I mean, 
I guess that's probably latent in the heart at some level. Well, 
I just gave you this, you should go do that. But Jesus specifies 
that he's providing these two gifts for two particular functions 
in the ministry of the disciples. So notice what he says concerning 
the provision of the gift of the Holy Spirit. He will teach 
you all things, and He will bring to your remembrance all things. So let's just ponder that for 
just a moment. I would suggest, first of all, 
the all things is biblical and theological truth, not chemistry 
and auto mechanics. He says specifically that the 
Spirit will teach you all things. I believe it's all things that 
Jesus had taught. The gospel of Christ, the mission 
of Christ, the glory of Christ, the power of Christ, the saviorhood 
of Christ. Notice, as well, the all things 
ultimately become crystal clear at Pentecost. Remember Pastor 
Barcelos when he was here at the conference? He made that 
observation on a few occasions. Prior to Pentecost, the disciples 
got things wrong, didn't they? I'm not saying they were reprobate, 
heretic, arch fiends of the devil. No, no, no. They got some things 
wrong. Lord, when are you going to restore 
your kingdom? Acts 1.6. Prior to Pentecost, 
there were some melon scratchers for the disciples. There were 
times when on the heels of divine revelation given in a very powerful 
way, Jesus then rebukes Peter and says, get behind me, Satan. But on the day of Pentecost, 
what happens? The Holy Spirit comes. Again, 
not that he had never been on the scene, but he comes in a 
fuller, more powerful measure in accordance with the prophet 
Joel to enable and empower the church for missions to the end 
of the earth. And so when that spirit comes, 
what does he do? What do you think he's teaching 
these disciples? Again, it's not auto mechanics. 
Not that auto mechanics are bad. but they're being taught the 
truth as it is in Jesus, such that when that Spirit takes up 
residence in them and they pen gospel narratives, or when they 
write epistles to churches, they do so infallibly and inerrantly, 
not because they're infallible men or inerrant men, but because 
the Holy Spirit had been given to them to teach them these things. And then notice to bring to remembrance 
all the things that I've spoken. Did John have a pen and paper 
in hand? Probably not. Do you have anybody 
in your life that always has a pen and paper in their hand? 
No. Why? Because that's weird. Right? It's weird. Why do you always have a pen 
and paper in your hand? Because I'm writing down everything 
I ever see. Those people don't exist. How 
do you think John, several years after the events, is able to 
pen the fourth gospel? Because the Helper, the Spirit 
of Truth, whom I will send, or the Father will send in my name, 
He will teach you the significance of gospel truth, and He will 
bring to remembrance these things, so that you're able to pen infallibly 
and inerrantly the authoritative, abiding, blessed Word of God 
Almighty. And when it comes to this passage, 
again, look at the second half. He will teach you all things 
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 
Are we supposed to sort of dissect the triune God and say, well, 
the only ministry that the Spirit has is to teach and to remind 
us? Wait a minute, doesn't Jesus 
teach and remind us? Yes. Doesn't the Father teach 
and remind us? Yes. So why the focus upon the 
Spirit here with reference to teaching and reminder? Well, 
remember the strategies that I've at least tried to introduce 
to you that the church has developed or implemented to protect the 
unity of the divine nature. Inseparable operations. Everything 
outside of God is done by the one living and true God. Everything 
add-extra, creation, providence, redemption, it's all ascribed 
to the one true and living God. Well, what happened, or what 
would happen if there were no appropriations? We would never 
think of triunity. The appropriations help us to 
appreciate and to understand, and again, see behind the veil 
as it were, that this divine and infinite being exists eternally 
as three persons, father, son, and spirit. So to say that the 
spirit will teach and remind us is not to suggest the father 
doesn't, is not to suggest that the son doesn't, It is rather 
to suggest that in this one divine infinite being, there are three 
persons. And when Jesus appropriates teaching 
and reminding to the Holy Spirit, it helps us to remember one true 
and living God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
See, with the Christian God or the Christian doctrine of God, 
you cannot be just okay by maintaining monotheism. That's to put yourself 
with the Jew and the Muslim. There is something uniquely distinct 
about Christianity and our doctrine of God. He is one, true, and 
living, but he exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
And we're not supposed to think otherwise. Augustine makes the 
observation on this particular passage. He says, The whole Trinity, 
therefore, both speaks and teaches. But were it not also brought 
before us in its individual personality, vis-à-vis the Spirit will teach 
and remind, it would certainly altogether surpass the power 
of human weakness to comprehend it. For as it is altogether inseparable 
in itself, it could never be known as the Trinity were it 
always spoken of inseparably. So in other words, if all we 
ever focus on is inseparable operations, we never look at 
appropriations, we're gonna have half of God. If all we ever look 
at is appropriation and we never consider inseparable operations, 
guess what our problem is then? Tritheism or some other type 
of heresy that'll land us in hell. You say, well, that's pretty 
grave. It'll land us in hell. Brethren, 
there's a difference between persons who haven't been taught. 
and persons who have been taught and reject that. Right? There's 
a difference between non-credal and anti-credal. I would suggest 
that every church that is not reformed is probably non-credal. The Nicene what? The Chalcedonian 
who? The London what? They just don't 
have those things. But when taught the truth of 
those things, under the power of the inspiration to see that 
they accurately expound Scripture, they should confess it. They 
should amen it. They should embrace it. Because 
if they don't, it is a rejection of the true and living God. And 
again, as it faithfully, those documents faithfully represent 
Scripture. So Augustine was a bit A little 
bit difficult. I read this the other night at 
family devotions to my beloved wife. That's when you know that 
you don't have little children anymore. I don't suggest Augustine's 
lectures on John's gospel, at least in the upper room discourse 
to your five-year-olds, because it's a bit of a melon scratcher. 
But I think Gregory of Nazianzus says it in a bit more of a popular 
way. It's kind of a way that I think is more worshipful, promoting. Not that Augustine isn't. I think 
Augustine's absolutely bang on. But listen to Gregory. No sooner 
do I conceive of the one, than I am illumined by the splendor 
of the three. No sooner do I distinguish them 
than I am carried back to the one. When I think of any one 
of the three, I think of him as the whole, and my eyes are 
filled, and the greater part of what I am thinking escapes 
me. I cannot grasp the greatness of that one, so as to attribute 
a greater greatness to the rest. When I contemplate the three 
together, I see but one torch, and cannot divide of measure 
out the undivided light. Beautiful. So when Jesus says 
here, these things I have spoken to you while being present with 
you, he is speaking this for their encouragement with the 
absolute realization that he's going to depart from them. He's 
told them that, he has announced that, the hour is upon him. He's 
gonna make that crystal clear as we consider God willing next 
Sunday morning in verses 28 to 31. But these promises of the 
spirit and of peace is to help them. is to be the balm of Gilead 
to their souls, to prepare them for the work that is at hand. 
So the gift of the Spirit, verse 26, notice the gift of peace 
in verse 27. He makes a promise, verse 27a, 
and then gives the implication in verse 27b. Remember I said 
you give a gift, typically with no strings attached. Well, here 
he's saying, I'm giving you this gift, and the string that's attached 
isn't go clean your room. The string that is attached is 
don't let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Matthew 
Henry said that when Christ left the world, he made his will. 
You do that, right? You've got to get your affairs 
in order, even if your affairs aren't that multifaceted. You 
don't want the government getting its greedy paws on any cent, 
so you better get your affairs in order. So when Christ left 
the world, he made his will. His soul he bequeathed to his 
father and his body to Joseph. His clothes fell to the soldiers. 
His mother he left to the care of John. But what should he leave 
to his poor disciples who had left all for him? Silver and 
gold had he none, but he left them what was far better, his 
peace." Notice in verse 27, peace. I leave with you. My peace I 
give to you. Not as the world gives do I give 
to you." Remember the context, brethren. There's a general application 
for us. Christ is our peace, who has 
made peace through the blood of His cross. The specific application 
is for this ragtag team of fellows that are sitting around him that 
are having to go out in the Roman Empire to preach the glory of 
Christ in a very hostile environment. So what is it that they need? 
How to figure out the culture? No, you need my peace. This is his bequeathment. This 
is what he gives. So the Lord Jesus leaves his 
peace and gives his peace to them. The Lord Jesus as well 
makes a contrast between his peace and the world's peace. 
I was thinking about this when I was a youngster. That's old 
man language. When I was a youngster, my peace, 
as the world conveyed it, was sex, drugs, and rock and roll. 
Really, Pastor? I grew up in Southern California 
in the 70s and the 80s. What do you mean, really, Pastor? In your situation, it may have 
been fundamentally different. Peace for you was industry, hard 
work, making a million bucks. Whatever it is, whether it's 
good peace or bad peace in a general sense, whatever the world offers 
ultimately comes up short. What shall it profit a man if 
he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Listen to Gill. He makes a distinction between 
Jesus' peace and The world's peace. The peace Christ gives 
is true, solid, and substantial. The peace the world, the men, 
and the things of it give is a false one. The peace of the 
world is at best an external one, but the peace of Christ 
is the giver of, is internal. The peace the world affords is 
very transient, unstable, and short-lived one, but the peace 
of Christ is lasting and durable. The peace of the world won't 
support under the troubles of it, but the peace which Christ 
gives cheerfully carries his people through all the difficulties 
and exercises of this life. I think that's a good way to 
get at that contrast. Not as the world gives. Temporary, 
may feel good for a time, but it's fleeting. It's transient. It's not lasting. As well, it's 
orchestrated for the external. It feels good. It feels right. That's the glut of our age, is 
what is emotionally stimulating? Because that must be true or 
that must be right. No, that's not true and that's 
not right. And when the world comes along 
and says, this will provide you peace, they usually do it when 
they're selling you something. So always be mindful of that. 
He gives not as the world gives. And then if we parse this out 
a little bit more, what does he mean? Like, what kind of peace 
is he talking about? I would suggest that the rest 
of the scripture, as we reflect upon it, provides for us grounds 
to say there's both an objective, concrete, in place, absolutely 
true peace, and then subjective, our appropriation of that peace. 
Objectively, already at least alluded to Ephesians 2, 14 to 
18, He Himself is our peace. Why is He Himself our peace? 
Because He reconciled us to Himself through the blood of His cross. 
That's objective. What about Romans 5? Well, understanding 
Romans 5, you got to kind of back up to Romans 3 and 4. What's 
Paul doing in Romans 3 and 4? Well, the middle part of Romans 
3, he summarizes his case that all the world is liable before 
God for their sin, their rebellion, their wretchedness. They deserve 
the wrath of God that is targeted against them. 321, he then changes 
gears to say, but now the righteousness of God is revealed from faith 
to faith, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. This 
isn't some new thing. The Spirit is spake by the prophets, 
spake concerning justification by faith. We see it in David, 
we see it in Abraham, we certainly see it in any new covenant Israelite. 
So when Paul declares justification by faith in chapters three and 
four, how does he start five one? Therefore he says, having 
been justified by faith, we have peace with God. Objective, rock-solid, 
intransient, never, ever going away. How do you think Paul can 
say what he says in Romans 8.1? There is therefore now no condemnation 
for those who are in Christ Jesus. Do you ever reflect on that? 
Do you ever ponder that? That is now our transition into 
the subjective piece. Objectively, what God has wrought 
in the gospel of our blessed Savior, life, death, resurrection, 
justification, which involves forgiveness and righteousness, 
what God has done is objectively true. It's most excellent. It's 
most glorious. It's most wonderful. But again, 
subjectively, do we appropriate those things? Do we think through 
those things? Do we consider soteriology? Soteriology is the doctrine of 
salvation. When we ponder soteriology, we 
are considering what we have in the gospel. We have forgiveness. We have a righteousness. We will 
be glorified. But we also ought to ponder theology. Who we have in the gospel. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. See, the objective is concrete. It's done. God so loved the world 
that he gave his only begotten Son. Whosoever believeth in him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life. It's a done deal. Subjectively, 
though, we struggle. Subjectively, we don't use means. 
Subjectively, we don't ponder soteriology. I'm not lecturing. I'm not scolding. I'm simply 
suggesting that this is oftentimes one of the problems in terms 
of a lack of assurance or in terms of any subjective comfort 
in the objective truth of what Christ has accomplished. Brethren, 
we need to think through these things. We need to be glad when 
they said unto us, let us go to the house of the Lord. We 
need to be glad to turn to the upper room discourse. We need 
to be glad to study the benefits of our redemption and the giver 
of those benefits. So the Lord Jesus promises that 
peace. It's both objective and subjective. And then notice, not the string 
attached, that sounds pretty cheesy, but the string attached. It's a good one. Notice in verse 
27, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the 
world gives do I give to you. And here it is, let not your 
heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Oh, that God of 
the Bible, he's a harsh taskmaster. Really? Hmm. He doesn't want 
me to be troubled and he doesn't want me to be afraid. How is 
that? I think a harsh taskmaster would 
want me to be troubled. I think a harsh taskmaster would 
want me to be afraid. I think a harsh taskmaster would 
crack the whip so that those things always obtained in my 
life. Notice what Jesus does. I'm conveying this peace upon 
you because I want you to be stable. You're not gonna go wander 
in to the devil's gates in a synagogue of the Jews and then ultimately 
end up in an amphitheater in Ephesus in Acts chapter 19 and 
not have at least the possibility of a bit of soul trouble and 
a bit of fear. Think about it, brethren. Again, 
he's encouraging and setting them up for this. There's a similar 
exhortation in 14.1. Let not your heart be troubled. 
You believe in God, believe also in me. See, for Jesus, Trinitarian 
theology is intensely practical. What we know of God ought to 
stabilize us in terms of our exploits for God. He recognizes 
the inclination toward heart trouble. Don't let your heart 
be troubled. What is he saying? How dare you ever let your heart 
be? No, he's saying, I know that you're but dust. I know your 
frame. I know you by nature. I know 
you by sin. And I know the proclivity, and 
I know the propensity, and I know the tendency in your heart is 
to be one of fear or of trouble. So don't let your heart be trouble. 
Well, how can I not be troubled? Because I've given you my peace, 
that's how. But then notice what he goes 
on to say, neither let it be afraid. Why do you think he mentions 
that? What's fear gonna do with reference 
to the mission? It's gonna sideline it, right? 
If these are Nancy boys and they're filled with cowardice and they 
don't wanna meet the unbelieving Jews in a synagogue, they don't 
wanna meet the unbelieving Romans in the theater, they're gonna 
not do it, right? They're gonna choose the path 
of least resistance. So I'm giving you my peace so 
that your heart won't be troubled, and I'm giving you my peace so 
that your heart won't be afraid. Well, does Jesus know something 
they don't? Sure he does. Absolutely he does. Look at 1518. If the world hates 
you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were 
of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you 
are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore 
the world hates you. Remember the word that I said 
to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted 
me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they 
will keep yours also. Look at 162. He says, they will 
put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that 
whoever kills you will think that he offers God's service. 
And these things they will do to you because they have not 
known the Father nor me. But these things I have told 
you that when the time comes, you may remember that I told 
you of them. We've got a similar situation 
in Matthew, and in Mark, and in Luke, when Jesus tells the 
disciples, when you're brought up before the synagogues on that 
day, don't worry about what you're going to say. The Spirit, the 
Helper, the Spirit of Truth is going to abide in you and give 
you what you're supposed to say. The book of Acts is one long 
demonstration that what Jesus was preparing them for was going 
to be hard. And so he bequeaths upon them 
his peace so that their hearts aren't troubled, but neither 
shall they be afraid. And as I said, if these men are 
afraid, if these men are symptomatic of the sorts of guys that we 
see today, and they're not gonna go out and fight the battles 
that God has ordained for them, they're not gonna accomplish 
what the Lord Jesus purposes for them. Before we bring this 
all to a close, I just want to focus on the problem of a fearful 
heart. Yes, generally, you shouldn't 
be afraid. Each and every day, you shouldn't be afraid. God 
is good. God is great. God is glorious. God is wonderful. But in the 
specific context of these men going in to turn the world upside 
down, I would suggest that the presence of fear demonstrates 
a lack of kingdom priority. The presence of fear demonstrates 
a lack of kingdom priority. Matthew 6. Now, the particular 
issue there is carnal anxiety, but I think there's some overlap. 
Carnal anxiety and fear. Carnal anxiety is basically fear 
in the day-to-day. What am I going to eat? What 
am I going to wear? How long am I going to live? 
Jesus hushes all that four times. Do not worry. Do not worry. Do 
not worry. Do not worry. You might say, 
do not fear. Do not fear. Do not fear. Do 
not fear. What's his point? 633. Seek first the kingdom of 
God and His righteousness, and then these things will be added 
to you. See, when we are sidelined with paralyzing fear, it shows 
a lack of priority in the kingdom. And I'm not just making this 
up. I think it's pretty evident in 
not only the New Testament, but the history of the church. I 
would suggest that the presence of fear as well indicates bad 
theology. It indicates bad theology. When 
Jesus gives the missionary discourse in Matthew 10 to the disciples 
to canvas the area of Israel, He tells them, you're going to 
be delivered up. You're going to be tried. You're 
going to face this opposition. You're going to face all kinds 
of hardship and affliction and difficulty. Do you know how he 
encourages them? Don't fear those who can kill 
the body only, but fear him who has the power to kill both body 
and soul in hell. In other words, if we are paralyzed 
by fear relative to men, it reflects something of bad theology. We should fear God, not men. What's Paul saying in Romans 
8? He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for 
us all. How shall he not with him also 
freely give us all things? So if we're paralyzed by fear, 
we doubt that the one who did the greatest delivering up his 
son is going to provide for us the lesser grace to meet whatever 
opposition we face. I would suggest thirdly, that 
the presence of fear destroys kingdom advance. When the pastors 
are all hiding on their couches, what's happening? Well, the pastors 
are hiding on their couches. Remember what we looked at in 
Acts 14 on Wednesday night? In fact, you can turn there because 
I think it illustrates the point beautifully. This is one isolated spot of 
a great many in the New Testament documents, but we looked at Paul 
in Iconium. in the first missionary journey, 
Paul and Barnabas. And we noticed in verse one of 
chapter 14, now it happened in Iconium that they went together 
to the synagogue of the Jews and so spoke that a great multitude, 
both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. But the unbelieving 
Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against 
the brethren. Jump into the 21st century. Well, These guys are causing problems 
for us. These guys are speaking ill of 
us. These guys are making it hard for us. So we better leave. Verse three, therefore, note 
the connection. Because the Jews did this, therefore. See for today, it's because the 
government does this, therefore we'll go sit on our couch. That's 
not the way it's supposed to be, brethren. Therefore they 
stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing 
witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to 
be done by their hands. Now, to show you that the disciples 
took seriously Matthew 10, be harmless as does, but be cunning 
as serpents. And Matthew 10, when he says, 
if they persecute you in one city, then flee to another. They 
had that wisdom as well. There are times that you shake 
the dust off your feet. And it got to that point. Notice 
in verse four, but the multitude of the city was divided, part 
sided with the Jews, part with the apostles. And when a violent 
attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their 
rulers to abuse and stone them, They became aware of it and fled 
to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding 
region. And they were preaching the gospel 
there. We see the Spirit do that in the book of Acts. He brings 
persecution so that the people of God will disperse. And when 
they disperse, they go and preach the gospel elsewhere. So when 
it comes to this issue of faith, or rather fear, we are, by God's 
grace, to try and displace it with the peace of Jesus Christ. 
What we have in the gospel, who we get in the gospel, ought to 
go a long way to helping us to put to death this carnal fear 
wherein man becomes far more threatening to us and far more 
foreboding to us than the God of unrivaled sovereignty. There 
ought not to be fear in our hearts. And this is why Jesus bequeaths 
it, peace to his disciples. And the last thing I would say 
before we move into application, wasn't that it Butler? Yeah, 
we'll just have a brief, brief moment here in a moment, but 
the presence of fear characterizes those in the lake of fire. Turn 
to Revelation 21. For those of you who've been 
here with me, or with us here for a while, you'll know what 
I'm about to say, so you can check out for the next 48 seconds 
to use a cam-ism. It's never 45 or 40 with cam, 
it's 48, 43. It's a good mnemonic, helps us 
to resonate, I guess. Notice in 21.8, the cowardly. 
Unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, 
idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which 
burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. I 
mean, that's a list I think we could all approve of, right? 
If we skip that first term. But of course in verse eight, 
we'd say, oh yeah, all unbelievers, everybody abominable, certainly 
murderers, certainly sexually immoral, those sorcerers, those 
idolaters, liars, they all belong in the lake of fire. But cowards? I kind of have a fear of snakes. I don't really, but I guess if 
they're wrapped around my neck, I do. But from a distance, I 
don't have a fear of snakes, but sometimes people do. People 
have a fear of all kinds of things. People have a fear of the dark. 
The nightlight industry has thrived on fear of the dark. Is God, 
the Spirit, through John the Apostle, telling us that if we're 
afraid, maybe, you know, I got somebody in my life that's afraid 
to drive over bridges. And when I ponder that and I 
look around, it does give me a little bit of a weird feeling 
when I'm going over that bridge. But does that mean that person 
goes to the lake of fire for that fear? No, you gotta have 
read the rest of Revelation. Turn back to chapter two, chapter 
two. The seven churches of Asia Minor 
all end on the same refrain. Notice in 2.7. He who has an 
ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him 
who, note the language, overcomes. I will give to eat from the tree 
of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Look 
at verse 11, to Smyrna. He who has an ear, let him hear 
what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be 
hurt by the second death. Look at Pergamos in verse 17. He who has an ear, let him hear 
what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will 
give some of the hidden manna to eat. Look at Thyatira. in 
chapter 2, specifically at verse 26. And he who overcomes and 
keeps my works until the end, to him I will give power over 
the nations. Look at Sardis in chapter 3, 
specifically at verse 5. He who overcomes shall be clothed 
in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the 
book of life. Notice the church in Philadelphia, specifically 
at verse 12. He who overcomes, I will make 
him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no 
more. Look at Laodicea, chapter three, verse 21. To him who overcomes, 
I will grant to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame 
and sat with my father on his throne. And could it be that 
the persons listed first in the lake of fire, identified as the 
cowardly, are those who at least at one time made a profession 
of faith in Jesus Christ, but didn't overcome? Well, why wouldn't 
they overcome? Because they were afraid of what 
the world said. They were afraid of what their family would say. 
They were afraid to actually step out in faith and do great 
things for the glory of God. The men, women, boys, and girls 
who do not overcome end up with the sexually immoral. They end 
up with the abominable. They end up with the murderers. 
They end up with the liars. They end up in the lake of fire. 
The bottom line is simple. Jesus gives us his peace so that 
our hearts aren't supposed to be troubled and neither are we 
supposed to be afraid. He gives good gifts to serve 
his people, to help his people. And I will end on this particular 
note. If you are looking today at the peace that the world gives 
you as something that is going to satisfy you, you're wrong. 
You are wrong. Ask anybody here that professes 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ after the service. Do this. So 
many times after the service, well, what about this? What about 
that? What about, what about you? Tell me about your life. 
How'd you come to know Jesus Christ? Do you want to go back 
to that? Oh, no way. Are you kidding? Why would I 
go to the city of destruction when I'm on my way to the new 
Jerusalem? Why would I go back to hell when 
I am heaven bound? When it comes to this blessed 
reality, the peace that this world gives is fleeting, it is 
temporary, it is external, it is here, it is there, it is gone. The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ 
surpasses all understanding. It is that good conscience, not 
because we're good, but because of the Christ who's good. It's 
that good conscience before God, that our sins are forgiven, that 
we have the righteousness of another, and that on that day 
when we stand in his presence, we will be welcomed in, good 
and faithful servant. Again, not because of us, but 
because of the good and faithful servant, the Lord Jesus Christ. 
The only way to him is through faith. Believe and you will be 
saved. Well, let us pray. Our God and 
our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you so very 
much for our Lord Jesus Christ and the gifts that he gives in 
terms of the Holy Spirit and peace. God, we are equipped to 
do what you've called us to do in this present evil age. I pray 
for your blessing upon this church. I pray for succeeding generations 
in this church. Bless the young people that gather 
today. I pray that from our ranks you'd raise up men with a call 
for gospel ministry, missions, and evangelism, and that you 
would do great things in this country. It is a wretched country. It is a horrible country, not 
in terms of how you made it, but the way it's governed. And 
we know that ultimately it's not politics, it's not horses, 
it's not chariots, but it's the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord 
that this land desperately needs. Bless those churches we have 
communion with now. Be gracious to each of them. 
Use the pastors. Cause them not to have heart 
trouble and heart fear. Cause them to boldly proclaim 
the glory of Jesus Christ in this age. And we ask this in 
His most blessed name. Amen. Well, let us stand together.