John 14:27–31 (WEL) “Peace, my peace, I leave with you and give to you, not like the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 “You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going away, yet I am coming back.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I go to the Father, for my Father is greater than I.’ 29 “I have told you now before it happens, so when it does happen, you might believe. 30 “I will not talk with you much longer, for the prince of this world comes, and in me, he has nothing. 31 “Nevertheless, that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father has commanded, even so I do. Get up! Let us leave here.”
V27 “Peace, my peace, I leave with you and give to you, not like the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
What is the peace like Jesus gives?
The Greek word for peace is G1515 εἰρήνη eirēnē, which means:
(Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Abridged – Little Kittel)) For the Greeks eirḗnē primarily denotes a state, not a relationship or attitude…In 1 Corinthians 14:33 peace is for Paul the normal state as distinct from the confusion of unruly prophesying at Corinth. This peace is what God wills, not merely for the soul or for the human race, but for his whole creation.”
Compare Isaiah 9:6–7.
Peace is a gift, not a wage that is earned. Jesus gives this to believers; unbelievers receive this—Isaiah 48:22.
In salvation, it is peace with God instead of enemies at variance, disagreements, rebellion, rejection, and disbelief.
What are the blessings of peace with God?
AskAndyAI:
“There are several rich results and blessings that flow from the peace God gives to believers:
- Peace with God (positional peace): Because of what Jesus has done and our faith in Him, the warfare between us and God is ended; God no longer holds our sins against us. This is the foundational blessing that secures our relationship with God. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone, and that faith is fully saving and results in eternal security.
- Experiential peace: Beyond our position, God provides an inward, supernatural tranquility—“the peace of God which surpasses all understanding”—that sustains us even amid adverse circumstances and trials.
- Guarding of heart and mind: That peace acts as a guard for our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, protecting our thoughts and emotions from anxiety and fear.
- Hope of future glory: Justification and peace with God give us confident hope in future glory and participation in God’s promised program.
- Growth and strengthening through trials: Trials do not erase our spiritual blessings; God uses them to strengthen and deepen the blessings we have, producing Christlike character in us (perseverance, proven faith, hope).
Practical resources for godly living: The God of peace equips believers with what is needed to do His will, producing gentleness, rejoicing, and a disciplined thought life that helps us maintain peace.
Tangible assurance of God’s love and reconciliation: The believer experiences the love of God through atonement, reconciliation with God, and deliverance from the coming wrath.
Together these blessings move from a once-for-all positional reality into daily, experiential realities that produce joy, Christlikeness, and steadfast hope.”
V28 “You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going away, yet I am coming back.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I go to the Father, for my Father is greater than I.’
God does not abandon His people who believe in Him (Hebrews 13:5).
What does it mean that the Father is greater than I?
Jesus refers to two events: 1) His death, then resurrection and 2) His Ascension, then Rapture. You refers to Christians.
AskAndyAI:
“When Jesus says in John 14:28, ‘the Father is greater than I,’ He is speaking about role or function within the Godhead, not about value, essence, or worth. The Son and the Father share the same divine essence and equal deity, but they voluntarily take different roles: the Son submits in role to the Father’s will while never relinquishing one iota of His deity. In other words, ‘greater’ here describes the Father’s higher role or authority in the ordering of the Trinity’s works, not an inequality in nature, being, or value.
“So Jesus’ statement is an expression of functional subordination—obedience and submission in role—while affirming the eternal equality of Father and Son in essence. This explains how Jesus can say both that ‘the Father is greater than I” (role) and ‘I and the Father are one’ (unity of essence) without contradiction.”
V29 “I have told you now before it happens, so when it does happen, you might believe.
Principle: Prophecy is an indicator of Jesus’s deity.
Prophecy must be understood in its plain, normal sense for Jesus’s statement to be true.
V30 “I will not talk with you much longer, for the prince of this world comes, and in me, he has nothing.
The Prince of the world is satan, who tempted Adam to sin; Adam did sin. So, instead of Adam being the prince of this world, it is satan.
When Jesus comes to reign on Earth during the Millennium, He will be the Prince of this world as the King of kings.
He has nothing in me is Jesus stating, “Satan has nothing to accuse me of. I am innocent and sinless.”
V31 “Nevertheless, that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father has commanded, even so I do. Get up! Let us leave here.”
The world is all people.
Jesus points out that love for God is demonstrated in obedience. Jesus loves the Father and obeys His command to go to the Cross. Jesus’s attitude is “Your will be done.”
Let us leave here refers to Jesus’s work on the Cross. He is ready to do His Father’s will.
Principle: We are to do God’s will.
We learn:
- About God’s peace.
- About the Father being greater than the Son.
- Jesus is a true prophet.
Questions:
- Do you have God’s peace?
- Are you ready to do God’s will regardless of what He asks and commissions you?