Jesus said in 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 other
words, Jesus is saying, “The world will come at
you with everything it has to offer, but don’t
worry about it—I’ve already beaten it—I’ve
already overcome the world.”

Now when Jesus said He had overcome the
world, He wasn’t referring to just 99 percent of
it. He said, “I have overcome the world.” One
hundred percent of it! It makes no difference
what problems the world brings to your
doorstep. Just turn to Jesus and you’re
guaranteed to conquer those problems because
He has already overcome every one.

There’s something else in that scripture I want
you to notice. Jesus said, “…that in me ye might
have peace.” He was teaching here about being
one with Him and the Father, and telling us that
our battles here on this earth don’t have to keep
us in turmoil. He has guaranteed our victory, so if
we’ll just trust in Him, we can have peace, even
in the midst of trouble.

When Jesus said these things, He was
speaking to His disciples—men who had been
with Him day and night for three years. Yet they
couldn’t grasp what it meant to be “in Him” as
well as you and I can today. You see, the Holy
Spirit had not yet come to dwell in them, and
without the Holy Spirit, it’s impossible to
understand spiritual things. It takes the Holy
Spirit to reveal even simple truths, like the
reality of being born again.

Just think of it. These men had never even
heard of being born again! Jesus told Nicodemus
about it, but Nicodemus thought He was talking
about a man going back into his mother’s womb.
Jesus told him, “I’m speaking of heavenly things,
and you don’t even understand earthly things.”
(See John 3:1-12.) These men had no concept of
what Jesus was about to do at Calvary. They had
no idea that through His death and resurrection,
He was to become the firstborn from the dead
and issue forth a new race of born-again winners
filled with the mighty Spirit of God, Himself.
Only after the Holy Spirit came on the Day of
Pentecost could they see what Jesus had been
saying. Then Peter stood up and boldly preached
the Word of God by revelation of the Holy Spirit.
Can you see what a change the Holy Spirit
brought in his life?

Kenneth Copeland Ministries