Early Church Fathers Scripture Index : Texts

John 16:33

There are 33 footnotes for this reference.

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2, page 27, footnote 7 (Image)

Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Clement of Alexandria

The Pastor of Hermas (HTML)

Book Second.—Commandments (HTML)

Commandment Tenth. Of Grief, and Not Grieving the Spirit of God Which is in Us. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 218 (In-Text, Margin)

... in his heart. Grief, then, mingled with his entreaty, does not permit the entreaty to ascend pure to the altar of God. For as vinegar and wine, when mixed in the same vessel, do not give the same pleasure [as wine alone gives], so grief mixed with the Holy Spirit does not produce the same entreaty [as would be produced by the Holy Spirit alone]. Cleanse yourself from this wicked grief, and you will live to God; and all will live to God who drive away grief from them, and put on all cheerfulness.”[John 16:33]

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 333, footnote 3 (Image)

Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen

Origen. (HTML)

Origen De Principiis. (HTML)

Book III (HTML)
On the Opposing Powers. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2576 (In-Text, Margin)

... struggle. For I am of opinion that there is a certain limit to the powers of human nature, although there may be a Paul, of whom it is said, “He is a chosen vessel unto Me;” or a Peter, against whom the gates of hell do not prevail; or a Moses, the friend of God: yet not one of them could sustain, without destruction to himself, the whole simultaneous assault of these opposing powers, unless indeed the might of Him alone were to work in him, who said, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”[John 16:33] And therefore Paul exclaims with confidence, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengtheneth me;” and again, “I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” On account, then, of this power, which ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 601, footnote 9 (Image)

Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen

Origen. (HTML)

Origen Against Celsus. (HTML)

Book VI (HTML)
Chapter LIX (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4582 (In-Text, Margin)

... in the flesh, and, having set them free from their bodies, liberates them at the same time from an existence upon earth, which in many parts of Scripture it is usual to call the “world.” In the Gospel according to John especially, we may frequently find the regions of earth termed “world,” as in the passage, “He was the true Light, which lighteneth every man that cometh into the ‘world;’” as also in this, “In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”[John 16:33] If, then, we understand by “removing out of the world” a transference from “regions on earth,” there is nothing absurd in the expression. If, on the contrary, the system of things which consists of heaven and earth be termed “world,” then those who ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 667, footnote 5 (Image)

Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen

Origen. (HTML)

Origen Against Celsus. (HTML)

Book VIII (HTML)
Chapter LXX (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4971 (In-Text, Margin)

... the salt have lost its savour, it is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill; but it shall be cast out, and trodden under foot of men. He that hath ears, let him hear” the meaning of these words. When God gives to the tempter permission to persecute us, then we suffer persecution; and when God wishes us to be free from suffering, even in the midst of a world that hates us, we enjoy a wonderful peace, trusting in the protection of Him who said, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”[John 16:33] And truly He has overcome the world. Wherefore the world prevails only so long as it is the pleasure of Him who received from the Father power to overcome the world; and from His victory we take courage. Should He even wish us again to contend and ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 471, footnote 5 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Cyprian. (HTML)

The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)

On the Mortality. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3487 (In-Text, Margin)

10. Thus Job, after the loss of his wealth, after the death of his children, grievously afflicted, moreover, with sores and worms, was not overcome, but proved; since in his very struggles and anguish, showing forth the patience of a religious mind, he says, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, naked also I shall go under the earth: the Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away; as it seemed fit to the Lord, so it hath been done. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”[John 16:33] And when his wife also urged him, in his impatience at the acuteness of his pain, to speak something against God with a complaining and envious voice, he answered and said, “Thou speakest as one of the foolish women. If we have received good from the hand of the ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 487, footnote 3 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Cyprian. (HTML)

The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)

On the Advantage of Patience. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3609 (In-Text, Margin)

... battles of temptations, must also in the contest of persecutions forsake our patrimonies, undergo imprisonment, bear chains, spend our lives, endure the sword, the wild beasts, fires, crucifixions—in fine, all kinds of torments and penalties, to be endured in the faith and courage of patience; as the Lord Himself instructs us, and says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. But in the world ye shall have tribulation; yet be confident, for I have overcome the world.”[John 16:33] And if we who have renounced the devil and the world, suffer the tribulations and mischiefs of the devil and the world with more frequency and violence, how much more ought we to keep patience, wherewith as our helper and ally, we may bear all ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 502, footnote 11 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Cyprian. (HTML)

The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)

Exhortation to Martyrdom, Addressed to Fortunatus. (HTML)
That it was before predicted that the world would hold us in abhorrence, and that it would stir up persecutions against us, and that no new thing is happening to the Christians, since from the beginning of the world the good have suffered, and the righteous have been oppressed and slain by the unrighteous. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3778 (In-Text, Margin)

... because they have not known the Father nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the hour shall come ye may remember them, because I told you.” And again: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” And again: “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace; but in the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good confidence, for I have overcome the world.”[John 16:33] And when He was interrogated by His disciples concerning the sign of His coming, and of the consummation of the world, He answered and said: “Take care lest any deceive you: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 534, footnote 17 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Cyprian. (HTML)

The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)

Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews. (HTML)
Book III. (HTML)
That all good and righteous men suffer more, but ought to endure because they are proved. (HTML)CCEL Footnote 4220 (In-Text, Margin)

... taken away: as it hath pleased the Lord, so it is done; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all these things which happened to him Job sinned in nothing with his lips in the sight of the Lord.” Concerning this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Also according to John: “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. But in the world ye shall have affliction; but have confidence, for I have overcome the world.”[John 16:33] Concerning this same thing in the second Epistle to the Corinthians: “There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, that I should not be exalted. For which thing I thrice besought the Lord, that it should depart from ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 6, page 52, footnote 11 (Image)

Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius

Gregory Thaumaturgus. (HTML)

Dubious or Spurious Writings. (HTML)

Twelve Topics on the Faith. (HTML)
Topic XII. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 426 (In-Text, Margin)

Wherefore He says, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”[John 16:33] And this He said, not as holding before us any contest proper only to a God, but as showing our own flesh in its capacity to overcome suffering, and death, and corruption, in order that, as sin entered into the world by flesh, and death came to reign by sin over all men, the sin in the flesh might also be condemned through the selfsame flesh in the likeness thereof; and that that overseer of sin, the tempter, might be overcome, and death be cast down from its ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 6, page 119, footnote 8 (Image)

Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius

Dionysius. (HTML)

Exegetical Fragments. (HTML)

An Exposition of Luke XXII. 46, Etc. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1016 (In-Text, Margin)

... which is expressed thus: “Cursed is the ground in thy works: in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;” or thus, “Earth thou art, and unto earth shalt thou return.” For which reason the Holy Scriptures, that indicate in many various ways the dire distressfulness of life, designate it as a valley of weeping. And most of all indeed is this world a scene of pain to the saints, to whom He addresses this word, and He cannot lie in uttering it: “In the world ye shall have tribulation.”[John 16:33] And to the same effect also He says by the prophet, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” But I suppose that He refers to this entering not into temptation, when He speaks in the prophet’s words of being delivered out of the afflictions. For ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 6, page 296, footnote 2 (Image)

Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius

Alexander of Alexandria. (HTML)

Epistles on the Arian Heresy and the Deposition of Arius. (HTML)

To Alexander, Bishop of the City of Constantinople. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2441 (In-Text, Margin)

... Holy Spirit, as the divine Scriptures teach us; who hath inaugurated both the holy men of the Old Testament, and the divine teachers of that which is called the New. And besides, also, one only Catholic and Apostolic Church, which can never be destroyed, though all the world should seek to make war with it; but it is victorious over every most impious revolt of the heretics who rise up against it. For her Goodman hath confirmed our minds by saying, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”[John 16:33] After this we know of the resurrection of the dead, the first-fruits of which was our Lord Jesus Christ, who in very deed, and not in appearance merely, carried a body, of Mary Mother of God, who in the end of the world came to the human race to put ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 438, footnote 6 (Image)

Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies

Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (HTML)

Book V (HTML)

Sec. I.—Concerning the Martyrs (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2979 (In-Text, Margin)

... manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, because your reward is great in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before us.” And again: “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” And afterwards: “If they persecute you in this city, flee ye to another. For in the world ye have tribulation: for they shall deliver you into the synagogues; and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, and for a testimony to them.”[John 16:33] And, “He that endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved.” For he that is persecuted for the sake of the faith, and bears witness in regard to Him, Christ, and endures, is truly a man of God.

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 116, footnote 18 (Image)

Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen

The Diatessaron of Tatian. (HTML)

The Diatessaron. (HTML)

Section XLVII. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3272 (In-Text, Margin)

... my Father. [14] His disciples said unto him, Lo, thy speech is now plain, and thou hast not said one [15] thing in an ænigma. Now, lo, we know that thou knowest everything, and needest not that any man should ask thee: and by this we believe that thou camest forth [16, 17] from God. Jesus said unto them, Believe that an hour cometh, and lo, it hath come, and ye shall be scattered, every one of you to his place, and shall leave me [18] alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.[John 16:33] This have I said unto you, that in me ye may have peace. And in the world trouble shall overtake you: but be of good courage; for I have overcome the world.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 1, page 155, footnote 27 (Image)

Augustine: Prolegomena: St. Augustine's Life and Work, Confessions, Letters

The Confessions (HTML)

Having manifested what he was and what he is, he shows the great fruit of his confession; and being about to examine by what method God and the happy life may be found, he enlarges on the nature and power of memory. Then he examines his own acts, thoughts and affections, viewed under the threefold division of temptation; and commemorates the Lord, the one mediator of God and men. (HTML)

About to Speak of the Temptations of the Lust of the Flesh, He First Complains of the Lust of Eating and Drinking. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 919 (In-Text, Margin)

... not of such a nature as that I am able to resolve to cut it off once for all, and not touch it afterwards, as I was able to do with concubinage. The bridle of the throat, therefore, is to be held in the mean of slackness and tightness. And who, O Lord, is he who is not in some degree carried away beyond the bounds of necessity? Whoever he is, he is great; let him magnify Thy name. But I am not such a one, “for I am a sinful man.” Yet do I also magnify Thy name; and He who hath “overcome the world”[John 16:33] maketh intercession to Thee for my sins, accounting me among the “feeble members” of His body, because Thine eyes saw that of him which was imperfect; and in Thy book all shall be written.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 1, page 272, footnote 3 (Image)

Augustine: Prolegomena: St. Augustine's Life and Work, Confessions, Letters

Letters of St. Augustin (HTML)

Letters of St. Augustin (HTML)

From Jerome (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1604 (In-Text, Margin)

2. As for us, established here in our monastery, we feel the shock of waves on every side, and are burdened with the cares of our lot as pilgrims. But we believe in Him who hath said, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world,”[John 16:33] and are confident that by His grace and guidance we shall prevail against our adversary the devil.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 4, page 193, footnote 5 (Image)

Augustine: The Anti-Manichaean Writings, The Anti-Donatist Writings

Writings in Connection with the Manichæan Controversy. (HTML)

Reply to Faustus the Manichæan. (HTML)

Faustus denies that the prophets predicted Christ.  Augustin proves such prediction from the New Testament, and expounds at length the principal types of Christ in the Old Testament. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 457 (In-Text, Margin)

32. He will see the times of the judges precede those of the kings, as the judgment will precede the kingdom. And under both the judges and the kings he will see Christ and the Church repeatedly prefigured in many and various ways. Who was in Samson, when he killed the lion that met him as he went to get a wife among strangers, but He who, when going to call His Church from among the Gentiles, said, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world?"[John 16:33] What means the hive in the mouth of the slain lion, but that, as we see, the very laws of the earthly king dom which once raged against Christ have now lost their fierceness, and have become a protection for the preaching of gospel sweetness? What is that woman boldly ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 246, footnote 3 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament. (HTML)

Of the agreement of the evangelists Matthew and Luke in the generations of the Lord. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 1693 (In-Text, Margin)

... brethren, do you think have this day been in hesitation whether they would go here or there? And they who in this hesitation, turning their thoughts to Christ, have run to the church, have overcome, not any man, but the devil himself, him that hunteth after the souls of the whole world. But they who in that hesitation have chosen rather to run to the amphitheatre, have assuredly been overcome by him whom the others overcame—overcame in Him who saith, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”[John 16:33] For the Captain suffered Himself to be tried, only that He might teach His soldiers to fight.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 412, footnote 7 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament. (HTML)

On the words of the Gospel, Mark xiii. 32, ‘But of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.’ (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3185 (In-Text, Margin)

4. Let us not love the world. It overwhelms its lovers, it conducts them to no good. We must rather labour in it that it seduce us not, than fear lest it should fall. Lo, the world falleth; the Christian standeth firm; because Christ doth not fall. For wherefore saith the Lord, “Rejoice, for that I have overcome the world”?[John 16:33] We might answer Him if we pleased, “‘Rejoice,’ yes do Thou rejoice. If Thou ‘hast overcome,’ do thou rejoice. Why should we?” Why doth He say to us, “Rejoice;” but because it is for us that He hath overcome, for us hath fought? For wherein fought He? In that He took man’s nature upon Him. Take away His birth of a virgin, take away ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 61, footnote 7 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm XXIV (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 626 (In-Text, Margin)

... remove, that they hinder not, the entrances which ye have made, of desire and fear. “And be ye lift up, ye everlasting gates.” And be ye lift up, ye entrances of eternal life, of renunciation of the world, and conversion to God. “And the King of glory shall come in.” And the King, in whom we may glory without pride, shall come in: who having overcome the gates of death, and having opened for Himself the heavenly places, fulfilled that which He said, “Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.”[John 16:33]

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 67, footnote 11 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm XXIX (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 675 (In-Text, Margin)

11. “The Lord will give strength to His people” (ver. 11). For the Lord will give strength to His people fighting against the storms and whirlwinds of this world, for peace in this world He hath not promised them.[John 16:33] “The Lord will bless His people in peace.” And the same Lord will bless His people, affording them peace in Himself; for, saith He, “My peace I give unto you, My peace I leave with you.”

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 459, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm XCIII (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 4356 (In-Text, Margin)

7. “Thy testimonies, O Lord, are very surely believed” (ver. 5). The Lord, who dwelleth on high, is mightier than the mighty overhangings of the sea. “Thy testimonies are very surely believed.” “Thy testimonies,” because He had said beforehand, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation.”…He added, “but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”[John 16:33] If then He saith, “I have overcome the world,” cling unto Him who overcame the world, who overcame the sea. Rejoice in Him, because the Lord, who dwelleth on high, is mightier, and, “Thy testimonies are very surely believed.” And what is the end of all these? “Holiness becometh Thine house, ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 480, footnote 3 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm XCVII (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 4490 (In-Text, Margin)

17. “And confess to the remembrance of His holiness.” Now made glad, now rejoicing in the Lord, confess unto Him; for unless it were His will, ye would not rejoice in Him. For the Lord Himself saith: “These things I have spoken to you: that in Me ye might have peace. But in the world ye shall have tribulation.”[John 16:33] If ye are Christians, look for tribulations in this world; look not for more peaceful and better times. Brethren, ye deceive yourselves; what the Gospel doth not promise you, promise not to yourselves. Ye know what the Gospel saith; we are speaking to Christians; we ought not to disobey the faith. The Gospel saith this, that in the last ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 3, page 40, footnote 3 (Image)

Theodoret, Jerome and Gennadius, Rufinus and Jerome

The Ecclesiastical History, Dialogues, and Letters of Theodoret. (HTML)

The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret. (HTML)

Book I (HTML)
The Epistle of Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria to Alexander, Bishop of Constantinople. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 312 (In-Text, Margin)

... the Son, we confess as the Sacred Scriptures teach us, one Holy Ghost, who moved the saints of the Old Testament, and the divine teachers of that which is called the New. We believe in one only Catholic Church, the apostolical, which cannot be destroyed even though all the world were to take counsel to fight against it, and which gains the victory over all the impious attacks of the heterodox; for we are emboldened by the words of its Master, ‘ Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world[John 16:33].’ After this, we receive the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead, of which Jesus Christ our Lord became the first-fruits; Who bore a Body, in truth, not in semblance, derived from Mary the mother of God; in the fulness of time sojourning ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 4, page 541, footnote 6 (Image)

Athanasius: Select Writings and Letters

Letters of Athanasius with Two Ancient Chronicles of His Life. (HTML)

The Festal Letters, and their Index. (HTML)

Festal Letters. (HTML)
(For 341.) Coss. Marcellinus, Probinus; Præf. Longinus; Indict. xiv; Easter-day, xiii Kal. Maii, xxiv Pharmuthi; Æra Dioclet. 57. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4396 (In-Text, Margin)

... smite and persecute us, ‘count it all joy, my brethren,’ according to the words of James, ‘when we fall into trials of various temptations, knowing that the trial of our faith worketh patience.’ Let us rejoice as we keep the feast, my brethren, knowing that our salvation is ordered in the time of affliction. For our Saviour did not redeem us by inactivity, but by suffering for us He abolished death. And respecting this, He intimidated to us before, saying, ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation[John 16:33].’ But He did not say this to every man, but to those who diligently and faithfully perform good service to Him, knowing beforehand, that they should be persecuted who would live godly toward Him.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 4, page 543, footnote 1 (Image)

Athanasius: Select Writings and Letters

Letters of Athanasius with Two Ancient Chronicles of His Life. (HTML)

The Festal Letters, and their Index. (HTML)

Festal Letters. (HTML)
(For 342.) Coss. Augustus Constantius III, Constans II, Præf. the same Longinus; Indict. xv; Easter-day iii Id. Apr., xvi Pharmuthi; Æra Dioclet. 58. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4419 (In-Text, Margin)

... ‘the Image of the invisible God,’ our Lord Jesus Christ, the true Light, Who instead of a staff, is our sceptre, instead of unleavened bread, is the bread which came down from heaven, Who, instead of sandals, hath furnished us with the preparation of the Gospel, and Who, to speak briefly, by all these hath guided us to His Father. And if enemies afflict us and persecute us, He again, instead of Moses, will encourage us with better words, saying, ‘Be of good cheer; I have overcome the wicked one[John 16:33].’ And if after we have passed over the Red Sea heat should again vex us or some bitterness of the waters befall us, even thence again the Lord will appear to us, imparting to us of His sweetness, and His life-giving fountain, saying, ‘If any man ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 5, page 134, footnote 18 (Image)

Gregory of Nyssa: Dogmatic Treatises; Select Writings and Letters

Dogmatic Treatises. (HTML)

Against Eunomius. (HTML)

Book II (HTML)
Lastly he displays at length the folly of Eunomius, who at times speaks of the Holy Spirit as created, and as the fairest work of the Son, and at other times confesses, by the operations attributed to Him, that He is God, and thus ends the book. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 520 (In-Text, Margin)

... belong to implant courage in the fearful, saying to the faint-hearted, “Fear not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed,” as says the Psalmist, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” Nay, the Lord Himself says to the fearful,—“Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid,” and, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” and, “Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid,” and again, “Be of good cheer: I have overcome the world[John 16:33].” Accordingly, even though this may not have been the intention of Eunomius, orthodoxy asserts itself by means even of the voice of an enemy. And the next sentence agrees with that which went before:—“Caring for all, and showing all concern and ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 441, footnote 18 (Image)

Jerome: Letters and Select Works

Treatises. (HTML)

To Pammachius against John of Jerusalem. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 5083 (In-Text, Margin)

... bloody; Bosor either flesh, or in tribulation. In few words he shows the whole mystery of the resurrection, that is, both the reality of the flesh and the growth in glory. And the meaning is: Who is he that cometh up from the earth, cometh up from blood? According to the prophecy of Jacob, He has bound His foal to the vine, and has trodden the wine-press alone, and His garments are red with new wine from Bosor, that is from flesh, or from the tribulation of the world: for He Himself[John 16:33] has conquered the world. And, therefore, His garments are red and shining, because He is beauteous in form more than the sons of men, and on account of the glory of His triumph they have been changed into a white robe; and then, in truth, as ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 233, footnote 5 (Image)

Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen

Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen. (HTML)

Panegyric on His Brother S. Cæsarius. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 2954 (In-Text, Margin)

13. Didst thou not fear for Cæsarius, lest aught unworthy of his zeal should befall him? Nay, be ye of good courage. For the victory is with Christ, Who overcame the world.[John 16:33] Now for my part, be well assured, I should be highly interested in setting forth the details of the arguments and allegations used on that occasion, for indeed the discussion contains certain feats and elegances, which I dwell on with no slight pleasure; but this would be quite foreign to an occasion and discourse like the present. And when, after having torn to shreds all his opponent’s sophistries, and ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 308, footnote 15 (Image)

Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen

Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen. (HTML)

The Third Theological Oration.  On the Son. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3569 (In-Text, Margin)

XX. He was baptized as Man—but He remitted sins as God —not because He needed purificatory rites Himself, but that He might sanctify the element of water. He was tempted as Man, but He conquered as God; yea, He bids us be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world.[John 16:33] He hungered—but He fed thousands; yea, He is the Bread that giveth life, and That is of heaven. He thirsted—but He cried, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. Yea, He promised that foun tains should flow from them that believe. He was wearied, but He is the Rest of them that are weary and heavy laden. He was heavy with sleep, but He walked lightly ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 8, page 148, footnote 3 (Image)

Basil: Letters and Select Works

The Letters. (HTML)

To a lapsed Monk. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 2105 (In-Text, Margin)

... of purity. You have disgraced the promise of chastity; we have been made a tragedy of captives, and our story is made a play of before Jews and Greeks. You have made a split in the solitaries’ spirit, driving those of exacter discipline into fear and cowardice, while they still wonder at the power of the devil, and seducing the careless into imitation of your incontinence. So far as you have been able, you have destroyed the boast of Christ, Who said, “Be of good cheer I have overcome the world,”[John 16:33] and its Prince. You have mixed for your country a bowl of ill repute. Verily you have proved the truth of the proverb, “Like a hart stricken through the liver.”

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 9, page 165, footnote 5 (Image)

Hilary of Poitiers, John of Damascus

Title Page (HTML)

De Trinitate or On the Trinity. (HTML)

De Trinitate or On the Trinity. (HTML)
Book IX (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1015 (In-Text, Margin)

... a birth, which by His being born continues in Him the nature of God the Father, and therefore He adds that He is not alone, but the Father is with Him; in power, that is, and unity of nature, for the Father was abiding in Him, speaking in His words, and working in His works. Lastly to shew the reason of this whole discourse, He adds, These things I have spoken to you, that in Me ye may have peace. In this world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world[John 16:33]. He has spoken these things unto them, that in Him they may abide in peace, not torn asunder by the passion of dissension over debates about the faith. He was left alone, but was not alone, for He had come out from God, and there abode still in Him ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 12, page 109, footnote 9 (Image)

Leo the Great, Gregory the Great

The Letters and Sermons of Leo the Great. (HTML)

Letters. (HTML)

To Rusticus, Bishop of Gallia Narbonensis, with the replies to his Questions on various points. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 623 (In-Text, Margin)

... we had to overcome the disaster in our own strength, since both our Counsel and our Strength is Christ, and through Him we can do all things, without Him nothing, Who, to confirm the preachers of the Gospel and the ministers of the mysteries, says, “Lo, I am with you all the days even to the consummation of the age.” And again He says, “these things I have spoken unto you that in me ye may have peace. In this world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, because I have overcome the world[John 16:33].” The promises, which are as plain as they can be, we ought not to let any causes of offence to weaken, lest we should seem ungrateful to God for making us His chosen vessels, since His assistance is powerful as His promises ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 12, page 185, footnote 4 (Image)

Leo the Great, Gregory the Great

The Letters and Sermons of Leo the Great. (HTML)

Sermons. (HTML)

On the Lord's Resurrection, II. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1118 (In-Text, Margin)

We must not, therefore, indulge in folly amid vain pursuits, nor give way to fear in the midst of adversities. On the one side, no doubt, we are flattered by deceits, and on the other weighed down by troubles; but because “the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord11171117    Ps. xxxiii. 5.,” Christ’s victory is assuredly ours, that what He says may be fulfilled, “Fear not, for I have overcome the world[John 16:33].” Whether, then, we fight against the ambition of the world, or against the lusts of the flesh, or against the darts of heresy, let us arm ourselves always with the Lord’s Cross. For our Paschal feast will never end, if we abstain from the leaven of the old ...

Online Dictionary & Commentary of Early Church Beliefs