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John – From the Upper Room... (8 of 12)
The Work of the Holy Spirit
John 15:26-16:15
Romans 4:25 (ESV) –
“...who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
Jesus’ bodily, physical resurrection is the guarantee of our future resurrection. The news is tremendously glorious – Jesus has triumphed over sin and death!
John 14:16-17 (ESV) –
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth...”
John 14:17 (ESV) –
“...for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
The Holy Spirit will remain with Jesus’ followers forever – The Holy Spirit indwells all believers!
John 7:38-39 (ESV) –
“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
Pondering the permanent presence and work of the Holy Spirit transforms our perspective! Jesus says – ...it is to your advantage that I go away... The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus and guides us into the truth. He is with us even in the midst of tremendous suffering, He convicts us of our sin and compels us to see our need for salvation.
John 15:26-27 (ESV) –
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.”
1. When Holy Spirit comes, He will testify about Jesus.
John 15:26 (ESV) –
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father...”
The word Helper has also been translated – Advocate, Counselor and Comforter. The Greek word has the root meaning of – one called alongside to help.
1 John 2:1 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“...I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
John 14:6 (ESV) –
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 15:27 (ESV) –
“And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.”
Acts 1:8 (ESV) –
“...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
We don’t witness alone; we do so through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and our awareness of His indwelling presence transforms our perspective.
John 16:1-4 (ESV) –
“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.”
2. Jesus calibrates our expectations and prepares us for persecution.
John 15:20 (ESV) –
“‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”
As Jesus’ followers we ought to expect that we will face the opposition and hatred our Savior faced.
Jesus says – Expect opposition! The world doesn’t and cannot understand our values. In the midst of this, it’s essential that we remember that we’re not alone! God is with us.
John 16:2 (ESV) –
“They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.”
John 16:1 (ESV) –
“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.”
John 16:4 (ESV) –
“...that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.”
Jesus prepares us so we’re ready to withstand the pressures that will come. During Jesus’ earthly ministry the opposition focused on Him but it was about to turn on to His followers.
John 16:5-11 (ESV) –
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 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 go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
3. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and our desperate need of salvation. There can be no conversion without first experiencing conviction.
John 16:5 (ESV) –
“But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?”
John 13:36 (ESV) –
“Lord, where are you going?”
John 13:36 (ESV) –
“Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”
John 14:5 (ESV) –
“Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
John 16:7 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“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 go, I will send him to you.”
John 16:7 NLT (emphasis mine) –
“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.”
Jesus’ leaving was ultimately to the disciples (and to our) advantage. Ponder this, it’s better to live after the cross than during Jesus’ earthy ministry.
John 16:8 (ESV) –
“...when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment...”
The Holy Spirit moves us recognize our sin and our need for the Savior. There’s an old phrase – To come under conviction. The Holy Spirit’s job is to expose our guilt and call us to repentance.
This is vital because it’s commonly and wrongly assumed in this world that – I’m a good person... I’m okay... I’m more good than bad...
John 16:8 (ESV) –
“...concerning sin and righteousness and judgment...”
The Holy Spirit convicts us not only of our sin but of our false righteousness. Think about it, it’s human nature to say – I’m a good person… but such thinking is false and spiritually utterly blind.
Isaiah 64:5 (ESV) –
“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
Even when we think we’re being good, the reality is our righteous deeds are ugly, they’re not actually righteous and our judgments are spiritually blind.
The Holy Spirit convicts us of our guilt before God and we come to see the truth that Jesus alone is perfectly righteous and His righteousness is available through His death and resurrection to all who turn to Him in repentance and belief.
If we’re convinced that we’re guilty before God, that we’re not righteous and that the only way to stand before God is in Christ’s perfect righteousness and we see that eternal judgment is coming – when we’re convinced of these things we’ll turn to the Lord for salvation.
John 16:12-15 (ESV) –
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
4. The Holy Spirit will guide all who follow Jesus into the truth.
The Holy Spirit illuminates the truth that is already there so it can be seen and received. He illuminates the significance of God’s work for us in Christ.
If you’re spiritually alive it’s because of Holy Spirit. Without Him we’re dead in our sins.
John 16:7 (ESV) –
“...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 go, I will send him to you.”
It’s to our advantage that Jesus has returned to the Father – His ascension. We have the Holy Spirit and because of His indwelling presence, we are never, ever alone. God is with us.
Statement of Faith – Article 6: The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
Pondering the permanent presence and work of the Holy Spirit must transform our perspective! Jesus says – ...it is to your advantage that I go away... The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus and guides us into the truth. He is with us even in the midst of tremendous suffering, He convicts us of our sin and compels us to see our need for salvation.