The Work of the Holy Spirit. (John 16: 7-15)

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Study Notes: "The Work of the Holy Spirit" (John 16:7-15)

Introduction

• Transformative Life with Christ: Emphasizes the transformative power of a relationship with Jesus Christ, leading to love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, humility, and self-control.
• Eternal Impact: Highlights the eternal life and peace promised with Christ, countering nihilism and providing a purposeful life.

Context of John 16:7-15

• Preparation for Departure: Jesus prepares His disciples for His departure, introducing them to the Holy Spirit.
• Promise of the Holy Spirit: Jesus explains it is beneficial for Him to leave so that the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, can come.

Key Verses (John 16:7-15)

• Advocate's Role:
  • Verse 7: Jesus' departure allows the Holy Spirit to come.
  • Verse 8: The Holy Spirit will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment.
  • Verses 9-11: Details on conviction—sin (unbelief), righteousness (Jesus' ascension), and judgment (Satan's defeat).
  • Verses 12-13: The Holy Spirit guides into all truth and reveals future events.
  • Verses 14-15: The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus and shares divine truths with believers.

The Holy Spirit's Work

• Convicting the World:
  • Sin: Convicts people of their sin to lead them to faith in Christ.
  • Righteousness: Reveals true righteousness in Jesus’ absence.
  • Judgment: Declares the defeat of Satan and the impending judgment.
• Guidance for Believers:
  • Into All Truth: Leads believers into comprehensive spiritual truth.
  • Future Revelations: Discloses future events, particularly concerning the Church.
  • Glorifying Jesus: Exalts Jesus by revealing His truths to believers.

Practical Implications

• Evangelistic Empowerment: The Holy Spirit empowers believers to witness effectively.
• Divine Guidance: Believers receive continuous guidance and truth from the Holy Spirit.

Progressive Revelation

• Understanding Over Time: Revelation is progressive; believers grow in understanding as they mature spiritually.
• Word + Spirit: God's truth extends beyond theological knowledge to all areas of life.
• Living Revelation: Jesus' revelation continues through the Holy Spirit’s work in believers.

Personal Application

• Closer Relationship with Jesus: The closer believers are to Jesus, the more they understand His teachings and purposes.
• Living Out the Truth: Embrace the Holy Spirit’s guidance

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Transcript

The Work of the Holy Spirit. (John 16:7-15)

Transcript

 For nearly fifty years, I've been convinced that life with Jesus Christ is not just better, but transformative. The fruits of this relationship—love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, humility, and self-control—enhance our lives and the lives of those around us.

But this isn't just about the here and now. With Christ, we are promised eternal life, a peace beyond understanding, and a purpose that counters nihilism and cynicism. Without Him, life lacks real peace and purpose, and we face an eternity separated from God.

In today’s episode, we explore John 16:7-15, where Jesus prepares His disciples for His departure, introducing them to the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells them it is for their benefit that He goes away, as His departure means the arrival of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who will guide them into all truth and glorify Christ. We'll unpack how the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and empowers us to witness and live out our faith effectively.

Join me as we uncover how the Holy Spirit continues Jesus' work, providing divine guidance and revealing the truth that transforms lives. Stay tuned as we explore the eternal impact of living a life led by the Spirit of Truth.

So welcome to TBPDP….

According to the Bible, with Christ, you have eternal life. To put it another way, without Christ, you are worse off now and later. Without Him, there is uncertainty and there is no real sense peace, the perfect peace that God can give. Without Christ, there is no real purpose in life, and for some, and nihilism and a bleak cynical outlook seems like a rational way to live. From my perspective I also believe you also face an eternity separated from Him.

I am totally convinced and completely committed to the idea that you are better off with Christ in your life than without Him.

Other people will claim otherwise, happy to define themselves as sceptics or a cynics. Some are even antagonistic towards the Bible and Christianity might, but even more surprising is that Jesus Christ Himself said that this was always going to be the case.

Let me explain. The Lord spent three years with His disciples. Just before He was crucified, He met with them in the upper room to prepare them for His death and departure. We have been studying what is commonly called the Upper Room Discourse for several episodes now. It starts in John chapter 13. Technically, the upper room scene itself ends at the end of chapter 14, but as they leave the upper room and walk outside, Jesus continues to speak to them. 

So, in chapters 15 and 16, we have an extension of the discussion that took place in the upper room.

In today episode we continue that process, we are  in fact coming to the last section in this lengthy section of teaching, looking at the final chapter today and tomorrow.

Today we begin in John chapter 16 verse 7 looking at the work of the comforter and advocate God has left with us with and tomorrow we will close out chapter 16 when we shall see how even in the midst of grief and we can find joy.

The Work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-15)

7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. 12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

(John 16: 7-15)

Jesus begins this section by saying the rather startling thing that it is to our advantage that He goes away. The word "good" used here literally means profitable or beneficial. Jesus is telling His disciples that it is better for them if He leaves. 

It seems that the rest of this chapter will elaborate on this statement. But how are we better off without Christ being here? 

Well as I understand the message he gives them tells them there are at least four advantages that they/we can have since the Lord has left.

The first advantage is right here, where Jesus tells us that because He departs, we have the provision of the Holy Spirit. In these verses, He explains that the Holy Spirit will come and perform two key functions: convicting the world and communicating to followers the plans and purpose of God in their lives and to provide us with power in out witness to other people.

Clearly, one of the requirements for the coming of the Holy Spirit was the departure of Jesus Christ.

Then, Jesus explains how the Holy Spirit will work.

First, He will minister to the world. Verse 8 says, When he comes, he will prove the world to wrong in its understanding about things like sin, righteousness and judgment." 

The key to understanding the Holy Spirit's ministry to the world is the word "prove," or perhaps better translated “reprove”, in the King James Version. This word means to convict or to expose. It involves an authoritative examination; whereby unquestionable proof can be found enabling us to have the power to make a decisive judgment. All these ideas are encompassed in the word "reprove."

In modern parlance we might use the word, "convince." The Holy Spirit will convince the world. The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter, which in Greek literally means advocate. He comes as a lawyer, an advocate, or an attorney to the world, convincing and convicting us of three things: sin, righteousness, and judgment.

Sin: The Holy Spirit will convince the world of sin. He does so by showing people their own sin so that they may believe in Christ. (John 16:9).

Righteousness: The Holy Spirit convinces people of what true righteousness means because Jesus goes to the Father and is no longer seen (John 16:10). Without Christ, people cannot see their lack of righteousness. The Holy Spirit will now come to fills this gap (so to speak), convincing people of their need for righteousness.

Finally, Judgment: The Holy Spirit convinces the world of judgment because the prince of this world, Satan, is seen to be judged. (John 16:11). When Jesus went to the cross, He judged Satan once and for all.

After Jesus' departure, the Holy Spirit will continue this work, convincing the world of the judgment to come.

The Holy Spirit convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, making our evangelistic efforts more effective. With the Holy Spirit, we also are empowered to share the gospel with people everywhere.

So in the opening verse Jesus said, “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away." Now, it seems that the rest of this chapter elaborates on this statement explaining how are we better off without Christ being here? 

Moving forward Jesus discusses the work of the Holy Spirit specifically towards His disciples. Verse 12 states, "“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.." The word "bear" here implies carrying a load, similar to the way Jesus will bear His cross. But Jesus acknowledges that His disciples are not yet ready to comprehend everything He desires to teach them.

However, he assures them, "When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears from God  He will tell them speaking of things to come" (John 16:13). 

In this one verse Jesus outlines three essential tasks the Holy Spirit will fulfil for His disciples:

1.     Guidance into All Truth: The Holy Spirit will lead the disciples into comprehensive truth. This encompasses everything necessary for their spiritual growth and ministry. 

2.     The Revealing of Future Things: The Holy Spirit will disclose future events. This includes matters of prophecy concerning the Church and the last days. Jesus, during His earthly ministry, only briefly mentioned the Church, but post-ascension, the Holy Spirit extensively addresses how it isto be established and formed as well as its role, particularly in the  Acts and the Epistles.

3.     Glorifying Jesus: Lastly, Jesus says, "14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you." The Holy Spirit's primary mission is to exalt Jesus Christ. He will reveal and magnify the truths and attributes of Christ to the disciples, empowering future followers how to understand them and proclaim them effectively.

He assures them that while He must leave physically, the Holy Spirit will continue His work, guiding them into truth, revealing future events, and glorifying Christ. This transition ensures that the disciples, and by extension all believers, will have access to divine guidance and empowerment through the ministry of the Gods Spirit.

This passage underscores the vital role of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer, and in the Christian church to this day. He enables us to understand spiritual truths, anticipate future events, and magnify the person and work of Jesus Christ in our individual lives and ministries.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, whose great work is to bring God's truth to believers. We have a special name for this bringing of God's truth to men; we call it revelation, and no passage in the New Testament shows us what we might call the principles of revelation and how it works better than this one.

This Revelation is bound to be a progressive process. Many things Jesus knew he could not at that moment tell his disciples, because they were not yet able to fully receive or understand them. 

It is only possible to tell someone as much as he can understand at that moment. We do not start with the to teach a child algebra on day one; we work up to it. We do not start with advanced mathematics we approach the subject gradually with one plus one equals two. God's revelation to us is like that. He takes us on a journey teaches and revealing to us what we are able to progressively understand. 

This important truth has certain consequences for us as we approach the bible. It tells us that tThere may be certain parts of the bible we may not understand. We may come across things in the Old Testament which may worry and distress us. 

When Jesus came, people came to see that the best way to preserve that purity of the Old Testament revelation of the law given to Moses was to convert people, convince them of the true way to live their lives.

The people of the Old Testament times had grasped a great truth, but only one side of it. Revelation was progressive.

Some would say that since about A.D. 120, when the latest book in the New Testament was written, God has ceased to speak. And in on sense that it true, for we do indeed have a closed cannon of scripture. 

However, God's Spirit is always active; he is always revealing himself. It is true that his supreme and unsurpassable revelation came in Jesus; but Jesus is not just a figure in a book, he is a living person and in him God's revelation continues on through his followers. God is still leading us into greater realization of what Jesus means. The God who spoke up to A.D. 120 is’nt now silent. He is still revealing his truth to human beings today.

But please remember God's revelation to humanity is a revelation of all truth. It is quite wrong to think of it as confined to what we might call theological truth. A great musician can be is inspired, if his music is offered to the glory of God. Handel, telling of how he wrote The Hallelujah Chorus, said: "I saw the heavens opened, and the Great White God sitting on the Throne, and began to write."

When a scientist discovers something which will help make life better for people or when a surgeon discovers a new technique which will save peoples lives and ease their pain, when someone discovers a new treatment which will bring life and hope to suffering humanity, that is a revelation from God and should be credited as such. All truth is God's truth, and the revelation of God’s truth is the work of the Holy Spirit.

That which is revealed comes from God, truth is not men's discovery; it is God's gift revealed It is not something which we create; it is something already waiting to be discovered. At the back of all truth there sits God.

Revelation is the taking of the things of God, His creation, and Jesus and revealing their significance to us. Part of the greatness of Jesus is that one has ever grasped all that he came to say to us. 

No one has or ever will fully work out all the significance of his teaching for life, for the individual and for the world, for society and for the nations.

True revelation is a continual opening out of the meaning and purpose of Jesus in the world.

There we have the crux of the matter. Revelation comes to us, not just from a book or creed, but also from a living person. 

The nearer we live to Jesus, the better we will know him. The more we become like him, the more he will be able to tell us. 

To enjoy his revelation, we simply must accept him as Lord of our life and allow the gift of His Holy Spirit to manifest in us, to his glorious end.