The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Work of the Holy Spirit - John 16:4b-15 July 2, 2023 How many of you would agree with this statement? It was for our benefit that Jesus is no longer here on earth. We're going to answer that question shortly when we get into the text. Think about though, it's often said when someone who has lived a long life or has been miserably dealing with sickness or illness that, "they're in a better place" or that "at least, they are no longer suffering." I'm sure many of us have even said those words. But to me, it seems unimaginable that those words would be spoken of Christ. We continue in our sermon series through the book of John, chapters 14-16. In this series we're calling Abide, we have been looking at this intimate relationship that Christians share with Jesus. And as we get into the passage further, we begin to see the Reason that is possible, and really the Vessel in which we're able to abide in Jesus. A moment ago, we asked the question, would you agree with this statement: It was for our benefit that Jesus is no longer here on earth. Let's read John 16, beginning in the second half of verse 4 through verse 15 to see what Jesus has to say: 4B "I DID NOT SAY THESE THINGS TO YOU FROM THE BEGINNING, BECAUSE I WAS WITH YOU. 5 BUT NOW I AM GOING TO HIM WHO SENT ME, AND NONE OF YOU ASKS ME, 'WHERE ARE YOU GOING?' 6 BUT BECAUSE I HAVE SAID THESE THINGS TO YOU, SORROW HAS FILLED YOUR HEART. 7 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. 8 AND WHEN HE COMES, HE WILL CONVICT THE WORLD CONCERNING SIN AND RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUDGMENT: 9 CONCERNING SIN, BECAUSE THEY DO NOT BELIEVE IN ME; 10 CONCERNING RIGHTEOUSNESS, BECAUSE I GO TO THE FATHER, AND YOU WILL SEE ME NO LONGER; 11 CONCERNING JUDGMENT, BECAUSE THE RULER OF THIS WORLD IS JUDGED. 12 "I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU, BUT YOU CANNOT BEAR THEM NOW. 13 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. 14 HE WILL GLORIFY ME, FOR HE WILL TAKE WHAT IS MINE AND DECLARE IT TO YOU. 15 ALL THAT THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THEREFORE I SAID THAT HE WILL TAKE WHAT IS MINE AND DECLARE IT TO YOU. First, let's address the statement above with our main idea: It is better that Jesus departed, because the Holy Spirit now abides in all of us. Jesus answers this directly in verse 7, stating that if He does not go, the Helper will not come. The "Helper" of course refers to the Holy Spirit - later called the Spirit of Truth in verse 13 - and, frankly it may not be the best translation. The meaning and "title" includes help, but the concept and work of the Holy Spirit includes so much more than just helping, for example: * In Mark 13 and Luke 12 we see that the Spirt helps us speak and bear witness * In Psalm 143, and all throughout this section and the book of Acts, we see that the Spirit teaches us and reminds us of the things we need to know and remember. Here too, we see that He is our comforter, our encourager, and our strength. * We see that He is the owner - so to speak - of the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5. You see, this Helper plays a significant role in the life of the believer. When I studied this passage this week, one thought kept coming over me. The Holy Spirit is expanding the work that Christ began. Pastor Pat mentioned it a few weeks ago, and I touched on it last week too - Jesus's ministry was restricted to a specific geographical area. But, when He departed, the Holy Spirit came to dwell in each believer, expanding the ministry of Jesus all over the globe. One commentator put it this way: "God's plan can only be completed when the Son returns to heaven and the Spirit is sent to take his place on earth. The cross is absolutely necessary to inaugurate the new age of salvation, and only after that central event of salvation history can the Spirit come." Notice how somber this text is. Jesus began saying that He purposefully waited to share these things. Which things? The fact that He was getting ready to return to His Father through an earthly death. The fact that He was going to prepare a place for us when He does return to the Father. The fact that He would not leave us alone but will send the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. The fact that through the torment that they will soon face - not only because of the Savior's death, but also because of the persecution they would face - they can have joy in knowing that the Spirit of God is with them. Jesus waited, because as we see in verse 6, sorrow has filled their hearts, which is why they were all but frozen in this news. That's why He encourages them here that they will be better off without Jesus present. A very difficult thing to hear. There are two major parts in this section, both directly related to the role of the Holy Spirit. The first part is found in verses 8-11, which describes the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. Next, in verses 12-15, Jesus describes the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church. So, WHAT IS THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? First, the work of the Holy Spirit in the world found in verses 8-11: Admittedly, this whole section can be a little challenging to understand. During those times, I like to look at other translations, and even some paraphrases. I think the New Living Translation does a good job with this, here is how it renders verses 8-11: 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world's sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. Another term here that needs to be explained more, so that, we can fully grasp this section is the term "convict." Possibly the best example I saw about this term in the context of this section is that the Holy Spirit effectively acts as the prosecutor and His role is to convince, to show, to reveal, or to expose the things of the world to those who do not believe. So, once again, the work of the Holy Spirit in the world includes the following: * He convicts of sin (8,9) o Jesus mentions specifically the sin of disbelief. o Disbelief is the ultimate sin. o The function of conviction is not meant to condemn, but to bring salvation. o So, it is not accusatory, rather it is to bring to light that which brings them to Christ. o It's to open the eyes of those who don't believe, so they may turn to the Lord. o And since the Holy Spirit uses us in this process, it's important for us to bring the message of salvation in a way that reveals sin, not accuses people of their sin. o It's not our job to make them listen. o It's the complete and whole role of the Spirit to reveal sin in their lives to draw them to repentance. o So, how do we participate in this? * First, we need to listen to the Holy Spirit * When we pray or read, we need to carefully be listening to what He is saying * Next, we need to be followers * When He speaks, we must be willing to follow Him * Think about Philip in Acts 8. The Lord told him to down the road from Gaza to Jerusalem - so he went, and was able to share Christ with the Ethiopian * Or what about Acts 16, where Paul and Silas were told not to preach in Asia, but instead to preach in Macedonia. * Finally, we need to be doers * Many times we go where God is leading us, but we fail to carry out the mission. * I've done this many times in the corporate world, where I failed to follow up on something. I began the process but came short of finishing it up. * So, we must be doers, not just followers or just listeners. o Next, the work of the Holy Spirit in the world is that ... * He convicts of righteousness (8, 10) o The Spirit reveals the absence of righteousness in the world. o Psalm 140 and Romans 3 teach us that there is no one righteous. o So, when the Holy Spirit convicts of righteousness, He is not only revealing this truth, but He is also directing them to the One Who can declare them to be righteous. o This is why Paul says later in Romans 3: 23 FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD, 24 AND ARE JUSTIFIED BY HIS GRACE AS A GIFT, THROUGH THE REDEMPTION THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS, 25 WHOM GOD PUT FORWARD AS A PROPITIATION BY HIS BLOOD, TO BE RECEIVED BY FAITH. THIS WAS TO SHOW GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS, BECAUSE IN HIS DIVINE FORBEARANCE HE HAD PASSED OVER FORMER SINS. 26 IT WAS TO SHOW HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AT THE PRESENT TIME, SO THAT HE MIGHT BE JUST AND THE JUSTIFIER OF THE ONE WHO HAS FAITH IN JESUS. (Romans 3:23-26) o Then, finally, the Holy Spirit work in the world as ... * He convicts of judgement (8, 11) o This accomplishes a couple of things. o First, it reveals the other side of the message of salvation, judgement. No one likes to be told that they will be judged, but that is the reality of the Scriptures. o The second thing this accomplishes is that it reveals that Satan - the ruler of this world - has been defeated already. * One writer put it this way, describing what it means when Satan is called the "god or ruler" of this world: The phrase "god of this world" ... indicates that Satan is the major influence on the ideals, opinions, goals, hopes and views of the majority of people. His influence also encompasses the world's philosophies, education, and commerce. The thoughts, ideas, speculations and false religions of the world are under his control and have sprung from his lies and deceptions. * Elsewhere, Satan is called prince, because ultimately, Christ is King. * This is best described and understood in the biblical account of Job. There, we see clearly, that while Satan has some control, it is 1) limited, and 2) still under the authority and sovereignty of God. * One of the many names of Satan is "deceiver," which is a hint of one of the many ways Satan works in the world o If the Holy Spirit has a role in judgement, this would include the judgement of those who follow the lies and deceit of Satan. o Those who chose to follow Satan's ways, in lieu of the ways of Christ, will be subjected to God's final judgement. In it's simplest form, without the Holy Spirit, the world does not understand the truth of sin, righteousness or judgement. Did you see it, by the way? This is the Gospel. We are born into sin, we are in need of a Savior because we can only be in the presence of God if we are righteous, and because we are sinners, we cannot be declared righteous without the work of Christ on the Cross. For those who are not saved by grace, they will face eternal judgement and separation from the Father. The work of the Holy Spirit does not end here, as we saw earlier. He also works within the Church in the following ways: First, * He guides us into all the truth (13) o All throughout the New Testament, we see lists of the things that characterize us as followers of Jesus. o That's not possible without the physical presence of Jesus - like these disciples had, or without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as we have Him today. o We talked about the Fruit of the Spirit a couple of weeks ago from Galatians 5. o Philippians 4 also has a great list speaking to being honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, and even of excellence. o Of course, there are several lists that show us what the world's actions are like, as well. o So, just like we saw earlier, we must follow His guidance in our lives. o I've been reading a book, and last week one of the chapters spoke on the idea of building good habits, particularly good Spiritual habits to be aligned with the Spirit. o We are called to do away with the flesh, and to set our minds on the things of the Spirit. o Where is your mind? Where do your thoughts take you? o Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the mind of Christ and follow His lead. o Next, we see that ... * He declares the things that are to come (13) o This verse is not very clear. o It's not agreed upon by all commentators on exactly what Christ is speaking to here. o Is He speaking to His arrest, trial, death, and resurrection? o One commentator suggested that He is speaking about the future revelation of Christ through the rest of the New Testament writings. o We don't know for certain, but the bottom line is, in it's due time, the Holy Spirit will declare the things that are to come. o Just as Jesus waited to tell His disciples what was to come, the Holy Spirit has also withheld. o I studied the book of Revelation earlier this year. Did you know that some of the most respected and brilliant minds do not agree on the events of the end times? I read a 500 page book on four of the most popular viewpoints on the events of Revelation. o I think God does this on purpose. He wants there to be some mystery. Why? Because we must rely on Him in that mystery. o We're not meant to know everything. We're meant to cling to Him. o Are you clinging to Him? Are you trusting God and His ways? o Finally ... * He glorifies Christ (14) o What's really neat about this section of Scripture is how Jesus seems to be passing on the torch to the Holy Spirit. Think about Jesus's ministry. Several times, it is revealed that Jesus was to glorify the Father, and here we see that The Holy Spirit is to glorify the Son. * John 13:31-32 is a good example of this: 31 WHEN HE HAD GONE OUT, JESUS SAID "NOW IS THE SON OF MAN GLORIFIED, AND GOD IS GLORIFIED IN HIM. 32 IF GOD IS GLORIFIED IN HIM, GOD WILL ALSO GLORIFY HIM IN HIMSELF, AND GLORIFY HIM AT ONCE. o What does it mean to "glorify?" * The idea of glory, particularly relating to glorifying God or Christ, is to direct all our praise, adoration, thanksgiving and worship to Him. * It's about placing Him above all things and allowing Him to shine through us. o So, the Holy Spirit is now glorifying Jesus, just as Jesus glorified the Father. We've seen that the Holy Spirit is at work, right now, all over the world. In the world, to non-believers, and within each believer. This is why we said what we did earlier to open that: It is better that Jesus departed, because the Holy Spirit now abides in all of us. Now, it is up to us to listen to the Holy Spirit, follow the Holy Spirit, and to do what He leads us to do. What's stopping you from this? Is it sin? Repent. Is it a lack of discipline? Begin with prayer, and begin reading the Word of God systematically. Is it desire? Repent and ask the Lord to give you delight in His ways. Begin with prayer. Let the Lord lead you by His Spirit. We know from this section that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all working together. For you. For me. Isn't that amazing? Let's pray. 2