But It's Good For You

John 16:4–7 “4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

The Promised Comforter

The Coming Comforter

John 14:16–18 “16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

At least 3x more, and in each of chapters 14, 15 and 16, the Comforter is mentioned.

The ‘Paraclete’ as ‘Advocate’

‘Comforter’ is the same word as ‘Advocate’ in 1Jn

1 John 2:1–2 “1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

The work of the Comforter is to teach and to testify

NICNT (John. Additional Note F: The Paraclete. Pg 587-590) suggests ‘advocate’ or ‘counselor’ as the best translations of the paraclete, which carries a legal connotation and suggests one representing to the adversaries proactively.

John 14:26 “26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

John 15:26 “26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”

John 16:7 “7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

The Work of the Comforter

The promised work of the Spirit is both to the world and within the believer.

The work of the Spirit in the world

Without the work of God, people really are lost concerning what is sin, righteousness, and good judgment.

The Spirit’s work in the world is to bring to light, or to expose

WBC Jn 16.8 - To reprove is “to expose”, consistent with two other uses Jn 3.20, 8.46. “The Paraclete is to expose the world and demonstrate its error with reference to sin, righteousness and judgment . . . not specific acts . . . but . . . what sin, righteousness and judgment are.”

John 3:20 “20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”

John 8:46 “46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?”

The Spirit exposes the truth about sin, righteousness and judgment

WBC Jn 16.8 - “The Paraclete is to expose the world and demonstrate its error with reference to sin, righteousness and judgment . . . not specific acts . . . but . . . what sin, righteousness and judgment are.”

Of sin

Unbelief = rejection

Unbelief is a wilful act of rejection

John 1:11 “11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

John 3:19 “19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

John 15:22 “22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.”

Of righteousness

The lifting up of Jesus on the cross turns human reasoning on its head. To the world it was a price for unrighteousness; for Jesus, it was a glorification and ascension to the Father.

I go unto the Father” - a punishment for the world was a glorification for Jesus.

“You see me no more” - a riddance for the world is a joyous exaltation for the believer.

Of judgment

Jn 12.31 the prince of the world is cast out, and no longer has free reign in the earth.

The Work of the Spirit in Believers

John 16:13–16 “13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.”

Guide you into all truth

Depths and heights of revelation not yet received.

John 16:14 “14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”

The depths and heights of revelation are extensions of the same word and work of Jesus Christ, for they all come from him.

The work of the Spirit is the work of Jesus.

“Jesus brings the truth, and makes it present through his coming into the world; the Spirit-Paraclete opens up this truth and creates the entrance into it for the believers.” (WBC John. Jn 16.13).

He will shew you things to come

The entire scope of prophetic ministry (cf. Isa 41.22-23)

Meaning of the past

The importance of the present

The orientation toward the future

He will glorify me

Everything comes from the Father to you for the glory of Jesus Christ.

John 16:14–15 “14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”

The temporary displacement of Jesus results in our elevation to vistas unknown before

John 16:16 “16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.”

They couldn’t yet imagine the heights of glory their own spirits would reach, to see Jesus exalted

Stephen: Acts 7:55–56 “55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”

Ephesians 2:4–6 “4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”

In summary, God is going to give you a comprehensive understanding of how everything fits together for the glory of Jesus Christ

Your vision and revelation is going to become more heavenly.

Embrace What’s Good For You

Sorrow and loss is not the full picture

Sorrow is a natural response to change

John 16:4–6 “4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.”

Focus on loss suppresses the curiosity and adventure

John 16:5 “5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?”

Yet they had asked at the beginning:

John 13:36 “36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.”

John 14:5 “5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?”

John 14:8 “8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”

I think what had happened is this: as Jesus began to discuss the changes that were about to take place, particularly his departure and the coming of the Comforter, their hearts became so clouded with the distress of Jesus’ departure as they knew him that they lost their interest and curiosity to their grief and despair.

But it’s good for you

The point was the gain and the change

They were fixated on the loss of the transition, when Jesus was doing everything he could to show them that what was coming gets better than what they have now.

John 14:12 “12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

John 14:16–18 “16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

John 14:23 “23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

John 14:26 “26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

John 14:28 “28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.”

John 15:7 “7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

John 15:10 “10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”

John 15:11 “11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

This is a key verse: Jesus directly explains his purpose for sharing the things he has, which is that his joy would remain, and their joy would be full - exactly opposite to the effect the disciples were taking!

John 15:15 “15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

John 15:16 “16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

It is for your good

It’s good for you that I go away

John 16:7 “7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

“It is expedient for you” is the same phrase used by Caiaphas in Jn 11.49-50 (NICNT Jn 16.7).

John 11:49–50 “49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.”

The disciples thought Jesus’ departure was a disaster; in fact, it was for their best good.

God’s redemptive purposes were fulfilled.

The Holy Spirit would animate the power of God in a way that even exceeded the human presence of Jesus with them.

“I am with you now, but I shall be in you.”

God is able to effect his purposes through situations and circumstances that we interpret blandly or badly.

Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

What is God bringing your way that you’re reluctant to embrace? Trust him. He will bring only what’s for your best good.

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