John 16:4b-15

Invocation

Holy Father, it is good to give thanks to you O Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night. For you, O LORD, have made us glad by your work; at the works of your hands we will sing for joy. And we do not declare them with lofty speech or wisdom, but in demonstrations of the Spirit and of power, for our faith is not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. For your great work of salvation was hidden to the rulers of this world, for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but you have chosen what is weak in the world, to shame the strong; what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being may boast in your presence. But we will boast in this: that we know and understand you, that you are the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for we have the mind of Christ, who has made us able to understand spiritual things, since you have given us your Spirit. So lead us now into the truth, and convict us of sin, righteousness, and judgement. As we come into your presence with great joy, vessels of clay, fill us with the treasures of wisdom, which is Christ, the hope of glory. Enable us to walk according to the Spirit, setting our minds on the things that are above. Through Christ, Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end, and Amen.

Confession of Sin

Galatians 5:16–24 ESV

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Are you walking according to the Spirit? How do you know? These lists Paul gives are helpful diagnostics as we do heart work, here in confession. What characterizes the tenor of your life. The works of the flesh are evident. You will know if these things are dominating you. That is, you will know because the Spirit will convict you of such things. Remember unconfessed sin, tends to grow and will soon come to characterize you. You may not be going to orgies, or given to drunkeness, but every time you get on Instagram you are green with envy. You may not have a shrine in your house to Baal, but you’ve already thought more this morning about the Superbowl then about preparing your heart to come before the LORD.

But we must not stop there, just with putting off the old works of the flesh. You must also be actively walking according to the Spirit, with His fruit evermore evident in your life. Are you known for your love? What of Joy? No, your the resident curmudgeon, who hasn’t said a kind word, or cracked a smile since 1970, and you’re not about to start now. Or maybe you find that you just don’t have time for patience. But these things are not optional. Every branch in Christ must bear fruit, otherwise it will be cut off and thrown away. So if these fruits are not seen in you and are not growing, then I must warn you, you are in great danger. So let us consider our manner of life and determine to keep in step with the Spirit. Let us confess both the evident works of the flesh, and the lack of apparent fruit of the Spirit. First silently, and then corporately using he confession found int he bulletin.

New Testament Lesson

1 John 2:18–27 ESV

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Pastoral Prayer

For your Kingdom to come, and your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

For our nation, president, cabinet, house and senate, local magistrates and police officers

For our church, officers, families, ministries and witness

Joe Goleneski (broken hip, pelvis, ball joint)

Jenny (back pain)

Steve and Anne (Back pain)

John Domin

For our missionaries, and the church throughout the world

Michael Goodlin and his wife Natasha

Mission trip to London

Thanks: richly blessing ministry on campus.

For provision (daily bread)

Wisdom for session/diaconate with finance

Wisdom for building search

Guard and keep us from sin and evil

For the word preached.

The Convicting Spirit

Intro

One of the things that British troops complained about during the American War for Independence was the targeting of officers during battle. It was considered ungentlemanly to do so, but of course it was highly strategic since it left the army leaderless on the field. Men without someone to direct them are apt to flee the battle. They need the reassuring presence of the commander to guide them.

It might have seemed to the disciples that Jesus's leaving was premature. It wouldn't have taken a genius to read the current situation and sense that things were beginning to come to a head. Conflict with the religious leaders seemed imminent, yet Jesus kept telling them over and over again that he would shortly leave them. What were they to do when he was gone? Which direction should they go? Sure, Jesus had taught them how they were to treat one another, and what to expect from the world, but would that be enough? Who would lead them when he was gone?

Surprisingly, in our text this morning, Jesus tells His disciples that it is to their advantage that he will leave them. Without clarification, that statement would be ludicrous. The point is, Jesus is not leaving them alone but will send them a helper, whose unique role will be to convict the world of sin and lead the disciples into the truth. Jesus's return to His father triggers a series of events which culminates in the sending of the Holy Spirit to equip and empower the disciples for the mission he will soon send them on. This Helper, the Spirit of truth, will be the personal presence of Jesus, taking the things that are his and declaring them to the disciples, including things that are to come.

In this promise of Jesus, we learn of the work the Holy Spirit has been sent by the Son (and the Father) to accomplish. Work in the world and in the church. Since Jesus has given you the Holy Spirit as a helper, you must rely on Him to accomplish all that he has called you to. We will first consider the Holy Spirit's work in the world, and then His work in the church, concluding with some personal application to equip you for your mission.

I Am Going and this is to Your Advantage

It would not have been a strategic PR move to inform His disciples early on in His ministry that the world would hate them. He was there with them, able to absorb the world's hatred and ire. But now, He is preparing to leave and they need to know. Upon accomplishing His mission, He will return to His Father, the one who sent Him.

Jesus rebukes them because they are no longer asking where He is going. It appears they are not as curious about His departure as they once were, though they remain sorrowful. However, Jesus is emphatic in verse 7, "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth," which is as if He said, "Truly, truly, I say to you."

"It is to your advantage that I go away." How can this be? When I think of advantage, I think of game shows where gaining an advantage means acquiring something that will help you against your opponent. I enjoy cooking shows, and an advantage in those competitions is often a key ingredient needed to prepare the dish. But how could Jesus returning to His Father give us an advantage? Before we ponder what Jesus does say, we need to reflect on what is not said.

If you traced redemptive history as the successive missions of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it was the Father's mission to prepare the world for the coming of His Son. Throughout the Old Covenant, the Father was revealing the person and work of the Son through various types and shadows of the Old Covenant ordinances. Then, in the fullness of time, the Son was sent by the Father to begin and complete His mission of redemption. He would fulfill all those promises laid down in scripture which the Father used to prepare the people of God for salvation. But Jesus didn't come to be a good teacher, He came to be a sacrificial lamb, dying for the sins of His people to save them from sin.

With the privilege of hindsight, we now see that it was to their advantage that Jesus left because it meant that He would have accomplished all that the Father had sent Him to do. If Jesus hadn't left them then He hadn't ascended to the Father; and if He hadn't ascended to the Father it meant He hadn't been raised from the dead; and if He hadn't been raised from the dead it meant He did not die; and if He didn't die, then they were still in their sins and there is no advantage there.

Part of the rebuke Jesus gives His disciples for not being more curious about His departure lies in the fact that they don't understand the significance of the events that will soon unfold over the next few days. Jesus must leave them and this is to their advantage, not just because He will be able to send them the Helper, but because He will accomplish their salvation.

I don't want us to overlook this as we press on to consider the work of the Holy Spirit. For the work of the Spirit is to glorify Christ and the glory of Christ is the completion of His work. The glory of Christ is being a perfect stand-in for you, taking on your sin and suffering its penalty by dying for you. The glory of Christ is an incorruptible body that the Father would not allow to remain in death. The glory of Christ was rising again from the dead on the third day and, after showing Himself alive to many witnesses, returning to His Father in heaven and sending His Spirit to finish the work He began by convicting the world and leading His disciples into the truth.

So yes, we can add our amen when Jesus says that it is to your advantage that He goes because that means your salvation is complete. Amen!

The Spirit's work of convicting the world

But also in an eschatological sense, His ascension to the Father inaugurates the age of the Spirit. For Jesus to send the Helper, he must return to the Father. This is not because they can't both be together with the disciples. Jesus has clearly attributed His word and work to the ministry of the Spirit in Him. For instance, when John the Baptist testifies that he saw the Spirit descend as a dove and remain on Jesus (John 1:32). But as we have just considered, Jesus' return to the Father signifies the completion of His work and the beginning of the Spirit's work. So Jesus briefly explains what that work will be. First, he explains His work in the world, then His work in the disciples.

"When he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8). Convict in this sense means He will prove the world guilty with respect to sin, righteousness, and judgment. Verses 9-11 will explain what Jesus means by these three. But remember that in John's gospel, "the world" refers to all those who oppose God, primarily by rejecting His Son, including the unbelieving Jews. Part of the Spirit's work, then, is to render these individuals guilty of their unbelief, proving that this is inexcusable. So with respect to sin, righteousness, and judgment, all may know that they are guilty. Let's examine each of these in turn.

With Respect to Sin

Men most often err in defining sin. This is where false religions are born. What is sin? The Jews thought they knew. The Greeks had their own opinion. The Catechism teaches that "sin is any lack of conformity to, or transgression of, the law of God" (#14). The Jews had built elaborate fences around the law, assuming they were righteous. Yet, often, they seemed to miss the point of the law altogether. Jesus condemned this very mentality. Using the analogy of a patient who doesn't know they're sick, these individuals did not think they needed a remedy. Jesus is the remedy for what ails them. In fact, he was the entire point of the law.

For the Jews, sin was external. It consisted of eating unclean things, not washing properly, not keeping the Sabbath - all actions that distinguished Jews from Gentiles. They did not recognize that all these were merely preparatory, like tutors leading God's people to the fulfillment in Christ who was to come. But when He came, they did not receive Him. That is the definition of sin. "Concerning sin, because they do not believe in me" (9). What is the greatest sin, the chief sin? Not believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. It is this which the Spirit will come and prove the world is guilty of, leaving it without excuse.

With Respect to Righteousness

Jesus continues: "Concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer" (10). In the Old Testament, Israel's righteousness was described as little more than filthy rags (Is. 64:6). They claimed to be righteous outwardly, but in their hearts, they were desperately wicked. To be righteous in the sight of God means to be justified, to be vindicated. But as Paul so ably shows, righteousness did not consist in works of the law but in faith in God. "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness" (Rom. 4:3). The Holy Spirit will convict the world of righteousness by exposing the foolishness of unbelief when Jesus is vindicated by the Father, by raising Him from the dead and receiving Him in heaven.

We would have no reason to believe in a dead Christ if that's where he remained. His resurrection was the vindication that what Jesus said and did was true. That He was indeed the Christ, the Son of God. Christ, being declared righteous by His acceptance by the Father, also vindicates all those He gave His life to save. Righteousness does not consist in being a good Jew, or even in keeping the law. For even if one could keep the law perfectly, you would still have to deal with the guilt of original sin. Instead, when God promised Adam that one day an offspring would come to bruise the head of the serpent, He was promising that a Son of Adam, a second Adam, would accomplish what the first Adam could not. "Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men" (Rom. 5:18).

The Holy Spirit will prove the world guilty with respect to righteousness when Jesus returns to the Father and His sacrificial death and perfect life are accepted by the Father, then all those who believe in Him will also be justified.

With Respect to Judgment

"When Jesus is vindicated, the world is condemned, including what stands behind the world's rejection of Jesus, namely its ruler. 'Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged' (John 16:11). The ruler of this world is not omniscient. Satan does not know the mind of God. Therefore, he does not know that Jesus is about to triumph over him in the most paradoxical way - by dying! As Paul said, 'none of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory' (1 Cor. 2:8).

The world thinks it is judging Jesus, having rallied the mob, furnished false witnesses, and condemned Him to death on trumped-up charges. But when the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict the world that they were not actually condemning Jesus, but rather, the ruler of this world. The strong man was bound when Jesus died and rose again.

One aspect of the Spirit's ministry is to convict the world of their guilt with respect to sin, righteousness, and judgment. Rejecting Jesus in unbelief and seeking to vindicate oneself is a devil's ploy that will only result in sharing in His condemnation. But how does the Spirit convict the world of these things? By bearing witness about Christ, primarily through the disciples. They are empowered by Him to bear witness to Christ, convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

Consider Acts 2 detailing Peter's sermon after the disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit. It's filled with conviction as Peter shows that Jesus, whom they killed, was the Christ. God raised Him from the dead and exalted Him at His right hand. 'And having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing' (Acts 2:33). The response shows that the world is convicted of its sin.

Peter says, 'repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit' (Acts 2:38). It is through the preaching of the word that the Spirit continues His work of convicting the world, whether they accept the message, or not. Those who hear the gospel and do not respond in faith and repentance will be judged for their rejection of the message.

The power and efficacy of preaching come from the Holy Spirit. He is the one who takes the message the preacher prepares and applies it to the hearts of hearers. Its efficacy does not rest on human artifice but on the power of the Spirit. This is a relief. While preachers should study to improve their craft, methods do not win souls. There is no formula for revival, nor can the work of the Spirit be manufactured. We preach and we pray that the Holy Spirit of God would convict the world of sin, leading them to repentance.

The message of their preaching should contain a call to sinners to faith in Christ, receiving and resting upon His imputed righteousness to escape the judgment coming on the world. That's the basics of the gospel. It doesn't need fancy eloquence or sophistry as its power comes from the Spirit. Only those chosen out of the world (John 15:19) will accept the gospel and believe, while the rest of the world will indeed be found guilty with respect to sin, righteousness, and judgment.

The Spirit's ministry is not limited to convicting the world of sin. He also convicts us. While Jesus' concern seems to be to show that the Spirit, when He comes, will prove those who reject Him guilty, we would be remiss if we did not also consider the ways the Holy Spirit convicts us. It's not only preachers who find the conviction of the Spirit an encouragement, but hearers of the word too.

Jesus leaves His disciples with the sense that after His departure, He will send them 'another' helper, showing that He, as their guide, has been their helper. Just as they relied on Him, they must learn to rely on this other helper. Their new life, with Jesus absent, would still have a mission, but that mission would be carried out in reliance upon the Holy Spirit.

As we begin by hearing the word, so we continue through the hearing of the word. One of the reasons we gather each Lord's day is to hear God speak to us. When we sit under the preaching of the word, we expose our lives to the light. For that to be a profitable experience, we must pray that the Holy Spirit would convict us of sin, drive us to Christ, and grant us repentance that leads to life. That project, we call sanctification, and when it is dependent on the Spirit, that is when sermons will be most profitable to you. You will not be tripped up by things you don't like about the preacher, or ways they may have sinned against you, but instead you will hear Christ. You will hear Him speaking to you by His Spirit, proving you guilty of sin, and offering you the only remedy - His righteousness, calling you to receive Him by faith because you have escaped condemnation.

But the Spirit's ministry is not exhausted in His work convicting the world. Let us consider also His ministry of leading the disciples into the truth."

The Spirit's work of leading the disciples into the Truth

Because I went to seminary with eight children, I did not have the luxury of going slowly. Most guys did it in four years; I did it in two and a half. But even if you took your time going through, it's a lot to take in to become a Master of Divinity. The good professors were often saying, look into this later, or get this resource and consult it later. They often enough told us that we would need to be proactive on the job for they only had time to scratch the surface. Even if they had taught us more, we couldn't have handled it. That's what Jesus is saying to His disciples, "I still have many things to say to you..." (John 16:12). But Jesus is going, His mission will soon be complete. But He will send the Holy Spirit, who will continue by leading the disciples into the truth. He is the Spirit of Truth. He will continue to teach them, just as Jesus had done.

Of course, this is so evident in the response the disciples often make. They are clueless much of the time about what is happening, and especially the significance of the things they do witness. In the coming weeks, months, and years, the Spirit would make these difficulties plain to them. Now, as we consider these words of Jesus, we need to keep in mind that we are not apostles. While we are disciples of Christ, and there is much to apply from these promises to us today, we need to keep in mind this distinction.

These men were unique in the history of redemption. Jesus chose them for a specific purpose; that was to bear witness to all they had seen and heard Jesus do. Only those who had been with Jesus from the beginning of His ministry were qualified for such a task. And as we will see, the Holy Spirit would be given to empower them for this apostolic role.

So let us first consider what Jesus is saying to them before we move to apply this to us.

Jesus, aware as He is of the Disciples' limitations, knows that they can't handle much more than he has managed to pack in three years. Isn't the grace of our Lord on display here? He knows our frame, knows that we are weak and frail and so accommodates His discipleship program to our needs.

Could you imagine if the day you became a Christian the Holy Spirit just unleashed on you all truth, everything you would need to know, all in an instant? You would be overwhelmed. Not to mention if he convicted you of every sin at the same time. You could not handle that, but thankfully that is not how He does things. But gradually, day by day, "line by line, precept by precept" he guides you into the truth.

This truth the Holy Spirit will lead the disciples to is explained as coming from Christ and glorifying Christ. Not to diminish the divinity of the Spirit at all, but to show that all of God is present in all His works. Jesus often said, I speak what the father gave me to say, what the Father authorized Him to say (and do). So it is with the Spirit. He will make known to the disciples all that belongs to Christ. He will take the things of Christ and apply them to the disciples. The Spirit's ministry is thoroughly Christ-centered. He has come to glorify Christ.

This is important to maintain. As Calvin said, "as soon as the Spirit is separated from the word of Christ, the door is open to all kinds of delusions and impostures" (Com. Vol 18,145). The Spirit has not come to advance us beyond Christ, nor to set up an alternate kingdom. He has come to take things of Christ and make them known to us.

Roman Catholics will assert here that Jesus is teaching that we must go beyond the scriptures to new revelations. But nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus is not teaching that we must rely on some extra-biblical church tradition. This is why we must distinguish between the ministry of the Spirit to the apostles, and his ongoing work today.

What Jesus is describing is the Spirit's work of inspiring the apostles to write down the truth as scripture. The Spirit would lead them to understand what Jesus had said and done so that they could commit the same to scripture, which would form the New Testament.

Who can doubt that the New Testament is about Christ, from beginning with Matthew to its end in The Revelation of Jesus Christ, we have the story of Christ, and the significance of His life and work? Even those books not written by an apostle have the indelible mark of apostleship. Mark with the apostle Peter, Luke with the apostle Paul, and James with our Lord himself.

Since Christ is the alpha and omega, in whom all the treasures of wisdom are hidden, then all the truth is all of Christ. The Spirit made this known, all that was needed to be known when he inspired them to write what the church has received as these 27 books which make up the New Testament canon. In them, the Spirit of Christ continues to take the things of Christ and declare them to you. Does the Spirit still inspire disciples and give them new revelations? No, he does not! That ministry of the Spirit has now ceased, along with the sign-gifts that accompanied it, such as healing and speaking in tongues. I don't mean that God doesn't still heal people, or that he doesn't give certain people a fluency with languages. But I mean that he doesn't give a particular person the gift of healing that accompanied fresh revelations from God. Those gifts perished with the apostles.

That does not mean that the Spirit doesn't continue to lead us into the truth. He certainly still does that, but he uses what he already inspired the apostles to write, he uses the Word of God. For in here we see marvelously displayed all the things of Christ. But haven't you noticed that not all receive them as such?

Perhaps you have tried to share Christ with a friend or coworker, and maybe you read some scripture to them, and the result was not what you expected. You hoped that they would respond as you do when you hear these words, but instead they shrug their shoulders and are unimpressed. Why? Because the Holy Spirit has not led them into the truth. Theologians distinguish between inspiration and illumination. The Holy Spirit inspired the apostles to write Scripture, whereas now, the Holy Spirit illuminates your minds so that you can understand (and believe) the things of Christ.

So the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit is to lead you into the truth by taking all that the Son had given to Him which he made known to the disciples and they committed to scripture known to you. All to the glory of Christ.

Jesus has not left us alone to wander the Christian life as orphans. He has given us His Spirit. As Jesus makes this promise to His disciples, he relates to them the shape of the Holy Spirit's ministry to the world and to them. He will convict the world and lead the disciples into the truth. He is the power and efficacy behind your witness and through His continued illumination, he takes the things of Christ, all His work and words, and declares them to you. If you are to make progress in the Christian life, which is the process of becoming more like Jesus, it will only be because you rely on the Spirit. For conviction and for truth!

Lord's Supper Meditation

Not only does the Spirit empower the preaching of the word, but also these visible words here in the sacrament. The Spirit takes the things of Christ, His perfect life and sacrificial death, and declares them to you through these simple elements of bread and wine. Just as the body is nourished by bread and wine, the Spirit takes the body and blood of Christ to nourish your soul. To all those who come and receive Christ by faith, the Spirit gives you this pledge that all of Christ belongs to you and you belong to Him. The Spirit gives you the life of Christ, not by changing the substance of this bread or wine into something other than what it is, but by using these elements to powerfully declare to you that your sins are forgiven and Christ's righteousness belongs to you. By publicly portraying before your eyes Jesus Christ as crucified and you celebrating your participation in His death. To all those who have trusted in Christ and been baptized, come and welcome to Christ!

Charge

Christ has given you His Spirit to convict the world of sin and lead you into the truth. He takes the things of Christ, all that he has said and done and declares it to you. It is in reliance on Him that we may continue to persevere, bearing much fruit, as we abide in Christ.