John 16:4-15 | The Work of the Holy Spirit

The work of the Holy Spirit

The Task: make disciples of all nations (Mat 28:19).

The Trainees: uneducated, common men (Acts 4:13). Mission impossible! (Creator, incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, session)

The Teacher: The Helper, the Holy Spirit (John 16:7)

Main Idea: Because the mission of the church is supernatural, it requires the supernatural work of the Helper, the Holy Spirit.

In other words, A supernatural mission requires a supernatural Helper.

Invitation to Prayer Walk : Sunday, September 14, 2025 | 4-6 p.m. (Intercede on behalf of our church and community)

Pray for Sermon

Jesus said, “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)

It is to your advantage that I go away: Jesus is talking about his death, resurrection, and ascension.

Evidence: John 7:37–39 “37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 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.”

There is a sequence in God’s economy. Purposed, accomplished, applied.

Let’s look at the work of the Holy Spirit based on our passage today.

(1)The Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning sin

(A)The Holy Spirit convicts. To convict: to state that someone has done wrong, with the implication that there is adequate proof of such wrongdoing. (Greek-English Lexicon of the NT).

(B) The Holy Spirit convicts the world. That is, the Holy Spirit is God’s prosecutor. He points people their sinfulness and their need for a Savior. John 3:20 “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”

(C) The Holy Spirit convicts the world of one sin: unbelief in Jesus (John 16:9). When people are exposed to their sinfulness and their need for a Savior, one of two things will happen: either it becomes a moment of great joy as they repent of their sin and put their trust in Christ as their Savior or respond with hardness and reject, even when though they are convicted of their sin, they will refuse to come to the Light and fully surrender their wickedness and fully trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. Those who refuse to believe will appeal their superior intellectual objections.

(D) The Holy Spirit convicts the world through the Spirit-empowered church. John 14:16–17 “16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

(E)The Holy Spirit convicts the world through the Spirit empowered church through word and deed. How comforting and encouraging to know that we are not the ones called to convict the world of sin. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit. Yet, the Holy Spirit will use our proclamation of the gospel and how we live for the Lord to convict the world of sin. This is a work of grace. This is my story! 2 Corinthians 4:4–6 “4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

(2)The Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning righteousness

What is John talking about? I can understand if it said, “The Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning unrighteousness.” But that’s not what John says. He says that the Holy Spirit will concern the world concerning righteousness.

V.10 tells us what he has in mind: “concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer.”

There are two types of righteousness: the world’s righteousness and Jesus’ righteousness.

World righteousness (self-righteousness or works-righteousness). The righteousness of the world is based on human effort: I’m a good person (I give, I help, I don’t steal…)

In the Bible, we discover a man who was full of self-righteousness: The Apostle Paul.

Philippians 3:4–9 “4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—”

“concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer.” That is, Jesus proved through his death, resurrection, and ascension that he is indeed who he claimed to be: The Son of God who came down to rescue sinners.

The sad news is that many people will reject the righteousness of Jesus and embrace their own righteousness.

John 3:16–21 “16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.””

Have you trusted in Jesus’ finished work?

Titus 3:5 “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,”

(3)The Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning judgment

John expands on this on v.11: “concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

The Holy Spirit is pressing in on people’s heart about the coming judgment of God. God has put eternity into man’s heart (Ecc 3:11)

The “ruler of this world” is referring to Satan.

The Bible divides people into two groups: those under the dominion of light and those under the dominion of darkness.

The good news is that at the cross. Jesus defeated Satan.

The Apostle Paul declares on Colossians 2:15 that at the cross, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

Those who are outside of Jesus are condemned.

Notice the contrast for those who are in Christ. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 8:1)

Charlie Kirk was once asked, “If I had 30 seconds to live, what would you tell me.”

“In 30 seconds you are about to meet eternal judgment and there is only one way that you can get bailed out of that. It’s not all the good things that you did or the moral score card. It’s wether or not you have Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That’s the only thing that is going to matter.

And so, you got 10 seconds left, you are dying from a gunshot wound, and you ask the question, “Who is Jesus Christ?” The answer to that singular question, “Who is Jesus Christ?” is the most important question for everyone in the audience. Not how much money do you have. Not how much good stuff you do. It is who is Jesus Christ.

You might say, “Oh, Jesus was, you know, a teller of good tells.” Or “Jesus was a good person. Jesus was a historical figure. None of that is going to cut it. It’s wether or not you repent and you ask Christ to come in as your Lord and Savior. That’s the only thing that will save you from eternal damnation.”

(4)The Holy Spirit guides God’s people into all the truth

Our passage concludes with Jesus saying, “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…” (John 16:13)

John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

The Word of God gives us discernment.

I want to take a couple of minutes to mention and to warn you regarding the dangerous and erroneous teachings promoted by Bethel and Bill Johnson in their book The Physics of Heaven, in which they encourage the church to adopt New Age beliefs and practices. Mike Winger has a detailed two-hour video analyzing this teaching.

Why call them out? Very influential. You will come across their teachings in your search to learn more about HS. Also, people from our community have gone to Redding, CA to be trained by them. If you are considering going to Bethel SSM in Redding, CA, stay away!

“I moved to Sedona fully prepared to discount everything I saw and heard as coming from a source other than the God I knew and loved. But, as a scientist, I was intrigued by what I found there. I saw healings and mystical experiences and revelations to rival anything I had seen or experienced in the church. I encountered an understanding of the natural world and how it interacted with the spiritual that I had sensed but had never been taught in any of my science classes. It wasn’t that I wanted to become a New Ager, I just wanted to find out if maybe they had uncovered some truths the church hadn’t. The strange thing was, much of what I saw and heard embodied biblical principles and could be backed up by Scripture.” 14.

“Now we are beginning to hear more and more revelation that is in line with what New Agers have been saying all along and we are hearing more and more teaching about Christians “taking back truths” from the New Age that really belong to citizens of the Kingdom of God.” Physics, 15

Deuteronomy 12:29–32 “29 “When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ 31 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.”

Deuteronomy 18:9–12 “9 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.”

Because the mission of the church is supernatural, it requires the supernatural work of the Helper, the Holy Spirit.