Paraclete vs. the Prince

Cartoons often depict the battle between good and evil with a person who is supposed to be an angel representing God on one shoulder and another person in a bizarre costume pretending to be one of Satan’s angels.  

In the old westerns, we see the difference between good and evil, where the good guys always wore the decent outfits and the bad guys just really had some terrible wardrobes and looked as if they hadn’t seen a bathtub in half a year.

Sadly, it isn’t really as easy to differentiate good from evil if you don’t know Jesus Christ.  Satan often appears as an angel of light.  He flavors evil with all kinds of sweetness, so as to make it palatable and even enjoyable.  Satan has twisted humanity’s thinking in such a way, so that what is evil and wrong, is to be understood in terms of the greater good or for the benefit of more people.  It is even presented as being more in line with what God supposedly wants.  This creates even more confusion.

As Christians, we understand that the Prince of this world is already defeated.  He is a deceiver and a liar.  Many of you can attest to having believed the prince of this world and even going along with him for some time.  But there came a point in your life when the paraclete, the Holy Spirit, helped you to see clearly and understood what a liar and deceiver Satan really is.  

As we look at this section today, we see Jesus continuing to remind His disciples of some very intense, tough times in their future in the first four verses.  Then Jesus goes on to encourage His disciples of the promise, that He is going to provide for them what they are going to need.  Finally, He lets them know that in the ultimate battle between the Paraclete and the Prince of this world, the enemy of our souls is already defeated.

Prior to this, Jesus was explaining to the disciples what they were to do amidst persecution.  Now, it appears that He is letting the disciples and us know what the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, is going to do through us amidst persecution.  

This passage is showing us how,

Even in the midst of persecution and being “taken out,” the Holy Spirit gives us victory and continues to work in and through us as we live surrendered lives to Him.

Persecution Predicted - 16:1-4

These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

As the disciples were hearing these words from Jesus, we can safely assume that they had no idea how this was all going to actually happen.  In several historical books, we read with 20/20 hindsight the accuracy of what Jesus had promised.  Let’s just take a look at the New Testament fulfillment from various historical documents. 

A brief survey of ancient Christian tradition reveals that Peter, Andrew, and James the son of Alphaeus were all crucified; Bartholomew was whipped to death and then crucified; James the son of Zebedee was beheaded, as was Paul; Thomas was stabbed with spears; Mark was dragged to death through the streets of Alexandria; and James the half brother of Jesus was stoned by order of the Sanhedrin. Philip was also stoned to death. Others, including Matthew, Simon the Zealot, Thaddeus, Timothy, and Stephen, were also killed for their unwavering commitment to the Lord.  

Here’s something to consider. Are we prepared to experience the same thing?  Several years ago, the New York Times had an article stating that churches needed to be forced to change their teaching to fall in line with the culture.  Clear back in the April 7, 2015 edition, columnist Frank Bruni states:  “Homosexuality and Christianity don’t have to be in conflict in any church anywhere. The continued view of gays, lesbians and bisexuals as sinners is a decision. It’s a choice. It prioritizes scattered passages of ancient texts over all that has been learned since — as if time had stood still, as if the advances of science and knowledge meant nothing.”  He then goes on to quote and affirm businessman Mitchell Gold:  Christian churches “must be made 'to take homosexuality off the sin list.’”

Persecution was predicted by Jesus and it has continued on through the centuries.  Jesus is reminding the disciples that this is a very real thing and it is going to happen.  He states that the reason He is sharing this is so that you may be kept from stumbling.  The word for stumbling is a form of the word skandalizo. We might recognize this as where we get the term scandal. It actually refers to a bait stick in a trap.  Jesus didn’t want them to be caught off guard, like the animal who comes upon the tantalizing meat and finds himself trapped.  We need to heed this same warning.   

As Jesus shares the specifics of what will happen with the disciples, it seems quite harsh.  To be made outcasts from the synagogue would be the equivalent of being labeled a traitor.  As a result, a person could lose not only their jobs but their families.  This very thing is happening in our world even now.  People are losing their livelihoods and some are finding their families ripped away from them.  A horrible footnote is that those people forcing this, think they are doing it for the greater good or even for God.  Jesus reminds the disciples and us that those who are doing this is because they have not known the Father or Me.  

I want to point out something that is easily overlooked.  We assume that the greatest persecution will come from the unbelievers in this world.  However, notice that Jesus is stating that the greatest persecution will come from religious people.  We see this happening even now in our world.  People who claim to be Christians, yet teach that which is contradictory to the Bible, act as if they are actually more loving, plus looking out for humanity more than the true believer.

Interestingly, the reason the disciples are forewarned is so they can actually be encouraged by the fact that Jesus had promised this would happen.  It shows that He is indeed all-knowing and in control.  He did not share this with the disciples earlier because he was with them to protect them. Soon, Jesus would no longer be physically present to protect the disciples.  Soon, they would be facing this on their own. 

Or would they?  Obviously not, as we go to the next section.

Provision Promised - 16:5-7

But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But 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.

We see what appears to be a reprimand of the disciples.  It appears that the disciples’ thoughts were on what would happen to them when Jesus went away. They were sorrowful; they were sad because Jesus was leaving them.  They didn’t even bother to ask where Jesus was going.  They were not looking at the big picture or the fact that Jesus was about to complete what He came to earth to do.  

So, He goes on to remind them that it is to [their] advantage that [He] go away.  Though they wanted Him to stay and be with them all the time, it would be better for Him to go back to the Father, as He was supposed to do.  We might wonder why that would be necessary. 

First, in order for us to experience full salvation, this had to take place.  In addition, Jesus had to go back to the Father so that the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, would come.  

You see, without the Holy Spirit, the person and works of Christ could not be fully revealed.  In addition, the Holy Spirit is given to the Church to indwell permanently, instruct, and empower us to do the work which Christ has called for us to do.  Warren Wiersbe explains this further: 

It is important to note that the Spirit comes to the church and not to the world. This means that He works in and through the church. The Holy Spirit does not minister in a vacuum. Just as the Son of God had to have a body in order to do His work on earth, so the Spirit of God needs a body to accomplish His ministries; and that body is the church. Our bodies are His tools and temples, and He wants to use us to glorify Christ and to witness to a lost world.

But does the Holy Spirit only benefit the follower of Jesus Christ?  Let’s look ahead.

Persuasion Pronounced - 16:8-11

And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

If it were not for the Holy Spirit convicting you and me of our sin, we would never have chosen to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation.  The word for convict is a negative and a positive word.  For you and me, it was obviously positive, in that He showed us very clearly our sin and our need for a Savior.  We understood the punishment that we deserved and would receive if we did not surrender ourselves to Jesus Christ.  What a glorious conviction that was in our lives.  

However, for the one who refuses to acknowledge their sin and their need for a Savior, the word convict, is not a pleasant one.  The word for convict has a judicial sense of condemnation for the unbeliever.  We need to also remember that the Spirit of God comes primarily to the people of God.  The only work which is done in the lives of the unbeliever is that of pointing out their sin and drawing them to the Savior.

However, let’s look a bit more closely at the word convict.  It is a legal word that means “to bring to light, to expose, to refute, to convict and convince.” Here, in this verse, the purpose of this indictment is not to condemn but to bring salvation.

Let’s take a bit and look at the three arenas where the Spirit convicts the world:  sin, righteousness, and judgment.  Let’s look first at sin.  This is a singular word which refers specifically to the sin of unbelief.  This is the sin which keeps people condemned.  How a person responds to the Holy Spirit in this area is what will determine their eternal destiny. A person could “clean up his life” and quit his or her bad habits and still be lost and go to hell. If they refuse to acknowledge the truth of this, they stand condemned already.

What about the word righteousness?  This is what belongs to Jesus Christ who is the holy Son of God.  If we think through this, the Holy Spirit works first with conviction, in pointing out clearly our sin and our rebellion against God.  He reminds us that we are enemies and can never be in the presence of God as we are.  Then we come to the issue of righteousness which is essential in order to be in God’s presence.  The Holy Spirit reveals to us our need to have that holiness and righteousness which can be found in none other than Jesus Christ.  How do we know that Jesus is righteous?  Because He is going to go back to the Father.  Nothing less than holiness and righteousness can be in the Father’s presence.  You and I can only be in God’s presence when our sin has been dealt with and we have been clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Then, the Spirit reveals Christ in the lives of believers to unbelievers. The world cannot receive or see the Spirit of God, but they can see what He does as they watch the lives of dedicated believers.

Judgment is a unique part of this.  The Prince of this world has presented a very flawed standard, or set of scales when making assessments and judgments.  His ideas that are permeating this world are completely impure and inaccurate.  Only God can judge accurately and perfectly.  Thus, the role of the Holy Spirit is to show how wrong one’s thinking is about Jesus Christ.  Judgment was pronounced on this world and unbelievers at the cross.  Satan, too, was judged and condemned at the cross.

There are only 2 responses that can be given to the Holy Spirit’s convicting work. Either a person will repent and come to salvation through Jesus Christ, or that person will reject and refuse to acknowledge the truth, setting themselves up to experience eternal torment and torture, forever away from the power and presence of God.

Ponderings

The last part of this passage is very sobering.  Those who embrace the world system will experience the same as that of the Prince of this world.  Since Satan will not escape judgment, neither will those who reject Christ, unless they repent. The Devil’s fate guarantees the judgment of every unrepentant sinner.

This does not mean that there will be no troubles for the believer in Jesus Christ.  However, we have victory in Jesus Christ; and the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete dwells within us permanently.  We are pretty much guaranteed that we will have terrible times ahead.  Yet, we do not worry about that.  We rejoice daily that we are children of God.  We rejoice that we are privileged to share Christ’s love with others; alongside the suffering and persecution that will accompany our journey.  

When a lost sinner is truly under conviction, he will see the foolishness and evil of unbelief; he will confess that he does not measure up to the righteousness of Christ; and he will realize that he is under condemnation because he belongs to the world and the devil (Eph. 2:1–3). The only One who can rescue him from such a horrible situation is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. There can be no conversion without conviction, and there can be no conviction apart from the Spirit of God using the Word of God and the witness of the child of God.

Witnessing is a great privilege, but it is also a serious responsibility. It is a matter of life or death! We must depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us to the right people, give us the right words, and enable us to glorify Jesus Christ.

Even in the midst of persecution and being “taken out,” the Holy Spirit gives us victory and continues to work in and through us as we live surrendered lives to Him.