The Threefold Convicting Ministry of the Holy Spirit

John 16:7-11 (ESV) 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.John 14:16-17 (ESV) 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.Acts 2:14-39 (NIV) 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ”‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 22 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him: ”‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ 29 “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ”‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ 36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “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. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

1) Introductiona) Pseudo-Quote:And Jesus said unto them, "And whom do you say that I am?" They replied, "You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being, the ontological foundation of the context of our very selfhood revealed." And Jesus replied, "What?"b) Four main questions that are raised by our text.c) Sometimes Jesus says things that are not immediately clear to us, yet for very different reasons.2) Why is it Good that Jesus go away?a) Is it that Jesus is tired of all this and wants out?b) John 14:16-17 gives us insight.c) The Spirit the disciples knew was none other than the one that anointed and empowered Jesus who was with them. (Jesus = with them).d) That SAME spirit is being promised to the disciples. (Spirit=in them)3) Why is it that the Holy Spirit comes until after Jesus departs?a) Why is it that the Spirit cannot come and Jesus remain with the disciples?b) The Spirit that Jesus promises is none less than the Spirit of the Resurrected and Exalted Christ! (Jn 16:14)i) Unites us to the Exalted Lordii) Heirs of the Kingiii) Instruments of Power in the World4) What will the Spirit do when he comes?a) Considerations for Interpretationi) Jesus is speaking to the disciples about the historic event of Pentecostii) To ask “What do these verses tell us about our own experience?” short-circuits the significance of this verse, failing to account for the two central focuses: Christ and his redemptive work in History iii) To what is Jesus directly referring? Answer: Pentecost.iv) Illustration: Telescope, three pieces that must work together.v) Must consider these verses in light of Peter’s address in Acts 2:17-39b) In regard to sini) John 16:9 “because men do not believe in me”ii) Acts 2:23 “you … put him to death”iii) Israel, God’s chosen people, had killed their own Messiahc) In regard to righteousness i) John 16:10 “because I am going to the Father”(1) Disciples’ Thought: Jesus is leaving (possibly going to die)(2) Christ’s meaning: Crucifixion, Resurrection & Ascensionii) Acts 2:24 “but God raised him from the dead…”iii) Christ is vindicatedd) In regard to judgment i) John 16:11 “The prince of this world now stands condemned”ii) Acts 2:16: “this is what the prophet Joel said…” iii) The Father has made plain where his judgment has come down already(1) Blessings found in Christ(2) Cursings found outside of Christ(3) Judgment pronounced already but not yet consummated5) How is it that the Spirit will convict the world? (Living in the Wake of Pent)a) Apostolic Witness (Tradition).i) Peter not only preached to those in Jerusalemii) But the Spirit’s continuing work was to inspire the apostolic witness in a written form (i.e., the NT).iii) As we look at Pentecost, we must relate it to ourselves through the telescopic tube of redemptive history and the lens of the Apostolic witness of the NT.b) Personal Implicationsi) Sin outside of Christ receives the same absolute condemnation as what Peter delivered to those who had killed Christ. There is but one way to the Father.ii) Righteousness Peter’s implication in David holds today (Acts 2:29-36)(1) Even the most righteous lovers of God remain in the grave, for death has a claim on them on account of sin.(2) Yet one man, Jesus Christ, has been vindicated by God. He alone has righteousness such that the grave could not contain him.iii) The same Judgment remains(1) Covenantal Judgment has been made unequivocally in time and space.(2) Two-fold nature of the covenant: Blessing & Cursing(3) Those outside of Christ, (a) Have no righteousness that can withstand the grave. They will live under the eternal curse.(b) They remain in Egypt, they are not cleansed by the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit uniting them to Christ but consumed by it, like Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea. For our God is a consuming fire! (Heb 12:29)(4) For those in Christ (a) Receive the blessing of God on account of His righteousness.(b) The wrath of God, the curse for disobedience has been swallowed up by Christ upon the Cross. There is no more wrath for the believer.(c) We see this picture at Pentecost when the fire of the Holy Spirit sits content over the believers, the fire of God’s holiness had no unrighteousness in them to consume on account of Christ’s righteousness.(d) The Spirit of Christ leads them in procession to the New Jerusalem (i.e., Final Exodus)iv) So John asks us now. What will we do with the testimony that the Apostles have left us in the wake of the Three Fold Conviction that they received? (1) Will we do as Peter said and repent and be baptized, you and your household? (2) Or will you remain hardened to him? Will you refuse to follow the wake that Christ has made for us and that the Spirit would lead you?

John 16.05-16, The Work of the Holy Spirit, Sermon Outline v2

The Threefold Convicting Ministry of the Holy Spirit