John Ch 16

John 16:1–15 ESV

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 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. 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. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. “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, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Why the Hate?

In the midst of the struggle you will be stressed to the point of wanting to give up the faith. ( fall away) or fall into sin the word there is translated scandal in English.

Jesus is going to give us a solution to this coming pressure and stress. Inwardly and Outwardly. It will be very real. This is a warning text like Hebrews Ch 6

They will point you out. ( Just like the vaccinated today) ( Just like the Jew today) ( Just like the Conservative Christians are in Politics) You will be identified ( Like the demand for a Covid Passport) ( Or the demand of a Jew to wear an arm band during the war)

As these things happen again we need to be aware of it.

Put out of the synagogue - You will be shunned and unable to interact with the community. They will literally turn their backs to you. You are going to be pressured to conform. They will give you deadlines like 30 days 90 days etc.

They are going to or want to kill you and feel good about it. Like they are doing the world a favor. It is a religious Jihad. They feel you are in rebellion to the natural order of things. It is battle of the fittest and all others will have to get in line. We as Christians wont just get in line or bow down like in the case of Daniel. or put a pinch of incense on the alter for the reigning Cesar. We bow to no one but Jesus.

To answer the question it is because they don’t know God. They worship that which they don’t know. They have not experienced Him and they cannot perceive Him. WOW

How do we stand?

We stand with God all the way. He is present and active. He alone is the one you can run to and be saved.

We do not retreat. They says bow and we say no way.

We stand with the Holy Spirit - translated Paraklete - our legal advocate - your spokes person.

What is His Role?

In Chapter 14 it says he is the teacher and the Helper - He is also the Spirit of truth.

In chapter 16 Jesus further says

Convict - punish or condemn, prove guilt - It is in the sense that not just to show you what is wrong but to persuade you to change your mind - One theologian says he intensifies the conscience. This is all mediated through the church and believer because the world says it will cannot receive the Spirit. 14:7

Sin - the rejection of Jesus- it is the act of believing in another God

Righteousness - The world has put itself as the center, or another God and has in fact become unrighteous. It convicts the world of its own lies.

Judgement - The Spirit reminds the unbeliever that He or She will be judged. It also refers to the judgement of Satan. Satan is judged. The only way out of such judgement is by Jesus Christ and Him only.

His Actions

Guides - you into all truth

When you are lost you need a guide. When you are in unfamiliar territory you need a guide. When you want to get out of a dangerous situation - like walking through a minefield you need a guide. -

The Spirit guides you in truth guides you to the truth and keeps you in the truth

Speaks - with full authority from heaven

Declares - what is to come. The final judgement. He is yelling it from the mountain tops. I believe as we enter this time in History the Spirit will reveal through the word a clear idea of the prophetic future events. It seems very fitting for John now to be the author of the book of revelations doesn’t it.

Glorifies Jesus - He distributes what are His to us. Like a king distributes to the princes. What is His becomes ours . - We have an inheritance. The Spirit never contradicts Jesus. When the Spirit is working it works in truth.

What is the Spirits Motivation

LOVE - He wants to turn you into faithful witnesses. His ambassadors in this world.

He wants to help you live with overcoming power.

Galatians 5:16–26 NLT

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.