PM Home Bible Study Group; January 8, 2014
John 16b-15
Theme: This passage highlights the work of the Holy Spirit in this world while our Lord is away.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
We have been studying together from our Lord’s wonderful dinner-time discussion with His disciples just before He went to the cross. And one of the highlights of this discussion has been His instruction to them regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Thus far in His instruction, He has told His disciples some remarkable truths about the the ministry of the Spirit. For example, He has taught them that the Spirit is their divine Helper. He had already told them that He was leaving them, and they were disturbed by this news; but He told them these comforting words:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you" (John 14:15-18).
Not only did He tell them that the Spirit would be their Comforter, but He also said that the Spirit would be their Protector with regard to the truth that He had passed on to them. Jesus went on later to say;
“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:25-26).
Those disciples would be the bearers of these truths to the world. But Jesus lets them know that they won’t be doing this alone or in their own power. He tells them that the Spirit would be the divine Bearer of these truths along with them and through them. He told them;
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning" (John 15:26-27).
And because our faith is based on the ministry of these Spirit-empowered apostles, the promises of the ministry of the Spirit also apply to us who have believed their witness. All these passages help us to appreciate how helpless we would be in this world without the ministry of the divine Advocate—the Holy Spirit—whom Jesus has sent to us in His place. And in this evening’s passage, we learn yet more about His ministry.
* * * * * * * * * * *
There is a very practical concern that stands behind our Lord’s instructions on the Holy Spirit. In the passage that we studied in our last time together, the Lord Jesus warned that our ministry of witnessing for Him in this world would not be an easy one. He warned that the world hated Him, it would also hate us as His followers. In the first few verses of John 16, He warned His disciples,
These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them (John 16:1-4a).
Those words constituted a sober warning; and the history of the church has proven them to be very true. But it’s the context of that warning that makes the truths affirmed in this evening’s passage all the more precious. It shows us that our time spent in this hostile world is not spent by us alone. We have the promise of our great Advocate’s presence—and of His ongoing work in supporting us in our witness to the world.
I. THE PROMISE THAT THE SPIRIT WOULD BE SENT (vv. 4b-7).
A. Note first that the Lord Jesus, early in His ministry to them, didn’t tell His disciples everything that He was telling them now. He said, "And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you" (v. 4b). Jesus had been physically present to be their Protector and Defender. Later on in John’s Gospel, we’re shown how great the power of His protection was. He merely spoke a word and the soldiers who came to arrest Him fell backward (18:6). Peter tried to be Jesus’ defender (John 18:10-11); but in another Gospel account, Jesus had told him that all He needed to do was speak to the Father; and more than twelve legions of angeles—a legion for each of the disciples and then some—would come to His defense (Matthew 26:52-53). But now, He was leaving them. And He was telling them these hard truths at this time—rather than earlier in His ministry with them—because He would no longer be with them physically.
B. What’s more, Jesus said, "But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’" (v. 5). This seems, at first, to present us with a contradiction; because back in John 13:36—after Jesus had first told His disciples that He would only be with them for a little while longer—Peter had said, "Lord, where are You going?" Clearly Peter had asked; so why did Jesus say none of them asked? But we can take Peter’s question back then to be more of a focus on "where"; and that Jesus’ words in the present passage has more of a focus on "why". Peter wanted to know where Jesus was going so that he could—if possible—follow the Lord. Jesus made it clear that His disciples could not go where He was going at that time—but that they would follow "afterwards". Jesus was now saying that none of them were asking where He was going in order to understand the reason for His departure. And because they didn’t understand the reason, they were distressed. He said, "But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart" (v. 6a).
C. If only we would learn that the Lord Jesus does all that He does for us for our good! He let’s His disciples know—perhaps to their great amazement—that it was actually better for them that He left. He says, "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 depart, I will send Him to you" (vv. 6b-7). No one could send the Holy Spirit to us but the Son Himself. And He could not send the Spirit unless He had first left this earth—having accomplished all for us that the Triune Godhead, in eternal council, agreed to do for our salvation. Jesus must first redeem us by His own sacrifice on the cross, and then be raised for our justification, and then return to the Father; and only until after He had done so could the Spirit’s work on our behalf begin on this earth. Fifty days after our Lord was raised from the dead—just a short time after He ascended to the Father—the Spirit came to Jesus’ followers at Pentecost. He has been at work in the live of Jesus’ followers ever since. How glad we should be that He has come! Ever since then, the work of our Lord has expanded through His church in a far greater way than it could have been advanced through His physical presence alone. Jesus even said so. He once testified, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father" (John 14:12). This is because the Lord Jesus has sent the Spirit to work in and through the whole Church of His redeemed people in place of His physical presence.
II. THE WORK THAT THE SPIRIT DOES IN THIS WORLD (vv. 8-11).
A. Because the Lord had just mentioned the fact that we—as His followers—would face hostility in this fallen world, Jesus goes on to tell us about the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to this world. He said, "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment . . ." (v. 8). What we cannot do as frail human beings—that is, convict other frail human beings of the work of our Lord and of His witness to the truth in this world—the Holy Spirit can do! In fact, just before our Lord left this earth, He told His disciples, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me . . ." (Acts 1:8). The Spirit not only empowers us as Jesus’ witnesses, but He also works in the consciences of those who hear that witness. He helps us in overcoming one of the greatest ‘road-blocks’ we can run into in sharing the good news of Jesus with lost people in this world—their own hardness of heart. How can we convince someone to turn to the Savior when they don’t even believe they need to be saved? Thankfully, it’s not our job to do so. The great Bible teacher and evangelist R.A. Torrey once wrote,
The Holy Spirit can convince men of sin. We need not despair of any one, no matter how indifferent they may appear, no matter how worldly, no matter how self-satisfied, no matter how irreligious, the Holy Spirit can convince men of sin. A young minister of very rare culture and ability once came to me and said, "I have a great problem on my hands. I am the pastor of the church in a university town. My congregation is largely made up of university professors and students. They are most delightful people. They have very high moral ideals and are living most exemplary lives. Now," he continued, "if I had a congregation in which there were drunkards and outcasts and thieves, I could convince them of sin, but my problem is how to make people like that, the most delightful people in the world, believe that they are sinners, how to convince them of sin." I replied, "It is impossible. You cannot do it, but the Holy Spirit can." And so He can. Some of the deepest manifestations of conviction of sin I have ever seen have been on the part of men and women of the most exemplary conduct and attractive personality. But they were sinners and the Holy Spirit opened their eyes to the fact (R.A. Torrey, The Person & Work of the Holy Spirit [Grand Rapids: Zondervan House, 1973], p. 87).
It’s our job simply to bear witness of the Savior to this world in the power of the Holy Spirit; and it’s the Spirit’s job to convict the hearts of those who hear that witness with respect to their need for that Savior. The Holy Spirit has the power to transform the inner-most being of needy sinners, has complete access to the dullest of hearts and darkest of minds, and can enliven even the most silent of consciences.
B. Notice the details of how our Lord tells us that this ministry of ‘conviction’ is accomplished by the Spirit:
1. First, He says that the Spirit would convict the world "of sin, because they do not believe in Me . . . (v. 9). The great ‘work’ that God calls forth from people is to "believe on Him whom He sent" (John 6:29); and the greatest of all sins is to refuse to believe on Jesus, whom God sent into this world to be our Savior. No one will ever be kept out of heaven because they were sinners. Heaven will be filled with redeemed sinners! Rather, it will be because they rejected the only way to heaven; and that is through faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners. It’s the Holy Spirit’s ministry to convict the world of its need for the Savior, and of the greatest of all sins— that of rejecting the free gift of salvation through faith in that Savior.
2. Second, He says that the Spirit would convict the world "of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more . . ." (v. 10). So long as Jesus walked upon this earth, He was the visible example of a life that pleased God. Jesus said of the Father, "I always do those things that please Him" (John 8:29). His opponents where unable to counter this claim; because none of them could accuse Him of sin. He was the perfect example of righteousness on earth. And now that He is gone to the Father, the Holy Spirit continues to convict the world of the righteousness that Jesus Himself displayed upon it.
3. And third, Jesus says that the Spirit would convict the world "of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged . . ." (v. 11). Satan is the ruler of this present world order. But he has already been judged and is doomed. When Jesus came into Jerusalem to submit Himself to the cross, He was able to say, "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out" (John 12:31). And when we proclaim Jesus in this world, the Holy Spirit convicts those who are aligned with this world’s values and priorities of the judgment that will come.
C. We are terribly ineffective in convicting people of all these things. All we end up doing in the power of the flesh is offending people and hardening their hearts. But the Holy Spirit is able to reach into the most hard-hearted man or woman and bring them to such great conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment, that they cry out for the the saving grace God provides through His Son. How important it is then that we do our work of proclamation, and trust the Holy Spirit do His work of conviction!
III. THE MINISTRY OF THE SPIRIT TOWARD BELIEVERS (vv. 12-15).
A. Jesus said at the beginning of our study that there had been many things that He didn’t tell His disciples before that He was now telling them. And even as He revealed those things to them, He tells them further that there are more things He would like to tell them but that they were not yet able to receive. "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now" (v. 12). As we read on, it’s clear that the reason they could not bear them was because they were not yet indwelt and empowered by the Spirit to do so. Without His enabling help, they couldn’t grasp the truths that they yet needed to receive—let alone pass them on to us. But there was no reason for concern. Jesus said, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth
. . ." (v. 13a). Jesus would be sending "the Spirit of truth" to the church; and He would serve as a faithful guide in those things that Jesus wanted His people to know but was not yet able to teach them.
B. That the Spirit would guide them "into all truth" should be taken in the context in which those words were spoken. The Holy Spirit, for example, would not teach them advanced calculus (although those of us who have had to take calculus have often had to pray for the Spirit’s help!). Rather, the promise is that the Spirit would guide Jesus’ followers in the truth regarding the things Jesus had taught them (see John 14:26)—and the things that they were not yet ready to receive. Jesus said, "for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come (v. 13b). We can think of this aspect of the Spirit’s ministry in a two-fold way:
1. There’s a positive aspect to the Spirit’s guiding ministry. The apostles were given the foundational teaching that Jesus wanted His church to possess (see Ephesians 2:20); and this body of truth has been recorded for us forever in the Scriptures. And once this foundational truth had been fully given—just as Jesus has promised—the Holy Spirit has guided His people throughout the centuries in studying the Scriptures and applying the things that Jesus would want them to know. He would guide His church into, literally, "all the truth"; that is, all the foundational truths that had been given to the apostles for the church—"the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3 ). The Spirit would even tell them "things to come"; that is, He would reveal the unfolding of God’s plan for the ages that will culminate in the return of Jesus to this earth.
2. There’s also a negative aspect to the Spirit’s guiding ministry. He further protects His people from false doctrine and error. Have you ever heard a preacher on the radio or on television, or have you ever read a book that said it was "Christian", and yet felt as if there was just something not right about what you were hearing or reading? When we are faithful to heed God’s word as a habit of life, the Holy Spirit will also gently warn us and guide us away from error. As the apostle John wrote;
These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him (1 John 2:26-27).
C. One of the most important aspects of the Spirit’s ministry in this world is that of glorifying Jesus. Jesus said, "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you" (v. 15). The Holy Spirit’s focus in His ministry on this earth is never toward Himself. He has been sent to this earth to shine the spotlight on Jesus. As Jesus Himself teaches, the first Person of the Trinity (that is, the Father) has given all things over to His Son; and the Father has called our attention to Jesus. And the third Person (that is, the Holy Spirit) takes the things that the Father has given to Jesus and reveals them to us. Just as the Father glorifies the Son in heaven, so the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son in this world. Therefore, if we have truly tasted of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we won’t be glorifying the Holy Spirit. We will join Him in His ministry of glorifying God’s Son.
* * * * * * * * * *
How lost in the fog of this world’s ideas and false doctrines we would be if it weren’t for the faithful ministry of the Holy Spirit—guiding His church in accordance with the Scriptures! And how ineffective we would be in the Great Commission we would be apart from Him! How glad we should be that the Lord sent Him! If we trust in the ministry of this Divine Helper as we should, we will together—as our Lord said—do greater works in this world than even He did!