The Holy Spirit

Reading …

John 16:1-33

Introduction …

Last week we dealt with 2 important truths coming from John 14
- The assurance of our relationship with the full Godhead …
- The Spirit of God is to be in Believers as…An advocate, comforter, helper and counselor …
  - And so the Spirit is to be ANOTHER helper… one of the same kind that they could depend on.

The Spirit in Me …

So let's start with one truth that is of utmost importance. …
- The Spirit of God is resident in EVERY believer from the moment of conversion.
- Remember what Peter said to his unbelieving listeners … Act 2;37
  - Repent and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- He was speaking to the general population of unbelievers …
  - By repenting they were turning to Christ Jesus for salvation
  - And in doing so they would receive the gift of the Spirit.
- The promise is for you, your children, and all who are far off … for all whom the Lord our God will call.
  - All means All …And can therefore be applied to us today.
Paul writing to …A.D.60
- The Ephesian church is discussing the truth that in Christ, Jew and Gentile are brought together in one universal church…
  - In him (Christ) you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God dwells by his Spirit… Eph 2;22
  - And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal (of ownership) the promised Holy Spirit.
    - Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance, until the redemption of those who are God’s possession … to the praise of his glory … Eph 1;13-14
  - Marked with a seal of ownership… guaranteeing the inheritance.
    - Praise be to God the Father who has blessed us with every Spiritual blessing… Eph 1;3
      - Herein is massive assurance of faith for the believer.
        The guarantee and seal…
- To the Romans he says …
  - If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ , he does not belong to Christ … Rom 8;9
  - Those who are led by the Spirit are Sons of God… Rom 8;14
- Jesus said to Nicodemus …
  - You must be born of the Spirit… John 3;5,6
- Can you see that all believers are indwelt by the Spirit of God.
- We have all blessings already…there is no more to be had …
We must just work out our salvation with fear a trembling …Phil 2;12
- And we will deal with the process of sanctification next week. .
I make an issue of these truths because some churches are talking about being born again and in a separate transaction receiving the Spirit.
- They refer to a second blessing…
  - The filling of the Spirit … But he is already in us.
- Consequently many are looking for something that was never promised.
Paul says …
- We have it all already …every spiritual blessing.

Background …

Despite the encouragement not to fear… Fear is still there …
- Because the message chapter 16 is becoming worse not better …
Not only am I going away, says Jesus, but persecution is on its way to you …
- They will put you out of the Synagogues …vs 2
  - For a Jew in those days that went way beyond no more church
  - It meant no more social contact, no more family, no more business dealings.
    - To this day conversion to Christ is still regarded as a death in orthodox Jewish families.
- They will even kill you thinking they are doing service to God …vs 2
  - Which is what Paul did before his conversion..
- You will weep and mourn …you will grieve …now is your time of grief … vs 19-22
  - Jesus is talking about his upcoming crucifiction and their persecution to come.
But Jesus’ promise is still that they will see him again … vs 22
- And then their mourning will turn to joy.
  - Whether that be post resurrection or at the rapture or both we are not sure.
  - But we are sure …that when we see him there will be rejoicing.
Jesus is giving them these details of difficulties to come, because he wants to prewarn them so that they do not fall off the bus … vs 1
- He is still expressing the full extent of his love
  - He assures them that despite the massive problems …
  - They must not fear but take heart …
  - The Spirit is coming and he has overcome the world. …vs 33
He is being a comforter to them at that moment … vs 7
- A work the Spirit will be sent to accomplish at a later date for all believers..

The advantages of going… 7

The things I have told you cause fear and grief …
- But it is for your good that I am going away…vs 7
  - In the previous chapter he said “You should be glad” …28
  - Because if I do not go the Spirit will not come to you …
- That implies the Spirit is of greater benefit than Jesus in person …
  - That is surely not true …How can that be …?
Firstly in coming to earth Jesus laid aside his glory …Phil 2;7
- Limited himself to the likeness of a man …
  - He was not omnipresent… fully man.
- Therefore he was limited in how many people he could cope with at any one time..
Secondly his main thrust was in dealing with the Jews …
- He came unto his own …John 1;11
- But his greater target was all mankind…. John 3;16
Thirdly while he was still living the sacrifice for sin was not accomplished.
- The promised lamb of God was not yet slain for the sin of the world.
  - His purpose in coming was incomplete… not finished.
- No sacrifice for sin …therefore no righteousness of God available … no redemption, no reconciliation.
Fourthly … remember Jesus' promise … Ch 14;12
- You will do what I have done …and greater things than these …
  - The omnipresent Spirit will be in all believers …worldwide
  - The believers will be spread all over the world …due to the sacking of Jerusalem …
  - Their function is to testify about Jesus … Ch 15;26
- The sacking of Jerusalem was a righteous judgment of God
  - And it came just at the right time in many ways …Rom 5
    - Not the least being the dispersion of the Jewish believers to the 4 corners of civilization
      - This meant that thru the omnipresent Spirit the gospel was carried to all nations worldwide very quickly.
    - And in terms of growth in the church, they, thru the Spirit, …were enabled to do greater works than Jesus.
      - Their outreach was worldwide.
    - This was always part of God's plan of salvation.
- So Jesus says …
  - You should be glad I am going away …Ch 14;28
Surely we can understand the wisdom of God in the outworking of the plan of salvation …
- It was a plan that would cover time (2000 years so far) and space.(Worldwide)
- It would ensure a stable workforce of believers .
  - Who know and experience the presence of the Triune Godhead.
- It would ensure truth would be taught throughout the ages
- It would ensure the gospel be preached to all men.
  - All of this thru the Spirit who dwells in us …

The work of the Spirit …

So we take chapters 14 and 16 and detail the work of the Spirit as promised …
- Chapter 14 …
  - Teach you all things …26
  - Remind you of all I have said … 26
- Chapter 15 …
  - He will testify about me … 26
  - And You also must testify thru him.… 27
- Chapter 16 …
  - Convict the world of sin, righteousness and coming judgment … 8
  - Guide you into all truth … 13
  - Tell you what is still to come … 13
  - Bring glory to Jesus by making him fully known …14
Teach you all things …
- Remember he is the Spirit of truth … and therefore that is what he teaches
  - Some of what he teaches is hard to understand and accept …
  - So we claim we can't study the scriptures …
- But what does the Spirit say …
  - As for you, the anointing you received from him (gift of the Spirit) remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you … remain in him … 1 John 2;27
- The teaching of the Spirit does not allow you to say “I can't”
  - If you can’t there is something wrong with the promise.
    - And that can not be correct.
- So let me testify …
  - As a young man I read and believed that verse …
    - I have clinged to that promise for 60 years
    - I have been surprised by it and rejoiced in it all of that time.
    - And I am still learning and rejoicing every day.
- All you have to do is pray and read and you will learn something.
  - I am not asking you to become a preacher … that is the Lord's job
    - All I am saying is abide in the word of truth and the Spirit will teach you.
Convict the world …
- Convict …Elegcho
  - It is a legal term …
  - It means to indict by evidence … to prosecute … to prove guilty
  - There is no emotion attached to it … feelings of guilt.
  - It is a measurement against a law.
    - Verdict …Found short of .
  - And rendering a judgment or a final verdict based on evidence .
- Herod is rebuked by John … Luke 3;19
  - The word rebuked in Greek is Elegcho …
    - Found guilty …vs 8
  - Then Luke says … Herod added this to them all (The evidence brought against him) He locked John up in prison. … vs 22
    - Thus making himself even more worthy of judgment.
- So what the Scripture is saying here is …that the Spirit is pronouncing a final verdict on the world …
  - The world is guilty of sin, short of righteousness and worthy of judgment…
- Sin …
  - The unforgivable sin of unbelief in Jesus
    - Whoever believes in (Jesus) is nor condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned (Pronounced guilty) already… John 3;18
    - I have written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and believing have life in his name…Jn20;31
  - Problem?...Our unbelief claims that God is unrighteous- blasphemy
- Righteousness …
  - Christ is righteous …
    - Everything he taught is truth …
    - All his claims and promises are true.
  - The proof of that is in his resurrection …
    - God raised him from the dead –1 Peter 1;3, Acts 2;24, 32-34
    - And he is going back to the Father … vs 10
      - Returning to original place
    - Stephen at his trial says … I see the Son of Man (Jesus) at the right hand of God … Acts 7;56
  - The righteousness demanded by God's law is his righteousness
    - Because even our righteousness is like filthy rags …Is 64;6
  - Gods verdict … falling short Rom 3
- Judgment …
  - Because the prince of this world (Satan) now stands condemned …
    - He (Messiah) will crush your head …Gen 3
  - The powers and authorities of this world were disarmed when Jesus died on the cross.… Col 2;15
    - He triumphed over them by the cross vs 15
  - The writer to Hebrews …
    - In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him … Heb 2;8, Pslm 8.;4-6
  - Jesus …
    - Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out … John 12;31
    - But I, when I am lifted up will draw all men to myself vs 32
      - Satan is defeated … Jesus is victorious.
  - Satan is judged already …
    - We know when he will be incarcerated and how… Rev 20
  - The person of unbelief, who blasphemed the name of God …
    - Will be judged in the same way …
Preaching the gospel …
- So the Spirit is involved in preaching the gospel
- And his purpose is to convince people that they areguilty and facing a very long term sentence.
  - But thru the Lord Jesus Christ there is hope of justification.
- We make a grave mistake in our preaching when we leave out the reason why we must be saved.

Conclusion …

So what happened …
- To disciples …
  - Teaching and reminding the disciples takes place
  - Tells of things to come … eschatology
  - Guides them into all truth … cannot bare it all now … vs 12
    - So under the Spirits care they are enabled to write the Scriptures …
    - They testify about him… and thousands are saved ….
    - They are martyred but not before other capable men who are Spirit filled arise and continue the work.
- Today …
  - Nothing has changed … here we are at Medway being …
    - Taught, reminded, and testifying …
    - Glorifying the name of Jesus as we study the Gospel John wrote giving us a full understanding of who Jesus is and what he has accomplished.
    - Waiting for his promised return
      - All by the same Spirit.
Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out. Who has known the mind of the Lord … Rom 11;33
Next week we are going to bring all of this into the realm of 2024 and see how it impacts us.

C S Lewis - “The Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have begun thinking less of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.

The Holy Spirit - Part 2

Written by:

Lawrence Payne