The Gospel of John - part 37

The Role of the Holy Spirit

“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.

John 16:5-15

It is to our advantage Jesus went away, because the Holy Spirit came.

Why is it our advantage? Because salvation only happens because Jesus made a way through the cross. Without Jesus’ death on the cross, no one can be saved, which means no one can receive the Holy Spirit. It is ‘to our advantage’ or ‘expedient’ that Jesus dies for us. It may not be what we would like to see. Many of us would love to have Jesus visibly with us, but that is not until the end of this age. In the in-between time of Jesus’ Ascension and His Return, we are guided by the Holy Spirit. But, remember, the Spirit indwells our hearts and gives life to us.

Christ's death makes salvation possible, and we only receive the Holy Spirit when we are saved.

Think of the difference in the lives of the disciples before the Holy Spirit and afterward. Before Pentecost, they were afraid and easily scattered. None of them walked with Jesus through his trial, the closest ones stayed in the background. But after the Holy Spirit came upon them, they all except John went to a martyr’s death for the sake of Christ. The Holy Spirit makes a new and better creation, but that only happens when we surrender in faith to the work of Christ on the cross.

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of:

Sin - the need to repent and be saved

The work of the Holy Spirit is first to convict of sin. In common terms, people will talk about having a conscience. Now, the Bible also talks about Christian conscience, however it is couched in the understanding the Holy Spirit leads us where we need to go. This is the only action of the Spirit that is characterized of ‘to the world’. Whenever a lost person recognizes an evil that is the Holy Spirit convicting them of sin. Now, many have become very callous to the convictions of sin. But, nonetheless, as Christians bear witness to Christ, the Holy Spirit convicts the lost of their sin and need to repent.

Righteousness - what is right and true

The second conviction Christ lists is that of righteousness. Because Jesus will no longer be physically present with the disciples, the Holy Spirit comes to guide them in all truth. This is repeated in verse 13. Notice the chain of command in verse 13, which by the way, is an example of the Trinity, though we do not see that word. When the Spirit comes, he will guide in all truth, “for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak.” Who is speaking? The Spirit speaks to us what He hears from the Son who has received all the Father has given. The Father has spoken through the Son while Jesus walked the earth, then the Son is glorified in Heaven for accomplishing salvation, and the Holy Spirit is sent to new believers to teach and speak to us on behalf of the Father and Son. In this passage, we see the connection between the Three Persons, but also the harmony and unity of mission and message.

Now, let’s park here for a bit and reflect on what the Holy Spirit has done and does for us in terms of teaching righteousness. Paul wrote that all Scripture is breathed by God. That means God inspired the writing of the Old Testament and New Testament. The Holy Spirit was actively involved as each of the writers, whose lives spanned thousands of years, chronicled the works of God and His people. When we read the prophets of the Old Testament, we are reading what the Holy Spirit inspired them to write—”Thus, sayeth the LORD”. In the New Testament, we have the words of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the history of our salvation and the Church’s earliest years. When we read Paul’s letters, we are not just reading a smart man’s letter about some matter. We are reading what the Holy Spirit is teaching the Church through Paul. This gospel is not just John remembering a fascinating story about a guy he knew. We are reading what the Holy Spirit guided him to write in order that we can know that we are saved. We know what Jesus taught, because the writers of the New Testament were guided by the Holy Spirit to get it right.

In the last few centuries, the validity and inerrancy of the Bible has come under attack. Secularism has a few heroes that have supposedly made the Bible obsolete. If we were living in the 19th century, or even in the early 20th century, I might myself even wonder if Science has in fact uprooted the foundation of Scripture. However, I live in the 21st century, and we have learned many things that have toppled the ‘heroes of secularism’. First, Darwin supposedly voids Genesis by proving evolution over creation. However, had Darwin known what molecular biologists now know, he would have thrown Origins of Species in the trash can where it belongs. The mathematical probability of evolution makes it impossible, or at the most extremely improbable. Even biologists who do not believe in Christ have begun to accept the notion of ‘intelligent design’. The second hero of secularism is Freud, who supposedly set the stage for psychology and man’s ability to rid himself of guilt and rise above notions of right and wrong. Well, there isn’t a psychologists in his right mind today that follows Freudian teachings. His acceptance is only in pop culture, today. And what about the great physicists of yesteryear that demonstrated the ability of the Universe to self-populate? At first, it was widely held in materialist physics that matter had always been around. Then, the expansion of the Universe was discovered, and people like Einstein, fought for ways to explain expansion without the idea of a beginning. But, they soon realized there was a beginning. Now, the great question is what caused the beginning? Militant atheists still adhere to the possibility of matter just popping out of nowhere and look to Quantum Mechanics for the answer. The problem: Quantum Science can only explain what is already there, not what doesn’t exist.

To illustrate:

“At this moment it seems as though science will never be able to raise the curtain on the mystery of creation. For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance, he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

Robert Jastrow, God and The Astronomers

Why am I convinced the Bible is the Word of God? Because there is no other answer. Because the greatest, atheistic minds of humanity cannot defeat it. And, primarily, because I have experienced the wonder and excitement that happens when you find yourself reading the words and realize that God is speaking to you. Christians, do not give the devil a foothold by giving more credit to fools than they deserve. It is the fool that says there is no God. No matter how intelligent the fool, they are still the fool. Are you concerned about some piece of evidence, some knickknack of the past? Give it time. Science is still in its adolescent phase and like most teenagers, it believes it knows far more than it actually does.

Judgment - sin's curse is broken

The last conviction is that of judgement—“because the ruler of this world is judged.” Who is the ruler of this world? He is talking about Satan. Let’s go back a bit and look at Satan’s origins. He was in the Garden with Adam and Eve, that much is in Scripture. We also know that for a time, he was in heaven, but was cast out taking a third of the heavenly host with him. From Isaiah 14, we know he was cast out because of his pride. Tradition holds that he wanted more power than was allowed. Some early church fathers believed he was given jurisdiction over the earth, but became prideful when man was created to administer the earth. It is possible he was supposed to help in some way, but instead tempted the first couple to sin. We can look more into that another day. For now, what we know for sure, is that Satan has been working on the destruction of God’s creation since the Garden. However, he has now been judged. His sin has been counted against him, Jesus died on the cross to end the devil’s schemes. The victory over Satan Jesus won is now passed on to all who believe in Christ. Part of that victory is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We don’t have victory just because we say so, but because the Holy Spirit is working in us. The hold of sin’s curse is broken, because we now have the Holy Spirit to guide us and cleanse us of unrighteousness. Satan has been judged, and now the Holy Spirit convicts the world of that judgement. He testifies to the victory of Christ.

The last point is the positive statement of the previous—

the Holy Spirit guides us into all Truth.

He admonishes what is wrong and teaches what is right.

Thus, the question I will leave you with is: Are you listening to the Holy Spirit?

I can tell you the first thing He will say is “Repent and believe that Jesus is who He says He is.” Salvation comes through repentance (turning away from sin) and belief (understanding Jesus is the Savior and Lord). Today is the day to listen to the Spirit call you away from death and sin and take that step of faith towards your Savior, Jesus Christ.