All right, well we are continuing in John this morning, so if you have your Bible with
you, you can open it up to John chapter 16.
In case you haven't been here over the past little while, it's the night before Jesus'
death, and Jesus has been taking some time to encourage and comfort and instruct his
disciples to prepare them for what's coming. Jesus has just been warning them about how
things are going to get very difficult for them. He's told them that the world will hate
them, that they will be persecuted. But even though Jesus is about to leave them, they will
not be alone. Jesus has promised to send the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, and the Spirit,
he says, will testify to the world about Jesus through the disciples. So let's pick up this
conversation that Jesus was having with them that night, starting in verse 6. This is Jesus
talking to them. He said, rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away,
the advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove
the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment. About sin, because
people do not believe in me. About righteousness, because I am going to the Father where you can
see me no longer. And about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth,
comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what
he hears, but he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me, because it is from me that he
will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I
said, the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you. These words of Jesus are all about
the Spirit, as Jesus calls him, the Spirit of truth. And Jesus tells his disciples here three things
that the Spirit will do when he comes. The Spirit of truth will convict the world, that's verses 8 to 11.
He will guide them, that's the apostles, into all the truth, verses 12 and 13. And he will glorify me,
says Jesus, verses 14 to 15. So let's look at each of these briefly this morning. Starting with the first
one, Jesus says that the Spirit of truth will convict the world. When he comes, he will prove the world to
be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment. About sin, because people do not believe in me.
about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer. And about
judgment, because the Prince of this world now stands condemned. Now these are some tricky verses
here. You may notice in your own Bible some differences to the translation that's on the
screen. Most translations say he will convict the world. A couple say he will prove the world wrong
about. And Jesus says there are three things that the Spirit will convict the world about.
Sin, righteousness, and judgment. Now this is where it gets tricky. In English, when we use that word
convict, like being convicted of something, usually what comes after is a negative word,
like fault, convicted of sin, convicted of a crime, convicted of perjury, convicted of murder,
you get the idea. But it seems that the way Jesus uses this word, in his language, it's a little more
flexible. It seems to carry this idea of uncovering, exposing, bringing to light. And it can even be used
about positive things, like righteousness, or about an outcome, or a verdict, like judgment.
Being convicted of sin makes good sense to us. But these other ideas may sound strange to our ears.
So I want to start by acknowledging that there are at least a dozen different ideas about what Jesus
meant when he said these words. I read one very good commentator who listed off five different views
on just these two verses, three verses. And he didn't like any of those five, so he offered his own sixth
idea. So these have been talked about a lot. The challenge here is that Jesus has a kind of logic
in these words that is maybe not as clear or apparent to us today, what he's talking about.
So what do we do with this? Well, I want to start just by pointing out what is clear from these verses,
and then offer a best guess on some of the stuff that's not so clear. And let's start with the clear.
It's pretty obvious, I think, what it means to convict the world about sin. Most of you have probably
heard that language before. Jesus says that the Spirit will do that. He will expose. He will bring
to light the sin of the world. He will help the world see its guiltiness before God. So that's very
clear. Now what else is clear here? If we look carefully at these three clauses that because, because,
because, there are a few more things that are clear. Jesus says, as a statement in the first clause there,
people, that is the people of the world, do not believe in him. And it's kind of framed as a
problem. So that's, that much is clear. The world does not believe in Jesus, and this is a problem.
Another thing that's clear, Jesus says again, that he is going to the Father. He is about to leave the
disciples. They won't see him anymore. And this is clear. Jesus has said this a few times already
in this same evening to the disciples. Finally, in the third clause there, Jesus says that the prince
or ruler of this world now stands condemned. And pretty much everybody agrees that this is a
reference to Satan, to the devil, and how his fate is already sealed. He is guilty. He is liable to
judgment, though we know from other passages that his punishment hasn't been executed on him yet.
But the verdict is sealed. So that's what's clear here. The spirit, when he comes, he will convict the
world of sin. The world does not believe in Jesus, and Jesus is going to the Father, and the ruler of
this world's judgment is sure. So now we get to the less clear part here. And again, these things have
been variously interpreted, so what I'm about to say, I want you to know, is my opinion and not Scripture.
What does it mean that the Spirit will convict the world about righteousness? I don't think this is a
reference to the righteousness of Jesus. I think it's a reference to the world's righteousness. Just like he
will convict the world about its sin, he will convict the world about its righteousness. Namely, the lack of
righteousness. The world thinks it has righteousness. It's consistently characterized by that ominous
statement at the end of the book of Judges. Everyone does what is right in their own eyes. But the truth,
I think, that the Spirit has come to expose is that we are not righteous. We are not as good as we think
we are. In the words of Isaiah, the prophet, all our righteousness is as filthy rags. When it comes to
righteousness, we are deficient. We are lacking it. So the Spirit will convict the world concerning sin
and concerning righteousness, our lack of it, and concerning judgment. What does it mean that the
Spirit will convict the world concerning judgment? I think it means very simply that he will expose
the reality that we are deserving of judgment, just like the devil is deserving of judgment.
So that's my take on these less clear parts of what Jesus said. And there is a sort of logic in here
that I haven't really dug into too much. Jesus says that the Spirit will convict the world concerning sin.
Why? Because they do not believe in him. We notice that Jesus doesn't say why the world doesn't believe
in him. Is this people who have already heard the message of Jesus and are rejecting it? Or is this people
who have never heard about Jesus? Jesus doesn't say? And so we kind of have to guess at the reason.
Perhaps the reason the Spirit convicts them of sin is because they are not believers in Jesus
as they should be. And so the Spirit presses on them. He exposes our guilt. He helps us to see
our need for Jesus, the Savior, for forgiveness. Jesus also says that the Spirit will convict the world
concerning righteousness because I am going to the Father, he says, and you will see me no more.
This is kind of an unexpected reason. The first reason had to do with the world and them not believing.
But this second reason has to do with Jesus and him not being here on earth anymore.
If I'm reading it right, Jesus has up until now been doing that convicting of sin and righteousness,
the lack of it, and judgment. Think back over what Jesus has been saying to the people.
He's been exposing their guilt. He's been putting the light on the sin,
not just of the religious leaders, but also of the people and calling them to repent.
And so I think that Jesus is saying that there is a need for that convicting work to continue.
Jesus, the light that exposes, is about to leave the world. And so the Spirit will come
and continue that work that Jesus has been doing, that work of convicting. So that's my take on this passage.
Jesus is telling the disciples that the Spirit of truth, when he comes, he will convict,
he will expose, he will shine the light on the reality that we are all guilty before God,
that we lack righteousness, and that we are deserving of judgment.
And I believe that this convicting is something that the Spirit of God continues to do today in our world.
While Jesus was here, he did that important work of the Father.
And while Jesus is away, the Spirit continues it.
And if you read carefully the New Testament letters and how the churches got started,
you can see there in a few places that the credit is given to God's Spirit
when someone comes to their senses and becomes aware of their sin and their need for Jesus.
The Spirit is the one that does that work in us, bringing the words of God to bear on our hearts.
So I want to ask you, have you felt the convicting of the Holy Spirit in your own life?
About sin in your life?
About righteousness?
Your lack of it?
Your need for Christ?
About judgment that's coming?
If you have not yet surrendered your life to Christ,
I want to urge you today to do it.
If you hear the voice of God speaking to you today,
don't harden your heart.
Surrender it to his love, to his call.
We come now to the next thing the Spirit will do according to Jesus.
Let's read it again in verses 12 and 13.
Jesus says,
I have much more to say to you,
more than you can now bear.
But when the Spirit of truth comes,
He will guide you into all the truth.
He will not speak on His own.
He will speak only what He hears.
And He will tell you what is yet to come.
Now, the temptation here is to go straight to application.
To just read these words as if they are directed straight at us today.
But before we get there,
we need to stop and consider how these words were for the disciples.
These 11 men there with Jesus that night.
Jesus says,
I have much more to say to you,
more than you can now bear.
Think about how the disciples are feeling right now.
This is the night before Jesus is arrested.
Or the night of Jesus' arrest.
The night before Jesus is crucified.
They've been feeling quite troubled.
John chapter 14 verse 1.
Their hearts are filled with grief.
As we just heard back in 16 verse 6.
These emotions, you imagine, are swirling inside of them.
And in the midst of all this,
they've been just drinking in this teaching
and these words of Jesus,
like drinking from a fire hose.
Jesus has been saying all these things to them.
I mean, there's three chapters here.
So imagine how they're feeling.
Jesus says,
I have even more to tell you.
More than you can even bear to hear in this moment.
But don't worry.
When the Spirit comes,
He will guide you
into all truth.
He will speak what He hears
and He will tell you.
What is yet to come.
So one of the things that the Spirit will do
when He comes
is He will tell the apostles
all the things that they could not bear to hear
before Jesus left.
That's how the disciples will get,
will receive
all the things Jesus still needs to tell them.
Jesus will speak those things to them
through the Holy Spirit.
And the Spirit will be their guide
just as Jesus has been their guide.
I want to point your attention
to one more little detail in these verses.
Notice what Jesus says there at the end.
He says,
The Spirit will tell you
what is yet to come.
Do you hear that?
This is why we need to be careful
not to just jump straight
into applying all of this
directly to ourselves
because there's something unique
and special going on here.
The apostles are going to receive
revelation from Jesus
through the Holy Spirit
about what is yet to come.
So this is the second thing
that the Spirit will do
is guide the apostles
into all the truth
by speaking to them
the things Jesus
still has to say to them
and by speaking to them
of things that are coming.
Maybe the word prophecy
is rolling around in your mind
as you hear this.
And then Jesus does
some fascinating thing here.
He elaborates on how this all works
a little bit.
Look at what he says
here in verse 13.
He says,
The Spirit will not speak
on his own.
He will speak only
what he hears
and he will tell you
what is yet to come.
Isn't that mysterious?
Maybe you remember
back to some of those
earlier messages
where Jesus was saying
to the people,
I do not speak on my own
or of myself.
I only speak
what the Father
tells me to,
what I hear from him.
Well, this is Jesus
using the same language here
about the Spirit.
The Spirit, Jesus says,
is going to listen
and what the Spirit hears,
he is going to tell
or say
to the disciples,
the apostles.
The Spirit is not
the source of the words
that he will speak.
He is merely
relaying them.
We will come back
to that in a moment.
But let's go on now
to the third thing
Jesus says
that the Spirit will do.
Verses 14 and 15.
Jesus says,
He, the Spirit of truth,
will glorify me
because it is from me
that he will receive
what he will make known
to you.
All that belongs
to the Father
is mine.
That is why I said
the Spirit will receive
from me
what he will make known
to you.
So the third thing
that Jesus says
the Spirit will do,
he will glorify me,
says Jesus.
I'll pull out some synonyms
there to glorify
because that's not a word
we use all the time.
He will magnify,
he will exalt,
he will draw the attention
to my glory,
says Jesus.
Wow.
Those are pretty
significant words
for anyone who has
a hard time believing
that Jesus ever claimed
to be divine.
Consider this.
He claimed that
the Spirit of God
would bring glory
to him.
That's something
God would never do
if Jesus were not one
with God.
Truly divine,
truly worthy
of glory.
So the Spirit
will glorify
Jesus,
but then Jesus
gives us this
very mysterious
explanation
as to how,
in what way
will he do this.
Verse 14,
he will glorify me
because it is from
me
that he will receive
what he will make known
to you.
So Jesus
will be shown
as glorious
by how the very
Spirit of God
will take
Jesus' messages
and speak them
to the disciples
on Jesus' behalf.
I'll say it this way,
there will be a man
in heaven
who tells
the Spirit
of God
what to say
and the Spirit
of God
will listen
and will not
add to
or take away
from any
of his words
but will serve
this man
by relaying
his words
to the apostles.
How can this be?
Perhaps
the disciples
were wondering
that night,
how can you say
things like Jesus?
How can you say
things like this?
You're going away
and God's
Holy Spirit,
you're going
to tell him
what to say
to us?
That sounds
a little wild
to be coming
from this man
sitting right there
with you
or standing
there with you.
I imagine
that something
like this
may have been
rising in the
minds of the
disciples
because Jesus
seems to answer
this question.
Verse 15,
Jesus reminds
them,
all that
belongs to
the Father
is mine.
That is why
I said
that the Spirit
will receive
from me
what he will
make known
to you.
Now I know
that sounds
weird to us,
doesn't it?
Yet here again,
Jesus just states
it so clearly.
All that
belongs to
the Father,
he says,
is mine.
As Jesus
said earlier,
I and the
Father are
one.
There is this
unity of the
Son with
the Father.
There is a
sharing together
in the divine
nature that is
so full,
so true,
that Jesus
can say,
all that
belongs to
the Father
is mine.
Just as the
Father sees
fit to
send his
Spirit forth
with messages
for men,
so I will
send forth
his Spirit
with messages
for you,
says Jesus,
because his
Spirit,
implied,
is my
Spirit.
His authority
is my
authority.
His words
are my
words.
Let that
sink in
for a moment.
man.
Jesus
speaks like
no other
man can,
because he
is not
just a
man.
He is
the divine
Son of
God,
truly God,
truly man,
at the same
time.
It may seem
for a moment
that Jesus
lacks glory.
Here he is
walking around
in human
flesh with
us on
the earth,
especially in
these hours
ahead,
as he is
arrested
and killed.
But the
word who
became flesh,
it will be
seen that
he is
glorious
at the
proper time.
He will
be exalted
and part
of God's
plan to
exalt him,
to lift
him up,
is to have
God's own
Spirit serve
the Son
and bring
his messages,
his words,
to the
apostles and
through them
to the
world.
And so this
is the third
thing the
Spirit will
do.
He will
glorify
Jesus by
relaying the
words of
Jesus to
the apostles.
So let me
just quickly
recap here and
then we're
going to talk
about how
this all
applies to
us today.
Jesus tells
his disciples
that when
the Spirit
of truth
comes he
will do
three things.
Number one,
he will
convict the
world.
Number two,
he will
guide them,
that's the
apostles,
into all
the truth.
And number
three,
he will
glorify me,
says Jesus.
We've already
talked about
the first
way that
this applies
to us.
The Spirit
of truth
continues to
convict the
world about
sin and
righteousness and
judgment in
the absence
of Jesus.
He's still
doing that
convicting work
today.
Some of you
felt that
when you
first surrendered
your life to
Christ.
And so
this should
affect us
in at least
three ways.
First,
it should
bring an
awareness to
us of why
we often
feel like
we do.
about sin.
God is
gracious and
merciful.
He works
so that we
can feel
the ugliness,
the dirtiness,
the vileness
of our own
sin in
his sight.
Not to
beat us
down, not
just to make
us feel more
and more
guilty for
its own
sake, but
so that we
might come
to our
senses and
turn away
from the
madness of
sin.
And seek
the remedy,
the cure,
which is
found in
Jesus and
be forgiven.
And so
again, if
you hear the
voice of
God speaking
to you
through his
word, by
his spirit,
let me
encourage you
today.
Humble
yourself.
Submit
yourself to
his voice
and obey
and
respond.
Second, the
spirit's
convicting
work should
change the
way that we
think about
people.
It's not
just our
own stubbornness
at fault
when people
do not
respond to
the gospel.
There is
also a
blindness.
There is
also a
sense in
which we
are lost
in the
darkness.
we've
lost
sensitivity
to our
own
sinfulness.
And the
good news
is this,
the spirit
has picked
up where
Jesus left
off and
he is at
work bringing
us back to
a realization
of the
truth.
Yes, that
we have
sinned.
Yes, that
we lack
that right
standing with
God.
And yes, that
we are deserving
of judgment.
And here is
the way that
I want to
apply this
to us
today.
Sometimes it
feels as though
we simply
can't get
through to
someone we
love.
We've talked
to them about
Jesus and
yet for some
reason it
just seems
like they
just can't
see it.
They just
won't embrace
him from
the heart.
The good
news is this,
while we
can't change
people's
hearts,
God,
through the
power of
his spirit,
can.
We need
to keep
this in
mind.
We are
not called
to share
the message
of Christ
alone.
God's
spirit goes
with his
word.
And truthfully,
his spirit does
all the heavy
lifting in
people's hearts.
love.
And so I
want to
encourage you
just to
rest in
the fact
that God
can convict
of sin
for those
that you
love who
are lost.
And when
we share
Christ with
them,
do so
trusting that
God's spirit
will do the
work of
convicting.
it may not
be right
now,
this instant.
Maybe it'll
be three
hours later.
Maybe it'll
be three
days.
Maybe it'll
be three
months.
But trust
that God
is doing
what Jesus
said the
spirit will
do.
Third,
the spirit's
convicting work
should change
the way that
we pray.
how do
you pray
when you
pray for
God to
help people?
Do you
say, as
many of us
fall into
the rhythm
of,
Father,
please bless
and be
with and
help so
and so.
And please
bless and be
with and help
this person.
And please
bless and be
with and help
this person.
Those prayers
are good.
Please don't
stop praying
them.
God knows
exactly what
you mean in
your heart
when you say
those words.
But because
we know
what the
spirit does,
that he
convicts
people of
sin,
we can
pray even
more
specifically
than that.
I want to
draw your
attention to
how Paul
prayed in
Ephesians
chapter 1
verse 16
and 18.
And I
forgot to
put this
on the
screen so
I'll just
read it to
you.
Paul
said this
to the
Ephesians.
He said,
I have
not stopped
giving
thanks for
you,
remembering
you in
my prayers.
I keep
asking that
the God
of our
Lord Jesus
Christ,
the glorious
Father,
may give
you the
spirit of
wisdom and
revelation so
that you may
know him
better.
I pray that
the eyes of
your heart
may be
enlightened
in order
that you
may know
the hope
to which
he has
called you,
in order
that you
may know
the riches
of his
glorious
inheritance
in his
people,
his holy
people,
and that
you may
know
his
incomparably
great
power
for us
who believe.
Paul
prayed
that God
would reveal
specific
things
to the
Ephesians
by his
Holy Spirit.
God
and we
can pray
the same
way
with
confidence
that yes,
God does
do that
work
of speaking
truth,
of changing
minds
and hearts
and bringing
conviction
where it's
needed.
So pray
for that
for people
whom you
love,
that they
might come
to their
senses,
hear the
truth that
they need
for the
specific
situations
in their
lives.
So because
the Spirit
of truth
convicts
the world
about things,
we should
respond,
oh,
yes,
I got
that on
the screen,
we should
respond to
the Spirit's
convicting
of our own
sin,
we should
trust the
Spirit to
convict as
we share
Christ with
others,
and we
should pray
for God's
Spirit to
do this
work in
people's
lives.
Finally,
let's come
now to
this second
main thing
that the
Spirit does
according to
Jesus.
Jesus said
He will
guide them,
the apostles,
He was
speaking to,
into all
truth.
And I'm
going to
give two
applications
here.
The first
and by far
the most
important
application
is this,
because God's
Spirit has
spoken the
very words
of Jesus
to these
men,
the apostles,
and revealed
certain things
to them.
We should
listen to
the apostles
of Jesus
and obey
their teaching
as if the
things they
said are
the very
words of
Jesus
himself.
That's what's
going on
here.
They are
functioning as
spokespersons
of Christ.
There's a
line of
transmission
here.
Jesus
will
speak to
the
Spirit.
The Spirit
will hear
and speak
to the
apostles,
and then
the apostles
will go
out and
speak what
they hear
to the
world.
This is
why we
call all
the writings
of the
apostles,
the letters
in the
New Testament
that they
wrote,
this is
why we
call them
the word
of God,
and not
just the
word,
the words
of men.
When Peter
opened his
mouth on
the day
of Pentecost
in Acts
chapter 2,
it wasn't
just Peter
speaking,
it was
Jesus
speaking to
the Spirit,
and the
Spirit speaking
to Peter,
and Peter
speaking the
same words
to the
people.
And so
the most
important thing
for us to
do is to
humbly
recognize the
special,
unique role
that the
Spirit has
come to
play in
the lives
and ministries
of the
apostles,
guiding them
into the
truth,
and helping
them to
relay that
truth to
the world,
to us.
So give
your heart
fully to
trusting and
obeying the
words of
the apostles
of Jesus.
There is a
real sense in
which the
whole New
Testament is
red letters.
Secondly,
and I want to
separate this out
a little bit,
the Spirit
of Truth
comes to
live in
every believer,
not just
the apostles.
And he also
does the work
of guiding
every believer
into the
truth.
We see this
quite clearly
in 1 Corinthians
chapter 2,
verse 13
to 16,
which I will
not go to
because I'm
getting on in
time here.
But it's there.
You can read it
on your own
time.
It's not in
the exact same
way that the
Spirit guides
us into
truth.
There's a
difference.
God in his
wisdom saw
fit to speak
and to reveal
to the
apostles.
And then,
for the rest
of us, he
guides us into
the truth by
opening our
hearts and
minds to
those words
which he
spoke through
them to
us.
And this
usually is a
very subjective
and mysterious
thing.
How the
Spirit guides
each one of
us into
the truth.
We sometimes
like to speak
of a little
whisper that
we hear.
And truth be
told, some
people often
confuse the
whisper of the
Spirit with
their own
thoughts from
their own
hearts.
amazingly, the
Spirit seems to
work beneath
our hearts,
doing this
work of
guiding us
into the
truth.
Oftentimes, we
look back on
something in
our lives and
we realize that
yes, boy, did
God by his
Spirit ever
help us to
see that clearly
at just the
right time.
But in the
present, it's
not always easy
to discern his
guiding.
again, the
passage up
there is the
one to look
to for this.
Paul tells
us that we
have received
the mind of
Christ and
that the
Spirit of
God enables
us to make
judgments and
discern things.
So I'm just
going to give
you the statement
about how we
should live in
light of his
guiding work in
us.
Two things.
We should be
careful not to
assume that every
thought or whisper
in our heads is
from the Spirit.
But we can
trust, we can
rely on this,
that God's
Spirit is at
work in us
to help us
examine everything,
including our
own thoughts,
in the light of
God's Word,
leading us to a
knowledge of the
truth.
I'm going to
say that one
more time.
We can trust and
rely on this,
that God's Spirit
is at work in
us to help us
examine everything,
including our own
thoughts, in the
light of God's
Word, which over
time leads us
more and more
increasingly to a
knowledge of the
truth.
So I'm just
going to sum up
this morning and
then we'll pray.
Jesus promised
that the Spirit of
truth would come,
and He has.
Jesus taught that
the Spirit would
convict the world,
and He does.
And we should
listen and obey
His convicting
voice when we
hear it.
Jesus told the
apostles that the
Spirit would speak
His words to
them, guiding
them into all
the truth, and
He did.
And so we should
listen to and
obey the apostles
of Jesus.
And God, by His
Spirit, continues to
guide all of His
people in a
different sort of
way by His
Spirit.
And so we should
think carefully
about everything
in light of God's
Word, trusting
that the Spirit
will do that work
of getting our
understanding to
the truth.
Let's pray.
Father in Heaven,
thank You for
sending the
Spirit.
This is a
mysterious part of
our relationship
with You.
Dare I say,
some of us,
we don't even
feel the Spirit
moving or at
work.
sometimes.
Other times we
think we do.
Do we?
It's such a
mystery.
But our faith is
in You.
Our trust is in
You.
And as we look
back on our lives,
You have been
faithful.
You've helped us
find our way.
You've opened our
eyes to the
goodness and
grace of Jesus.
And so we say
thank You.
Thank You for
the Spirit and
the work that He
does in our
lives.
Teach us more.
Help us to live
by faith in
His power.
We ask this in
Jesus' name.
Amen.