The Greatest Spiritual Gift - John 16:1-15
Our passage this morning centers upon the work of the Holy Spirit. I’ve said it once before, but I think it’s worth saying again, that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is a subject that is often neglected. And if we ever do talk about the Holy Spirit we talk about him as if he’s the mysterious “force” from the Star Wars movies.
But the reality is - the Holy Spirit, just like the Trinity, has a role to play. He has work to do.
And Jesus really outlines the role of the Holy Spirit for us. First, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will sustain believers (vv. 1-7), second, Jesus tells us that the Spirit will convict the world (vv. 8-11), and lastly, he will protect the church (vv. 12-15).
We’re continuing to make our way through the gospel of John, and if you were here last week, you might remember that Jesus told his disciples that the world is going to hate them, but the Holy Spirit is going to help them.
And what we just read in chapter 16:1-15, Jesus is continuing to elaborate on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Because Jesus is telling his disciples that even when he is gone, they’re not going to be alone. It’s not like once Jesus ascended into heaven everyone had to fend for themselves at that point. No, they were and we still are ministered to by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit will sustain believers (vv. 1-7)
Jesus tells his disciples that he has said all these things in order to keep them from “falling away.” And of course, “these things” is a reference to what he had previously warned them of concerning the world. Specifically, that the world would hate them and persecute them.
All very encouraging stuff, right? Jesus told his disciples because they follow him, they’re going to be hated and persecuted. But in verse one, Jesus explains why he was telling them to anticipate hatred and persecution: “to keep them from falling away.” That is, to keep them from abandoning their faith in him.
Because they’re going to face everything from excommunication from their Jewish synagogue to martyrdom. Excommunication from the synagogues wasn’t really anything new. Jewish leaders had already excommunicated people for following Jesus in John 9! They excommunicated a man that Jesus had healed from the synagogue for the crime of giving Jesus credit for his healing!
What Jesus was warning them about was something that was already taking place, but it’s going to get more severe. They are not just going to be excommunicated, they’re going to be martyred for their faith in Jesus. And people will be so deceived that they’ll actually believe killing followers of Jesus Christ is not just doing a good thing, but a holy thing. “Whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.”
On the one hand, it’s shocking to think that anyone could legitimately believe that murder is justifiable or good, but on the other hand, it isn’t. Because Christians have been martyred by religious zealots for centuries.
Christians have been martyred by people who were religiously devoted to Karl Marx. Stalin believed that eliminating the concept of God from the Soviet mind was a good thing.
Christians have also been martyred by people who were religiously devoted to Muhammad. And Christians have even been martyred in the name of Jesus.
John Huss was Czech theologian and a forerunner of the protestant reformation. He was born and ministered 200 years before Martin Luther and his 95 theses. And interestingly enough, he shared many of the convictions and concerns of the protestant reformers that came after him, men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli. The difference being, Huss was martyred for his faith but before he was burned at the stake, a sermon was preached.
You see he too was killed by men who thought they were offering service to God.
But the point that Jesus wants his disciples to see is that it’s all deeply ironic. Because rejecting the gospel of Christ and persecuting those that believe in Jesus is the clearest evidence that someone doesn’t know God. If someone denies Christ and persecutes his followers - that tells you everything doesn’t it?
And of course Jesus is telling his disciples all of this because they’re going to experience it firsthand. In the book of Acts the Apostles go and preach in the synagogues believing that the Jewish people are going to be thrilled to hear the gospel! The Savior that you’ve been waiting for is finally here! They were often rejected and even persecuted for the gospel. Men truly believed that persecuting the Apostles would bring honor to God.
It’s precisely what happened to Stephen in Acts 6. At that particular moment, Paul thought he was doing a good thing! He thought he was honoring God!
But what’s the most obvious example of this? The Lord Jesus Christ! He too was killed by men who thought his death would bring honor to God.
If Jesus faced trials, his followers will too.
And none of this is enjoyable news! None of this is easy to receive by any means. Jesus, how does this information keep anyone from abandoning their faith in you? It might even seem like what he’s doing will have the exact opposite effect.
Our youngest, Claire, when we play hide and seek will often announce her hiding spot. “I’m under the table! I’m right here!” It’s hilarious and cute but it ruins the element of surprise, which is pretty much the point of hide and seek.
If you know what to look for and what to anticipate it wrecks any element of surprise. Knowing what to expect and not being caught off guard keeps them and us from falling away.
I like the reminder Sinclair Ferguson gives commentating on this passage: “to be forewarned is to be forearmed.” Not only will you know what to expect but you’ll also be prepared. Being well prepared is how you win the battle! Which is of course why in verse 4 Jesus said, “But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.”
Jesus directly tells his disciples and by extension you and me to anticipate challenges, opposition, hardships, and potentially death as a result of following him.
It’s quite literally the opposite of what so many Christians assume. There is a pervasive misunderstanding among many within the church that following Jesus will give them a life of ease and comfort. Is that not the core message of the prosperity gospel? Because you identify as a Christian you’re going to be rich, you’re going to be healthy, and everything in life will be handed to you on a silver platter.
If you fundamentally believe Christianity will make your life easier, then there’s going to be a tremendous temptation to abandon the faith altogether the moment you realize that’s not true.
Again, to be forewarned is to be forearmed isn’t it?
But it’s not like Jesus is saying, “remember I told you so when you face hostility and opposition!” He’s not just throwing his disciples and by extension, all of his followers to the wolves. No, we have the Holy Spirit. Jesus goes from talking about hostility and persecution to the work of the Holy Spirit in order to highlight his sustaining grace, so that we can all know that regardless of what we face in life, the Spirit is going to carry you through it. This passage is providing us with the inner workings of the doctrine which we call the preservation of the saints.
However, that great Biblical doctrine doesn’t promise you or me preservation from hostility, opposition or persecution, in other words, our physical lives aren’t promised protection from hardship or harm, but the souls of believers are! The Lord primarily through the ministry of the Holy Spirit is going to keep your soul.
Which of course explains why Jesus goes from telling his disciples that he’s going to keep them from falling away by sending them the Holy Spirit! In fact, it’s to their advantage that Jesus will send them the Holy Spirit because the Spirit will always be with them. He’s going to indwell them.
The Holy Spirit convicts the world (vv. 8-11)
But it’s not like the world is going to get off scot free with opposing and persecuting Christians. We learn from Jesus that the Holy Spirit isn’t just active in the lives of believers; he's active in the world at large as well.
That’s not typically how we think about the operation of the Holy Spirit is it? Normally, we limit his power to the walls of the church, don’t we? The Holy Spirit is not allowed to leave the church sanctuary… or the ballroom of the American Legion! My point is, we tend to confine his work only to believers!
But Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit is going to convict the world.
Look at verse 8 with me. Jesus said, “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” Notice that the Spirit is going to convict the world of three things: sin, righteousness, and judgment. And thankfully, Jesus explains tells us what each one means.
The first one is that the Holy Spirit is going to “convict the world of sin.” And he clarifies what sin he’s referring to… “because they do not believe in me.”
Typically, when you hear someone was ‘convicted of their sin,’ they’re saying that they feel the guilt and sorrow of their sin and because of that guilt and sorrow, they repent and turn to Christ. That’s typically what we mean when we say someone was “convicted of their sin.”
And Jesus is saying something similar here. He’s saying that due to the work of the Spirit, the world will feel guilt, sorrow, and shame over sin, however, they will remain in their sin because they will refuse to turn to Christ.
And of course we must remember that Jesus isn’t speaking literally, he’s not saying that every person in the whole wide world isn’t going to turn to him in faith, rather, he’s speaking generally. Because generally speaking, much of the world has and will continue to oppose and reject Jesus.
I think most of us have even experienced what Jesus is describing here. We’ve all probably had conversations with family or friends, and they describe sorrow, guilt, and shame over some sin they’ve committed in the past and you tell them, look, you can be freed from this guilt and receive forgiveness of your sin through Christ and they simply say, “that’s not for me.”
They would rather keep wearing their book bag of sin than take it off and hand it to Jesus.
They know in their heart that something is deeply wrong, but stand firm in their rejection of Jesus Christ. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s the only sin that will send someone to hell: rejection of Jesus Christ. And that’s precisely the sin that the Holy Spirit is going to convict the world of - their stubborn refusal to turn to him.
So sin is the first thing that the Holy Spirit is going to convict the world of. The second thing he’s going to convict the world of is righteousness.
Jesus tells us the Holy Spirit is going to convict the world of righteousness, “because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer.” What exactly is that all about? That’s certainly a little less clear isn’t it?
I think what Jesus is getting at there is that the world will seek righteousness apart from him. The fact that he rose from the dead and ascended to Father proves his perfect righteousness doesn’t it? But instead of looking for a righteousness that comes from above, the world will be content with an insufficient earthly righteousness.
I don’t care how catchy the song is, heaven is not a place on earth. In all seriousness, how sad is the premise of that song? This is as good as it gets?
The reality is, Christians are made righteous through the finished work of Jesus Christ. It cannot be earned.
But this is the righteousness that the world settles for, isn’t it? Not righteousness that comes from God, but righteousness that comes from man.
How many wonderful people do you know that are kind, sincere, hard-working people that would give you the shirt off their back, but have never professed faith in Christ and no desire to even set foot in the church? That probably describes the majority of people we know, doesn’t it? So many people fall into that particular category, and have you ever stopped and wondered why? How can someone act like a better Christian than some of the folks I go to church with on Sunday?
The answer to that question is that their works are their righteousness. They believe their kindness, sincerity, and work ethic is what makes them a good person, and who knows, if there is a god out there he’ll see what a quality life I’ve lived and hopefully it’s enough to get me into heaven. Again, it’s works righteousness, isn’t it?
But here’s what’s so interesting about works righteousness: it demonstrates that everyone has an innate desire to be made clean! They know the sinful desires of their hearts and make up for it by simply being a nice person. But the problem is, there’s no righteousness apart from Jesus Christ. That’s the conviction of righteousness that the Holy Spirit will bring upon the world. The insufficiency of their righteousness.
And the last thing that Jesus mentions there in verse 8 is, “concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
Isn’t it interesting that Jesus doesn’t say, “the ruler of this world is being judged, or will be judged?” No, according to Jesus, the judgment has already happened. It’s already taken place. The ruler of this world, Satan, has already been condemned.
Just as the Christian has a helper, an advocate, a paraclete, in the Holy Spirit, the world has one too. The world takes its cues from the father of lies. And the great lie of the devil himself is to ignore, dismiss, reject Jesus Christ and his followers.
One commentator writes, “Hence, the world, by clinging to the advice of Satan in condemning Jesus, stands convicted.” Isn’t that exactly what happened when the crowd was shouting, “crucify him!” The Spirit is going to convict them, “concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
Everything here that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of is entirely just! None of it is unwarranted or unfair.
Because here’s what should happen: conviction of sin, a desire for righteousness, and the sense of imminent judgment should drive you and me to Jesus Christ. Don’t harden your heart towards him!
It’s quite interesting because Peter’s sermon at Pentecost dealt with all three of these things: sin, righteousness, and judgment. But do you remember how the crowd responded? They cried out, “Brothers, what shall we do?... And there were added to them that day about three thousand souls.”
That’s the proper response to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit will protect the church (vv. 12-15)
The Holy Spirit isn’t just at work in the world, of course, the Holy Spirit is at work in the church too. But again, we must keep in mind the context of the passage. Jesus was still speaking to his disciples in the upper room when he said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.”
The kindness of Jesus is still on clear display, because he didn’t want to tell them more than they could bear. Most of us have been there at some point or another: you have to shield someone from every detail of information in order to protect their heart. After all, he’s trying to encourage not discourage them, although the reality of Jesus leaving them brought about tremendous sadness.
And so he reveals more to them about the work of the Holy Spirit. Specifically, that the Holy Spirit is going to guide them into the truth.
Notice again that Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit again as the ‘Spirit of Truth.’ And the Spirit of truth is going to guide or lead them into the truth. He’s not going to cram the truth down their throats against their will. He’s going to gently lead the disciples to it.
And of course we know this to be true! As the disciples were listening to Jesus speak in the upper room, what he was saying wasn’t entirely clear to them. They didn’t fully understand. But eventually they would understand, wouldn’t they?
Many of the men that were in the upper room with Jesus went on to write portions of Scripture. As Jesus said, “[the Spirit] would take what is [his] and declare it to [them].” In other words, the truth of Jesus Christ would be more fully revealed to them. And that’s exactly what happened. By the power of the Spirit of truth, they grew in their understanding of what Jesus had taught them and wrote it down.
Because after all, what do you need in the midst of challenging circumstances? You need to be reminded of the truth! No doubt, it’s exactly what the disciples were going to need as they went on the face persecution of all sorts.
And the same is true for us as well. You and I need to be consistently reminded of the truth, don’t we? And isn’t that why we come to church? To be reminded of the truths of the gospel? To reflect on our sin and behold the beauty of our Savior?
And obviously, the truth of the gospel was impressed upon the minds of the Apostles as well! So much so, they wrote it down.
We are the beneficiaries of the Spirit’s work, preserving the truth for us this morning as we sit here two-thousand years later. Because where do we go to get the truth? We go to the Word. That’s where the truth of Jesus Christ comes alive, doesn’t it?
That’s why the Word of God should be central in your personal life and in public worship. Apart from God’s Word we know nothing about the work of Christ or the character of God. Apart from God’s Word we know nothing about redemptive history. But on the flipside, if you want to know God, read the truth contained in his Word! Do you want to hear and receive from the Lord? Then sit under preaching from his Word.
You see, by preserving the truth the Holy Spirit has protected the church.
There’s a war raging right now over the truth. The world and Satan himself wants you to reject it. But Jesus wants you to know it. He tells you the truth right now. “All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
There are fundamental truths that you must all accept. First, you must admit that you’re a sinner. Second, you must acknowledge your need for the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And lastly, you must recognize Jesus has already conquered sin, Satan, and death itself.
The Lord knows that what we all need is the truth of the gospel. We need it everyday, but especially when your faith is being challenged or tested.
If you know you’re a sinner, and that you’re dependent upon Christ’s righteousness, then you’ve that he’s already won the victory! This is Paul’s exhortation in Romans 8:
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
May we all cling to Christ and the truth of his Word. Let’s pray.
