John 16:5-15


John 16:5-15
5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 “But 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. 8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

As Jesus prepares His disciples for His upcoming crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, He knows that His impending absence will be troubling to them.  This passage continues to prepare them and inform us of the realities that we experience because of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives.  Too often, we forget or ignore the wonderful gift the Lord has given us in the Holy Spirit.  This passage helps us to remember what the Spirit has come to do and why that should be such a blessing in our lives.

THE SPIRIT’S COMING IS ENCOURAGING: The disciples must have been confused and concerned about the news that they would not be able to follow Jesus to where He was going.  He had called them to follow Him and they had left all they knew to obey that call.  Now, He said He would be leaving, and they could not come with Him.  Jesus hears their concern and want to encourage them by letting them know that it is to their advantage that He go, and the Spirit come.  The arrival of the Spirit was dependent upon the departure of the Son.  It should be a great encouragement to us to know of the advantageous reality of the Spirit’s presence.  We have never seen Jesus, but we are inhabited by the Holy Spirit.  His presence in our lives empowers and equips us in ways that seeing Jesus could never do.

THE SPIRIT’S COMING IS CONVICTING: Jesus teaches that the Spirit will convict about sin, righteousness and judgment.  The Spirit has come to convince people of the truth that Jesus is Messiah.  Those who reject this truth despite the evidence given by Christ, the apostles and the Spirit are justly convicted as guilty of the sin of rejecting Christ.  The Spirit convicts because of righteousness because He reminds people of the righteousness of Christ as proven by His resurrection and ascension into heaven.  Since Jesus is in the presence of the Father; His righteousness is unquestioned.  Those who reject Christ by not following His example and obeying His commandments are justly condemned.  The Spirit convicts concerning judgment because He lets all know that Stan’s agenda in this world is eternally condemned.  Those who follow the world’s system are convicted by the Spirit.

THE SPIRIT’S COMING IS REVEALING: The Spirit has a purpose to fulfill in our lives.  Jesus sent Him to us with a four-fold mission to accomplish.  He guides in truth.  We live in a world that promotes relativism and falsehood.  The Spirit helps us know what the truth is and helps us to order our lives according tho the truth.  The Spirit discloses the future.  It is easy for us to live in light of current circumstances because they are all we can truly see.  The Spirit reveals the plans God has for the future to us and reminds us of their significance so we can live in light of eternity.  The Spirit glorifies Christ.  Jesus is the source of our salvation and hope.  He is exalted above heaven and earth.  We tend to follow self-centered and self-promoting priorities.  The Spirit focuses our attention on Jesus.  The Spirit reveals the Father.  Since Jesus has received all He has from the Father, when the Spirit reminds us of the Son; He is revealing the Father.  The Trinity is at work in concert with One Another to promote God’s glory, rescue man from sin, reconcile us with God and transform us from worshipers of self to worshipers of Him.

APPLICATION: Have confidence in the Spirit’s power and not our own.  He is transforming us and conforming us to the image of Jesus so we can be productive members of the kingdom to the glory of God.  Respond to the Spirit’s promptings to turn from sin and the world that surrounds us to follow the path of Jesus on which the Spirit leads us.  Live in light of the future the Spirit discloses and the truth that He reveals.

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