#26 Top 40 New Testament Passages: The Ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8-13)

And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.

“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, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (John 16:8-13)

In John's account of the Last Supper, Jesus is with his disciples having a meal together near the Passover. During the meal Jesus announces that he is going away and where he is going, they cannot follow him. They are, of course, sad and troubled by the news. Jesus consoles his disciples by telling them that they will receive another like him, The Holy Spirit.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. (John 14:15-17)

He goes on to say that He will not leave them orphaned. In a little while, meaning not long after his death, they will see him. He will reveal himself to all who love and obey Jesus. The disciples will know, once the Holy Spirit fills them, the abiding presence of God.

On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. (John 14:20)

The chapters covering the Last Supper in John's gospel account include several teachings about the Advocate, the Counselor, Paraclete, or The Holy Spirit. The Greek paraklētos means to be called to one's side to help, or to intercede, much like a lawyer or trusted friend. Some translations use the word Helper to describe the paraklētos.

The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. (John 14:26-27)

Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will teach us and give us heavenly peace. In order to take advantage of the gift of the Spirit, one must abide in Jesus, as He abides in every believer. 

Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. (John 15:4)

We abide, dwell, or remain (depending on the translation) in Jesus through the indwelling Holy Spirit within us. Apart from a vital spiritual connection to Christ, we can do nothing of any lasting significance for the Kingdom of God. (John 15:5, 16)

Jesus then speaks of the Holy Spirit in terms of love.

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love... (John 15:9-10)

There's a symmetry in much of what Jesus says. As He abides in the Father, so shall disciples abide in Him. Just as God has loved Jesus, Jesus has loved the disciples. Just as Jesus loved the Father and kept His commands, so also the disciples are to keep Jesus' commands as an expression of their love for Jesus. All this is possible through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus explains that he must leave them; that is he must die upon the cross, rise from death, and return to God in heaven. Unless he goes, the Spirit cannot come. (John 16:7) But when the Holy Spirit does come, after Jesus' resurrection, then the disciples will know, in their hearts, that Jesus is alive forevermore. And the Spirit will empower disciples to do even more than Jesus was able to accomplish in Judea. (John 14:12)

And that leads to our featured passage in which Jesus describes the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

If I go, I will send him (The Holy Spirit) to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment... (John 16:7b-8)

Jesus explains what he means by each of these points. The Holy Spirit will prove the world wrong, which I take to mean the Spirit will convince our hearts about the truth, Jesus.

The Holy Spirit will convince us

• about sin, because they do not believe in me; 
• about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 
• about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. (John 16:9-11)

The Holy Spirit Convinces Us of the Sin of Unbelief

If you don't trust the gospel message about Jesus, that He is the only begotten Son of God sent to the world to save us, then you remain in death. If you do not trust in Christ for salvation, you will die in your trespasses, with the wrath of God still upon you. 

The Apostle Paul wrote about this.

You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. (Ephesians 2:1-3)

All of us sin, just as the first man Adam sinned. We are estranged from God because God is holy and cannot even stand to look upon our sinful actions, words, and thoughts. (Romans 3:23; 6:23)

Your eyes are too pure to look upon wickedness,
and the sight of evil you cannot endure. (Habakkuk 1:13)

And yet God, in His love for us, chose to atone for our sins through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross so that we might be restored to God in a loving, trusting and obedient relationship. John is clear in his gospel account that belief in Jesus leads to eternal life. And this eternal life is experienced in this mortal life through the indwelling Holy Spirit. To reject salvation through Jesus Christ means death, according to many voices in the New Testament.

Matthew mentions the unforgivable sin, which is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. That is to call good things done by God's power, the evil work of demons. Interpreters have popularly explained that only those who don't have the Spirit of Christ living in them would call good deeds evil. They maintain the unforgivable sin is unbelief. There is no forgiveness of your sins, if you are not willing to accept the source of atonement for your sins, Jesus Christ. 

The Holy Spirit Convinces Us of the Righteousness of Jesus

Those who considered Jesus to be a fraud had him crucified. They felt his liberal teachings were leading Jews astray from covenant faithfulness. They criticized Jesus for associating with drunkards, thieves, tax collectors, Roman soldiers, and prostitutes. They claimed his miracles were the work of the devil! They thought Jesus was a threat to their own security and to Caesar. In short, they thought Jesus was wrong, not righteous.

Righteousness, strictly speaking, is obedience to every law given through Moses. The Pharisees were the strictest sect among the Jews of Jesus' time. They even wrote up more laws to address potential loopholes not covered in covenant law. Jesus forgave sins when he healed people. The religious leaders criticized Jesus, saying only God can forgive sins. (Mark 2:7)

But Jesus was without sin. He was tempted in every way as we are, but did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15) Of all people who ever walked the earth, only Jesus is the sinless one. As sinless, or completely righteous, Jesus became the source of atonement for all. The book of Hebrews goes into much detail about atonement through Jesus.

Jesus entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish (without sin) to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God! (Hebrews 9:12-14)

The death of Jesus is the once for all atoning sacrifice for all sin, for all humanity, for all time. In Jesus, God paid our debt. In the body of Jesus, the battle with sin was won. Enduring every sinful temptation, Jesus remained fully righteous. He won the victory over sin and death for all of us! That is why Jesus is known as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) 

Since Jesus never committed a sin, never broke the law, even though the Pharisees claimed that He did, He is able to share His righteousness with us, through the Holy Spirit. This is where things get complex on the topic of righteousness.

Because we participate in the sacrifice of Jesus through belief in Him as the source of our salvation, God considers us holy and right before Him. We are not righteous of our own achievement, but rather we are righteous because of the blood of Jesus shed for us. In the Jewish sacrificial system, a sacrificial animal was slaughtered. Its blood covered over sin, which is what atonement means, to cover or hide sin from the holy eyes of God. The blood of the Son of God covers over all sin for all time. There's nothing keeping you from knowing the fullness of life through a restored relationship with God. Salvation is pure gift! (Romans 6:23) We are able to stand unblemished before God, because of the sacrifice of Jesus. (Jude 1:24-25) Because of Jesus we are counted as righteous. 

But it doesn't stop there! Christ pours out the Holy Spirit into our hearts and makes us new! The holiness of God dwells in our hearts! We are empowered by the love of Christ to want to do God's will and the power to actually do God's will. Before we knew Jesus, we had no ability to obey God. Instead we obeyed the cravings of our sinful desires. Fear and faithlessness ruled our hearts and we were unable to change that. But then, by the divine action of God through Jesus Christ, we came to faith in Christ for salvation. The grace of God that aids us in coming to trust in the good news about Jesus Christ is known as Justifying Grace. God's saving action, through Justifying Grace, makes us righteous before Him by our faith. God helps us to believe on Jesus. But then God continues by making us more and more like Jesus, so that His righteousness becomes our own. The process of becoming holy and righteous, as Jesus is holy and righteous, is called sanctification, a work of the Holy Spirit called Sanctifying Grace. 

The Apostle Paul wrote,

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)

And so the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to first gift you with faith and a right standing before God. Christ paid the price for your sins. The presence of the Holy Spirit in your heart is a sign of your restored relationship with God. The Spirit is a down-payment of your forever life with God. (Ephesians 1:14, 2nd Corinthians 1:22; 5:5)

And secondly, the Holy Spirit works in your life to remake you after the image of God in Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:29) Then you will be righteous, as Jesus is righteous. You will always be right before God because of the anointing sacrifice of Jesus, and you will always be striving to attain the complete righteousness of Christ in your own thoughts, words and behavior. It is the Holy Spirit on whom you must rely.

One last word on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in regards to righteousness. The resurrection of Jesus is vindication. The resurrection proves the critics of Jesus are wrong. They claimed Jesus to be in error, but it is they who were completely blind the to saving work of God through in Jesus. Their unbelief is their sin. Though he was executed as a criminal, God vindicated Jesus by raising Him from the dead. 

The Holy Spirit Convinces us of the Judgement of Satan

Satan is a shadowy figure in the New Testament. He is called the devil, the prince of the air, the ruler of this world, and the father of lies. The devil seeks to devour us like a roaring hungry lion. (1st Peter 5:8) The devil is called the spirit at work in the disobedient. Those who follow sinful desires are children of darkness and destined for eternal darkness. (Ephesians 5:8) But those who hope in Christ for salvation are saved from eternal separation from the light and life of God's presence.  

The Holy Spirit will convince people of the truth and build them up in hope, knowing that their adversary, the devil, has no power over them. He is defeated in Jesus Christ. In the cross of Christ, the ruler of this world has lost his battle as lord over humanity. Only those who trust in the devil's lies serve him. They are the damned. The ruler of this world is condemned! 

That is a "now and not yet" truth. It is true that the devil is condemned and defeated in the power of Jesus' death and resurrection. But we still struggle with temptation and lies. We are free of the devil because of the greater power of grace given though the Holy Spirit. And we will need to rely on grace daily to strengthen and develop us as disciples.

Paul writes in his letter to the Colossians,

God has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13) He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:15)

The rulers and authorities are basically demons, spirits that pagans entreat to do their bidding. These have no real power. The true power is in the Lord of heaven and earth, Jesus Christ. 

John wrote in his first letter to the Church,

Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. (1st John 3:8)

John goes on to say that those who live in the love of God do not sin, for though belief in Jesus we overcome the world and the devil who seeks to rule it. The Holy Spirit will give you victory over the lies of Satan and the treacherous attacks of the devil through the power of faith in Christ. All you need do is stand firm in faith, trusting God to give you the victory He won in Christ. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, Christ himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

When Greek speaking Jews approached the apostles to seek an audience with Jesus, he knew his time to die was drawing near. And so he praised God for the glory he would enjoy, glory as the vindicated, righteousness Son of God and the savior of the world. A thunderous voice from heaven spoke, confirming his divine glory. (John 12:27-30) 

Then Jesus explained to the crowd,

"Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. (John 12:31-33)

The cross is the symbol of our faith. It reminds us of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God. It reminds us of forgiveness of sin and restoration to God. It reminds us of God's unconditional love for all of humanity. (John 3:16) And it stands as a reminder that the devil and all the powers of hell cannot stand against Christ and His church. (Matthew 16:18)

May the Holy Spirit continue to convince you of the way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ. May the Spirit empower you to grow each day in the knowledge, grace and love of Jesus. And may you be given strength in Him to stand against every evil thing this world may throw at you.