SERMON: “The Ministry of the Holy Spirit, Part 1” (John 16:5–11)
“The Ministry of the Holy Spirit, Part 1”
(John 16:5–11)
Series: “John:
Life in Christ’s Name” Text:
John
16:5–11
By: Shaun
Marksbury Date:
September
8, 2024
Venue: Living
Water Baptist Church Occasion:
AM Service
I.
Introduction
Now, that’s an imperfect illustration. Jesus was and always is the perfect companion
and shepherd. He never leads us
astray. So, we can understand why the
disciples were so sorrowed over His physical departure from them — though their
sadness wouldn’t last for long.
The context here is Jesus’s farewell discourse. His disciples are overwhelmed with sorrow
because of His imminent departure. They
are too focused on the loss of His physical presence to understand the full
benefits of what He is about to reveal. Yet,
Jesus assures them that His departure is to their advantage because the coming
of the Holy Spirit will bring profound blessings to believers as well as unbelievers.
Today, we’re considering what the Lord has promised concerning
the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Now,
these promises actually extend into v. 15, but because we’re only going through
v. 11, we’re considering this sermon a part one. So, we’re simply noting two aspects of the
Holy Spirit’s ministry this morning.
First, the Holy Spirit comforts believers. Second, the Holy Spirit convicts unbelievers. Let’s consider the first of these.
II.
The Holy Spirit Comforts Believers (vv. 5–7)
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. 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.
Jesus repeats the important point that He’s sent of God and
returning to the Father (John 7:33; 16:10, 17, 28), and the disciples are
grasping that their Master is talking about leaving them. So, He says that “none of you asks Me, ‘Where
are You going?’ ”
Some have wondered if this creates a difficulty in the
text. Those of a more theologically liberal
persuasion have suggested that this represents a seam in the text, that the
Apostle John stitched together different accounts of what happened. The explanation is far more simple — at this
moment, the disciples don’t care where Jesus is going. As DA Carson has noted here,
A little boy, disappointed that his
father is suddenly called away for an emergency meeting when both the boy and
his Dad had expected to go fishing together, says, ‘Aw, Dad, where are you
going?’, but cares nothing at all to learn the destination. The question is a protest; the unspoken
question is ‘Why are you leaving me?’ The
disciples have been asking several questions of that sort; they have not really asked thoughtful questions about
where Jesus is going and what it means for them.[1]
They simply want Him to stay, so they’re currently down,
perhaps in a depressive state. They
should be happy; As He said back in John 14:28, “You heard that I said to you,
‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced
because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” Instead of rejoicing, though, they are sad
instead.
So, Jesus acknowledges their grief. It’s a great comfort to know that the Lord
meets us where we are. We don’t always
understand His plan, nor are we always willing to yield to His wisdom. Yet, He understands when sorrow has filled
our hearts (v. 6), and He does what is best to provide that comfort and
guidance we need.
Part of that is getting us to see our need for Him. The disciples had previously asked where He
was going (13:36; 14:5), but now, in the depth of their sadness, they are no
longer concerned with His destination, which is what He points out in v. 5.
Consider their state in v. 6 again. He says that sadness “has filled your heart,”
and the verb there is in the perfect tense.
Sadness is the complete state of their inner being. However, Jesus wants their grief transformed
to joy. Sorrow has filled their heart
now, but they will soon be filled with the Holy Spirit. Later, in Ephesians 5:18, we see the command
for believers to be “filled with the Spirit,” the same term as here. They were under the control of sadness at
this point, but soon they can be under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
He begins v. 7 with these words: “But I tell you the truth.” Regardless of their current state of sorrow,
they needed a word of truth, as we all do when our emotions get the better of
us. His words here are a variation on
the “Verily, verily” theme. This, too,
is an important statement for them to hear and believe.
What are those words?
He tells them that “it is to your advantage that I go away.” They have not understood that His departure
is actually to their benefit. It’s the longing
of every believer to see the Lord now, and even more so to these close
disciples. Yet, it is to the advantage
of every believer that Jesus has departed back to the Father.
Why? Well, we’ve seen
some of this. As one study notes, Jesus’s
departure would enable Him to prepare a place for them (14:2), enable them to
do greater works than himself (14:12), grant them greater knowledge (14:20),
and He would be closer to them in the Spirit (14:28).”[2] The last point is what Jesus focuses on here.
Because His going paves the way for the coming of the
Helper, the Holy Spirit. Remember, the
Greek word for “Helper” can be transliterated Paraclete, and it’s rich
with meaning. We can also translate it as
“Comforter,” “Advocate,” “Intercessor”[3]
or “Counselor.” This title emphasizes
the Holy Spirit’s role in supporting and guiding believers.
He explains this in two conditional statements. The first is negative: “for if I do not go
away, the Helper will not come to you.” They
would miss out on the ministry of the Paraclete. It’s not that the Holy Spirit could not come
and was not already at work, but He would not come in the nearly the same
manner. Moreover, the Spirit fulfills an
Old Testament anticipation about the time of the Messiah.[4] The New Testament promises would need to
unfold differently if Jesus did not go and send forth the Holy Spirit.
The Lord’s second conditional statement is positive. He promises that “if I go, I will send Him to
you.” He said the Father would send Him
“in My name” in 14:26, and here, He places Himself on equal footing with the Father,
as He did in 15:26.
Jesus outlines specific blessings of the Holy Spirit’s
ministry to believers in vv. 12–15.
Here, however, Jesus leaves His disciples with the impression that the Holy
Spirit will help them with their sadness.
Jesus is sending the Spirit directly to them, not to the rest of the
world. Though they are sorrowful now,
the Holy Spirit will come to them. This means
that they can be filled with joy instead of melancholy.
Consider this. Unlike
Christ's physical presence, which was limited to one place at one time, the
Holy Spirit indwells every believer, providing continuous and intimate
fellowship. There would be a connection between
them unlike what they had before.
Jesus’s departure, therefore, was necessary. If He remained physically with the disciples,
the Holy Spirit’s full ministry could not begin. But once Jesus ascended to the Father, the
Holy Spirit was sent to continue Christ’s work, dwelling within believers and
empowering them for service.
The application here is powerful: Though we may long for the
visible presence of Christ, the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence is even
better. Through the Spirit, Jesus is not
only with us but within us. We must
remember that the Spirit’s presence is a sign of God’s grace and favor. Though sorrow may fill our hearts at times,
the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, always pointing us back to the hope we have
in Christ.
Yet, the Spirit’s ministry to believers doesn’t stop there,
and we’ll consider more next time. For
now, our Lord takes us in a different direction. We’re now going to consider what the Holy
Spirt does for the unbelieving world.
III.
The Holy Spirit Convicts Unbelievers (vv. 8–11)
And He, when He
comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning
sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I
go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the
ruler of this world has been judged.
There’s no doubt
here, no conditional statement; Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would
come! Though Jesus says in v. 7 that He
is sending the Holy Spirit to believers, that doesn’t mean the Spirit lacks ministry
to the rest of the world. He comes bringing
conviction.
While conviction can
mean salvation for some, it means exposure for others. Either way, all will eventually know that
they have been wrong about Jesus. This
conviction will come either through the Spirit-inspired word or through
preachers proclaiming the Word of God, but it results in personal illumination
of the truth in some manner. For the
elect, this means convincing them of their need to come to Christ for salvation.
This is a work that
unbelievers need if they are to come to Christ.
As one commentator notes,
No one can be saved apart from the Spirit’s convicting and regenerating
work. The Bible teaches that all people
are by nature rebels against God and hostile to Jesus Christ. They are “dead in [their] trespasses and sins”
(Eph. 2:1); “by nature children of wrath” (v. 3); “darkened in their
understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is
in them, because of the hardness of their heart … callous [having] given
themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with
greediness” (Eph. 4:18–19); “and alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil
deeds” (Col. 1:21); blinded by Satan so that they cannot understand spiritual
truth (2 Cor. 4:4; cf. Luke 8:5, 12). In
that condition, they are helpless; they are unable to believe the truth and are
even guilty of suppressing it (Rom. 1:18–32). In John 6:44 Jesus declared, “No one can come
to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”[5]
This means that
these verses have implications for any ministry that claims to be filled with
the Holy Spirit, especially if it is an evangelism ministry. In these verses, we see that the Holy Spirit
works in the lives of unbelievers, convicting them like a prosecutor in three
areas. These areas are sin,
righteousness, and judgment. Let’s
consider the first of these.
A.
The Holy Spirit Convicts Unbelievers Concerning
Sin (v. 9)
The Spirit convicts the world of its sin. Sin is missing the mark of God’s holy
standard; it’s lawlessness (1 John 3:4).
It’s not and “a mere slip or animal instinct or devoid of moral
responsibility or evil” as some scientists and psychologists (Freudians and
behaviourists) seem bent on insisting.[6] It is anything that goes against God’s law
and created order.
Unbelievers must hear that they are sinners, especially
since most think of their sin only in terms of personal mistakes and whoopsies. They need to see that they are violators of
God’s Word. When pastors like Joel
Osteen say they don’t like to use the word sin, that they just want to be more
positive, they admit that their ministry isn’t guided by the Holy Spirit. There are those who hate Ray Comfort’s
approach to evangelism because they think they have a better way than the Holy
Spirit. May it never be; the Spirit says
He comes to reprove the world of its sin.
In fact, the specific sin here highlighted is the sin of
unbelief in Jesus Christ. The greatest
sin is not merely the breaking of God’s law but the rejection of God’s Son. Jesus says that the Spirit will convict the
world “because they do not believe in Me.” This conviction is not just a general
awareness of wrongdoing but a specific exposure of the sin of rejecting Christ.
The Spirit brings clarity, showing
people their need for a Savior.
B.
The Holy Spirit Convicts Unbelievers Concerning
Righteousness (v. 10)
The Spirit also convicts the world of righteousness. This describes “right actions and being in
right standing with God.”[7] It seems strange to say that the Spirit
convicts “concerning righteousness,” but He is convincing us of what is right about
Jesus’s ways and how we’ve been wrong about them as unbelievers.
This righteousness possibly means that the Spirit will
convict the world that they have not believed that Jesus is the Righteous One (8:46;
Acts 3:14; 7:52; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 2:1). More broadly applied, this could mean that
the Spirit will expose the world to the darkness of its unrighteousness (John 3:19–21;
7:7; 15:22, 24). Either way, in the case
of those whom the Father draws, they will see that their own righteousness is
like filthy rags and that they need the applied righteousness of Christ in
their lives. The condemned will see
their error in crucifying Christ, thinking that He was unrighteous rather than
them.
Jesus then says something that may not seem connected to
you. He says this is because “I go to
the Father, and you no longer see Me.” This
fact vindicates the righteousness of Christ, though. As Habakkuk 1:13 says, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You can not look on
wickedness with favor.” The world condemned Jesus as a criminal, but
the Spirit reveals that He is the Righteous One who is accepted at the right
hand of the righteous Father.
Those who realize they are sinners realize another
need. They need righteousness to stand
before a holy and righteous God, but they have none of their own to give. So, for those who are being saved, the Spirit
opens their eyes to see their need for Christ's righteousness, which they can
only receive through faith in Him. They
need it to avoid the coming judgment, which we see in the next verse.
C.
The Holy Spirit Convicts Unbelievers Concerning
Judgment (v. 11)
Lastly, the Spirit convicts the world concerning judgment. The unbelieving world made a judgment about
Jesus, but it was wrong. On the other
hand, Jesus already warned judgment is upon this world (John 12:31). Moreover, we each innately know that there is
eternity before us (Ecc. 3:11), and there must be a penalty for sin.
The Holy Spirit illuminates to us that this is “because the
ruler of this world has been judged.” At
the cross, Satan was decisively defeated, and the world’s false judgments were
exposed. The Spirit reveals that
judgment has already been rendered against the powers of darkness. This serves as a warning to unbelievers: if
they persist in their rebellion, they will share in Satan’s condemnation. But for believers, it is a source of comfort,
knowing that Christ’s victory over Satan is secure.
So, in these verses, we see the Holy Spirit's role in
confronting the world with the reality of sin, righteousness, and judgment. This ministry of conviction is essential for
the work of evangelism. As we proclaim
the gospel, it is the Spirit who convicts hearts, leading some to repentance
and others to rejection. We must rely on
the Spirit’s power as we witness, knowing that He alone can bring about true
conviction and conversion.
IV.
Conclusion
In this passage, we see two key aspects of the Holy Spirit’s
ministry: comforting believers and convicting unbelievers. For those who are in Christ, the Holy Spirit
is our Helper, guiding us, comforting us, and empowering us for service. For the unbelieving world, the Holy Spirit
acts as a divine prosecutor, exposing sin, revealing righteousness, and warning
of judgment.
As we reflect on this passage, let us be encouraged by the
presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He’s our Comforter, even in the midst of
sorrow and trials. So, let’s trust Him so
we can be faithful in our witness, trusting the Spirit to convict hearts and
draw people to Christ.
[1] D. A. Carson, The
Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Leicester,
England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 533.
[2] Ronald L. Trail, An
Exegetical Summary of John 10–21, Exegetical Summaries, (Dallas, TX: SIL
International, 2018), 279–280.
[3] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 Update, (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).
[4] Carson, 533–534.
[5] John F. MacArthur Jr., John 12–21, MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago, IL: Moody
Publishers, 2008), 196.
[6] A. T. Robertson, Word
Pictures in the New Testament, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Jn
16:8.
[7] John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael
S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R.
Grigoni, and David Bomar, Faithlife Study
Bible, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Jn 16:8.