The Work of the Holy Spirit

John 16:5-11
5 "Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

The disciples had asked Jesus this very question just moments before (Joh 14:5), and their reaction in John 16:17-18 shows that they still didn't understand what Jesus was saying to them. They must have at least understood that Jesus was speaking of leaving them, and that's why sorrow had filled their hearts (Joh 16:6).

Jesus had spoken of His death and the ensuing persecution against His disciples. Most of us would think this couldn't produce anything but sorrow. But if they had fully understood what was happening, they could have rejoiced. The departure of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in each one of their hearts was better than having Jesus there in His physical body (John 16:7). What a revelation! What could be better than having Jesus physically present with us? The answer is having the Holy Spirit indwell us. When Jesus was in His physical body, He was limited to being in one place at one time. Therefore, He wasn't completely available to every believer all the time. But through the Holy Spirit, He now indwells each one of us and will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5).

Also, Jesus' physical body was natural. It wasn't sinful, but it was plain (Isa 53:2). The disciples constantly missed who Jesus really was on the inside, because they were so dominated by their senses. But now that we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, whose primary purpose is to reveal the true Jesus to us, we can know Jesus in a more intimate way and with more understanding than His first disciples knew Him.

We know Jesus made it to heaven and the throne because He sent back the Holy Spirit. He said He would do that after He was back with the Father.

Notice the terminology that Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit. Jesus called Him the Comforter.

Jesus physically with you?

When Jesus walked on this earth in His physical body, He was subject to many physical limitations. For instance, He could not always be with every one of His disciples all the time. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, He could. Instead of Satan getting rid of Jesus, 120 "little Christs" (that is literally what the word "Christian" means) came out of the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost.

Jesus had taught His disciples as no teacher ever had, but they had very little understanding because they had not been born again yet (1Co 2:14). However, when the Holy Spirit came, He would lead them into all truth (Joh 14:26 and 16:13) and even show them things to come (Joh 16:13).

The list of advantages of having the Holy Spirit in us, as compared to having Jesus with us in His physical body, goes on and on. The advantages can all be summed up in the fact that Jesus' power is now complete (Mt 28:18) and no longer confined to one physical body.

This is not a negative ministry as many people think. The Holy Spirit doesn't convict us of "things" we do that are wrong but of the fact that we aren't believing on Jesus. The person who doesn't tithe or give will not be convicted about their lack of giving but about the fact that they aren't trusting Jesus with their finances. All our acts of sin come from the one act of not believing on and resting in our relationship with Jesus.

Adam and Eve's sin wasn't eating of the fruit, but rather not believing in the goodness of God. They bought the lie that God had withheld something good from them (Ge 3:5). They doubted God and believed the devil. David said, "Against thee, thee only have I sinned" (Ps 51:4). The Lord said to David in 2Sa 12:10 that when David committed adultery and murder he despised God. The real root of David's sin was against God, not Uriah and Bathsheba. Joseph kept his virginity because he told Potiphar's wife that he could not sin against God and do this great wickedness in His sight (Ge 39:9).

The reason not to steal is because that action reveals a lack of trust in God as our source. The real reason not to commit adultery is because that act reveals that we do not believe the Lord when He said that from the beginning God made them male and female and they two are to become one flesh (Mr 10:6-8). We are not content with the one the Lord has given us, and we are not full of God's love. If we were, we would not be looking to someone else to fill that void.

The real temptation against Jesus was not to turn the stone into bread, etc., but to disbelieve God. His Father had just told Him in an audible voice that Jesus was His Son and that He was well pleased (Mt 3:17, Lu 3:22). Satan said, "If you be the Son of God..." The devil was trying to get Jesus to establish His identity outside of what God said about Him. This is the same way he tries to tempt us today. The question most of us are asking is not the real question. Therefore, the answer we are getting is not the real answer.

Heb 4:15 says Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. Jesus wasn't tempted with cocaine, but He was tempted with unbelief. That is the root of all sin, and Jesus endured that in all its facets.

There are just three main areas that Satan can tempt us with unbelief: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1Jo 2:16). Jesus endured these three temptations.

It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to reprove of sin, righteousness, and judgment. It is not our ministry. We are simply witnesses (Joh 15:27 and Ac 1:8). Witnesses are not the judge or the jury. They simply testify of what they have seen or what has happened to them.

In their zeal, some people have gone beyond the witness stage and tried themselves to bring people under conviction. This is assuming a job that belongs to the Holy Spirit alone. This not only frustrates the witness, but it also drives many people away from God. We make a very poor Holy Spirit; therefore, we should stick to our job of being witnesses and let the Holy Spirit do His.

It is always an evil heart of unbelief that makes us depart from the living God (Heb 3:12). Our actions are not the real problem. They are just the results and symptoms of our evil hearts of unbelief. That is what the Holy Spirit convicts us of. People don't go to hell for their individual actions. The sins of the whole world have already been paid for (1Jo 2:2). Individual sins are not the issue. The sin that sends men to hell is rejection of Jesus, and that is what the Holy Spirit convicts us of.

The Holy Spirit doesn't convict believers that they are going to hell for the rejection of Jesus. That is not the case. All of their sins are paid for: past, present and even future. But the Holy Spirit will convict believers about their trust or lack of trust in Jesus. That's what it is all about, relationship.

If believers commit adultery, the Holy Spirit will speak to them about their lack of relationship with the Lord. Why aren't they satisfied with Jesus and the mate He has given them? That's exactly what the Lord spoke to David (2Sa 12:8). Christians who are having problems with drink or dope are actually having problems with trusting in Jesus. They are using some substance to cope instead of turning to Jesus. The underlying issue to all individual sins, believer or non-believer, is not believing or trusting in Jesus.

Our actions of sins are just the manifestations of the single, inward heart condition of unbelief. Adam and Eve's eating of the forbidden fruit wasn't the real sin. It was the fact that they weren't trusting God anymore. They believed a talking snake (Ge 3:1-6) more than their heavenly Father who had only treated them well. Satan's real temptation against Jesus wasn't to turn the stone into bread; it was to doubt what the heavenly Father had just said about Jesus (Mt 3:17). That's why Satan said, "If thou be the Son of God" (Mt 4:3 and 6). The Father said in an audible voice that Jesus was His Son. Would Jesus trust the Father's word or do something to prove to Satan He was the Son of God?

Most people read this in a way that really means the Holy Spirit convicts us of unrighteousness. But that is not what it says. The Holy Spirit convicts us that we are righteous through the new birth. How many times have we seen people stand in church and say how the Holy Spirit has shown them how unrighteous they are? But we should be having people stand and share how the Lord has convicted them that they are the righteousness of God in Christ. That's normal Christianity.

It's the ministry of the Holy Spirit to convict us that we are righteous through Jesus. Not many people receive that ministry because of religious tradition and doctrines that have made the Word of God (and this positive ministry of the Holy Spirit) of none effect (Mr 7:13).

There could be two ways of interpreting this. First, the Holy Spirit will now have to reveal to mankind what is righteous in the sight of God because Jesus is no longer visible to illustrate true righteousness to us.

Second, this could mean that just as Jesus assured people that the goodness and mercy of God made them righteous by faith, not works, so now the Holy Spirit has taken over this ministry of bearing witness to their righteous relationship with the Father (1Jo 5:13).

This is not saying that the Holy Spirit tells us we will be judged if we don't repent. It is speaking of the Holy Spirit showing us that Satan has been judged. The devil is the one who is judged, not us. We are the ones with the authority, not the devil. The Holy Spirit will remind us of that to encourage us.

This is not referring to the Holy Spirit revealing to people that they are going to hell if they don't repent. That would fall under the category of reproving the world of sin (Joh 16:9). Rather, this is speaking of the Holy Spirit assuring us that Satan has been judged and stripped of all authority over us. The Holy Spirit will assure us of our victory. Praise the Lord!