The Spirit of Truth

All right, well we are continuing in John this morning, so if you have your Bible with

you, you can open it up to John chapter 16.

John 16 · chapter mention

In case you haven't been here over the past little while, it's the night before Jesus'

death, and Jesus has been taking some time to encourage and comfort and instruct his

disciples to prepare them for what's coming. Jesus has just been warning them about how

things are going to get very difficult for them. He's told them that the world will hate

them, that they will be persecuted. But even though Jesus is about to leave them, they will

not be alone. Jesus has promised to send the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, and the Spirit,

he says, will testify to the world about Jesus through the disciples. So let's pick up this

conversation that Jesus was having with them that night, starting in verse 6. This is Jesus

talking to them. He said, rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away,

the advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove

the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment. About sin, because

people do not believe in me. About righteousness, because I am going to the Father where you can

see me no longer. And about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth,

comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what

he hears, but he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me, because it is from me that he

will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I

said, the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you. These words of Jesus are all about

the Spirit, as Jesus calls him, the Spirit of truth. And Jesus tells his disciples here three things

that the Spirit will do when he comes. The Spirit of truth will convict the world, that's verses 8 to 11.

He will guide them, that's the apostles, into all the truth, verses 12 and 13. And he will glorify me,

says Jesus, verses 14 to 15. So let's look at each of these briefly this morning. Starting with the first

one, Jesus says that the Spirit of truth will convict the world. When he comes, he will prove the world to

be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment. About sin, because people do not believe in me.

about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer. And about

judgment, because the Prince of this world now stands condemned. Now these are some tricky verses

here. You may notice in your own Bible some differences to the translation that's on the

screen. Most translations say he will convict the world. A couple say he will prove the world wrong

about. And Jesus says there are three things that the Spirit will convict the world about.

Sin, righteousness, and judgment. Now this is where it gets tricky. In English, when we use that word

convict, like being convicted of something, usually what comes after is a negative word,

like fault, convicted of sin, convicted of a crime, convicted of perjury, convicted of murder,

you get the idea. But it seems that the way Jesus uses this word, in his language, it's a little more

flexible. It seems to carry this idea of uncovering, exposing, bringing to light. And it can even be used

about positive things, like righteousness, or about an outcome, or a verdict, like judgment.

Being convicted of sin makes good sense to us. But these other ideas may sound strange to our ears.

So I want to start by acknowledging that there are at least a dozen different ideas about what Jesus

meant when he said these words. I read one very good commentator who listed off five different views

on just these two verses, three verses. And he didn't like any of those five, so he offered his own sixth

idea. So these have been talked about a lot. The challenge here is that Jesus has a kind of logic

in these words that is maybe not as clear or apparent to us today, what he's talking about.

So what do we do with this? Well, I want to start just by pointing out what is clear from these verses,

and then offer a best guess on some of the stuff that's not so clear. And let's start with the clear.

It's pretty obvious, I think, what it means to convict the world about sin. Most of you have probably

heard that language before. Jesus says that the Spirit will do that. He will expose. He will bring

to light the sin of the world. He will help the world see its guiltiness before God. So that's very

clear. Now what else is clear here? If we look carefully at these three clauses that because, because,

because, there are a few more things that are clear. Jesus says, as a statement in the first clause there,

people, that is the people of the world, do not believe in him. And it's kind of framed as a

problem. So that's, that much is clear. The world does not believe in Jesus, and this is a problem.

Another thing that's clear, Jesus says again, that he is going to the Father. He is about to leave the

disciples. They won't see him anymore. And this is clear. Jesus has said this a few times already

in this same evening to the disciples. Finally, in the third clause there, Jesus says that the prince

or ruler of this world now stands condemned. And pretty much everybody agrees that this is a

reference to Satan, to the devil, and how his fate is already sealed. He is guilty. He is liable to

judgment, though we know from other passages that his punishment hasn't been executed on him yet.

But the verdict is sealed. So that's what's clear here. The spirit, when he comes, he will convict the

world of sin. The world does not believe in Jesus, and Jesus is going to the Father, and the ruler of

this world's judgment is sure. So now we get to the less clear part here. And again, these things have

been variously interpreted, so what I'm about to say, I want you to know, is my opinion and not Scripture.

What does it mean that the Spirit will convict the world about righteousness? I don't think this is a

reference to the righteousness of Jesus. I think it's a reference to the world's righteousness. Just like he

will convict the world about its sin, he will convict the world about its righteousness. Namely, the lack of

righteousness. The world thinks it has righteousness. It's consistently characterized by that ominous

statement at the end of the book of Judges. Everyone does what is right in their own eyes. But the truth,

I think, that the Spirit has come to expose is that we are not righteous. We are not as good as we think

we are. In the words of Isaiah, the prophet, all our righteousness is as filthy rags. When it comes to

righteousness, we are deficient. We are lacking it. So the Spirit will convict the world concerning sin

and concerning righteousness, our lack of it, and concerning judgment. What does it mean that the

Spirit will convict the world concerning judgment? I think it means very simply that he will expose

the reality that we are deserving of judgment, just like the devil is deserving of judgment.

So that's my take on these less clear parts of what Jesus said. And there is a sort of logic in here

that I haven't really dug into too much. Jesus says that the Spirit will convict the world concerning sin.

Why? Because they do not believe in him. We notice that Jesus doesn't say why the world doesn't believe

in him. Is this people who have already heard the message of Jesus and are rejecting it? Or is this people

who have never heard about Jesus? Jesus doesn't say? And so we kind of have to guess at the reason.

Perhaps the reason the Spirit convicts them of sin is because they are not believers in Jesus

as they should be. And so the Spirit presses on them. He exposes our guilt. He helps us to see

our need for Jesus, the Savior, for forgiveness. Jesus also says that the Spirit will convict the world

concerning righteousness because I am going to the Father, he says, and you will see me no more.

This is kind of an unexpected reason. The first reason had to do with the world and them not believing.

But this second reason has to do with Jesus and him not being here on earth anymore.

If I'm reading it right, Jesus has up until now been doing that convicting of sin and righteousness,

the lack of it, and judgment. Think back over what Jesus has been saying to the people.

He's been exposing their guilt. He's been putting the light on the sin,

not just of the religious leaders, but also of the people and calling them to repent.

And so I think that Jesus is saying that there is a need for that convicting work to continue.

Jesus, the light that exposes, is about to leave the world. And so the Spirit will come

and continue that work that Jesus has been doing, that work of convicting. So that's my take on this passage.

Jesus is telling the disciples that the Spirit of truth, when he comes, he will convict,

he will expose, he will shine the light on the reality that we are all guilty before God,

that we lack righteousness, and that we are deserving of judgment.

And I believe that this convicting is something that the Spirit of God continues to do today in our world.

While Jesus was here, he did that important work of the Father.

And while Jesus is away, the Spirit continues it.

And if you read carefully the New Testament letters and how the churches got started,

you can see there in a few places that the credit is given to God's Spirit

when someone comes to their senses and becomes aware of their sin and their need for Jesus.

The Spirit is the one that does that work in us, bringing the words of God to bear on our hearts.

So I want to ask you, have you felt the convicting of the Holy Spirit in your own life?

About sin in your life?

About righteousness?

Your lack of it?

Your lack of it?

Your need for Christ?

About judgment that's coming?

If you have not yet surrendered your life to Christ,

I want to urge you today to do it.

If you hear the voice of God speaking to you today,

don't harden your heart.

Surrender it to his love, to his call.

We come now to the next thing the Spirit will do according to Jesus.

Let's read it again in verses 12 and 13.

Jesus says,

I have much more to say to you,

more than you can now bear.

But when the Spirit of truth comes,

He will guide you into all the truth.

He will not speak on His own.

He will speak only what He hears.

And He will tell you what is yet to come.

Now, the temptation here is to go straight to application.

To just read these words as if they are directed straight at us today.

But before we get there,

we need to stop and consider how these words were for the disciples.

These 11 men there with Jesus that night.

Jesus says,

I have much more to say to you,

more than you can now bear.

Think about how the disciples are feeling right now.

This is the night before Jesus is arrested.

Or the night of Jesus' arrest.

The night before Jesus is crucified.

They've been feeling quite troubled.

John chapter 14 verse 1.

John 14:1

Their hearts are filled with grief.

As we just heard back in 16 verse 6.

These emotions, you imagine, are swirling inside of them.

And in the midst of all this,

they've been just drinking in this teaching

and these words of Jesus,

like drinking from a fire hose.

Jesus has been saying all these things to them.

I mean, there's three chapters here.

So imagine how they're feeling.

Jesus says,

I have even more to tell you.

More than you can even bear to hear in this moment.

But don't worry.

When the Spirit comes,

He will guide you

into all truth.

He will speak what He hears

and He will tell you.

What is yet to come.

So one of the things that the Spirit will do

when He comes

is He will tell the apostles

all the things that they could not bear to hear

before Jesus left.

That's how the disciples will get,

will receive

all the things Jesus still needs to tell them.

Jesus will speak those things to them

through the Holy Spirit.

And the Spirit will be their guide

just as Jesus has been their guide.

I want to point your attention

to one more little detail in these verses.

Notice what Jesus says there at the end.

He says,

The Spirit will tell you

what is yet to come.

Do you hear that?

This is why we need to be careful

not to just jump straight

into applying all of this

directly to ourselves

because there's something unique

and special going on here.

The apostles are going to receive

revelation from Jesus

through the Holy Spirit

about what is yet to come.

So this is the second thing

that the Spirit will do

is guide the apostles

into all the truth

by speaking to them

the things Jesus

still has to say to them

and by speaking to them

of things that are coming.

Maybe the word prophecy

is rolling around in your mind

as you hear this.

And then Jesus does

some fascinating thing here.

He elaborates on how this all works

a little bit.

Look at what he says

here in verse 13.

He says,

The Spirit will not speak

on his own.

He will speak only

what he hears

and he will tell you

what is yet to come.

Isn't that mysterious?

Maybe you remember

back to some of those

earlier messages

where Jesus was saying

to the people,

I do not speak on my own

or of myself.

I only speak

what the Father

tells me to,

what I hear from him.

Well, this is Jesus

using the same language here

about the Spirit.

The Spirit, Jesus says,

is going to listen

and what the Spirit hears,

he is going to tell

or say

to the disciples,

the apostles.

The Spirit is not

the source of the words

that he will speak.

He is merely

relaying them.

We will come back

to that in a moment.

But let's go on now

to the third thing

Jesus says

that the Spirit will do.

Verses 14 and 15.

Jesus says,

He, the Spirit of truth,

will glorify me

because it is from me

that he will receive

what he will make known

to you.

All that belongs

to the Father

is mine.

That is why I said

the Spirit will receive

from me

what he will make known

to you.

So the third thing

that Jesus says

the Spirit will do,

he will glorify me,

says Jesus.

I'll pull out some synonyms

there to glorify

because that's not a word

we use all the time.

He will magnify,

he will exalt,

he will draw the attention

to my glory,

says Jesus.

Wow.

Those are pretty

significant words

for anyone who has

a hard time believing

that Jesus ever claimed

to be divine.

Consider this.

He claimed that

the Spirit of God

would bring glory

to him.

That's something

God would never do

if Jesus were not one

with God.

Truly divine,

truly worthy

of glory.

So the Spirit

will glorify

Jesus,

but then Jesus

gives us this

very mysterious

explanation

as to how,

in what way

will he do this.

Verse 14,

he will glorify me

because it is from

me

that he will receive

what he will make known

to you.

So Jesus

will be shown

as glorious

by how the very

Spirit of God

will take

Jesus' messages

and speak them

to the disciples

on Jesus' behalf.

I'll say it this way,

there will be a man

in heaven

who tells

the Spirit

of God

what to say

and the Spirit

of God

will listen

and will not

add to

or take away

from any

of his words

but will serve

this man

by relaying

his words

to the apostles.

How can this be?

Perhaps

the disciples

were wondering

that night,

how can you say

things like Jesus?

How can you say

things like this?

You're going away

and God's

Holy Spirit,

you're going

to tell him

what to say

to us?

That sounds

a little wild

to be coming

from this man

sitting right there

with you

or standing

there with you.

I imagine

that something

like this

may have been

rising in the

minds of the

disciples

because Jesus

seems to answer

this question.

Verse 15,

Jesus reminds

them,

all that

belongs to

the Father

is mine.

That is why

I said

that the Spirit

will receive

from me

what he will

make known

to you.

Now I know

that sounds

weird to us,

doesn't it?

Yet here again,

Jesus just states

it so clearly.

All that

belongs to

the Father,

he says,

is mine.

As Jesus

said earlier,

I and the

Father are

one.

There is this

unity of the

Son with

the Father.

There is a

sharing together

in the divine

nature that is

so full,

so true,

that Jesus

can say,

all that

belongs to

the Father

is mine.

Just as the

Father sees

fit to

send his

Spirit forth

with messages

for men,

so I will

send forth

his Spirit

with messages

for you,

says Jesus,

because his

Spirit,

implied,

is my

Spirit.

His authority

is my

authority.

His words

are my

words.

Let that

sink in

for a moment.

man.

Jesus

speaks like

no other

man can,

because he

is not

just a

man.

He is

the divine

Son of

God,

truly God,

truly man,

at the same

time.

It may seem

for a moment

that Jesus

lacks glory.

Here he is

walking around

in human

flesh with

us on

the earth,

especially in

these hours

ahead,

as he is

arrested

and killed.

But the

word who

became flesh,

it will be

seen that

he is

glorious

at the

proper time.

He will

be exalted

and part

of God's

plan to

exalt him,

to lift

him up,

is to have

God's own

Spirit serve

the Son

and bring

his messages,

his words,

to the

apostles and

through them

to the

world.

And so this

is the third

thing the

Spirit will

do.

He will

glorify

Jesus by

relaying the

words of

Jesus to

the apostles.

So let me

just quickly

recap here and

then we're

going to talk

about how

this all

applies to

us today.

Jesus tells

his disciples

that when

the Spirit

of truth

comes he

will do

three things.

Number one,

he will

convict the

world.

Number two,

he will

guide them,

that's the

apostles,

into all

the truth.

And number

three,

he will

glorify me,

says Jesus.

We've already

talked about

the first

way that

this applies

to us.

The Spirit

of truth

continues to

convict the

world about

sin and

righteousness and

judgment in

the absence

of Jesus.

He's still

doing that

convicting work

today.

Some of you

felt that

when you

first surrendered

your life to

Christ.

And so

this should

affect us

in at least

three ways.

First,

it should

bring an

awareness to

us of why

we often

feel like

we do.

about sin.

God is

gracious and

merciful.

He works

so that we

can feel

the ugliness,

the dirtiness,

the vileness

of our own

sin in

his sight.

Not to

beat us

down, not

just to make

us feel more

and more

guilty for

its own

sake, but

so that we

might come

to our

senses and

turn away

from the

madness of

sin.

And seek

the remedy,

the cure,

which is

found in

Jesus and

be forgiven.

And so

again, if

you hear the

voice of

God speaking

to you

through his

word, by

his spirit,

let me

encourage you

today.

Humble

yourself.

Submit

yourself to

his voice

and obey

and

respond.

Second, the

spirit's

convicting

work should

change the

way that we

think about

people.

It's not

just our

own stubbornness

at fault

when people

do not

respond to

the gospel.

There is

also a

blindness.

There is

also a

sense in

which we

are lost

in the

darkness.

we've

lost

sensitivity

to our

own

sinfulness.

And the

good news

is this,

the spirit

has picked

up where

Jesus left

off and

he is at

work bringing

us back to

a realization

of the

truth.

Yes, that

we have

sinned.

Yes, that

we lack

that right

standing with

God.

And yes, that

we are deserving

of judgment.

And here is

the way that

I want to

apply this

to us

today.

Sometimes it

feels as though

we simply

can't get

through to

someone we

love.

We've talked

to them about

Jesus and

yet for some

reason it

just seems

like they

just can't

see it.

They just

won't embrace

him from

the heart.

The good

news is this,

while we

can't change

people's

hearts,

God,

through the

power of

his spirit,

can.

We need

to keep

this in

mind.

We are

not called

to share

the message

of Christ

alone.

God's

spirit goes

with his

word.

And truthfully,

his spirit does

all the heavy

lifting in

people's hearts.

love.

And so I

want to

encourage you

just to

rest in

the fact

that God

can convict

of sin

for those

that you

love who

are lost.

And when

we share

Christ with

them,

do so

trusting that

God's spirit

will do the

work of

convicting.

it may not

be right

now,

this instant.

Maybe it'll

be three

hours later.

Maybe it'll

be three

days.

Maybe it'll

be three

months.

But trust

that God

is doing

what Jesus

said the

spirit will

do.

Third,

the spirit's

convicting work

should change

the way that

we pray.

how do

you pray

when you

pray for

God to

help people?

Do you

say, as

many of us

fall into

the rhythm

of,

Father,

please bless

and be

with and

help so

and so.

And please

bless and be

with and help

this person.

And please

bless and be

with and help

this person.

Those prayers

are good.

Please don't

stop praying

them.

God knows

exactly what

you mean in

your heart

when you say

those words.

But because

we know

what the

spirit does,

that he

convicts

people of

sin,

we can

pray even

more

specifically

than that.

I want to

draw your

attention to

how Paul

prayed in

Ephesians

Ephesians 1:16

chapter 1

verse 16

and 18.

And I

forgot to

put this

on the

screen so

I'll just

read it to

you.

Paul

said this

to the

Ephesians.

He said,

I have

not stopped

giving

thanks for

you,

remembering

you in

my prayers.

I keep

asking that

the God

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ,

the glorious

Father,

may give

you the

spirit of

wisdom and

revelation so

that you may

know him

better.

I pray that

the eyes of

your heart

may be

enlightened

in order

that you

may know

the hope

to which

he has

called you,

in order

that you

may know

the riches

of his

glorious

inheritance

in his

people,

his holy

people,

and that

you may

know

his

incomparably

great

power

for us

who believe.

Paul

prayed

that God

would reveal

specific

things

to the

Ephesians

by his

Holy Spirit.

God

and we

can pray

the same

way

with

confidence

that yes,

God does

do that

work

of speaking

truth,

of changing

minds

and hearts

and bringing

conviction

where it's

needed.

So pray

for that

for people

whom you

love,

that they

might come

to their

senses,

hear the

truth that

they need

for the

specific

situations

in their

lives.

So because

the Spirit

of truth

convicts

the world

about things,

we should

respond,

oh,

yes,

I got

that on

the screen,

we should

respond to

the Spirit's

convicting

of our own

sin,

we should

trust the

Spirit to

convict as

we share

Christ with

others,

and we

should pray

for God's

Spirit to

do this

work in

people's

lives.

Finally,

let's come

now to

this second

main thing

that the

Spirit does

according to

Jesus.

Jesus said

He will

guide them,

the apostles,

He was

speaking to,

into all

truth.

And I'm

going to

give two

applications

here.

The first

and by far

the most

important

application

is this,

because God's

Spirit has

spoken the

very words

of Jesus

to these

men,

the apostles,

and revealed

certain things

to them.

We should

listen to

the apostles

of Jesus

and obey

their teaching

as if the

things they

said are

the very

words of

Jesus

himself.

That's what's

going on

here.

They are

functioning as

spokespersons

of Christ.

There's a

line of

transmission

here.

Jesus

will

speak to

the

Spirit.

The Spirit

will hear

and speak

to the

apostles,

and then

the apostles

will go

out and

speak what

they hear

to the

world.

This is

why we

call all

the writings

of the

apostles,

the letters

in the

New Testament

that they

wrote,

this is

why we

call them

the word

of God,

and not

just the

word,

the words

of men.

When Peter

opened his

mouth on

the day

of Pentecost

in Acts

Acts 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2,

it wasn't

just Peter

speaking,

it was

Jesus

speaking to

the Spirit,

and the

Spirit speaking

to Peter,

and Peter

speaking the

same words

to the

people.

And so

the most

important thing

for us to

do is to

humbly

recognize the

special,

unique role

that the

Spirit has

come to

play in

the lives

and ministries

of the

apostles,

guiding them

into the

truth,

and helping

them to

relay that

truth to

the world,

to us.

So give

your heart

fully to

trusting and

obeying the

words of

the apostles

of Jesus.

There is a

real sense in

which the

whole New

Testament is

red letters.

Secondly,

and I want to

separate this out

a little bit,

the Spirit

of Truth

comes to

live in

every believer,

not just

the apostles.

And he also

does the work

of guiding

every believer

into the

truth.

We see this

quite clearly

in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 2:13–16

chapter 2,

verse 13

to 16,

which I will

not go to

because I'm

getting on in

time here.

But it's there.

You can read it

on your own

time.

It's not in

the exact same

way that the

Spirit guides

us into

truth.

There's a

difference.

God in his

wisdom saw

fit to speak

and to reveal

to the

apostles.

And then,

for the rest

of us, he

guides us into

the truth by

opening our

hearts and

minds to

those words

which he

spoke through

them to

us.

us.

And this

usually is a

very subjective

and mysterious

thing.

How the

Spirit guides

each one of

us into

the truth.

We sometimes

like to speak

of a little

whisper that

we hear.

And truth be

told, some

people often

confuse the

whisper of the

Spirit with

their own

thoughts from

their own

hearts.

amazingly, the

Spirit seems to

work beneath

our hearts,

doing this

work of

guiding us

into the

truth.

Oftentimes, we

look back on

something in

our lives and

we realize that

yes, boy, did

God by his

Spirit ever

help us to

see that clearly

at just the

right time.

But in the

present, it's

not always easy

to discern his

guiding.

again, the

passage up

there is the

one to look

to for this.

Paul tells

us that we

have received

the mind of

Christ and

that the

Spirit of

God enables

us to make

judgments and

discern things.

So I'm just

going to give

you the statement

about how we

should live in

light of his

guiding work in

us.

Two things.

We should be

careful not to

assume that every

thought or whisper

in our heads is

from the Spirit.

But we can

trust, we can

rely on this,

that God's

Spirit is at

work in us

to help us

examine everything,

including our

own thoughts,

in the light of

God's Word,

leading us to a

knowledge of the

truth.

truth.

I'm going to

say that one

more time.

We can trust and

rely on this,

that God's Spirit

is at work in

us to help us

examine everything,

including our own

thoughts, in the

light of God's

Word, which over

time leads us

more and more

increasingly to a

knowledge of the

truth.

truth.

So I'm just

going to sum up

this morning and

then we'll pray.

Jesus promised

that the Spirit of

truth would come,

and He has.

Jesus taught that

the Spirit would

convict the world,

and He does.

And we should

listen and obey

His convicting

voice when we

hear it.

Jesus told the

apostles that the

Spirit would speak

His words to

them, guiding

them into all

the truth, and

He did.

And so we should

listen to and

obey the apostles

of Jesus.

And God, by His

Spirit, continues to

guide all of His

people in a

different sort of

way by His

Spirit.

And so we should

think carefully

about everything

in light of God's

Word, trusting

that the Spirit

will do that work

of getting our

understanding to

the truth.

Let's pray.

Father in Heaven,

thank You for

sending the

Spirit.

This is a

mysterious part of

our relationship

with You.

Dare I say,

some of us,

we don't even

feel the Spirit

moving or at

work.

sometimes.

Other times we

think we do.

Do we?

It's such a

mystery.

But our faith is

in You.

Our trust is in

You.

And as we look

back on our lives,

You have been

faithful.

You've helped us

find our way.

You've opened our

eyes to the

goodness and

grace of Jesus.

And so we say

thank You.

Thank You for

the Spirit and

the work that He

does in our

lives.

Teach us more.

Help us to live

by faith in

His power.

We ask this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.