November 6 / John 16:1-15

John 16:1-15

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Today we have a fourth “Holy Spirit” section from John 14-16, and it’s loaded with more information items about the Holy Spirit and His work in the world. Everything from verses 7 to 14 is Holy Spirit focus! Let’s unpack it a bit.

1. …if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. (v. 7)
2. He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. (v. 8)
3. He will guide you into all the truth… (v. 13)
4. He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak. (v. 13)
5. He will disclose to you what is to come. (v. 13)
6. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. (v. 14)

My comments:

1. We’ve seen this item before. For some reason – we don’t know why – but Jesus could not send the Holy Spirit until after His death and resurrection.
2. This is a big one – the Holy Spirit’s convicting power.
   • He will convict the world concerning sin. My Study Bible pointed out that inherently we do not see ourselves as sinners until the Holy Spirit convicts us of it.
   • He will convict the world concerning righteousness. A second item from my Study Bible… We are not righteous before God based on our own efforts, but only through Jesus’ saving grace, and we can only learn that from the Holy Spirit’s teaching. NOTE: When Jesus speaks of “going to the Father”, He is only going to the Father by way of His death and resurrection.
   • He will convict the world concerning judgment. Satan has been judged and found guilty. By contrast, our trust in Jesus’ saving grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit frees us from that judgment.
3. Clear, as written.
4. The three persons of the Trinity are One God. When the Holy Spirit speaks, He is agreeing with both the Father and the Son on whatever They say.
5. This item has happened to me, powerfully, on the Sunday morning following Carol’s 50^th birthday celebration. Three times I heard what was going to happen before it happened. Maybe I’ll share that this Sunday at RTB.
6. The Holy Spirit is all about giving Jesus the glory for what He has done. He does not seek His own glory. My understanding of “He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you” is that the Holy Spirit helps us to understand Jesus’ words more completely. He opens our understanding.

Whew! That’s a lot! And I haven’t even commented on anything else in today’s reading! Come Holy Spirit!!

Slava Bohu!