Lesson #28

JOHN 16:7-33
Lesson #28
THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

• Memory verse: Joh 16:33

• John 16 continues Jesus’ dissertation on the role of the Holy Spirit that began in Joh 14 and continued in Joh 15. In this chapter we see two names for the Holy Spirit. They are the Comforter and the Spirit of Truth.
• Christian’s usually use the name Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost to refer to the third member of the Trinity. However, this is more of a description than a name.
• Many Christians also think of the Holy Spirit in terms of a generalized spiritual power or force rather than a spiritual person on the same level of equality with God, the Father, and Jesus, the Son.
• Read Joh 16:7-15 The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

• “…It is expedient for you that I go away…”

(7)

• Why was it good for Jesus to leave the disciples?
• If Jesus had not left them to go to the cross, all man’s sins would not have been paid for on the cross. We would not now have the forgiveness of sins.
• If Jesus had not resurrected from the dead to defeat Satan and death we would not now have salvation to eternal life.
• Up to this point in time, the Holy Spirit could not have been given in the way that God had planned until after the Ascension. (7:39)
• The Holy Spirit needed to dwell in a heart that was born again to do His work. Man could not be born again until after the forgiveness of sins purchased on the cross. The Holy Spirit needs a clean heart in which to dwell.
• Notice Jesus’ confidence in his disciples who would be weak as lambs until the day of Pentecost in fifty one days.
• The Role of the Holy Spirit:

• “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”

(8)

• In this verse, we begin to learn more about the role of the Holy Spirit.
• Notice that the Bible calls the Holy Spirit “He” and not “it”. The Holy Spirit is a personality not simply a force.
• The role of “reproving”:
• The word, “reprove”, means = to expose the facts, to convict, to convince, to censure for a fault, to expose or manifest a fault, or to excite a sense of guilt.
• There is a legal aspect to this in that He is like the prosecuting attorney in a court case. He presents the charges against you in God’s courtroom of justice.
• He reproves the world of sin:
• The Holy Spirit proves that the world system is wrong and exposes its sin.
• In this aspect of the role of the Holy Spirit, He convinces people that they are sinners in need of a savior.
• The Holy Spirit reads to the sinner the verdict of God’s court that the wages of sin is death. There is no legal appeal.
• The Holy Spirit presents us with a true picture of our sinful nature for which there is no remedy.
• The Holy Spirit breaks through man’s false rationalizations to bring him to his knees in repentance.
• “Of sin, because they believe not on me;”

(9)

• The greatest sin is unbelief regarding Jesus Christ.
• He reproves of righteousness: (10)
• The Holy Spirit convinces man that he is not holy enough to stand before a Holy God.
• The Holy Spirit causes the unbeliever to understand that self-righteous works and religiosity are not sufficient means for righteousness.
• The Holy Spirit shows the sinner that only through Jesus Christ, righteousness can be his.
• Jesus performed this role while He was on earth, but now that He was leaving, the Holy Spirit would continue this work.(10)
• He reproves of judgment: (11)
• The Holy Spirit convinces the sinner that without Jesus Christ he is already under the judgment of condemnation. The person who does not have Christ has Satan for his father. Satan is already doomed to eternity in the lake of fire, along with his followers.
• The Holy Spirit convinces the sinner that sin and Satan were already judged on the cross and that the sinner can be set free from Satan’s grasp.
• Jesus refers to Satan as the “prince of this world”.
• Satan is already defeated and is a roaring lion with no teeth.
• The Holy Spirit is gentle in His work. He applies just enough pressure to cause the heart to turn to God. He does not over-burden the sinner suddenly with all three of the aspects of this role of reproving. He applies only as much pressure as is needed.
• “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.”

(12)

• Because the disciples did not yet have the Holy Spirit in them, they could not understand everything Jesus told them about the Holy Spirit. However, as they experienced the Spirit’s presence after Pentecost, they came to understand how the Holy Spirit works.
• “…when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.”

(13)

• The role of teaching and guiding
• It is by the Holy Spirit that the believer is guided.
• However, this is not just general guidance, which He does do that, but it is specific guidance into truth. He, therefore, is our teacher. (1Joh 2:20)
• The truth to which Jesus referred is the truth about His identity as God in the flesh, the truth about His words and teachings, the truth about His actions and miracles.
• “…he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear…”

(13)

• Just as Jesus spoke only what He heard the Heavenly Father say to Him, in the same way, the Holy Spirit speaks to the believer only what Jesus, the Son of God, tells Him to say.
• “…he will show you things to come.”

(13)

• One of the gifts given by the Holy Spirit to the believer is a gift of wisdom and the gift of prophecy. (1Cor 12:1-11) With these gifts, God reveals to the believer some things that will happen in the future so that the believer can fulfill God’s plan and purpose.
• Some of the things the Holy Spirit showed the apostles of the early church were:
• The separation between Judaism and Christianity (Paul).
• The gathering of a multitude of ethnic groups such as a combination of Jews and Gentiles into one Christian body (Paul).
• The art of Satanic warfare (Paul).
• The spiritual mechanics of regeneration (Paul).
• The background of law and the wonder of grace (Paul).
• Living the spirit-filled life (Paul).
• The end-time events (John).
• “He shall glorify me:…”

(14)

• The purpose of the work of the Holy Spirit:
• The work of the Spirit is to glorify Jesus Christ.
• To glorify means = to call attention to for the purposes of bringing honor.
• This is a very important point in understanding the moving the Holy Spirit. If Jesus Christ is not lifted up and glorified, then it is not a move of the Holy Spirit. Glorifying Jesus Christ is His role and ultimate purpose. This is why He often goes un-named in the Old Testament and why many Christians are not aware of His work.
• The Holy Spirit helps the believer to glorify Jesus Christ in his life by helping the believer to be more like Christ.
• In John 15 we discussed the aspect of unity when we studied the vine and the branches.
• Jesus in the Father
• The Father in Jesus
• Jesus in the believer
• The believer in Jesus.
• We see the same kind of reciprocal aspect of character mentioned in verses 14 and 15 of John 16.
• The Holy Spirit takes the truths and character attributes found in Jesus Christ and illuminates or manifests them to the believer. (14)
• Those truths and character attributes in Jesus Christ are the same as those found in God, the Father.
• This is why Jesus could say, “…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father…” (Joh 14:9)
• Read Joh 16:16-22 The sadness of departure

• “A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.”

(16)

• In a matter of hours the disciples would not see Jesus physically because of the Crucifixion and burial of His body.
• However, shortly after that, the disciples would see His post-crucifixion appearances before His ascension into heaven.
• Then, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they would see (comprehend) the character of Jesus as never before.
• “…That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy

.” (17)

• Man lives in a topsy-turvy world that is opposite from the Kingdom of God.
• In other words, what is good is considered bad, and what is bad is considered good. The world rejoiced at Jesus’ death, but the disciples were sad. However, Jesus gave a promise, that their sadness would change to joy.

• “…your joy no man taketh from you.”

(22)

• Jesus promised an eternal joy that the world could not extinguish. What joy is this?
• When the disciples understood the significance of the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension, they would already be part of the kingdom of God through the new-birth experience. They would have forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Jesus Christ.
• Read Joh 16:23-27 The use of Jesus’ name in prayer:

• “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.”

(23)

• “And in that day…”

• To what day does Jesus refer?
• Jesus refers to the day of Pentecost after the crucifixion and resurrection when the Holy Spirit would reveal to them the significance of all these events. Then, the disciples would no longer ask why He was leaving and where He was going.
• The new power in Jesus’ name:
• From that day forward, the disciples would have a new access directly to God, the Father.
• In the Old Testament up to the crucifixion and resurrection, believers did not have direct access to God. They went through the priest.
• Remember that only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies into the direct presence of God, and only once a year.
• At the crucifixion, the veil in front of the Holy of Holies in the temple was torn by God from the top to the bottom.
• This opened the direct access to God through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. (Mat 27:51 Heb 6:19-20 Heb 10:20-22)
• With that new access to God comes power in Jesus’ name.
• We have already seen Jesus make this same promise to His believers before, that we could ask anything in Jesus’ name and He would do it. (Joh 14:13-14 Joh 15:16)
• “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name…”

(24)

• Jesus refers to the fact that this new relationship is the beginning of a new era of direct access with God.
• “…I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs…”

(26)

• During Jesus earthly ministry He spoke in parables and figures of speech. However, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, the believer has a new type of communication.
• This new communication is more direct because the believer has the Holy Spirit living in his heart.
• “…ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:.”

(26)

• When Jesus walked with the disciples, he took their prayer requests to God. Now that He was leaving, the disciples would have direct access to God.
• Why has God, the Father, opened direct access for the believer?
• It is because of the love that believers have for Jesus Christ. Therefore, the more the believer loves Christ, the closer he is to God, the Father.

• Read Joh 16:28-33 The conclusion
• In verse 28 we see Jesus’ complete mission on earth for His first coming:

• “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.”
• Finally the disciples understand this and believe in who He is. (29-31)
• “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered…”

(32)

• Read Zec 13:7
• At Jesus’ arrest and after the crucifixion, the disciples initially went back to their old life.(Mat 26:56 Mar 14:50)
• Jesus knew the prophecy and quoted it here to reassure the disciples of His understanding, for He truly would not be alone. God, the Father, was with Him. (32)
• With these words of understanding, the disciples could have peace because they had forgiveness.(33)
• “…I have overcome the world.”

(33)

• What a tremendous statement to end His conversation with His disciples!

• Review:
• What do we learn about peace?
• Peace is manifest in Jesus Christ. He is the one who can give peace.
• The believer can have peace because Jesus wins the victory on the cross.
• Believers can have peace because we have open access to God.
• Discussion:

Our assumption is that peace is the absence of conflict when, in fact, Jesus promised that his followers would have persecution and conflict. How can the believer have peace in a world where there will be trials and persecution?

• What do we learn about the role of the Holy Spirit? And what have we learned about the complete roll of the Holy Spirit?
• =1= believers. (14:16)
• =2= Previously, we have seen that the Holy Spirit has the ministry of teaching. (14:26)
• =3= Previously, we have seen that the Holy Spirit has the ministry of testifying of Jesus Christ (15:26)
• =4= We have seen in this chapter that the Holy Spirit has the ministry of reproving in its various aspects. (16:8)
• Reproving of sin.
• Reproving of righteousness.
• Reproving of judgement.
• =5= We have seen in this chapter that the Holy Spirit has the ministry of guiding the believer. (16:13)
• =6= We have seen in this chapter that the Holy Spirit has the ministry of showing the believer things to come. (16:13)
• =7= We have seen in this chapter that the Holy Spirit has the purpose of glorifying Jesus Christ. (16:14)

HOMEWORK
JOHN 17
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher for correction.

• Application of Joh 16:7-33
• What changes can you anticipate in your life because of a new understanding of how the Holy Spirit works in your life?
• Preparation for Joh 17
• Read Joh 17:1-26
• What does this chapter teach you about:
• Christ’s glory?
• Eternal life?
• The intercession of Christ?
• Since Jesus prayed for the unity of believers, to what do you attribute the vast multiplicity of Christian denominations?

• Memory verse: John 17:21