The Coming Comforter

We just briefly went from John 16:1-4 last Wednesday night and didn’t really teach on it, but it really ties in with what we covered the week before. Let’s read John 16:1-7. Jesus is speaking, “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.” That statement goes back to John 15. Jesus has been speaking to them about the worldly persecution, opposition, and hatred that will be vented on them by the world. He says, “I told you these things that you would not be offended,” in my King James Bible the word is scandalizo, where we get our word stumble or to be tripped. He’s saying, “I don’t want you to be offended,” or stumbled or scandaled, “I want you to be aware of what is yet future.”

Verse 2, “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service,” notice that He affirmed that they would be killed. All of the apostles but the apostle John suffered martyrdom. It says, “And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.” It makes it very clear that their anger and hatred is because they know not the Father or Him.

Verse 4, “But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I go my way to him that sent me,” referring to the Father, “and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?” in other words, you’re not really specifically asking Me where you’re going or delving into where I’m going. They were upset that He was leaving, and when He said that He was going to the Father, He said, ‘I’m the way, the truth, and the life,’ but they didn’t really go on to inquire or question about that thing.

Verse 6, “But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient,” or profitable or beneficial, “for you that I go away,” they probably didn’t believe that, but that’s the truth, and He explains why, “for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart,” or I go away, “I will send him unto you.” In reality, John 15 ends at John 16:4, but all of it continues to flow and tie together by Jesus’ warning them about the persecution that they will endure. He breaks it down and says, “They shall put you out of the synagogues.” In John 9, there was a blind man healed, and he was giving Jesus credit for healing him. What did they do? They excommunicated him, which was a very serious thing to happen to a Jew, to be excommunicated from the synagogue, so they put him out of the synagogue. Then, He says, “…the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you,” and we know that Stephen and James were martyred, “will think that he doeth God service.” What a great description of Saul of Tarshish, who became Paul the Apostle. He was actually killing Christians thinking that he was doing a service for God, which goes to show you that it’s not enough just to be sincere, you must be right as well. A lot of people are sincere, but they’re sincerely wrong. It’s not enough just to say, “I’m sincere,” you must be right; and Saul was wrong about Jesus and who He was.

Jesus says, “But these things have I told you,” because I don’t want you to be stumbled or offended, “But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.” He continues to deal with a group of disciples that were filled with sorrow. Jesus now makes it clear that He is leaving them and was going back to the Father. In verse 6, “But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.” You can imagine how they were heavy-hearted.

The phrase “sorrow hath filled your heart,” literally in the Greek gives the idea that there’s room for nothing else. It has completely captivated and controlled them, and there’s room for nothing else. I don’t know if you’ve ever been there, I have and I’m sure you have, when you’re just filled with grief, sorrow, worry, or fear, and there’s not any room for anything else. It just completely consumes you. Jesus is going to move into the doctrine of the Holy Spirit which I believe is the answer for a sorrowful heart. In John 14, He said, “Let not your heart be troubled,” sorrowful or afraid, “ye believe in God, believe also in me.” He went on to describe that there’s a place called heaven that He would prepare and come again to take us to heaven, so having your mind on heaven can heal a sorrowful heart. At this point, He mentions to them that He’s going to send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, because in their sorrow, grief, and fear there’s nothing more important for us than to be filled with the Holy Spirit and let His comfort come into our lives as we rely upon His strength and His power.

Jesus is going to move into the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. What He does is actually say, “It is expedient,” good, “for you that I go away,” verse 7. As I pointed out, they probably thought, Yeah, that’s easy for You to say. How can it be good for us that You—the Messiah, the Mashiach, the Anointed One, the One who came to deliver Israel—are going away? We want You to stay, overthrow the Romans, set up Your Kingdom, and sit on the throne of David. In verse 7, Jesus says, “It is expedient,” or profitable, “for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you,” if I don’t go away. This is something that’s important to understand theologically and biblically that Jesus had to leave and go to heaven and be exalted at the right hand of God the Father.

Something you don’t hear a lot taught, preached, or mentioned, that is, not only do we have in the Bible the incarnation, which is a latin word that we use for God becoming flesh, (that’s what the word incarnate means, in flesh, God became a man) we also have the crucifixion where Jesus died on the cross for our sins. We all know those doctrines well. Then, we have the resurrection. I don’t know why, it’s not even Thanksgiving and I’m getting excited about Easter right now, maybe because I’ve been so cold lately. It’s like, “Easter, come quickly.” I actually view Easter, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as the grandest of all. Yes, thank God Jesus came and thank God Jesus died; but if He hadn’t risen from the dead, it would mean nothing. All our hopes are built on an empty tomb. If you’ve ever been to Israel and had the privilege of going to the Garden Tomb and walking into that tomb and seeing He is gone, He’s not there, joy and praise comes to your lips that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.

Not only do we have the resurrection, but then we have what’s called the ascension. Years ago I did a study in depth on the ascension of Christ and was just blown away about all the implications that Christ ascended visibly, bodily, back into heaven. You can read the event in Acts 1. Not only do we have the ascension, but it goes one step further, we have what’s called the exaltation; that is, Jesus seated at the right hand of God the Father, which is the place of power and the place of honor and the place of authority. Jesus didn’t go back to heaven and just kind of hang out. He went back to heaven and is seated in the place of authority. That’s why when we say, “Jesus is sitting on the throne,” it’s so true. He became a man, died for our sins, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and right now He’s exalted at the right hand of God the Father. And, guess what? He’s coming back! Amen? He is coming back, and we should never lose that blessed hope of the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

In order for the Holy Spirit to come, Jesus had to leave. If Jesus had stayed on earth, then He could only be with His disciples bodily at one place at one time; but if He would go to heaven and send the Spirit…now, if God the Father (we’re going to get a lot of Trinity doctrine tonight) sent God the Son, and He went back to heaven, then God the Son sent God the Holy Spirit. God the Father sends God the Son, God the Son goes back to heaven and sends God the Holy Spirit; and He comes in His fullness, in His power on the day of Pentecost. Very few Christians understand the full significance of Pentecost, Acts 2. We get all enamored by the speaking in tongues and the sound of the great wind, but that was the birthday of the church. That was the day the church was born and the body of Christ was formed; and Christ, the head, became the living head of His living church. All that the Holy Spirit’s doing in the world today is in, through, and by His church; and we go out with God’s powerful Word and we proclaim. We’re going to see tonight that the three main aspects of the Holy Spirit’s work in the world is all using His Word as He works through the church.

There’s so many little avenues and roads that are going through my mind right now. If I seem like I’m rabbit trailing just a little bit, it’s because all this theological truth just comes together in this passage where, “I will send him unto you,” the Comforter, verse 7, “for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” Jesus promised to send the Comforter. I want to get a little background before we break down verses 7-15. Turn with me to John 14:26. I want to show you who the Comforter is. In this verse, Jesus said, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,” Spirit, “whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” I just wanted to point out in verse 26, we covered it a couple of weeks ago, that the Comforter is the Holy Spirit.

The word “Comforter” is the Greek word parakletos which means someone who comes alongside of you to comfort, help, and strengthen you. If you had a real difficult task ahead of you and a friend calls and says, “I’m going with you tomorrow. I’m going to be with you and I’m going to hold your hand,” or “you can lean on me,” that’s the Holy Spirit. Wherever we go, He’s there to lean on, to help us, to carry us through.

Look at John 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father,” Jesus sends Him from the Father, that’s why He makes reference to the Father sends Him in My name, “even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: 27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.” Again, He mentions the parakletos, the Comforter.

Let me give you some bullet points, rapid fire, about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead. I mentioned the Trinity, we have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There are different ways to describe that, but that’s, I believe, the most theologically biblically accurate. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—three separate Persons, all of them divine but only one God. I know that this is hard to get your mind wrapped around, but that’s basically what the Bible teaches. We don’t have to understand that, we just have to accept that. In this technologically complex culture that we live in today, there’s a lot I don’t understand.

I was in my car the other day, and it has one of those screens on the dashboard that’s a computer with all this information. My son-in-law was typing stuff into that and I said, “I’ve been driving this car for six years, and I’ve never even touched that screen.” I thought I might have a low tire. He says, “Hey Dad, you can check your tires,” I’m like, “Whoa! Wow! I didn’t know that.” I have a smartphone, but I’m a dumb guy. I have a computer and know how to turn it on and just do a couple of simple things. It has all this ability, but it just kind of lies dormant because I don’t know what I’m doing.

The Holy Spirit is the parakletos, the Comforter, the third member of the Godhead. I don’t understand, but I worship Him. I love that hymn where we sing, God in three Persons, Blessed Trinity! How beautiful that is. I don’t have to understand God. If God were small enough for me to understand, He wouldn’t be big enough to meet my needs or to be God; so we just worship our triune God.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit is a Person. In John 14:6, we have the personal pronoun “he.” As a matter of fact, all through this passage tonight and in every verse about the Holy Spirit, “And when the Comforter is come…he shall testify of me.” That’s a personal pronoun. In the Greek it’s the word ekeinos, “he shall testify of me,” not it. The Holy Spirit is not a force, He’s the third Person of the Godhead. He is also divine. He is God. In John 14:16, Jesus said, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,” and we pointed out then that the “another” there means another of the same kind. Also, in John 14:17, the reference “…for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” That’s my fifth point. He dwells with you, He is in you.

Every Christian has the Holy Spirit living inside of them. This is why I don’t believe it’s accurate to ask a born again Christian, which is the only kind of Christians there are, if you have the Holy Spirit. If they don’t have the Holy Spirit, they’re not a Christian. Sometimes they’re referring to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and I understand that, but every Christian has the Holy Spirit. The question actually should be: Does the Holy Spirit have you, not do you have Him, but does He have you? Is He controlling and empowering your life? He is in every believer. Write down Romans 8:9, “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Lastly, in Ephesians 5:18, He wants to fill the believer, and the Scriptures command Christians there to “…be filled with the Spirit.”

Turn back with me to John 16, and let’s talk about what the Holy Spirit will do when He comes. Jesus said, “I’ve got to leave you so that I can send the Comforter; and if I don’t leave you, then the Comforter will not come.” What will He do? Three things. He will convict, verse 8; He will guide, verse 13; and He will glorify, verse 14. “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment,” we’re going to look at it, and, “…he will guide you into all truth,” and then “He shall glorify me,” Jesus Christ. All three of them He does through the Word of God. If you’re taking notes, write down the first, He will convict the world, verses 8-11. He comes into the world to convict the world. What you also have here in these three categories is the Holy Spirit convicting the unbelieving world of sin; the Holy Spirit and the believer, guiding them in truth; and then you have the Holy Spirit and Jesus, glorifying Jesus, all again, through the Word.

Let’s read verse 8. He says, “And when he is come,” again the personal pronoun “he,” “he will reprove,” the word better translated convict or convince, “the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” I wanted to stop at verse 11, “Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” Notice in verse 7, Jesus said, “…I will send him unto you,” and in verse 8, “And when he is come,” so Jesus sends the Spirit, the Spirit comes.

Now, you might say, “Well, I thought the Holy Spirit, being God, is omnipresent and He’s everywere,” and you would be right. “Well, why would Jesus say, ‘He will come to you?’ If He’s omnipresent, He’s in the world, He’s everywhere.” God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit all possess the same divine attributes; that is, They’re all-present, except for when Jesus laid that aside and took on humanity. Jesus is referring to, and this is what I was alluding to earlier, the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost to be in the world in the body of Christ, the believers, in a unique way He was not in the Old Testament.

The church is a New Testament doctrine. It’s referred to in the Bible as a mystery. A mystery is something that in ages past was not made known but is now made known unto the people of God. Was the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament? Yes. It is my conviction that in the Old Testament believers could have the Holy Spirit in them but weren’t regenerated like we are today in the church. The Holy Spirit didn’t come to live in all Christians. He didn’t abide inside of them. He would come on kings, on priests, on prophets, but He could leave them, too. That’s why David said in Psalm 51, after he committed sin with Bathsheba, “…and take not thy holy spirit from me.”

I don’t believe the Holy Spirit will be taken from a Christian. Once you’ve been regenerated He comes to abide with you forever and you’re sealed until the day of redemption; but you can grieve Him, quench Him, lie to Him, and you can blaspheme Him. I only say that because you need to understand that the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and His work was different in the world than it is in the New Testament. That’s why we’re so privileged today. Even John the Baptist didn’t have privileges that we have, that we can actually be the temple of the living God, that He can abide in us. He abides in us individually and corporately as the church. That’s why there’s the dynamic when Christians gather, like we have tonight, because we all have the Holy Spirit, we are all the temple of God, and Christ is among us in a glorious and special way.

Jesus is referring to Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit would come in His fullness. He would fill and baptize them into the body of Christ and unite them to Christ the living head. The Holy Spirit does not work in a vacuum, He uses the individual believer and the church, the body of Christ, as a witness in the world today. When Jesus was leaving in Acts 1, He said, “…and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” What we do today, we do in the power of the Holy Spirit as His church in evangelizing, in witnessing, in preaching, and teaching the Word of God.

The Holy Spirit is come, in this passage, verse 8, “…he will reprove,” or convict, “the world of sin,” stop right there. The word “reprove” or convict means to rebuke or to place guilt or prove guilt or blame on an individual. What it’s talking about is the non-Christian comes under conviction or becomes convinced that they are a sinner before God. Now, there’s no way to become a Christian or be converted without the Spirit doing this in the heart of an individual. You can’t manipulate or trick them or just say, “Pray a prayer. Jesus, come into my heart,” and, “welcome to the family of God. You’re saved.” No. They must first come to God borne out of a sense of sinfulness; and they will only have that sense of sinfulness, if it’s a work of the Holy Spirit and they have a Godward conviction, “I’m a sinner. I need God.”

I will never forget, Lord willing, as long as I’m alive and I have my faculties, how as a senior in high school I just came under conviction. I was having a good time until that happened. I couldn’t party anymore. I couldn’t do what I wanted to do anymore. I just became convicted. The night I graduated from high school, all my friends were going to party and have a great big bash. I went home, sat in my bedroom, opened up my sister’s little paperback Bible she left on my bed (which I still have in my office), and I just read and wept. I couldn’t figure out what’s happening. What’s going on? What’s going on with me? What’s happening? It was such an amazing time in my life because all of the sudden I had this awareness, I am a sinner, I need God in my life. I am going to hell if I don’t repent, if I don’t trust Jesus. That’s what the Holy Spirit does, and what a blessing that is when He comes and convicts and convinces you.

I want to point something out in verse 9, and we’ll get there in just a second, “sin” is singular. “Of sin, because they believe not on me,” and in verse 8, “…he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” It doesn’t say, “sins,” it says “sin.” He’s not just convicting you because you’re getting drunk or sleeping around or you have a filthy mouth or you’re stealing things, He comes to convict you of sin, that you are separated from God, in a deep and powerful and profound way. Those are the fruits of being a sinner. He’s not talking about individual sins, He’s talking about just that you’re a sinner before God because you inherited that sin nature from Adam. He comes to convict the world of sin. What a blessing that is.

It’s not our job to convince somebody they’re a sinner. If you have an unsaved friend or family member or someone you’re trying to share the gospel with and you’re praying for their salvation, these verses are your powerful prayer weapon. Get on your knees and say, “Lord, convince them they are a sinner and they need You. Convince them of their unrighteousness. Convince them they’re headed for judgment so that they will turn to You and get saved.” That’s the only way you can be converted. If you come to Jesus like, “Yeah, I’ll try Him out. That sounds cool. I want to be part of the gang,” you don’t come borne out of a sinful heart. That’s why the Beatitudes where, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” starts with that. Completely poverty-stricken before God, you must come as a sinner. You must come and reach out an empty hand and take what only Christ can give.

What does the Holy Spirit convict the world of? Three things. Notice it in verse 8, “…of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” Now He breaks it down for us. Let’s look at the three categories. Verse 9, “Of sin, because they believe not on me,” when Jesus describes this, it could be a little bit of a challenge to understand what He’s saying here. Simply stated, He’s saying that the sin is not so much the individual sins you’re committing, but it’s the sin of unbelief. It’s the sin of not trusting or believing or putting your faith in Me. You’re a sinner, and the only way to be saved is to put your faith in Jesus Christ. Notice what Jesus said, “Of sin, because they believe not on me.” It’s not so much the individual sins that you’re committing, it’s the fact that you are not trusting and believing in Jesus Christ.

Now, I believe that this is tied in with the unpardonable sin which is the continual, ongoing rejection of Jesus Christ. The unpardonable sin isn’t getting super drunk, and I’m not by any means encouraging that by the way. Don’t take my words out of context. The unpardonable sin isn’t sexual immorality, although it’s sin and separates you from God. The unpardonable sin isn’t saying something bad. The unpardonable sin is not believing in Jesus. The only sin that will damn your soul to hell is the sin that you won’t repent of, that is, believing in Jesus Christ saying, “I don’t trust Him. I don’t believe Him. I don’t put my faith in Him.” You can’t go to heaven. You can’t be saved. Jesus makes it clear here that they will be convicted because they’re not believing or trusting in Jesus Christ. In John 3:16, it says it so well, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you don’t believe in Him, you will perish; so He convinces you that you have not trusted Jesus, you haven’t believed in Him.

Then notice the second sin, verse 10, “Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more,” again, as you read that you say, “I don’t know what ‘go to my Father, and see me no more’ has to do with righteousness.” What Jesus means is the fact that He goes back to heaven, ascends back to the Father, is an indication that He is righteous and is accepted back to heaven by the Father. Let me put it this way: He is the righteous standard that God the Father will accept. How righteous must I be? As righteous as Jesus. Impossible, except, back up to verse 9, by believing. He’s actually saying, “The fact that I ascend back into heaven means that this is the acceptable standard of righteousness; and if you don’t have that righteousness, which has to be imputed to you by faith, you can’t get to heaven.” Write down Philippians 3:9 where Paul says, “…not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith,” it only comes by believing in Him. That’s the righteous standard.

Thirdly, in verse 11, “Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” So, verse 9, “Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” Who is “the prince of this world?” The “prince of this world” is referring to satan. Earlier in the gospel, we actually got that he was called the “prince of this world” where he was cast out as the “prince of this world.” Satan has been judged; and if God the Father has judged the devil, He will judge all those who reject God the Son, Jesus Christ. If God judged the devil, He will judge you. It’s actually a reference to the judgment that will come.

Now, satan is still loose and wreaking havoc in the world, but guess what? He’s already lost. I’ve heard of satanists who believe that they’re going to win in the end—how deceived can you be? He’s already been defeated. Haven’t you heard about the resurrection? Demons were celebrating when Jesus was crucified, and three days later they were not very happy. Up from the grave He arose, and in the cross Jesus defeated the devil. He’s divested him of his power. He’s only waiting for His coming again when He will actually bind satan for a thousand years, he’ll be loosed for a short season to tempt those in the Millennium, but then he will again be thrown into the lake of fire which burns forever and ever and ever. Satan is the defeated foe—he cannot win, he will not win.

The judgment is a reference to the future judgment. So, sin, then I need His righteousness, I will be judged. These are the things the Holy Spirit does in the world to convince and convict unbelievers, “You need Jesus Christ.” We can’t trick or manipulate people into heaven or conversion, we must pray that God’s Holy Spirit convicts them, draws them, saves them, and brings them out of a sense of sinfulness and the judgment of God. I want you to note the logical order here. As I said, they’re sinners, they need righteousness, and the judgment is coming. God doesn’t just convict us because He wants to make us miserable, He convicts us so He may convert us.

We’re going to move through these second two points quickly; that is, secondly, He comes to guide us, verse 13. He says, “Howbeit,” however, “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you,” there’s that phrase. First, He will convince or convict; secondly, He will guide. Now, He’s speaking to believers and what He does for Christians. It says, “…he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” Jesus actually says that the Spirit of truth will come. He’s coming to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and then He’s coming to guide the believer into truth. He’s the Spirit of truth. Verse 13, He comes to guide us into all truth. How does He do that? Through the Bible, the Word of God; not just subjectively, but in the clear teaching of the apostles as found in the Scriptures which He inspires.

I want to break it down for you, verse 13, “…he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself,” the second thing, “but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak,” and thirdly, “he will shew you things to come.” All of these three in verse 13 tie in with the Bible and the Holy Spirit. If you want to understand the Bible, you have to understand the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit inspired the authors of Scripture. In 2 Timothy 3:16 the Spirit of God actually spoke through them. It says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,” that word “inspiration” means to breathe out, so they breathed out the Scriptures—God breathed out, the Holy Spirit, they wrote the Scriptures. In 2 Peter 1:21, they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. When it says, “…he will guide you into all truth,” no doubt, the disciples writing the Scriptures would have truth from the Spirit of truth; and the Bible doesn’t lie, it’s the Spirit of truth. When we study the Bible, He leads us into truth.

The Holy Spirit “shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear…and he will shew you things to come.” It’s speaking of the Scriptures and the revelation under the inspiration of the Spirit that is recorded in the teaching of the apostles and in the Scriptures and then out to the book of Revelation itself. So, we have the doctrine of inspiration, the doctrine of revelation, and we also have the doctrine of preservation, that He will show us the truth and things to come.

How does the Holy Spirit guide, teach, and lead us? By the Bible, God’s Word—illumination, application, transformation. We have inspiration, then we read the Bible and it gives illumination, then the Spirit of God brings personal application and it results in the transformation of our lives. You’ve heard me say it many times: The Spirit of God works through the Word of God to transform the child of God into the image of the Son of God.

Thirdly, what is the Spirit doing in the world? Well, here’s the third statement, “He shall glorify me,” verses 14-15, “for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” When they wrote the Scriptures, the Spirit of God showed them, brought things to their remembrance, and they wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which is God superintending the human authors so the things they wrote were the very words of God.

I know I’m repeating myself, but I want to drive home these points. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; guides the believer into truth, transforms their lives and guides them in His Word; and thirdly, He comes to glorify Jesus. The primary way that He does that is in the pages of the Bible and in the lives of Christians. Jesus Christ is glorified in His Word. Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they,” that is, the Scriptures, “are they which testify of me,” they point to Me. That’s why if you want to get closer to Jesus, if you want to be more like Jesus, if you want to be more in love with Jesus, spend time in the Book, the Bible, the Word of God.

You can’t just throw the Bible on a shelf and say, “It’s just me and you, Jesus, just hanging out. Everything’s cool. We’re going to hang out. It’s just going to be me and You,” and God’s just going to come and reveal Himself to you. He’s going to show up in your room while you’re shaving and talk to you or something. I know He can do that, but that’s not really how it often works. We don’t have personal visitations or manifestations. He comes to us in the Person of His Spirit, and His Spirit works through the Scriptures. He doesn’t just work in a void. If you want more of God in your life, the Spirit of God or the power of God, immerse yourself in God’s Word and surrender daily to the Holy Spirit’s power.

This “…glorify me,” brings us right back again to the Bible. Like a spotlight, the Spirit focuses on Jesus yet calls no attention to Himself. I mentioned it last week I think it was, where we talked about the work of the Spirit is to glorify Jesus. That’s what the Spirit has come to do, He’s come to glorify Jesus.

Let me give you an example in the Old Testament when Abraham sent his servant to get a wife for his son Isaac. The servant encountered Rebecca. What does the Bible say the servant told Rebecca about Isaac? He’s amazing. He’s awesome, and pulls out jewelry and talks about his majesty, splendor, glory, and all that stuff. What does the Holy Spirit do today but talk about Jesus. Amen? He talks about Jesus, and His beauty, His loveliness, and His glory. That’s what the work of the Holy Spirit is today—to magnify and to glorify Jesus. Again, how does He do that? In the Bible, in the church, and in the individual believer’s life.

This is why the church is so important. On the day of Pentecost, the church was born; at the rapture, the church will leave this world. Do you think this world is pretty crazy right now? If you were to be here, and I hope and pray to God you’re not, but if you were to be in this world after the rapture, it will be the darkest most demonic, wicked time in human history. Jesus said, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.” It will be the darkest most demonically energized period in human history because the church, the light of the world, is taken out, the salt of the earth is taken out. What a horrible place to be.

It’s all about right now the fact that the church is in the world, a city set on a hill. We have the Holy Spirit, we have God’s Word, we’re light in the midst of darkness, and we’re to let our light shine; so we need to hang onto that truth. No matter how dark the world gets, we’re still in the world, we’re not of the world, we’re to let our light shine, and we’re to walk in the power of His Spirit. We’re to be filled (Ephesians 5:18) with the Spirit. What does the Spirit come to do? Verse 8, “And when he is come, he will reprove,” convict the unbeliever, “of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” He comes to guide the believer “into all truth,” speak to the believer of the glories of Christ, and (verse 14) “He shall glorify,” or extol or magnify Jesus Christ. Again, all three of these are in, by, and through His precious Word. Let’s pray.