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07 Oct 2022
Key Verse 8: “And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the world to sin, and to righteousness, and to judgment.”
The Bible teaches that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are the different forms of one being: Jesus is God incarnate, and the Holy Spirit was sent after Jesus' ascension to be with us (Matthew 28:20).
Jesus teaches us about the work of the Holy Spirit in this chapter.
He has said finally: “In the world you are afraid; but be of good cheer, I have conquered the world!”(33).
How can the Holy Ghost help us overcome fear of the world and have joy and confidence?
May God help us to gratefully accept the gift of the Holy Spirit and to allow Him the space in our heart to work mightily and graciously in and through us.
I. The work of the Holy Spirit (5-15)
Jesus told his disciples that soon he would die, be resurrected, go to the Father and send the Holy Spirit. But his disciples understood neither his resurrection nor the coming of the Holy Spirit. They just got sad and scared because all they thought about was Jesus' death.
Then Jesus explained to them how after his departure he would send the Holy Spirit to help them.
Today we want to learn out of the words of Jesus who the Holy Spirit is and what He is doing for us.
A. Who is the Holy Spirit?
In John 14:16 Jesus had said that he would send his disciples to "another Comforter". The Greek word "parakletos," which Luther translated "comforter," means one called upon for support. Therefore, the word "parakletos" can be better translated as "assistant" or "helper". So the Holy Spirit is our support and helper. And Jesus stands by us through the Holy Spirit and helps us.
For the word “another” in the original Greek is “allos”. "Allos" means "another of the same being". This indicates that the Holy Spirit is a different person from Jesus, but is the same entity as God or Jesus. We call this truth "Trinity".
So both are correct: Jesus is in heaven with God and at the same time he is with us through the Holy Spirit.
We often think of the Holy Spirit as God's power. But the Holy Spirit is more than God's power. He is above all a person like God and Jesus Christ. It is a great miracle that the great God is with us through the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit replaces Jesus as Jesus ascended into heaven. He takes Jesus' place for the disciples and remains with us. He explains the Father's will to us and announces the coming of Jesus. He reminds us of everything Jesus said and explains His will. He accompanies us in this world and also will stand by us at the Last Judgment by giving his testimony for us before God.
If we accept the work of the triune God, we will not feel abandoned. We feel safe and happy.
B. The work of the Holy Spirit
Jesus promises in verse 7 about his departure and the coming of the Holy Spirit:
"It's good for you that I'm going away. For unless I go away, the Comforter will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.”
So the Holy Spirit represents Jesus Christ.
What does the Holy Spirit do for us?
Jesus explains the main work of the Holy Spirit in verses 8-11 as follows:
“And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the world to sin, righteousness, and judgment;
sin that they do not believe in me;
righteousness, that I go to the Father and you see me no more;
Judgment that the ruler of this world is judged.”
The Holy Spirit is God's Spirit and Jesus Himself.
The Holy Spirit helps us to recognize our sins, repent and believe in Jesus as Christ and the Son of God.
The Holy Spirit also helps us receive the good news. The Good News is that Jesus, the Son of God, has conquered sin and the devil through his death on the cross and his resurrection and is going to the Father.
That is why Jesus frees us from sin who believe in him, raises us from the dead and takes us to his kingdom of heaven.
Before we believed in Jesus Christ, we didn't know what sin was.
I, for example, could not understand at first why Jesus is called God's Son and Christ. But the Holy Spirit helped me to believe in Jesus as the incarnation of God and Christ. And the Holy Spirit continued to help me to believe that Jesus, through his sacrificial death and resurrection, defeated the devil and gave me the victory.
So the Holy Spirit helps us to recognize our sins, to repent and to believe in Jesus Christ as God's Son. So we should pray for the Holy Spirit to work mightily and open our eyes to recognize our sins, repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
We should also pray for the Holy Spirit to help us believe that Jesus has triumphed far over the devil and will surely bring us the glorious kingdom of heaven. These are the main tasks of the Holy Spirit.
Another primary function of the Holy Spirit is to help us understand God's will correctly based on the Bible.
Of course, there are several more works of the Holy Spirit. For example, Gal. 5:22-23 7 inner fruits of the Holy Spirit, namely love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and chastity (Gal 5:22).
External fruits of the Holy Spirit are e.g., healing, power, miracles, etc.
C. How the Holy Spirit helps us practically (12-15)
Jesus explains in verses 14-15 that the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth and glorifies Jesus:
“14But when that Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak of himself; but what he hears he will speak, and what is to come he will declare to you.
15He will glorify me; for from what is mine he will take it and declare it to you."
That the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth - that means that the Holy Spirit will help us to understand and accept the teaching of the Bible correctly. That is why the Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of truth" (verse 13).
The Holy Spirit also gives us God's power to live according to what the Bible teaches.
Various things are taught in the Bible about the work of the Holy Spirit in our relationship about other people, marriage, prayer, healing, and so on.
God helps us through the Holy Spirit to live according to God's will. That is why the Holy Spirit is also called “assistant” or “helper” (14:26).
So we can ask God for help when we need his practical help. God will surely help us.
II. Jesus promises us victory (16-33)
Jesus said in verse 20, “Most truly, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, but your sadness will be turned into joy.”
Jesus' disciples were sad and afraid because they understood that Jesus was about to die.
But Jesus told them not only about his death, but also about his resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, they should not be sad, but rather rejoice.
To explain this joy, Jesus compares his death to the pangs of childbirth of a pregnant woman (verse 21). When a woman is about to give birth to a baby, she first feels pain. But when she has given birth to a baby, she forgets her previous labor pangs for joy.
Jesus' death on the cross is like our birth pangs. If Jesus' death were his final end, his death would be the saddest event for him and for us.
But Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
Jesus says in verse 22, “And you also have sorrow now; but I will see you again, and your hearts shall rejoice, and no one shall take your joy from you."
Jesus died for our sin. But he rose from the dead for our resurrection. The resurrected Jesus ascended to heaven after 40 days. But he sent us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is another form of Jesus Christ, for through the Holy Spirit Jesus is always with us.
Because of the Holy Spirit, we can say: "Jesus or God is with us!"
Jesus tells us that we should not only remember his death and remain sad, but rather also remember his resurrection and have great joy. His resurrection is proof that Jesus is God's Son and Christ.
After his ascension, he sent us the Holy Spirit. He is always with us through the Holy Spirit. This is a great pleasure for us. We must properly accept the good news of Jesus' resurrection. On the one hand, Jesus' resurrection confirms Jesus as Christ.
Faith in his sacrificial death and resurrection gives us a completely new creation, namely eternal life as God's children. Because by believing in Jesus' death and resurrection, we are born again and have received eternal life and the Holy Spirit as gifts.
We will rise like Jesus and be with Jesus. The resurrection is vital for us Christians. Jesus' resurrection gives us the rock-solid hope of our new creation. It confirms Jesus as the Messiah and assures us that in Jesus we have new, eternal life.
Much harm will be done to ourselves if we minimize the reality and implications of the resurrection. Jesus' resurrection is a source of infinite joy, a joy that can console and encourage us even in the midst of confusing and painful situations.
In verses 29 and 30 Jesus' disciples said, "Now you speak openly and speak no more in parables... Therefore, we believe that you came from God."
Jesus says to them, "Now do you believe? Behold, the hour is coming, and has already come, when you will be scattered, each one to his own house, and leave me alone. But I am not alone, for the father is with me.”
People have a tendency not to want to think of anything worse. The problem is that they can't think of great things because they're afraid of difficulties. Because the disciples of Jesus did not want to think about Jesus' death on the cross, they did not take the good news of the resurrection seriously. We are to face momentary difficulties with serenity. And we are to embrace the future glorious event with great gratitude. That is why it is said, "Through the cross one comes to the glory of the resurrection."
Jesus gives the reason for his confidence: "I am not alone, for the Father is with me."
Jesus was about to die. But he shows us that his faith in God was deeply rooted.
We are surrounded by hard pressure from an unbelieving world. We will face the unbelieving world in this world.
But we are not to fix our eyes on the world, but on Jesus, who rose from the dead and is with us through the Holy Spirit. We should not only listen to the voice of the world.
Rather, we should listen to the voice of Jesus.
Jesus says: “In the world you are afraid; but be of good cheer, I have conquered the world!”
If we expect a world without difficulties, we will be disappointed.
But in the midst of troubles, Jesus proves himself Almighty and Sovereign.
Despite such difficulties or problems, we are to trust firmly in Jesus.
We should believe that Jesus has already overcome the world through his death on the cross, his resurrection, and his Holy Spirit.
He has already given us forgiveness, eternal life and final victory.
We are to look to Jesus Christ, who died for us and rose again and is always with us through the Holy Spirit. He is the creator of all things.
He is our Savior. He is our comforter and companion!
Nothing can separate us from our relationship with Jesus Christ, not even death. We are to challenge the world to faith with the wonderful message of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit will give us strength and victory.
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