A Supernatural Helper John 16:5-15

We have observed Jesus’ concern for His disciples His departure was necessary… This preparation included Christ’s sacrifice... The coming of the Spirit was a necessary provision… The Spirit would be sent by the Son from the Father in order to testify of Christ & to help the disciples...

1 Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” (NKJV) Today’s text expands on the ongoing ministry of the Spirit

I. The Replacement Function of the Spirit “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:5–7, NKJV)

A. Jesus’ personal departure would result in sorrow The disciples were focused on their anticipated loss They were not focused on Jesus’ future ministry

B. The Spirit’s personal coming would result in comfort They were focused on Christ’s personal presence with them Christ was focused on the Spirit’s personal presence with them

II. The Convicting Function of the Spirit “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16:8–11, NKJV)

A. The nature of convicting the world This conviction means exposing sin toward repentance “But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.” (Eph 5:13, NKJV) This conviction is directed to the world of unbelievers

B. The cause for convicting the world The past element is indicated by the sin of unbelief The present is indicated by the lack of righteousness The future is indicated by the anticipated judgment

III. The Guiding Function of the Spirit “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:12–13, NKJV)

A. This was a selective communication Jesus did not tell them everything at once We need to be sensitive to what people can handle

B. This was a truth-illuminating ministry It was a focused guidance in truth It was a divinely authoritative message It was a practically predictive message

IV. The Glorifying Function of the Spirit “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:14–15, NKJV)

A. The Spirit’s focus is on glorifying Christ Our concern should not be be get cozy with the Spirit, but to know Christ… The Spirit’s focus is always on Christ and the Word of God

B. The Spirit’s message is divinely unified The Spirit communicates truth from the Father and the Son The unity of the message indicates unity of divine purpose

We must be suspect of anything that is not consistent with Scripture… We can be fully confident with the truth we have from God We should not seek any additional truth from God We should not expect personal revelation from God apart from Scripture Therefore, the Word of God is sufficient, as passed along by the Spirit!