The transcript of a Sermon on John 14-16 has been lightly edited for ease of reading.
Please visit our Sermon Archives for more sermons in this series.
If you have your Bibles, I ask that you would take them up now and turn with me once again to the Gospel of John, just a page or two from where we were earlier. Our sermon will cover portions of chapters 14, 15, and 16 of the Gospel of John, but I will be reading from John 16, 5 through 16 here in just a few moments. When we started this study a few moments ago, we did look and talk about and learn about the doctrine of the Bible and that our truth is founded upon the truths that are given to us in the Scripture.
But because the Scripture that has been breathed out by God is full of so much truth that the church has creeds and confessions to help us summarize that truth so that we can learn it, so that we can study it, so that we could be pointed to the Scripture more deeply, and so that we could know what it is that we believe. The Apostles’ Creed, which we have been studying specifically, is the foundational knowledge, the bare minimum of truth that one must believe in order to be a Christian, but it is not all of the truth. Confessions cover a greater amount of the truth that is there, and in the Associate Reform Presbyterian Church, we do use the Westminster Confession of Faith as our official summary of Christian doctrine.
As we moved into the Creed, we studied God the Creator and the life and ministry of Jesus the Rescuer. And today we come to the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit in recreation. He recreates us, giving us new life and bringing us into that son, that father-child relationship with the Father.
And a good chunk of chapters 14 through 16 in the Gospel of John centers around the work of the Holy Spirit. And so with that in mind, I would direct you to John chapter 16, beginning in verse five.
“Now, I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, where are you going? Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the counselor will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment, in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me, in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father where you can see me no longer, and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
All that belongs to the father is mine. That is why I said the spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. In a little while, you will see me no more. And then after a little while, you will see me.”
Let’s pray.
To the great God, who is three in one Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we come to this word seeking your guidance and your light.
The spirit has spoken through the prophets and apostles to give us that truth. Please send that same spirit to show us that truth so that we might be changed, so that we might be more holy. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
INTRODUCTION
So in the introductory sermons to the series on the Apostles Creed, we briefly looked at the doctrine of the Trinity, and I want to revisit that just briefly today. God exists in three persons, one God, three persons or personalities who are equal in glory, power, authority, and in all the attributes that we learn about God in the scripture.
God exists in this perfect unity of three persons, and God works in creation to bring salvation. A part of God helping us understand who he is. Remember, God is infinite and we are finite and we cannot understand him on our own because he is so much greater, so much more glorious than we are. He condescends to show us how he works in that Trinitarian way through salvation.
The father chooses and calls those who will be saved. The son does the work necessary for redemption to be accomplished, and the Holy Spirit takes that work of redemption and applies it to the people whom God has chosen to the people whom God has called. Then he gathers those people into the church, the body of Christ. And so today we begin our study on the work of the Holy Spirit is as we go on through the creed, we say that we believe in the Holy Spirit and then we proclaim that we believe in the church and the communion of saints and the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.
And all of that is tied to the work of the Holy Spirit. So we will set the foundation today for the rest of what we will study. Our study will cover parts of John 14 through 16, as I’ve mentioned, this is Jesus’ revelation of what the Holy Spirit does both in the church and in the individual Christian.
There will be great overlap between what the spirit does in the church and what he does in the individual Christian, because what he’s working in the church, he does by working in individuals. But I wanted us to see that the Holy Spirit works with us as a group, but he also works with us as individual Christians.
And ultimately, my prayer for this sermon is that each and every one of us will see that wherever Christ is proclaimed, whether it’s from the pulpit, whether it’s from the mouth of the individual Christian, that is where the Holy Spirit is present. Where Jesus and Jesus crucified is proclaimed clearly and boldly the Holy Spirit is active.
THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH
So first, let’s look at the ministry of the Holy Spirit within the church. John’s gospel gives us the most detailed account of that night, that night of the Last Supper and the betrayal and the trial of Jesus. Chapters 13 through 17 are dedicated in the Gospel of John to what Jesus did on that night. He’s washed the disciples’ feet in John 13, and in John 17, he gives us the high priestly prayer.
In between, Jesus teaches that he is going to leave. And yet even if he leaves, he will send a comforter, a helper, a counselor to the disciples. This teaching on the Holy Spirit was meant to be a comfort to the disciples.
Put yourselves in the shoes of the disciples. In John chapter six, verse 68, Jesus comes to the twelve and he says, “are you going to abandon me like this large group of people has done over my teaching on the amount of dedication that is necessary to follow me”.
And the disciples look to Peter and Peter is kind of the unofficial spokesman of the disciple, looks at Jesus and says, “Absolutely not. You have the words of life. There is nowhere else that we can go. You are our only hope. We have given up family. We have given up friends. We have given up homes. And so we will stick with you through thick and thin.”
And here in John 14, Jesus says, I’m leaving. That great passage that we often read at funerals, John 14, one through six. I am going to prepare a place for you.
Think about that. The disciples have put their hope, their livelihood in the ministry, in the message of Jesus. And he says, “I am leaving. But I’m not leaving you alone. It’s better that I leave because I am going to send the Holy Spirit to you. He will be your counselor. He will be your guide. He will be the power behind your pursuit of holiness. But I am going to send him to you to work my glory and the father’s glory in your life.”
And he goes on to mention four things that the Holy Spirit does for the church.
The Spirit Abides
The first thing that he tells him is that the Holy Spirit abides with the church. Look at John 14 once again, verses 16 and 17.
“I will ask the father and he will give you another counselor to be with you forever, the spirit of truth.” Later on in John 15 and verse five, he says,
“I am the vine. You are the branches. If a man remains in me and I am and him, He will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.”
This act of Jesus remaining or abiding with the church is accomplished through the work of the Holy Spirit.
How does Paul describe the church in First Corinthians six? He says the church is the temple, the residing place of the Holy Spirit. Acts chapter two, we have the church, those 120 people, gathered in Jerusalem and the tongues of fire descend upon those people as they pray and are gathered. What is that a picture of? It’s a picture that the church is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
You may be asking, Ike, how do you get that from these tongues, these pillars of fire on top of people’s heads? Well, it should remind you of an Old Testament picture of the tabernacle and the temple. What happened when the tabernacle and the temple were both dedicated? The glory of God signifying the presence of God descended upon the tabernacle and the temple as a pillar of fire. And we see now that the church is that temple and God, the father, God, the son reside with the church, abide with the church through the work of the Holy Spirit.
God is always with the church because he abides by the spirit.
The Spirit Teaches
Secondly, the spirit teaches the church. Look at verse 26 of chapter 14.
“But the counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
2 Timothy 3:16 says that the word of God is breathed out by God. It is inspired by God.
Second, Peter 1:21 takes that concept and narrows it down to tell us that it was the Spirit that spoke and wrote through the prophets. The Holy Spirit has written, has directed the writing of the word of God. He left the personality of the individual authors intact. That’s why we have poetry. It’s why we have history. That’s why we have gospel. That’s why we have letters. He left the personalities of the individual authors intact, but he directed the truth that was written down.
And that same spirit that inspired the prophets and the apostles is the same spirit that is with the church to teach us the truth that is in these words. We studied the armor of God in Sunday school today, and part of the armor of God is the belt of truth. One of the ways that we put on the armor of God is through constant prayer.
Paul prays that the spirit would be given to him so that he could boldly teach and proclaim the truth. I hope you pray that for me. I hope you pray that as I am in my study, that the Spirit will come and make the word clear first off to convict and to change me, secondly, so that I can proclaim clearly to you.
But I hope you pray that for yourself. When you sit down to do your personal Bible study, to do your personal Bible reading, do you begin by asking God, “Lord, you have promised by your Spirit to show me your truth in this word. Lord, by your spirit, show me your truth.” The spirit is given to the church to teach.
The Spirit Testifies
Related to this, the spirit is given to the church to testify. John 15, verses 26 and 27.
“When the counselor comes who I will send to you from the father, the spirit of truth who goes out from the father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify for you have been with me from the beginning.”
Later on in Acts chapter one, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will come upon the disciples and they will be witnesses of what Jesus has done.
Notice here that the Holy Spirit does not testify in a way that magnifies him. The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus.
Do you want to know if the Holy Spirit is active within a church? Is Christ proclaimed boldly and clearly? If Christ is not proclaimed – salvation through Jesus and through Jesus alone – from a pulpit of a church, the Holy Spirit is not there. Paul in 1 Corinthians 2 chapter 2 says, I endeavored, I struggled to know nothing and to proclaim nothing to you except for Jesus and him crucified.
Did Paul do miracles? Yes. We know from the book of Acts that Paul did miracles. Did Paul speak in tongues? Yes. In that passage on the spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians 12 through 14, he admits in his prayer time, in his private time, he speaks in tongues. But was that the foundation of his ministry? Is that how he knew the Holy Spirit was active with him?
No, because in that same passage in 1 Corinthians 12 through 14, he says, would it be that all the sign gifts would disappear so that the people who enter the doors of the church can hear clearly and boldly the message of Jesus Christ? Brothers and sisters, you want to know if the Holy Spirit is present in the church? Ask, “is Jesus proclaimed? Is he proclaimed boldly? Is he proclaimed clearly?”
The Holy Spirit Witnesses to the Truth
And lastly, so the Holy Spirit abides, the Holy Spirit teaches, the Holy Spirit testifies. And lastly, the Holy Spirit bears witness to the truth.
John 16:13-14.
“But when he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. He’ll bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the father is mine. That is why I said the spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. So the Holy Spirit’s with you.”
The Holy Spirit teaches the church truth. The Holy Spirit testifies to the work of Jesus. And then he reminds us of that truth. We brought up in Sunday school today the fact that the Satan, Satan really has nothing new to come to the child of God or come to come to humanity to tempt them with.
He oftentimes comes to us and says, “Did God really say?” He came to Adam and Eve, and he said, “Did God really say you cannot eat from any tree in the garden,” twisting God’s words, causing Eve to twist his words.
Satan comes to us today and says, “Did God really say you should try to be holy? Did God really say you have to believe in Jesus or can you get to have in any way you want to?” The spirit testifies to the Children of God and bears witness in their heart and in their words and in their lives to the truth that God proclaims in his word.
We don’t want the Holy Spirit to teach us truth simply so that we know truth. The Holy Spirit teaches us truth so that we might live it out. And in the face of temptation, the Holy Spirit is there reminding us of the glories of the gospel, reminding us of the glories of God’s presence, reminding us of the reward that awaits those who will one day in Christ hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOU
So the Holy Spirit works in the truth in the church by abiding in the church, by teaching the church, by testifying to the work of Jesus within the church and by bearing witness to God’s truth within the church.
While there’s great overlap between the work of the Holy Spirit in the church and in the individual, I want us now to look at two very specific ways that the Holy Spirit works in you and works in me.
Regeneration
The first is the work of regeneration, re-creation. John chapter three, if we were to turn back and go there, we would see the account of Nicodemus coming to Jesus. Jesus has been proclaiming the kingdom of the Lord is at hand. And Nicodemus says, “How do I become part of the kingdom of God?”
Jesus says, you must be born again or you must be born anew or you must be born from above all of those valid ways to translate that phrase. What does it mean to be born again? What does it mean to be born from above? Well, scripture in places like Deuteronomy and Ezekiel talk about humanity having hearts of stone. Paul, in Ephesians two, says that we are dead in our trespasses and sins and we need to be made alive.
We need to be resurrected. We need to be regenerated in order to be the Children of God, in order to have the faith that is a gift from God. That is what the Holy Spirit does.
It’s the most important thing I would say that the Holy Spirit does in the life of the Christian is it regenerates your heart so that you now have a heart of living flesh that loves and desires to glorify God rather than a heart that is dead. We talked a couple weeks ago when we talked about Jesus resurrection, that our hope for eternal life is the resurrected life of Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit that takes that resurrection life and applies it to our hearts, makes us alive again in Christ.
The Holy Spirit regenerates.
Sanctification
The second thing the Holy Spirit does is the Holy Spirit sanctifies. Galatians chapter five, beginning in verse 16, and then I’ll jump down to 22. Paul says,
“So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Verse 22, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control against such things. There is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and its desires.”
Paul says these are the fruit of the Spirit. Which spirit? Well, the Holy Spirit, which if these are the fruit of the Holy Spirit, that means that these are part of the definition of what it means to be holy.
And these definitions of holiness, these descriptors of holiness are yours when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. But you have to develop them. You have to do the work in the power of the Holy Spirit to develop these attributes of holiness within your life.
And the Holy Spirit empowers that work. It’s Paul’s message in Philippians chapter two. Work out your salvation as God works holiness in your heart. Philippians 2, 12 and 13.
How does the Holy Spirit help us develop love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control? Well, one ways one of the ways that he does that is through the relationships that we have within the church.
I know sometimes most of the time relationships are great. They are wonderful, but sometimes relationships are tough. Think about marriage. Those of you that are married.
Is it always roses and peaches and cream within your marriage? I mean, it is for now, or is it hard sometimes? Is it difficult? God uses those relationships and the difficulties in those relationships, brothers and sisters. If you’re married, he uses your marriage specifically to kind of sand off the rough edges and to polish those areas that shine through with his majesty, with his glory.
Relationships are hard because we’re sinners, and God works through those relationships to develop love, joy, peace and those other attributes of holiness in our lives.
Many times when relationships get tough, we’re tempted to bail. We’re tempted to run, and yet God is working his holiness through those relationships. Now, I admit there are relationships that are tough that need to be left, but most of the time when the going gets tough, we leave, and yet God is using those difficult relationships to make us more holy.
The Holy Spirit is working in those difficult relationships to lead us to those fruit of the spirit.
CONCLUSION
So the Holy Spirit is alive and active in the church that proclaims the good news that salvation comes through Jesus Christ, and he is active in the regenerated Christian who is pursuing holiness. That pursuit of holiness is hard both as a group and as individuals, but you can rest secure knowing that the power of the Holy Spirit is at work in you as you pursue that holiness.
We can cry for the help of the Holy Spirit as we seek to know and to live out the truth of God, and I encourage you flee often to the Holy Spirit to ask him to help you in your pursuit of knowledge, truth and holiness. And finally, brothers and sisters, find comfort in the glorious truth that the Holy Spirit dwells and abides in you and in us.
Let’s pray.
To the glorious Triune God, we thank you for the work of the Holy Spirit. May we rest and rely upon him for our knowledge of your glorious truth, and may we feel his power at work in us as we pursue the holiness to which you have called. We pray all this in Jesus name.
Amen.
As you go this week, take this blessing from that high king of heaven who has won your victory.
“May the Lord cause you to flourish both you and your Children. May you be blessed by the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.”
He who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming soon.
Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
Please visit our Facebook Page.