The Spirit at Work
Opening Prayer
Lord, make me more aware of the presence of Your Spirit in my everyday life.
Read JOHN 16:4b–15
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the 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. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How do you think of the work of the Holy Spirit? What do you think are his priorities today?
Our understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit is limited. Today’s verses continue to highlight his work among believers as Jesus assures his disciples that it is to their advantage that he depart. Only here does he mention the work of the Spirit in the unbelieving world, the realm of people continually in rebellion against their Maker. The disciples’ mission to proclaim the Gospel in that realm will be empowered and informed by his work.
The Spirit’s task is essentially to convict, sometimes likened to that of a prosecutor. He will bring people in the world to a conviction concerning the true character and seriousness of their sin (9), the unacceptable nature of their righteousness (10) and the inevitability of judgment (11). The Spirit will uncover their rebellion and refusal of grace. The culpability of the human heart will be revealed, as Jesus’ death and resurrection will vindicate him as God’s Righteous One, simultaneously exposing the people’s guilt (Acts 2:24,36,37). The Spirit will also show that Satan, also judged at the cross, will be “driven out” and now stands condemned as his final punishment awaits him (John 12:31, Rev. 20:10).
So we see here how the Spirit is a persuasive advocate, who acts through the church to bring people under conviction. In a sense, he is also an effective counselor who applies the Good News to the heart and reveals the need of a Savior. This work of the Spirit encourages believers as he is ever with them, glorifying Jesus and making him known.
Apply
How do these verses act as an encouragement as we seek to tell people the Good News today in what is often a hostile world?
Closing prayer
Lord, I do not resist the work of Your Spirit in my life but humbly submit to it, knowing my need for it.
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