By Rony Kozman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University
The Work of the Holy Spirit
John 15:26–27; 16:7–15
After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father. The Messiah’s resurrection from the dead is not the end of the story, but Jesus, the Son of David (i.e., the promised King of Israel) is now seated on His throne and advances God’s kingdom throughout the earth. How does Jesus spread the Kingdom throughout the earth when He is not physically on the earth? Through His disciples. Through us. When Christ ascended, He gave us the Holy Spirit to enable us to advance God’s kingdom with Him. The same Spirit who anointed Jesus for His ministry empowers Jesus’ disciples.
The Holy Spirit empowers us to proclaim Jesus. (26–27)
Jesus told His disciples that when He departs from them — when He dies, rises and ascends — that He will send them the Holy Spirit (15:26). As the Spirit of truth, He will testify about the Son who is the truth (v. 26; 14:6). The disciples must also testify about Jesus.
A time of persecution and great difficulty is coming upon the disciples (16:1–4); and so, the disciples need the aid and empowerment of the Spirit. As followers of Jesus, if we experience trials or persecution when we testify about Jesus, we can take comfort: The Spirit of truth also testifies with us. The Spirit is on our side. We are not alone as we bear witness to the truth. Jesus told His disciples that when they receive the Holy Spirit, they will be empowered witnesses of Jesus (Acts 1:8).
The Holy Spirit convicts of sin. (7–11)
John’s language evokes the language of a trial. We have already seen that both the Spirit and the disciples will testify to the truth about Jesus. The judicial theme continues here. The Holy Spirit “will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.” The “world” here is those who oppose Jesus and His followers.
The Holy Spirit is a more than able witness who will demonstrate the world’s error about sin. Though the world finds Jesus and His disciples culpable of sin, the Spirit will convict the world of sin — that the world did not believe in Jesus. The opposite of sin is righteousness. The world judged Jesus and the disciples guilty of sin and regarded itself as righteous in its assessment of Jesus and the disciples. The Holy Spirit will prove that Jesus was in the right and that Jesus was vindicated by His resurrection and ascension to the Father.
The world also was wrong in its judgment about Jesus and the disciples. The Holy Spirit will prove that the world’s own ruler (i.e., Satan), and — by implication — the world itself “has been condemned” (see also John 12:31). It appears to the world that Jesus was condemned when He died. This is a paradox: Through Jesus’ condemnation, God judged the world’s ruler. And Jesus’ resurrection proves the error (i.e., sin) of the world’s judgment and the righteousness of God’s judgment.
How does the Holy Spirit comfort the disciples in their persecution? Jesus does not promise that the Spirit will convict those who oppose the gospel of their sin so that they then believe. A different conviction brings comfort. In the end, the Spirit will prove the world wrong, and the Spirit will vindicate those whom the world condemns — Jesus and His disciples.
The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus. (12–15)
Jesus says that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will glorify the Son. The Spirit glorifies the Son by guiding the disciples in the truth about the Son — the truth that the Son Himself received from the Father (see also John 8:26, 28, 40). The Son receives the truth and transmits it to the disciples. In the Son’s absence (i.e., departure), the Spirit takes the truth from — and about — the Son and makes it known to us.
Even in Jesus’ absence, we have the truth of the Son. Jesus teaches us through the Spirit.
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