The Work Of The Holy Spirit Series

Tonight we will see the clearest revelation of the Holy Spirit given by the Lord Himself. He had already revealed who the Person of the Holy Spirit is back in John 14. Now, He reveals the WORK of the Holy Spirit.

READ v. 7. We know that it is the Holy Spirit who comforts and helps us. Jesus says, “It is for your good that I am going away.” It was for the believer’s good that Jesus would leave the world. That was probably hard for the believer to understand that we would be better off if Jesus left. But Jesus said it was best that He leave and not be physically present. Why? Because if He had not left, the Holy Spirit would not have come. We, as believers, are better off with the presence of the Holy Spirit than we are with the presence of Jesus.

How can such a statement be made? How can the believer be better off with the Holy Spirit than with the physical, bodily presence of Jesus? Let’s look at 5 ways.

1. Since Jesus left, we now have a glorified and exalted Lord. We have a Lord who rules and reigns and controls all. We have Lord who is able to fulfill all His promises and meet our needs for life.

2. Since Jesus left, we now have an Intercessor before the very throne of God. We have a Person who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses—all because He was tempted in every way just as we are.

3. Since Jesus left, we now have the presence of the Holy Spirit with us at all times. Jesus in His human body could be only in one place at a time; but the Holy Spirit, who is Spirit, is able to be with all believers at the same time no matter where they are.

4. Since Jesus left, we now have a real gospel to proclaim, the gospel of the risen and exalted Lord who is able to give eternal life to every person who calls upon Him.

5. Since Jesus left, we now have the worldwide work of the Holy Spirit. That work is the convicting and convincing the world, helping and guiding believer, and glorifying Christ. Remember, Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Comforter.

READ v. 8-11. Now I just said that the HS convicts and convinces the world. Convict means to prick a person’s heart until he senses and knows he is guilty. Convince means to hammer and drive at a person’s heart until he knows the fact is true. Jesus says that the HS convicts and convinces the world of 3 things: sin, righteousness, and judgment.

1. First, there is the conviction of sin. The HS convicts the world that man is sinful. It is the HS that makes us realize that we have missed the mark, that is, fall short of the glory of God.

2. The HS convinces the world that a man’s unbelief is wrong. The HS convinces the world that Jesus really did die for sin. The HS takes a person who doesn’t believe on Jesus and convinces that person that Jesus is the Savior—that his sins are really forgiven when he believes on Jesus.

3. There is the conviction of righteousness. It is the HS that convicts the world of its lack of righteousness, that is, that we have no righteousness whatsoever that is acceptable to God. The HS convicts a person that his righteousness:

• Is self-righteousness. In other words, the best we can do as humans is self-righteousness. That’s when a person believes that their good works will make us look good before God. We know that isn’t the case. So it is the HS that convicts us that if all we have is self-righteousness, that is inadequate, insufficient, and unacceptable to God.

4. The HS convinces the world that Jesus’ righteousness is acceptable to God. That Jesus really was received up into heaven by the Father because He was righteous. That Jesus has secured righteousness for us. That man can now approach God only through the righteousness of Jesus.

5. The HS convicts the world that judgment is coming and that we are going to face the personal judgment of God. A person is convicted to the point that they know they are both responsible and accountable to God and that there will be a real day of judgment sometime in the future and that we will stand face to face with God and be judged.

6. The HS convinces the world that Jesus has borne the judgment of sin and death for man. That Jesus died bearing the penalty and judgment of sin for man. The HS convinces the world that Jesus, by His death, destroyed the power of Satan over sin and death and that man can be freed from sin and death, that he can be forgiven for his sin.