Temple Baptist Church - 6-22-2025
John 14:15-18; John 16:7-15
Introduction:
A. Once again, let me reiterate that this will not be a Systematic Theology study of Pneumatology.
1. However, in the context of John 14-16, we discover some important aspects about the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.
2. The Person is the Holy Spirit, and when speaking of the work of the Holy Spirit, the name the Holy Ghost is used.
B. Last week, I “scratched the surface” on the Person of the Holy Spirit. He is God; He is ALL God! Not your conscience, not an influence, God residing within the believer.
C. In John 14:16a, our Lord said, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter.”
1. Not a similar one, but “another,” one just like Jesus Christ, with all power and attributes. This statement is a declaration of the Comforter’s Person.
2. Today, God the Father sits on His throne, Jesus Christ sits at His right hand as our High Priest, Intercessor, and Advocate. The Holy Spirit is active on this earth, doing the will of the Father.
D. John 14:16b -18 is a declaration of the Comforter’s Presence and Performance. “That he may abide with you for ever; (17) Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (18) I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
1. He will come to you. “He shall give you … I will”
2. He will abide with you. “That He may abide with you”
3. He will remain with you forever. “for ever”
4. He will lead you into all truth. “Even the Spirit of truth”
5. He will indwell you. “And shall be in you”
6. He will comfort you. “I will not leave you comfortless”
7. He will be the Spirit of Christ, working hand-in-hand with Jesus Christ. “I will come to you”
E. Now, our text. In verse 7, we find that it was “expedient” for Christ to go away.
1. “Expedient” – beneficial, necessary, advantageous, to be better for, the best thing.
a) None of this did the disciples understand in their grief and sense of loss, but they fully understood it in Acts, chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit came upon them, empowering them to preach the gospel in other languages boldly.
b) Notice I did not say unknown tongues, as the word “unknown” is always an italicized word when speaking of tongues in the Bible. Italicized words are those that were inserted, not translated, into a text for clarification by the translators. They can confuse.
c) It is good to learn to also read a text omitting the italicized words. You will find that they are not needed for our understanding of what God said.
2. Another Comforter and Comfortless. Two words need to be explained: Comforter and comfortless.
a) Comforter (παράκλητος paraklētos par-ak'-lay-tos) in the Greek means to be summoned to the side of or to come to the aid of the comfortless. Our Lord said that it was “expedient” that He went away but would pray the Father to send the Comforter in Christ’s stead. While Christ comforted the disciples for 3 ½ years, the Comforter would abide with them forever.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
b) Comfortless in Greek comes from the Greek word ὀρφανός orphanos or-fan-os', from which we derive our English word "orphan." Orphans have no families and need to be adopted into good homes where they will be loved and cared for . Because of their adoption into the family of God by the Comforter, the child of God has a spiritual family: our Father who is in heaven, our Saviour and Friend who loves us, and the Holy Spirit that indwells us. Aren’t you glad that you are not an orphan
In all of our sorrows, come what may! Death, sickness, persecution, trials and tribulations, personal failure, discouragement, disappointment, defilement, both real and imagined. Our Lord will not leave us comfortless, orphaned!
F. The work of the Holy Spirit. He is the Agent, the Activity of God on Earth! In the First and Last Mentions of the Holy Spirit, we find His activity.
1. The Spirit Moved. God spoke, but the Spirit Moved!
Genesis 1:1-3 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (3) And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
2. The Spirit Spoke. The Spirit will always be Drawing men.
Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
G. The Work of the Holy Spirit would take a lot of time, as there is so much that He does, but I will stay within the context of our Scripture. Here are five things that the Holy Spirit will do in our text:
1. He will reprove the world of sin. “Of sin, because they believe not on me;”
a. The word “reprove” means “to convict.” “Reprove” is a legal term in the way a judge or a prosecuting attorney presents evidence to bring a conviction.
b. The Holy Spirit of God presents evidence in the heart that brings us to a place of conviction, requiring a decision to be made.
c. The greatest of all sins is stated here. It is the sin of rejection! Rejecting Christ is the sin that damns the unrepentant and unbelieving to a devil’s hell for all eternity.
d. There must be a conviction before we can turn in faith and trust to Jesus Christ.
2. He will reprove the world of righteousness. “Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;”
Romans 4:24-25 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; (25) Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
a. Jesus Christ was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. Christ took our guilt upon Himself, dying in our place on that cross. Salvation is far more than just forgiveness of sin and going to heaven. Salvation is about the righteousness of Christ being imputed to us so that we stand before God clothed in absolute purity that only God has. This one verse says it all.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Philippians 3:8-9 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, (9) And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
b. Our lack of righteousness. I say this so often because religious people always mix personal merit to some degree with what Christ did for us and what He was made unto us.
Isaiah 64:6-7 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (7) And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
Titus 3:5-6 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (6) Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Romans 4:4-5 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. (5) But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
c. The song “The Solid Rock” says, “Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.”
Jude 24-25 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, (25) To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
3. He will reprove the world of judgment. “Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”
a. Satan has already been judged!
Ezekiel 28:16-18 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. (17) Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. (18) Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
b. The unbeliever has already been judged.
John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
c. The unbeliever will be judged.
Revelation 20:12-13 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (13) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
4. He will guide the believer into all truth. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth”
a. Through the gift of the Scriptures.
2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
b. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
5. He will glorify Jesus Christ. “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” The religious world makes much of the Holy Ghost and attributes unbiblical work to Him that He does not do. We find here that the Holy Ghost will ALWAYS point us to Christ, not to His work. The Spirit of God never speaks of Himself; He points man to Christ.
