Sermon Notes 6/25/22: The Convicter
The Convictor
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.
It would be a startling statement for Jesus to tell us that He was returning to the Father
The disciples had walked with Him during His earthly ministry
They had relied upon Him for everything
It says that sorrow filled their hearts
They were overcome with the thought of not having Him with them
But He said it would be better that He could go
So that the Advocate could come
That word means Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby, Helper
The Holy Spirit enables us to do everything God has called us to do
In ourselves we are nothing
But with Him all things are possible
But during this passage Jesus reveals something very important about the Holy Spirit
He is the one who convicts
That word prove means to convict, rebuke, expose. Refers to rebuking or correcting an error, or to exposing something.
The Holy Spirit is the one who reveals truth
In these verses we see
1. The Holy Spirit is the one who reveals our need for Jesus
2. The Holy Spirit reveals righteousness alone is found in Jesus
3. The Holy Spirit reveals victory is found alone in Jesus
The Holy Spirit always points all attention to Jesus Christ
John 15:26 26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me
The Holy Spirit reveals our need for Jesus
a. John 16:8-9: 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;
b. It is sin that separates us from God
c. Romans 3:23 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
d. Isaiah 53:6 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
e. It is only The Holy Spirit who can reveal to us our sin
f. Here Jesus uses the word sin and not sins
g. The greatest sin is not believing in Jesus or believing who He claims to be
h. If we reject who Christ is we are without hope
i. He is the only hope we have, He is the only answer we have for sin
j. The only way we can come to Jesus is if the Father draws us
k. John 6:44: 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.
l. We are drawn to the Father and convicted of our sin and our need for Jesus by The Holy Spirit
2. The Holy Spirit reveals righteousness alone is found in Jesus
a. John 16:10 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;
b. In ourselves righteousness cannot be found
c. Romans 3:10 10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;
d. Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
e. Our good works cannot save us
f. They cannot give us right standing with God
g. But Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father
h. He is where our righteousness is found
i. 2 cor 5:21 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
j. Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
k. Our sin no longer remains because of Jesus
l. It has been washed away
m. It is as if we have never sinned
n. Sitting at the right hand of God is a position of Authority
o. Acts 7:55-56 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
p. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals Jesus is Lord
q. It is the Holy Spirit who convinces that our righteousness alone is in Jesus Christ
r. Trusting Him alone
3. The Holy Spirit reveals that victory alone is found in Jesus
a. John 16:11 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
b. Satan has been defeated
c. He was defeated at the cross of Calvary
d. He has been judged and He has been condemned
e. It is the Spirit of God who reveals this to us and convinces us of it
f. Understanding the victory we have in Christ is key
g. We may look at the world around us and think that because of the increase of wickedness that the devil is in control and has free reign to do as he pleases
h. 2 Timothy 3:1-6 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,
i. All we see now is preparing the purposes and plans of God to be poured out
j. But as followers of Christ our authority comes from Jesus
k. We have victory because of the cross of Jesus Christ
l. Revelation 20:7-10: 7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
m. Satan’s is defeated
n. He is condemned and he is judged
o. As Christians it is the Holy Spirit who reveals this truth to us
The truth is the more we draw near to Almighty God, the more the Holy Spirit reveals to us truth
It is truth that sets us free