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John 16:1-16
Work of the Holy Spirit
1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2
They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming
when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 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.”
vs 8-11: First, the Holy Spirit can convict people who don't believe in him. Besides that, second, he convicts the world of righteousness by being the continued representative for God to all men, after the physical manifestation of Christ has gone home, and also to be the guide for men on the path of righteousness. Third, Satan is now condemned and the people will now have to make a stand, on whose side will they be on when Christ comes again? On the devil's or on God's? There is no sitting on the fence.
The entire portion about the Holy Spirit convicting men on sin, righteousness and judgment are very in line with the gospel. I am reminded that the Spirit alone can move others, not me when I witness to others.
APPLICATION: Deny self and let the Holy Spirit work in myself and see Him in action in others too. I wanted to go witnessing today but didn't manage to, so probably won't see Him practically.
