November
4 Bible Reading: John Chapters 16-18
The ROLE of the HOLY SPIRIT in this WORLD!
"Nevertheless
I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not
go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to
you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness,
because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the
ruler of this world is judged." (John 16:7-11)
The above
scriptural passage contains the final discourse of Jesus Christ in this earth
describing the ministry of the Holy Spirit in this world (among both believers
and unbelievers alike) after He ascended to heaven. It was necessary for Jesus
to go so that the Holy Spirit would come (14:16) in order to minister to the redeemed and to convict the world. The Holy Spirit would
undertake a dual role through a convincing
ministry among believers and a convicting ministry among unbelievers!
The Holy
Spirit’s convincing ministry will operate
in four different aspects: (1) He
will communicate truth to the believers
(vv. 12–15); (2) He will infuse joy in
the believers (vv. 16–24); (3) He will distill
knowledge of Christ to the
believers (vv. 25–28); and (4) He will impart
peace in the heart of the believers (vv. 29–33). The coming of the Holy Spirit
would be more profitable to believers
than even the physical presence of Christ, since the Holy Spirit could dwell in
all believers at the same time.
On the other
hand, the Holy Spirit’s convicting
ministry will operate in three
different aspects: (1) He will convict
the world of sin in its ultimate form arising from the failure to place their
faith in the redeeming work of Christ (v. 9); (2) He will convict the world of righteousness in that the ‘Righteous One’ has gone back to heaven having conquered sin and
death through His resurrection having paid the ultimate redemption price (v.
10); and (3) He will convict the
world of the coming judgment (v. 11) in which Satan will be finally judged according
to the prophecy in Genesis 3:15. The Holy Spirit will be in this world in place
of the rejected Christ, thereby demonstrating the world’s guilt. The Holy Spirit will convict the world of
committed sin, forfeited righteousness, and the coming judgment of God!
Thus, the
Holy Spirit would demonstrate the truth of Christ beyond the fear of contradiction. The Holy Spirit will convict
unbelievers through believers who witness
about Christ. Believers are designated as the mouthpiece for God’s voice,
and witnesses of Jesus before an unbelieving world: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon
you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
The ministry
of the Holy Spirit to unbelievers through
empowered believers is that of conviction.
Specifically, He uses their unbelief to prove the gravity of sin, the triumphant work of Christ to prove the availability of righteousness, and
the defeat of Satan to prove the solemn
certainty of judgment. Satan, the ruler of this world, rules in the hearts
of unregenerate people and blinds their minds (see 1 Cor. 2:6–8). Satan was
judged at the cross of Calvary, and the Holy Spirit would convince people of
the judgment to come.
There is no
room for neutrality now. You can be either a child of God or a child of the
devil. Understand the role of the Holy Spirit in this world, and be a witness
of the accomplished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. This is what
God expects from you today!
