Welcome to the Defender Bible Study, a weekly encouragement to equip the body of Christ through the study of scripture and prayer to manifest the gospel to orphans and vulnerable children around the world. This podcast is ministry of Lifeline Children's Services where we believe that defending the fatherless begins by being rooted in God's word.

Everybody, welcome back to the Defender Bible Study. This is Rick Morton, and we're continuing our study today in the book of John. Today we're going to be in John, beginning in the second half of verse four of chapter 16, all the way down through verse 15. Just a reminder to you is as we continue our study in, in John's letter to us about the life of Jesus that remember, John's not writing a full chronology of the life of Jesus, he has a he has a different sort of project in mind. John was recording things and, and basically stringing together a case for, for the divinity and for the kingship of Jesus.

And so he puts very intentional things together to really highlight that Jesus is who he says he is and that he is our king. Another thing to keep in mind here is because because John's not seeking to provide a direct chronology is that that we we take these snapshots of looking at particular periods of time. And John concentrates a lot on the last couple of weeks of the life of Jesus. And so even as we get into today's passage, one of the things we'll want to remember is that that just not even a week prior to this event when Jesus talks about the work of the Holy Spirit. The people have welcomed him into Jerusalem and we've had the triumphal entry and Jesus riding on a colt and and people putting palm branches in front of him and, and crying Hosanna.

And, and so the his disciples, his closest followers are hearing this with that in their recent mind. And so let's let's begin the second half of verse four of of chapter 16. We're going to begin at the beginning of this paragraph. I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you, but now I'm going to him who sent me and none of you asked me, where are you going? But because I've said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

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 go, I will send him to you, and when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement. Concerning sin because they do not believe in me concerning righteousness because I go to the father and you will see me no longer concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the father has is mine. Therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. And so Jesus begins to to prepare those that closest to him, those that were following him most closely, he begins to prepare them for his his departure and and for his death and ultimately for his his ascension to the Father. And Jesus is, you know, telling them this again against the backdrop of not even a week earlier, Jesus was recognized as, as King, as a king, as some sort of king by the people.

And, and the people in Jerusalem were swept up into this, you know, hysteria as they're throwing palm branches in front of him, and they're, they're, they're treating him like he's the king. I would imagine if if you were one of the, the disciples, one of the close followers of Jesus that was that was experiencing that. I would imagine I think I probably would have struggled with this myself that Jesus has been preaching about the the coming of the kingdom of God and and about about his his place as as the the Son of Man as the Messiah. And then and then they experienced people finally beginning to get it, they thought. And so it was probably very much on their minds at that point, it would seem rational that, that the, the people that had left everything to follow Jesus were kind of exhaling and saying finally, like we're finally getting to see the King be the King.

We're finally, people are finally waking up to who he is. They didn't, they didn't just come to, you know, see the miracles or to be fed or like the crowds, the crowds are finally beginning to understand that there's really more to this and that Jesus really is, he is really is the Messiah and he really is the king. But Jesus puts down a a pretty significant truth to them. He he talks about number one, that he didn't say these things from the beginning because he was there, because he was present. But now that he's, he's going away, he's going back to the father, he's having to say some things to them.

And he points out the fact that that they don't really, they haven't really, they don't have really have a concern for eternal things at this point. You didn't ask me where I was going. They weren't they weren't asking about heaven. They weren't asking about him being united with the Father. They weren't asking about the implications of that for them.

They were just worried about the here and now. And so all of these men that have left their, their trade and have left their families and have left everything to go follow Jesus. Now Jesus is saying he's going away. And and they begin to be filled with sorrow because because they think they've left everything for nothing. Not realizing that they left everything to gain even more than everything.

That's the joke, right? Like that, that they don't, they don't see the eternal in view at this point. They don't understand the eternal implications of what it is that Jesus is coming to do. They think he's, they still think he's going to be, he's going to be an earthly king. And he says to them something pretty profound here.

He says, you know, I didn't say these things to you from the beginning because because I was with you because there were things that I that I had to teach you. But then he begins to talk about the fact that he's gonna he's gonna go away. And he says, Nevertheless, I'm going to tell you the truth. And this is to your advantage. Like what's about to happen sounds really hard and, and really, really like you may have left everything for nothing.

But I'm about to send one that is, that's going to tell you everything. He says it's to your advantage that I send the helper. Because if I don't leave, the helper is not going to come. And and Jesus, who was limited by time and space, he had taken on the the earthly body that that he walked this earth and he'd become one of us. Jesus Jesus was limited by where he could walk and where he could go, and he was limited by his physical body.

The Holy Spirit isn't limited by that. The Holy Spirit is, is it lives in and dwells in the hearts of believers. The Holy Spirit is active in the world, the Holy Spirit is is literally the person in the presence of God with us. And Jesus is the one who sent him. And he talks about three three distinct works that the Holy Spirit is going to do or that he does.

We don't need to talk about him in the future tense because he's here. And so there are three things that that he's gonna do. Number one, he's gonna he's gonna convict the world of sin. Then, he's going to he also he works concerning righteousness because for for those who who do believe in Jesus. And then finally, he is the agent of judgment for Satan and his angels, but also for those that are that are outside of outside of Christ.

And I think it's, it's important for us to think about all three of those roles, right? Like, all three of them have, have incredible implications for the way that we live our lives. Number one, that, that we realize that the Holy Spirit is active in in convicting the world of sin. Why is it so important that you and I continue to talk about the gospel, that we continue to put the gospel in front of people, that we continue to give a reason for the hope that we have. The reason that it's important that we do that is because the Holy Spirit is convicting the world of sin.

And so we don't know who those people are around us that the Holy Spirit may be working on. We don't know the opportunities that the Holy Spirit may be creating. We don't we don't know what God's up to. He doesn't whisper that in our ear always. But but if we're faithful to continue to point back to the reality that Jesus is our king, and and that we have security eternally because of what it is that he's done.

And because we've been adopted into the family of God, then we position ourselves in places where we're able to be used to the Holy Spirit, when the spirit is convicting people. And so that's like that ought to be a part of our, our everyday that ought to be a part of our lives, we ought to be living in such a way. And we ought to be talking in such a way that we're pointing people to the truth of, of the gospel, and we're pointing them toward the fact that that we know that we've been changed, that we've been made over, that that we've been we've been bought with the blood of Christ, and and those things aren't just platitudes. Those are the realities that that you and I as as followers of Jesus live in every day and so we ought to talk about those things and we ought to build our lives around them because we never know what the spirit is up to. The second thing is it says that that he's going he's he's going to be working in the world or or convicting the world according to righteousness.

He says, he's concerning, he said concerning the righteous, why is, why is the spirit convicting according to righteousness? He says, because I go to the father. Jesus had been the moral compass for his followers. He'd been the standard. He was right there with them.

They followed in his footsteps and they listened to his words and they listened to his correction and they listened to his stories and they heard his sermons and they were right there for all of it and so and so Jesus had been had been their guide about how to walk and what to do and where to go and he's saying, look, the spirit now is the one that's going to come and and he's going to convict you about righteousness. Those that are outside of the body of Christ are convicted about their sin. Those that are inside the body of Christ are convicted about their righteousness. When we're not living up to the the the standard, when we're, when we're not fulfilling God's ideal, when we sin and and and when when we we willfully disobey when when we when we try to go our own way because you and I are still struggling with our sin nature. We're not complete works yet.

We're in the process of being transformed in into the image of Jesus. We're like we're we're like we're not done yet. And so part of what the Holy Spirit does for us is the Holy Spirit is the one that in big and small ways convicts us of the ways that we don't reflect our savior, that we don't reflect the character of God in in the places that need to still be changed and redeemed and and the places that that still need to be worked on in our lives. And so the spirit is our constant companion. He's he dwells in us.

He he's the one that does that work and and that you and I, like we need to cultivate a a we need to cultivate a a an awareness of the Holy Spirit. We need to listen. We need to be careful. We need to we need to we need to know when the spirit is is convicting us. And then finally, he says then, you know, and you will see me no longer concerning judgement because the ruler of this world is judged.

In other words, the world is guilty before God, because all the world is broken by sin. All of us at one point or or another in our lives, we stood guilty before God. Those of us that that know Jesus and are walking with Jesus, we no longer are guilty, but the world is, the world is being convicted of its guilt. The world stands, God stands in judgment, and it's ultimately the Holy Spirit that holds that judgment in this world according to what Jesus is telling us. And so, you know, what does that say for you and me?

Well, part of what I think it says for you and me is that you and I, as followers of Jesus, we don't get to be the judge. That the very spirit of God is the judge. And that many times I think in our quest for justice and our quest for trying to right the wrongs of the world and to lean in to fix things that we see that are broken, many times we take upon ourselves the responsibility of being the judge. And, and, and we're the ones that, you know, that that pronounce the judgments. And this is a reminder to us that that's not our role.

That doesn't mean that we're not supposed to be discerning. It's not it doesn't mean that we're not supposed to identify sin and flee from it. It doesn't it doesn't mean that we're, you know, that we're not to to strive for toward holiness. All of those things are true. We we should do all of those things.

But what it does mean is that that our that our transformation, the transformation that's going on in our lives as a result of the work of of Jesus still doesn't put us in the place of being the judge. We are we are made whole by the judge. We are we are, we are accepted into the family of the judge, but we don't get to be the judge. And so we walk this very fine line of, of being discerning about the world that we're in and, and testing and trying the spirits around us as the New Testament talks about. This idea that we, like we want to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.

We want to live in such a way that we don't fall into the trap of sin, that we continue to follow after the course that the enemy's charted, and that become more like Jesus and we become more comfortable following Jesus. And all that should be true of us, but we get to ultimately be the judge. Then Jesus winds up talk about the Holy Spirit, this conversation by he says, he says, I really have a whole lot more that I I need, I want to say to you. Like there's a whole lot more to be said. But Jesus knows his time is limited at this point and their ability to understand is limited as well.

Their view on what's happening around them is limited because he's not yet gone to the cross, he's not yet risen from the grave, and he's not yet gone to be at the right hand of the Father, and so none of those things have transpired. They're not ready to hear and they're not ready to understand a lot of what he has to say. So, he says, when the spirit of truth comes, when the Holy Spirit comes, he's going to guide you into all truth. But he doesn't speak on his own authority, he speaks on the authority that Jesus is the king, that Jesus conquered death, that Jesus is the one who has done the work of showing his authority over death, hell, and the grave and and his and ultimately his authority is king. He says, but he hears, whatever he hears, he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

The spirit is going to, the spirit's going to testify to the things that are yet to come to pass. We know that we have a future that is certain. We don't know when it's going to happen. We don't know when the events of the world are going to, are going to conspire to bring about the second coming of Jesus or his return or his judgment. We don't we don't know those things, but we trust them.

But what we do know right now is that the spirit is going to work in a way that he will glorify Jesus. And he will take the things of God and he will bring them to us. He is our teacher. And Jesus then makes this incredibly powerful statement about the trinity. He says, all that the father has is mine.

Therefore, I said, I will make what is mine and declare it to you and how is he going to declare it to us through the Holy Spirit and so right there, you see all of the trinity wrapped up in in this one in this one beautiful teaching from Jesus. And so today I hope you've been encouraged. I hope you've challenged. Let's be people that are quick to keep the gospel on our lips and that and that we and that we continue to live and tell the gospel in our daily lives and point people toward Jesus because we never know when the spirit is convicting. Let's be people who are aware of the work of the Holy Spirit in our own lives and our need for that as as he points us toward righteousness, and that he points us away from from those things that were and the old man and the old woman that exists in us that we're still trying to cast off, and he points us toward being more like Jesus and being transformed into the image of Christ.

And then finally, let's remember that as we do that, we have to be discerning and we have to be wise in the way that we live in this world, but you and I aren't the judges of this world. And that our responsibility is to live and tell the gospel and, and to present that in every possible way that we can. And we trust, we trust that God will judge and that God will convict, and that his purposes will be worked out in our lives, in the lives of our family, in the lives of our community, in the lives of vulnerable children, in the lives of vulnerable women, and vulnerable families, and all those that we seek to minister to on behalf of Jesus. And so, thanks today for joining us for this Bible study. We this week are going to work on applying that to being more overt about telling the gospel and, and realizing the work that the spirit is is doing in us and around us, as as he continues to draw us toward the image of Jesus and continues that perfecting sanctifying work in us.

And so thanks again, this is Rick Morton for the Defender Bible Study. Grateful to have had this opportunity and we'll continue our study in the book of John next week.

Thanks again for joining us for the Defender Bible Study. If you enjoy making this podcast a part of your weekly routine, we'd love for you to take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review the Defender Bible Study to make it easier for more people to find. For more resources and information on how you and your church can partner with Lifeline, please visit us at lifelinechild.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter by searching for Lifeline Child. You can email us directly at infolifelinechild dot org.

We look forward to seeing you again next week for the Defender Bible Study.