The Helper, Part 2
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Jn 13 - 17 an extended account of the last time that Jesus’ kept the Jewish Passover with his disciples
The Feast of Passover was commanded by God to ensure that the Israelites did not forget that he had saved them from their slavery in Egypt.
in the last judgment upon Egypt the angel of death went through the whole land and put to death all of the firstborn of man and animals
the Israelites were spared of this terrible judgment by killing a lamb and painting its blood on the door posts and lintle
when the angel of death came to the dwelling of an Israelite and saw the blood he passed over that home sparing all who were inside from judgment
that sacrificial lamb was a picture of what the Lord Jesus Christ did in the sacrifice of his life on the cross
Just as the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb caused the angel of death to spare the Israelites so also those who are covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus shed on the cross are delivered from the righteous judgment of God.
the Apostle Paul used this glorious picture in his rebuke of the Corinthian church for their tolerance of gross sexual immorality
he said to them,
7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
having been covered by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, having been taken out from under the condemnation and wrath of God, they were to live holy lives
that last Passover that Jesus celebrated with his disciples became the first Communion
just as the Israelites were given the Passover to help them remember their deliverance from slavery so also the New Covenant Christian has been given the Lord’s Table to remember their deliverance from sin
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
John 13-17 is an extended account of how Jesus expressed his love for his disciples knowing that the time had come to for him to die.
1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
knowing what was about to happen to him would cause them to be troubled, frightened, discouraged, downhearted and confused Jesus comforted them by expressing his love for them
List some of the things that Jesus did to express his love:
he demonstrated the depth of his love by humbling himself
in the washing of their feet (13:4-20)
he warned them that one of them would betray him (13:21-30)
he foretold Peter’s denial and restoration (13:36-38)
he assured them he would come back for them (14:1-14)
he promised them the Holy Spirit to help them (14:15-31)
he instructed them how to remain joyful in spite of what was to come (15:1-11)
he commanded them to love one another and gave himself as their example (15:12-17)
he forewarned them of the hatred of the world (15:18-16:4)
he taught them how the HS would help them (16:5-15)
The Internal Work of the Holy Spirit
The Internal Work of the Holy Spirit
last message: the HS would help them as his disciples
Jesus’ astonishing statement,
7 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.
HS is the 3rd person of the Trinity
his work to do the will of the Father and the Son
we are indwelt by God himself!
will be in us and with us forever
How does the Holy Spirit work in believers? (John 16:12-15)
guides us into all truth (16:13)
declares the things that are to come (16:13)
glorifies Christ by taking what is his and declaring it to us (16:14-15)
what is Christ’s? all that the father has! (16:15)
all of the blessings and promises of God come to us through the HS!
another other work of the HS in the NT:
He sanctifies us, making us more and more like Christ
because he is in us, we bear the marks or fruits of his presence
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
it’s not a matter of if but how much we bear
to ensure what we bear the Father prunes the fruit bearing branches and cuts off the branches which do not bear fruit
The External Work of the Holy Spirit
The External Work of the Holy Spirit
the work of the Spirit in the world
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
when we read this most of us conclude that the HS is going to work in the lives of unbelievers to make them understand that they are sinful, unrighteous and headed for judgment
I know that this is what I once thought
the reason we think this way is because of the way we think of conviction
when we over-eat and feel the consequences we feel guilty and say, “I was convicted about over-eating last evening”
by that we mean we felt bad
this is not what Jesus meant when he said the HS would convict the world
Jesus is not saying the HS is going to make people feel bad for their sins
to help us understand this let’s remember what the scriptures teach about the world:
The world loves its sin and refuses God’s invitations and disobeys his commands.
although God finds no pleasure in the destruction of the wicked, but pleads with them to repent and turn to Him for mercy (Ezekiel 33:11) the world rejects him
although God showers blessings on the world (Matthew 5:45) which should cause it to repent (Rom 2:4) the world refuses to honour God or give thanks to him (Rom 1:21)
although Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44) it called out for him to be crucified
apart from God’s saving grace the world will persist in its unbelief
If any in the world are to be saved the HS must raise them out of their spiritual deadness, break through their native love of sin, give them grace to hate their sin and forsake it, and trust in Jesus’ righteousness instead of their own.
no unbeliever has the ability to do this on their own
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
no unbeliever has the desire to do this on their own
2 Tim 2:25b “… God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
so if any sinner is to be saved the HS must work in them
he must bring them to acknowledge they are sinners and as such under God’s condemnation and wrath
he must open their minds so that they can understand their guilt
he must lead them to sorrow for their sin
he must cause them to flee to Jesus for forgiveness and eternal life
and after he has accomplished these things he takes up residence in their lives and works in them to make them like Christ and through them to bring Christ to others
this however is not what Jesus meant when he said the HS would convict the world
the word “convict” is a legal word, commonly used in a court of law
The word “convict” means, “to indict by evidence”.
it’s a word which describes what a prosecuting attorney does in our Canadian courts
a prosecuting attorney’s job is to present the facts that will prove the defendant to be guilty
when an accused is declared guilty by the judge or jury, her or she has has been convicted as a law-breaker
they have been measured according to the law and found guilty
List 3 examples of the use of the word “convict” in the New Testament.
19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done,
John accused Herod, he prosecuted him and declared him guilty
it is no wonder Herod imprisoned him!
20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.
rebuke = convict
Paul instructs the church about what is to be done with an elder who persists in sin
he is to be rebuked in the presence of the church, that is, prosecuted
the corroborating evidence of 2 or 3 witnesses is presented and he is convicted in the presence of all
9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
in this particular case James gave the example of a church giving a rich person a place of honour and a poor person a place at someone’s feet
when believers show partiality and are held to and compared against the law of Christ they are declared guilty, they have been convicted as lawbreakers
therefore, when Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would convict the world, he was saying,
he would measure them by the Word of God
he would prosecute them according to the Word of God and,
he would declare them guilty of disobeying the Word of God
he judge them worthy of the punishment declared in the Word of God, eternal suffering in the fires of hell
Jesus said the HS would convict the world in 3 ways: in sin, in righteousness and in judgment.
“concerning sin because they do not believe in me”
the HS will prosecute the world for disobeying God’s command to believe on Jesus
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
“concerning righteousness, because I go to the father”
31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead was God’s seal of approval that he was a perfect man and as such possessed the right to judge the world
“concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged”
27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.
28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
Jesus clearly told the crowd that when he died on the cross 2 things would happen
Satan’s power would be broken
when he was lifted up on the cross he would draw all kinds of people to himself
pictured in the bronze snake
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
those who die in their sins will be judged for refusing to look to Christ
Practical Application
Practical Application
now the question is, how will the HS do this?
as the Spirit of Truth he does it through the testimony of scripture
in other words,
The Holy Spirit convicts the world through witnessing and preaching.
he does it through the witness of believers,
11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
as imitators of God believers are to have nothing to do with any kind of sexual sin (3-4)
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.
all of the sins mentioned in vv. 3-4 are connected with sexual sin
note v.4 and the temptation to watch shows which are characterized by filthiness, foolish talk and/or crude joking!
those who practice these sins have no place in the kingdom of Christ and of God
they are under God’s condemnation and wrath
they are hell-bound not heaven bound
believers are not to be partners with those who practice these sins (7)
partners = fellow partakers, to have a share in
to participate in a good or evil deed
“do not share with them in these sins”
believers are to walk as children of light trying to discern what is pleasing to the Lord (8b-10)
then we have v.11 which sums up these verses
Rather than partner with those who practice sexual immorality the believer is to expose them. (Eph 5:11)
that is, convict them = hold them up to the light of scriptures and declare them guilty
he does it through the preaching ministry of pastors
note Paul’s instruction to Pastor Timothy:
1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
“rebuke” is the word “convict”
One of Pastor Timothy’s responsibilities in his preaching was to measure people against the Word and convict them where they had broken it. (2 Tim 4:1-2)
contrast this with those within the church who advocate that we do not need to preach about sin and hell because sinners already know these things
instead we must show them love
true love means being willing to expose a person’s sins and convict them
not to do so is to hate them because it will expose them to hell
this was the same charge Paul gave Titus when he laid down the qualifications of an elder
One of the elders’ responsibilities is to confront those who contradict sound doctrine. (Tit 1:9-13)
9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.
13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
Titus’ responsibility as Paul’s designate:
15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
elders and especially those who are given the responsibility to preach the Word of God, are to convict
they are to prosecute with the Word of God
one of the reasons we are tempted to recoil at this instruction is because of our cultural sensitivities
confronting people with their sins is a cultural no-no
our culture tells us we must never offend people
the temptation to be more Canadian than we are Christian
another reason some of us recoil is because it is a reaction against the hellfire and brimstone preaching that was all judgment and no grace
Final Summary:
it is the responsibility of believers, pastors and elders to convict sinners
all gospel ministry starts here
we do unbelievers a great disservice when we tell them the good news without the bad news!
let us not forget that at one point we ourselves were measured against the Word of God and found wanting
a preacher or a believer had the courage to confront us with the Word of God, showing us our sin
in our ministry to unbelievers we are called to measure them by the Word of God so that when they are convicted some may repent and believe
a gospel without conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment is a false gospel!
it is under this false gospel that many have embraced Christianity and entered the evangelical church
as a result it is populated by many who claim to be Christians but have never truly repented
they are marked by a lack of love for God, for his Word, for his worship, for his people and for his holiness
if we would convict the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment, we will be hated and persecuted, just as Jesus was
7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.
may we not be afraid but convict the world in love