We are living today in a time of ever increasing knowledge, science and
technology such as never before. Paul warned Timothy against the
oppositions, contradictions and what was so called science 1 Tomothy6:20.
The time we are living in is a time of great opposition but also opportunity.
Opposition because of the spirit of this world, but opportunity because of the
Spirit of God. With all the technology and knowledge of today man is still
restless and searching. More and more the world today has taken God off
the throne and put self and human reason in his place. The tendency is to
exalt the ego with success, money, status and fame. Even projects to help
others or relieve the worlds suffering are often motivated by a desire for
satisfaction over what one has accomplished in himself, like Pharaoh of old, the
world says who is the Lord, that I should obey him Exodus 5:2. We are living in
the day of grace and the dispensation of the Spirit preceding the wrath and
judgment of God. We are not and must not think of ourselves as self
sufficient, but totally dependent on Christ and the Spirit of God. We can
only please God through faith and submission to him by the Spirit willingly
giving him all the glory and praise. The secret of the success in Pentecostalism
versus liberalism is a firm stand not only in the virgin birth, the Cross and
the resurrection of Christ but also in the supernatural working of the Spirit in
our lives and the world today. In America the major denominations early on
put up barriers and creeds against liberalism and against the destructive
criticism of the Bible. Today Pentecostalism is still holding up the banner of
truth and the need of the Spirit of God. I believe there is an increasing
interest today in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the person and work
of the Holy Ghost. Only the Spirit of God can make actual what Jesus made
possible through the finished work of the cross. There truly is peace, joy, and
righteousness in the Holy Ghost but through repentance and submission to God and
his Word not human reason, technology and science as good as some of it may be.
The Bible treats the Spirit as a distinct person who has emotions
and can be grieved and vexed, pained and hurt Ephesians 4:20 Isaiah 63 :10.
He distributes gifts severally as he wills first Corinthians 12:11. He
guided the early Church and directed the key missionary in definite,
specific, personal ways see Acts 13:2 end 16:6.
It's evident from the Bible that men and women who were moved by the
Spirit knew Him in a definite personal way. If you were to ask the judges
and
prophets of the OT if the Spirit had come upon them, they would have
never said, I think so or, I hope so. We read that the Spirit of the Lord
came upon Gideon and clothed him in Judges 6:34. Sampson tore apart a young
lion as if it were nothing because the Spirit of the Lord came rushing
mightily upon him in Judges 14:6. Micah new he was full of power by even the Spirit of the Lord to deal with
Israel's sin's Micah 3:8.
There is no guesswork concerning the reality of the Spirit of God also
in the New Testament. The Spirit came up on Jesus in visible form as a dove.
There was the sound of a wind and tongues of fire as the Spirit came down
on the day of Pentecost. The fire speaking of the purifying work of the
Spirit and a mighty rushing went signifying power to carry us with power and
strength. There was many other manifestations in the New
Testament Church some visible some not but all just as definite. Such as
believers speaking with other tongues Acts 2:4, 10:46, 19:6 and in Acts 4:31
we read as they prayed the place was shaken and they spoke the Word of God
with boldness. The Spirit of God provided warmth, comfort, boldness, power,
strength and everything they needed for their daily lives including work and
worship as they dedicated their lives to Christ in submission under the
direction of the Spirit of God. They never supposed that if a person tried
hard enough they could live a good life and please God. They knew they
needed the constant help of the Spirit, and in their worship they knew they were quite
insufficient in themselves to praise and glorify the Lord.
Jesus said I will not leave you comfortless meaning like orphans John
14:18. He went on to promise a comforter, helper, advocate, teacher, and
guide. The Holy Ghost is all of these, and a personal friend who is
adequate for all our needs.
John 16:7-11 7Nevertheless
I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not
away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him
unto you.8And
when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and
of judgment: 9Of
sin, because they believe not on me;10Of
righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;11Of
judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
It is
important to note that the Spirit comes to the church and not to the world.
This means that He works in and through the church.
The Spirit convicts the world of sin,
righteousness and judgment. “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment …” (John. 16:8). The word
“reprove” is variously translated in different versions as: convict,
expose and rebuke. Someone has stated: “These three things are the most
difficult to impress on any man, for he can always attempt to justify himself
by asserting an excusable motive for evil actions, or by pleading a relative
scale of ethical standards in the place of absolute righteousness, or by
assuming that judgment is indefinitely deferred so that it is no real threat.”
(The authors are indebted to the unknown source of this quote.)
“Of sin, because they believe not on me” (v. 9)
—Only the Spirit can overcome
the blindness and deceitfulness of the sinful, human heart and make a man
realize the greatness of his own iniquity. We must be lead by the Spirit to be
used of Him. Just as the
Son of God had to have a body in order to do His work on earth, so the Spirit
of God needs a body to accomplish His ministries; and that body is the church.
Our bodies are His tools and temples, and He wants to use us to glorify Christ
and to witness to a lost world.
Notice the particular sin of which
the Holy Spirit will convict. It is not the sin of stealing, drunkenness or
adultery. Conscience and the law of God will convict a man that such things
are wrong, but the Spirit convicts of a sin of which conscience would never convict him—the
sin of unbelief—“…of sin because they believe not on me …” (Jn. 16:9).
Unbelief of Jesus Christ is the greatest of all sins, for it causes the
rejection of God’s only means of forgiveness, and thus brings all the
condemnation of one’s every sin upon the one who fails to appropriate Christ’s
salvation through faith. As George Smeaton has so aptly worded it:
The sin of unbelief is here described, with all the
enormous guilt attached to it, as a rejection of the proposal of
reconciliation, as the chief and the supreme sin, because a sin against the
remedy,—as sinful in itself, and as preventing the remission of all other sins
… all other sins, original and actual, with all their guilt, are remissible
through faith in Christ. But this sin involves the rejection of the graciously
provided remedy; and final unbelief has nothing to interpose between the
sinner and righteous condemnation … The sin of unbelief is here described as
if it were the only sin, because, according to Augustine,
while it continues, all other sins are retained, and when it departs all other
sins are remitted.
A person could “clean up his life” and quit his or her bad habits and still be
lost and go to hell.
“Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more”
(v. 10)—The righteousness of which the Spirit convicts is not any
human righteousness, but Christ’s Righteousness. The Righteousness of Christ
is attested to by the fact that He was raised from the dead and has ascended
to the Father. Had He been an imposter, as the religious world insisted when
they cast Him out, the Father would not have received Him. The fact that the
Father did exalt Him to His own right hand demonstrates that He is completely
innocent of the charges laid against Him. Moreover, it proves that He had paid
the full price for the believer’s sins which had been laid upon Him. Again,
Smeaton declares:
To convince the world of righteousness, must mean that the
Spirit gives convincing evidence, not merely that His cause was good, and that
He is innocent, but that in Him is found the righteousness which the world
needs, the imputed righteousness which was graciously provided for us and
becomes ours by faith.
His returning to the Father gave evidence that He had fully
completed the task for which He was sent into the world—that of providing
righteousness for those who would believe on Him.
“Of judgment, because the prince of this world is
judged” (v. 11)—The world stands guilty for refusing to believe in
Christ; its condemnation is acclaimed by the righteousness of Christ exhibited
in His going to the Father; therefore, nothing awaits it but judgment.
The greatest demonstration of judgment is that the prince of this world is
judged. “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of
this world be cast out” (Jn. 12:31). If Christ would judge the prince of
this world, then all who follow him will likewise be judged.
