Letting the Spirit Teach: John 16:5-15

As we continue moving through Jesus’ last big opportunity to share with the disciples on the night of His arrest, we come to Jesus teaching us what the role of the Holy Spirit is, what we can expect the Holy Spirit to do, and why it is better that that Jesus should return to heaven. However, I wonder if much of what Jesus was telling His disciples went over their heads. Either that, or I wonder if they understood a little, but not enough of the details to fully understand the events of that weekend.

Let’s read what Jesus shared with the disciples in this part of His message. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 16, and we will be reading from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 5, Jesus continues by saying:

⁵ Now I am going back to the One who sent me. But none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ Your hearts are filled with sadness because I have told you these things. ⁷ But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go away. When I go away, I will send the Helper to you. If I do not go away, the Helper will not come. ⁸ When the Helper comes, he will prove to the people of the world the truth about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment. ⁹ He will prove to them that sin is not believing in me. ¹⁰ He will prove to them that being right with God comes from my going to the Father and not being seen anymore. ¹¹ And the Helper will prove to them that judgment happened when the ruler of this world was judged.

Let’s pause briefly here because Jesus has just shared a number of big things. First off, we can understand that the disciples are sad because Jesus is leaving, but Jesus counters their sadness by telling them that if He doesn’t leave, the Helper, otherwise known as the Holy Spirit, will not come.

On the surface this doesn’t make sense, unless we believe that God isn’t going to be redundant. However, when reading this passage, I believe the reason for Jesus telling us that the Helper would not come unless He leaves is tucked within the role of the Holy Spirit that Jesus then shares.

Jesus describes three roles the Holy Spirit has in addition to being called our Helper. The first is that the Holy Spirit will prove to the people of this world that sin is not believing in Jesus, the second is that being right with God comes from Jesus’ return to Heaven and not being seen any more, and the third is that judgment happened when the ruler of this world was judged.

These are three huge theological concepts and it would take too much time to fully unpack each of them. However, let’s briefly look at each.

The first huge concept is that sin is not believing in Jesus. As we read this just now, I could not escape the idea that the sin being described here is the unpardonable sin. Not that this sin isn’t reversible, but that every other sin gets erased if at the time of our last breath, we believe in Jesus. While Jesus says that those who speak out against Him will be forgiven, while those who speak against the Holy Spirit are not, I wonder if that verse connects with this verse to define what sin is truly unpardonable.

At the moment we die, the only thing that matters is our belief in Jesus, and this one decision determines our fate in the judgment. This is an idea I just had. It’s worth studying further, but I thought I’d share it with you as I had it.

The second huge concept is that being right with God comes from Jesus returning to the Father. While this is a huge theological concept, the simplest way for me to understand this personally is that when Jesus came, He came as a representative for God. Jesus was Heaven’s Ambassador to earth. Jesus came to show us God’s love.

Following His death and resurrection, Jesus’ return to Heaven marks a shift in His role. While before this Jesus was representing Heaven, now that He has returned to Heaven, He is representing us. Before Jesus was an Ambassador; now He is an Advocate. If you are worried about God’s judgment, trust that Jesus is in Heaven right now defending you with His sacrifice. When we have placed our faith, hope, belief, and trust in Jesus, His sacrifice erases our sinful past, and Jesus becomes our defense attorney. Jesus standing before the accuser defending us is an amazing, powerful, and profound concept that the Holy Spirit wants us to remember.

The third huge concept is that “judgment happened when the ruler of this world was judged”. This verse is translated in an interesting way. Other translations describe a future judgment that is solidified at the moment the ruler of this world was judged. When the Holy Spirit came to the disciples, Jesus describes the event in past tense, which means that when Jesus died, Satan was judged guilty. When the curtain in the temple was torn in two, which we will read about later this year, Jesus tells us Satan is judged as guilty.

The big truth for us to remember living today is that judgment happened against Satan, and He is guilty. God is preparing to return and to carry out this judgment. This means that we have a choice to side with Satan, who has already been judged as guilty, or side with Jesus, who became victorious through His death on the cross. Jesus’ victory was sealed with the resurrection.

All three of these huge theological concepts focus on Jesus, what He has done, and what He is currently doing for each of us.

Jesus continues in verse 12 by saying:

¹² “I have many more things to say to you, but they are too much for you now. ¹³ But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth. He will not speak his own words, but he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. ¹⁴ The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me, because he will take what I have to say and tell it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take what I have to say and tell it to you.

When the Holy Spirit came, Jesus promised that He would teach Jesus’ followers the truth about Jesus and about the world. These followers were transformed when the Holy Spirit came into their lives. We would not be believers today if it were not for their life-transformation.

But it would be a mistake to think that the same offer Jesus gave His early followers is reserved only for them. The same offer of the Holy Spirit is available for us today. If we are serious about growing towards God, then we should let the Holy Spirit teach us the truth about Jesus. This truth will match what the Bible teaches, this truth will transform our lives, and this truth will lead us into eternity!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As always, be sure to seek God first in your life and ask Him to send His Holy Spirit into your life to teach you the truth about Jesus. Let God show you through His Word who Jesus is and why this historical figure who lived 2000 years ago is worth paying attention to today!

In order to learn this and grow, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself. Personal prayer and study is the way to grow a personal relationship with God, and the Holy Spirit is more than willing to lead you to the truth about Jesus when you take steps towards God with a desire to learn His truth. Pastors, authors, speakers, and even podcasters can give you ideas to think about, but never let anyone get between you and Jesus.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, or chicken out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!